Privacy, in plain language

Who we are

Budget Forecast is a savings planner at budgetforecast.ca, operated from Ontario, Canada. For anything privacy-related, email [email protected]. A real person reads every message.

If you use the planner without signing in

The planner works without an account. In that mode, everything you enter (the items you check off, timelines, costs, savings amounts, notes) is saved in your browser’s local storage, on your own device. It is not sent to our servers and we cannot see it.

Because it lives only in your browser, clearing your browser’s site data erases it, and other devices can’t see it. Signing in is what moves it to your account.

If you create an account

Creating an account collects the usual account details: an email address, a username, and a password. Passwords are stored hashed by WordPress, the platform the site runs on; we never see the password itself. You can add a profile photo if you want one, and it’s entirely optional.

Once you’re signed in, your budget plan is saved to your account so the same plan loads on your phone, tablet, and desktop. It contains exactly what you put into it. We suggest keeping things like bank account numbers out of item names and notes, since the plan doesn’t need them.

We use this information to run the service: signing you in, syncing your plan, and answering your support emails. That’s the whole list.

The AI features

The AI setup tools send the description you type (and your answers to the optional questions) through our server to Anthropic, the company behind the Claude models, which drafts the suggestions you review. Your name and email are not attached to these requests, and we don’t store your descriptions. Under Anthropic’s API terms, your inputs are not used to train their models.

We do keep a count of how many AI actions your account has used, because the monthly limits work off that number.

Paying for Pro

Payments for the Pro subscription are handled by Stripe, a payment processor used by millions of businesses. When you subscribe, your card number and billing details go directly to Stripe — they never touch our servers and we never see them. Stripe processes them under its own privacy policy.

What we do store is the link between your account and its subscription: a Stripe customer and subscription identifier, and whether your plan is currently active. Stripe sends payment receipts and billing emails (like a failed-payment notice) to your account email on our behalf.

Cookies

Signing in uses WordPress’s login cookies, which is what keeps you signed in between visits. There are no advertising cookies. The site uses Google Analytics to understand how it’s used, but only if you consent — the cookie banner asks first, and declining it means no analytics script loads at all.

Where your data is stored

Account data lives on the servers of our web hosting provider. Like most Canadian websites, those servers may be located or process data outside Canada, including in the United States, where the data can be subject to local law.

How long we keep it, and how to delete it

• Signed in: we keep your account and budget data for as long as your account exists. Delete your account from your account page, or email us, and we erase both.
• Not signed in: your data exists only in your browser. Clear the site data and it’s gone; nothing remains with us, because nothing was ever sent to us.

Your rights

Under Canada’s federal privacy law (PIPEDA), you can ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Email [email protected] and we’ll respond promptly. If you’re not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Children

Budget Forecast is not directed at children, and you should be at least 13 to create an account.

Changes to this policy

When this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it. If a change meaningfully affects how your data is handled, we’ll say so on the site rather than change it quietly.

Contact

Questions about any of this: [email protected].