Aurel privacy policy

Effective: 24 October 2026

Aurel is a personal budgeting app. It is made by Patrick Obama (“we”). This policy explains what Aurel collects, why, where it goes, and what you can do about it. If you have a question, write to us at support@aurelwallet.com.

The short version

• We collect what you put into Aurel so it can sync between your phone and our server: your account and your money records.
• If you turn on a plugin that reads your messages (like Safaricom M-PESA), your messages are read on your phone only. Messages never leave your phone. Only the transactions you choose to save are synced.
• No ads, no tracking, no analytics, and we never sell or share your data.

What we collect

Your account

• Your name, email address and password. The password is stored only as a secure hash; we can’t read it.
• Your base currency and the currencies you use.
• For each device you’re signed in on: the device type and app version (for example “Aurel/0.1.0 (Android 16; V2511)”), its IP address, and when you signed in. You see this under Profile → Signed-in devices, where you can sign a device out.
• If you turn on two-factor authentication: which way you get codes. With an authenticator app, the secret it shares with Aurel is stored encrypted, and your recovery codes only as secure hashes, so we can’t read them. With codes by email, a short-lived code is sent to your email each time you sign in.

Your money records

What you add to Aurel, so it’s on every device you sign in on:

• Accounts and their balances, transactions (amount, date, payee, category, labels, notes), transfers, categories and labels
• Budgets, goals, recurring payments and income, and debts (including the names you give the people you lent to or borrowed from)
• Your reminder choices for these
• Your automations and the values they use, and what they did in the last 90 days (which fields they changed, from what, what they added, and why they ran), so you can see and undo it on any device

Messages, only if you turn on a plugin

Plugins read transaction messages, like M-PESA confirmations, so you don’t have to type them in. They’re off until you turn one on, and each one asks for your permission first.

• A plugin reads SMS messages and notifications only from the senders it lists (for Safaricom, “MPESA”), and only those you allow.
• Reading happens on your phone. The message itself is kept on your phone only while it waits in the Inbox, and it’s deleted when you save or ignore it. A message from those senders that a plugin can’t use is kept on your phone for 30 days, under “Skipped” in the Inbox, so you can see what was left out. Messages are never sent to our server.
• When you save a transaction from a message, that transaction (amount, date, payee, reference) is synced like any other you add.

What stays on your phone only

• Your app lock, theme, font, reminder times and other preferences
• Plugin settings, messages waiting in the Inbox, and skipped messages
• A copy of your data for offline use, deleted when you sign out
• Files you export (Settings → Export data): they’re made on your phone from its copy of your data, and go only where you choose to send them. Nothing is sent to us.

What we don’t collect

• No advertising IDs, no analytics or tracking tools, no ads, and no crash reports sent by themselves
• No contacts, location, photos or files
• No messages from anyone other than the senders a plugin lists

How we use it

Only to run Aurel:

• To sync your data between your devices and keep it safe on our server
• To sign you in, keep your account secure, and show your signed-in devices
• To send the emails Aurel needs: sign-up and email-change codes, password resets, two-factor codes, and security notices (like two-factor being turned on or off). We don’t send marketing emails.
• To convert amounts between currencies

Who else handles it

We don’t sell, rent or share your data with anyone for their own use. These services run parts of Aurel for us and only process data to do that:

• Hosting runs our server.
• Database hosting stores your account and synced records.
• Email delivery sends the emails listed above, using your email address.
• Exchange rates come from ExchangeRate-API (“Rates By Exchange Rate API”). Our server asks it for the day’s rates; none of your data is sent.

We may disclose data if the law requires it.

How we keep it safe

• Everything between the app and our server is encrypted (HTTPS).
• Passwords and recovery codes are stored as secure hashes, and authenticator secrets are encrypted. Your sign-in on the phone is kept in the phone’s secure storage.
• You can turn on two-factor authentication (Settings → Two-factor authentication), so signing in also needs a code from an authenticator app or your email. Turning it off, and changing your email or password, then ask for a code too.
• You can lock Aurel with your phone’s fingerprint, face or screen lock, and hide it in the recent apps list (Settings → App lock).

How long we keep it

We keep your data while you have an account. Records you delete in the app are marked deleted and kept so your devices stay in sync; they are removed with your account. Sign-in codes expire within minutes, a sign-in waiting for its two-factor code within 10 minutes, and sessions expire or end when you sign out. Turning two-factor off deletes its secret and recovery codes. What an automation did is deleted after 90 days.

Error reports

Aurel doesn’t send crash reports or errors to anyone by itself. If a screen breaks, it offers Send report: that opens your own email app with the error, the page, and your app version and phone model filled in. It’s sent only if you send it, and you can read and change it first.

Your choices

• See and change your data in the app at any time.
• Take a copy of your data as CSV, Excel or a PDF statement: Settings → Export data.
• Sign out of a device to delete Aurel’s copy of your data from it.
• Delete your account in the app: Profile → Delete account. It asks for your password, then deletes your account and everything in it from our server straight away, and signs you out. If you can’t sign in, email support@aurelwallet.com from the address you signed up with, and we’ll delete it within 7 days.
• Turn plugins, notifications and message access off at any time, in Aurel or in your phone’s settings.

Children

Aurel isn’t meant for children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their data.

Changes

If we change this policy, we’ll update the date above. For important changes, we’ll tell you in the app or by email.

Contact

Patrick Obama, support@aurelwallet.com