Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Viollet ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our expense tracking application ("the Service").

By using Viollet, you consent to the data practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the Service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address (used for authentication via Clerk)
• Name (if provided)
• Account preferences and settings

2.2 Gmail Data Access

Limited Gmail Access: With your explicit authorization, we access your Gmail account through the Gmail API using the gmail.readonly scope. We use this access solely to:

• Read email notifications from financial institutions you explicitly authorize in your account settings
• Extract transaction information from the content of authorized emails
• Process emails in real-time using Gmail Push Notifications (via Google Cloud Pub/Sub)

What We Do NOT Access: We only access emails from addresses you explicitly authorize in your account settings. We do not access, read, or store:

• Your personal emails
• Sent emails
• Drafts
• Spam or trash folders
• Any emails outside of authorized notification addresses
• Email attachments (unless necessary for transaction extraction)

Compliance: Our use of Gmail data complies with Google's API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We use Gmail data solely to provide the expense tracking service you requested and do not use it for advertising, selling to third parties, or any other purpose.

2.3 Transaction Data

From authorized emails, we extract and store:

• Transaction amounts
• Transaction dates
• Merchant names and descriptions
• Transaction types (debit/credit)
• Categorization information

We do not store the full content of emails. Only the extracted structured transaction data is stored in our database.

2.4 Usage Data

We may collect information about how you use the Service, including:

• Features you access and use
• Time and date of your visits
• Device and browser information
• IP address (for security and analytics purposes)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information solely to provide and improve the expense tracking service. Specifically, we use your information to:

• Provide and maintain the Service
• Process and extract transaction data from authorized emails
• Categorize expenses and generate financial insights
• Create budgets, track savings goals, and provide analytics
• Authenticate your account and ensure security
• Send you service-related notifications (if enabled)
• Improve and optimize the Service (using aggregated, anonymized data)
• Detect and prevent fraud or abuse
• Comply with legal obligations

What We Do NOT Do: We do not use your information for:

• Advertising or marketing purposes
• Selling data to third parties
• Sharing data with third parties except as necessary to provide the Service (as described in Section 5)
• Training AI models on your personal data
• Any purpose other than providing the expense tracking service you requested

4. AI Processing

Viollet uses artificial intelligence (Google Gemini) to extract transaction information from authorized email notifications. When processing emails:

• Only email content from authorized notification addresses is sent to Google Gemini API
• Gemini extracts structured transaction data (amount, date, description, merchant, transaction type)
• Only the extracted structured data is stored in our database
• The full email content is not retained after processing
• Email content sent to Gemini is processed according to Google's privacy policies and API terms

4.1 Merchant Categorization

For unknown merchants, Viollet may use Gemini with web search grounding to determine the correct category. In this case:

• Only the merchant name and country context are sent for categorization
• No personal transaction details (amounts, dates, account info) are sent during this process
• Results are cached to improve performance and reduce API calls
• The categorization is shared anonymously between users to benefit all users

Limited Use: We do not use your email content to train AI models, improve AI systems, or for any purpose other than extracting your transaction data. Email content is processed solely for the purpose of providing the expense tracking service you requested. We comply with Google's API Services User Data Policy regarding the use of data sent to Google's AI services.

5. Third-Party Services and Data Sharing

We use the following third-party services that are necessary to provide the Service. We only share data with these services as required to provide the expense tracking functionality:

5.1 Clerk (Authentication)

We use Clerk for user authentication. Clerk processes your email address and authentication data according to their privacy policy. You can review Clerk's privacy policy at clerk.com/legal/privacy. We do not share Gmail data or transaction data with Clerk.

5.2 Google Services

We integrate with Google services as required to provide the Service:

• Gmail API: To access authorized email notifications with read-only permissions. Google processes Gmail data according to their privacy policy and API terms. We comply with Google's API Services User Data Policy.
• Google Gemini AI: To extract transaction data from authorized emails. Email content is sent to Google's servers solely for processing and is not used for training or other purposes.
• Google Cloud Pub/Sub: To receive real-time email notifications from Gmail. This service facilitates the push notification system but does not store email content.

Your use of Google services is also subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. We do not share your data with Google for advertising or any purpose other than providing the Service.

5.3 Database and Hosting

We use Turso (SQLite) for data storage and Vercel for hosting. These services process your data according to their respective privacy policies and security standards. They act as data processors and do not use your data for their own purposes.

5.4 No Sale or Sharing for Advertising

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information, Gmail data, or transaction data with third parties for advertising, marketing, or any commercial purpose. We only share data with the third-party services listed above as necessary to provide the Service, and these services are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only for the purpose of providing the Service.

6. Data Storage and Security

We implement security measures designed to protect your data:

• Encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) for all data transmission between your device and our servers
• Encryption at rest for sensitive data stored in our database
• Secure authentication and access controls using industry-standard protocols
• Regular security updates and monitoring
• Limited access to data on a need-to-know basis for authorized personnel only
• Secure storage of Gmail OAuth tokens with automatic token refresh

Security Limitations: While we implement security measures designed to protect your data, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, and you acknowledge that you provide information at your own risk.

Data Location: Your data is stored on servers operated by our hosting providers (Vercel and Turso) in data centers that comply with industry security standards. The specific location may vary, but we ensure that our service providers maintain appropriate security measures.

7. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. When you delete your account:

• All your transaction data, categories, budgets, and settings are permanently deleted
• Gmail access tokens are revoked and deleted
• We stop processing any new emails from your account
• Data is removed from our systems within 30 days of account deletion

We may retain certain information for longer periods if required by law or for legitimate business purposes such as fraud prevention or dispute resolution.

8. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your data:

8.1 Access and Portability

You can access, view, and export your transaction data at any time through the Service. You may request a copy of all your data in a machine-readable format.

8.2 Correction

You can correct or update your account information and transaction data through the Service settings.

8.3 Deletion

You can delete your account and all associated data at any time through the Service settings. This action is permanent and cannot be undone.

8.4 Email Access Control

You have complete control over Gmail access. You can:

• Revoke Gmail access at any time through your account settings
• Modify which email addresses are authorized in your account settings
• Revoke access directly in your Google account settings (myaccount.google.com/permissions)

Upon revocation, we will immediately stop accessing your Gmail account, delete any stored Gmail access tokens, and stop processing new emails. Previously extracted transaction data will remain in your account unless you delete your account.

8.5 GDPR and CCPA Rights

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or California, you have additional rights under GDPR and CCPA, including the right to object to processing, restrict processing, and data portability. To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information provided below.

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to:

• Maintain your session and authentication state
• Remember your preferences and settings
• Analyze Service usage and performance
• Provide security features

You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of the Service.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under the age of 13 (or the minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us immediately, and we will delete such information.

11. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

13. Google API Services User Data Policy Compliance

Our use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements: Google API Services User Data Policy:

• We only use Gmail data to provide the expense tracking service you requested
• We do not transfer Gmail data to third parties except as necessary to provide the Service
• We do not use Gmail data for advertising or marketing purposes
• We do not allow humans to read Gmail data except with your explicit consent or as necessary for security purposes
• We limit our use of Gmail data to what is necessary to provide the Service

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us through the contact information provided in the Service or on our website.