Zero-Knowledge Architecture

Privacy Policy & Terms

Effective date: April 2026  ·  Last updated: October 2026

Your statements are read and categorized inside your browser. They are never uploaded, and we have no server that could receive them. You don't have to take our word for it: the site tells your browser to block it from sending data anywhere, and you can test that yourself in 30 seconds (see Verify it yourself).

How Your Data Stays Private

When you add a PDF, CSV, OFX/QFX, or ZIP file, your browser reads it from your disk and processes it in memory using pdf.js (Mozilla's open-source PDF reader) and Smart Deductions' own parsing code, all running on your device.

Categories are suggested by a rules engine that also runs in your browser. There are no API calls, no cloud functions, and no AI services anywhere in the process.

What We Do Not Collect

  • Your statement files, in any format
  • Transaction amounts, descriptions, merchant names, or categories
  • Bank account numbers, routing numbers, or which bank you use
  • Your name or email (there are no accounts)

Analytics & Server Logs

Smart Deductions has no analytics, advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party scripts. Fonts and code are served from our own domain, so no other company is contacted when you use the site.

Our web host, Vercel, keeps standard logs of page requests (IP address, page address, time, browser type), as every website host does. Those logs never contain your files or transactions, because those are never sent.

What's Stored on Your Device

Everything below stays in your own browser's storage. None of it is sent anywhere.

  • Your transactions: only if you turn on "Save my work in this browser". It is off by default, and turning it off deletes what was saved.
  • Merchant choices: when you set a category for a merchant, that pairing (for example "starbucks store → Meals") is remembered so the next upload is labeled the same way.
  • Your tax profile: business type and vehicle method, if you set them.

To erase all of it, clear this site's data in your browser settings (Site settings → smartdeductions.app → Delete data).

Verify It Yourself

Three checks anyone can do, no technical background needed for the first one:

  1. The Wi-Fi test. Open smartdeductions.app, then turn off Wi-Fi (or switch on airplane mode). Now add a statement and work through it. Everything still works, because nothing needs the internet after the page loads.
  2. Watch the network. In Chrome, Edge, or Firefox, press F12 and open the Network tab, then add a statement. You'll see no requests carrying your data.
  3. Check the lock we put on ourselves. Every page is sent with a Content-Security-Policy header that includes connect-src 'none'. That tells your browser to refuse any attempt by the page to send data to any server, including ours. You can see it in the Network tab under Response Headers, or by entering smartdeductions.app at securityheaders.com.

Terms of Use

Smart Deductions is provided as a productivity tool to assist with personal expense organization and tax preparation workflows. It does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. The estimated deductibility classifications are heuristic guides — consult a qualified CPA or tax professional for authoritative guidance.

By using this application you acknowledge that you are solely responsible for the accuracy of your tax filings. Smart Deductions and its developer, Robert Van Liew, accept no liability arising from the use of categorization outputs in formal tax documents.

This tool is offered free of charge for personal and small-business use. Commercial redistribution or resale is prohibited without written permission.

Questions about this policy?

Contact us at privacy@smartdeductions.app