PrivateBooks does not collect or upload your books.

The short version

• The app creates no PrivateBooks account. Business details and records you enter or import are used on your computer for bookkeeping.
• It has no background telemetry, cloud sync, crash upload, ads, or financial-data upload.
• Your database, attached receipts, settings, and recovery data stay in a folder on your device.
• PrivateBooks operates no hosted bookkeeping-data service and cannot remotely inspect your books.
• Public help/IRS/release links connect only when you open them. An app store independently handles purchase, install, update, and store analytics under its own policy.

What the app does on your computer

PrivateBooks runs a small web server on a randomized address inside 127.0.0.0/8 - the loopback network on your own machine - and shows it in a desktop window. The interface uses that local connection to reach the bookkeeping engine; it is not bound to your LAN or the internet and requires a fresh per-launch token plus same-origin protections.

Statement files you import are parsed locally. PDF parsing runs in an isolated worker process with time and memory limits, because statement PDFs come from outside and are treated as untrusted input.

Depending on what you enter or import, the local records can include names and business details, account descriptions, transaction dates and amounts, payees, category decisions, receipt attachments, notes, 1099 references, contractor contacts, W-9 collection status, payment-review references, and household inputs for the optional estimated-tax planner. Those records may identify you or another person. The app uses them to show your books, review suggestions, calculate reports and planning estimates, create exports, and back up or restore your records. Arc & Ledger Accounting does not receive those records through the app.

Where your data lives

Each folder holds the SQLite database, attached receipt files, settings, a local key the app uses to sign its own restore and rule-import checks, and local backup/restore recovery data. The key for the session cookie is kept only in memory. The data set is a folder, not one file.

PrivateBooks currently does not encrypt its SQLite database, receipt files, or version 1 ZIP backups. Integrity hashes detect certain changes; they do not make file contents private. Protection also depends on your computer account, device encryption, and where you save backups or exports. Other people or software with access to those locations may be able to read the files. Keep your device and backup destinations protected.

What others process - not us

Some actions around the app can involve other companies. PrivateBooks does not send them your database or receipt files.

• Microsoft independently handles purchase, install, updates, and Store services when you obtain a Microsoft Store edition, under the Microsoft privacy statement. PrivateBooks does not send Microsoft your books or receipt files.
• Apple would handle those store services for a future Mac App Store edition under the Apple privacy policy.
• Public links and the legacy download host receive ordinary browser request data when you choose to open them. The free v3.4.2 Mac download is served by GitHub under the GitHub General Privacy Statement. There is no verified public v4 installer yet.
• Cloudflare serves this website, under the Cloudflare privacy policy. This site sets no cookies and runs no analytics.
• Google Fonts supplies the launch page's typefaces. Loading that page sends an ordinary browser request, including the visitor's IP address and browser details, to Google under the Google privacy policy. Google does not receive PrivateBooks financial records from the website.

Website launch waitlist

The optional launch waitlist is separate from the PrivateBooks app. If you submit it, the website sends your normalized email address, selected language, explicit consent text and time, and an empty anti-spam honeypot field to Formspree. Formspree processes and stores that submission for Arc & Ledger Accounting under the Formspree privacy policy. The form does not send your bookkeeping database, receipts, sample-demo choices, or financial records. Joining the waitlist is not a purchase and does not create a PrivateBooks app account.

Diagnostics you choose to share

The app can generate a local diagnostic ZIP. Before download, it previews the included version, platform, configuration, and redacted log fields. The bundle is designed and tested to exclude transactions, business names, amounts, receipts, account credentials, and access tokens. PrivateBooks does not transmit it; sharing happens only if you separately choose and review a destination.

Data you can delete

Deleting the data folder removes the app's local database, receipts, settings, and local recovery data. It cannot remove backup copies you saved elsewhere or files you voluntarily shared. PrivateBooks keeps no server-side copy it can restore for you, so make and test a full-data backup first.

Children

PrivateBooks is a business tool intended for adults and is not directed at children under 13. The app has no account or hosted personal-information collection flow.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes materially, the updated date above changes and the revision is described in the release notes. Background collection or upload would require an explicit product-policy change, implementation review, and updated public disclosure; it cannot be introduced as silent polish.

Contact

For app privacy, support, or security questions, email support@privatebooks.org. Send a non-sensitive description first; do not include books, statements, receipts, credentials, or tax identifiers. Ask before sharing an attachment.

If you email us, we receive your email address, message, and any attachments you include, separately from the app's local bookkeeping workflow. We use that information to handle your request and investigate app problems. Our email service handles delivery and storage. Contact the same address about information you voluntarily sent. See support information.

PrivateBooks is published by Arc & Ledger Accounting.