Help

Where Your Data Is Stored

4 min read

This is probably the most important page in our help centre, so we'll keep it simple and direct.

Your subscription data is stored on your device. Only on your device. Nowhere else.

That's the headline. The rest of this article explains exactly what that means in practice.

What's stored on your phone

When you use SubSorted, the following information is saved locally in a database on your device:

  • Subscription names and categories
  • Amounts and billing cycles
  • Renewal dates
  • Any notes you've added
  • Reminder preferences
  • Whether a subscription is marked as a trial

This data is stored in a local database on your phone, the same way other apps store their data. It's not in a temporary cache — it's persistent storage that survives app restarts and phone reboots.

What's not stored anywhere

SubSorted does not send your subscription data to any server. To be specific:

  • No cloud storage — Your subscriptions are not uploaded to our servers or any third-party cloud service.
  • No account system — There's no user account, so there's no profile or data associated with you on our end.
  • No analytics on your data — We don't track which subscriptions you add, how much you spend, or when things renew. We have no access to that information.
  • No receipt images stored remotely — If you scan a receipt, the processing happens on your device. The image is not uploaded.
The simplest privacy policy

We can't lose, leak, or misuse data we don't have. SubSorted is designed so that your subscription information never leaves your phone. That's not a feature — it's the architecture.

What SubSorted can see

Very little. Here's a complete and honest list:

  • Anonymous usage events — We collect a small number of anonymous events (like "app opened" or "subscription added") to understand whether the app is working. These contain no personal data, no subscription details, and no financial information. They use anonymous, resettable identifiers.
  • Crash reports — If the app crashes, a technical report may be sent to help us fix bugs. This contains device information and error details, not your subscription data.
  • Merchant directory lookups — When you search for a service name, the app may check our directory for a match. This tells us that someone searched for "Netflix", but not who, and not what they paid.

That's it. No transaction history, no spending totals, no renewal calendars. We genuinely do not know what you're subscribed to.

What SubSorted can't see

For absolute clarity:

  • Your subscription names or categories
  • How much you pay for anything
  • When your subscriptions renew
  • Whether you've cancelled or kept a subscription
  • Any notes or personal information you've entered
  • Photos of receipts or screenshots
  • Your bank details (we never ask for them)

What happens if you delete the app

If you delete SubSorted from your phone, your subscription data is deleted with it. Because everything is stored locally, removing the app removes the data. There's nothing left on a server to clean up, no account to close, and no data retention period to wait out.

This is worth understanding before you delete: if you haven't backed up your data, it's gone. SubSorted will ask you to confirm before any destructive action, but once the app is removed, the data can't be recovered from our end — because we never had it.

Consider backing up first

If you're switching phones or reinstalling, use SubSorted's optional backup feature to save your data before deleting the app. Backup is always your choice — it's never automatic.

What about backup and sync?

SubSorted offers an optional backup feature. If you choose to use it, your data is exported so it can be restored on the same or a different device. A few important points:

  • Backup is opt-in — It never happens automatically. You have to explicitly choose to create a backup.
  • You control the destination — Backups are saved where you choose, not to our servers.
  • It's clearly explained — Before any backup action, SubSorted tells you exactly what will happen and where the data will go.

If and when we add cloud sync in the future, it will follow the same principles: opt-in, clearly explained, and with you in control of your data.

Why this matters

Most apps collect as much data as they can, often without clear justification. We took the opposite approach. SubSorted stores your data on your device because:

  • It's simpler — fewer moving parts, fewer things that can go wrong.
  • It's more private — your financial habits are nobody's business but yours.
  • It's more resilient — your data doesn't depend on our company's continued existence.
  • It's more honest — we don't want to build a business model that depends on knowing what you spend money on.

Your subscriptions are your business. SubSorted helps you stay on top of them. That's the entire relationship.