Privacy Policy

Last updated: 8 October 2026

Akay is built to work offline. Almost everything you enter stays on this phone and never reaches us — there is no Akay server holding your financial records. This page sets out exactly what stays on the device, the few things that leave it, and what you control.

What stays on your device

Your transactions, budgets, loans, bills, notes, portfolio holdings, split expenses, credit-book entries, saved cards and vault documents are stored in a database on this phone. We hold no copy of them and have no way to read them.

Card Vault details are encrypted with a key held in your phone's hardware-backed keystore, and are never included in any backup. Vault documents and their images are encrypted on the device as well.

Your Akay account

If you create an account with an email address, that address and password are handled by Firebase Authentication, a Google service. We use it only to know who you are. We never see or store your password.

An account does not give us access to your financial records. They stay on your device either way.

Google Drive backup (optional)

If you turn on backup, Akay writes a backup file into your own Google Drive, in the private application-data area that only Akay can see. It goes to your Drive, not ours — we cannot read it.

Removing Akay's access from your Google account settings ends that access immediately. A backup already saved there stays in your Drive until you delete it yourself.

AI Assistant (not yet available)

The AI Assistant is not switched on in this version — it is marked Coming Soon and sends nothing anywhere.

When it does go live, it will work like this, and we are telling you now rather than after the fact: the message you type and the recent conversation around it will be sent to Google's Gemini API so a reply can be generated, and processed by Google under their terms. Your chat history itself stays on this device. If you never open the assistant, nothing will ever be sent.

Exchange rates

The currency converter downloads publicly published exchange rates. No information about you is sent with that request.

Government services and the in-app browser

Govt Services links open official government websites inside Akay's built-in browser. Akay is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any government body. Anything you enter on those websites goes directly to that website under its own privacy policy — Akay does not read, store or receive it. Browsing history and bookmarks for the in-app browser are kept only on this device.

Crash reports and app usage statistics

To find and fix problems, Akay uses two Google services:

• Firebase Crashlytics — when the app crashes or logs an error, a report is sent containing the technical details of the failure (stack trace and error message), the app version, your device model and Android version, and a random installation identifier.
• Firebase Analytics — records general usage events such as the app being opened and how long a session lasts, together with the device model, Android version, app version, approximate country and a random app-instance identifier.

These reports never include your transactions, amounts, notes, cards, vault documents, PIN or anything else you type into Akay. They are processed by Google under the Firebase privacy terms and are used only to keep the app stable and improve it.

Akay's own anonymous usage statistics

So we can see how many people use Akay and which tools matter most, the app sends a small anonymous report to Akay's own Firebase project (Cloud Firestore, hosted by Google). A report contains only: a random installation identifier generated on your device (it is not linked to your name, account, phone number or advertising identifier), the date, the app version, your language (English or Hindi) and how many times each tool was opened. It never contains anything you type into Akay, such as amounts, notes, cards, documents or contacts.

This is part of how Akay works and cannot be switched off inside the app. It contains no personal information and cannot be linked to you: the identifier is random, lives only on your device, and is removed when you uninstall Akay or clear its data. We explain it the first time you open the app.

Invite friends and Akay coins

Akay has an invite programme. Each person gets a short invite code, and when a friend joins with it and uses Akay on two different days, both receive virtual “Akay coins”. Coins have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn. To run this, Akay's own Firebase project stores your invite code, how many friends joined with it, your coin balance and, for friends who joined, which code they used. If you have set a name on your Akay profile, only its first word is shared with the person whose code you used, so they can see who joined their team; nobody else sees it.

Until you sign in, this is tied only to the random identifier described above. If you sign in with Google or with a verified e-mail address, Akay checks that address with Google, then stores a one-way hash of it so that your code, your friends and your coins stay with you on any phone and after a reinstall. The address itself is also kept in a record that only the Akay team can read, so we can help you if you contact us. You can ask us to delete this record through the contact details below or by deleting your account.

Announcements and notifications from Akay

Akay can send you announcements, such as festival greetings, offers and news about new features. They are delivered through Firebase Cloud Messaging: your device registers with Google and subscribes to two general groups (everyone, and your language) so a message can reach the right people. We do not know who you are from this and we do not target individuals. The same announcements are listed in the app's notification inbox, which loads a public list from Akay's Firebase project.

You can switch announcements off in Settings > Announcements, or turn off the app's notifications in your phone's settings. You will still receive your own reminders and due-date alerts, which are created on your device.

Festive shopping and partner links

The festive shopping section links to online stores. Some links are affiliate links, marked “Sponsored”: if you buy something after tapping one, Akay may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Akay is not affiliated with these stores and does not sell the products. Once you open a store's page, that store's own privacy policy and cookies apply; Akay does not see what you do there.

What we do not collect

Akay shows no ads, does not collect the advertising identifier and contains no third-party ad or tracking SDKs. We do not profile you, and we do not sell or share your information.

Permissions, and why they are asked for

• Internet and network state — backup, sign-in, exchange rates, crash reports and opening government websites; everything else works offline.
• Camera — scanning QR codes, cards and documents. Images are processed on the device.
• Notifications — reminders, due dates, the daily check-in and, if you leave them on, announcements from Akay.
• Biometrics — unlocking Card Vault.
• Alarms and full-screen alerts — making reminders fire at the exact time you set and showing them over the lock screen.
• Storage — only on Android 9 and older, to save exports when you ask for them.
• Start-up — re-arming your reminders after the phone restarts.

Each is used only for the purpose listed.

Deleting your data

Profile contains an option to delete your account and everything stored on this device. You are given a few seconds to undo; after that it is permanent, and cannot be recovered by us or by you.

Turning off backup stops future backups. A backup already in your Drive remains there until you delete it from Drive.

Children

Akay is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes in a way that affects what leaves your device, we will say so in the app before the change takes effect.

Contact

Questions about this policy: care.aksofttech@gmail.com