My Financial Life for Windows: privacy policy
The short version
- Your financial data stays on your PC. It lives in a file you choose. We never receive it.
- No account, no cloud service, no tracking, no advertising, no analytics. The app sends us nothing.
- The app only goes online if you ask it to. That happens only if you add your own keys for the two price services described below, and then it sends only what those services need.
- Microsoft handles your purchase, under Microsoft’s own privacy statement.
What the app stores, and where
Your file. Everything you enter or import (accounts, transactions, budgets,
investments, schedules, reports and settings) is saved in a single .mfl file at a
location you choose, normally your Documents folder. You control that file: you can copy it,
move it, back it up or delete it. If you keep it in a folder that a cloud service syncs (such
as OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox), that service will hold a copy under its own terms. That
is your choice, not something the app does.
The file is not encrypted by the app. It is protected the way your other documents are: by your Windows sign-in, and by BitLocker or Device Encryption if you have it turned on. Keep it somewhere only you can open, and treat copies and backups of it as you would bank statements.
Local app data. On your PC, in the app’s own private folder, the app keeps:
- snapshots of your file (automatic restore points) and copies you choose to keep;
- your preferences, such as theme and recently opened files;
-
an error log (
errors.log) recording technical errors: error messages and the places in the program where they happened, which can include file names and folder paths. It is not designed to hold your financial data, and it stays on your PC.
Before upgrading a file to a newer format, the app saves a backup copy in a
Backups folder beside the file (or in the app’s private folder, for a file kept in
a cloud-synced folder).
Uninstalling the app deletes its private folder. It does not delete your .mfl file.
Your service keys. If you enter a key for Tiingo or Open Exchange Rates, it is saved in the Windows Credential Manager (Credential Locker), never in your file. If you have turned on password syncing in Windows, Windows may sync these keys to your other PCs signed in to the same Microsoft account. That is a Windows feature, run by Microsoft.
When the app connects to the internet
The app works fully offline. It connects to the internet only in these cases.
1. Security prices from Tiingo (optional)
If you add your own Tiingo API key, the app asks Tiingo (api.tiingo.com) for prices. It does this when you choose Update, and once a day at most when a file opens. Each request contains:
- the ticker symbol of a security you hold (for example “VWRL”), or one you are looking up;
- the date range of prices wanted;
- your Tiingo key.
It does not send quantities, values, account names, transactions or anything else from your file. Tiingo’s privacy policy applies to its handling of those requests.
2. Exchange rates from Open Exchange Rates (optional)
If you add your own Open Exchange Rates key, the app asks openexchangerates.org for exchange rates, on Update and once a day at most when a file opens. Each request contains the currency codes needed (for example “USD”), the date for historical rates, and your key. Nothing else from your file is sent. Open Exchange Rates’ privacy policy applies.
Like any internet request, these services can see your device’s IP address. We have no access to these requests or their results beyond what is saved in your own file.
3. The Microsoft Store
“Check for updates” and “Rate and review” in Settings open the Microsoft Store app. They send nothing themselves.
The app does not use advertising, analytics, crash-reporting services or tracking of any kind. It never refreshes prices or rates for the sample data on its own.
Things only you can send
Export diagnostics (Settings) saves a text file to a place you choose. It contains the app version, Windows version, the size of your file (counts of accounts, transactions and so on, never their contents), whether it is in a cloud folder, how many snapshots are kept, and recent entries from the error log, with personal folder names removed. Nothing is sent automatically. If you email it to us for support, we use it only to help you.
Emails to support. If you write to support@garelochsoft.com, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include. We use it only to answer you, keep it no longer than we need to help you, and never share it except where the law requires.
Microsoft
You buy and install the app through the Microsoft Store. Microsoft processes your purchase, licence, payment and installation under the Microsoft Privacy Statement; we never see your payment details. Microsoft gives developers reports about sales and, where Windows is set to send them, anonymous crash and reliability reports for the app. These do not include the contents of your file. Windows Hello, if you turn on the app’s lock, is handled entirely by Windows. The app is told only whether you were verified, and never receives your face, fingerprint or PIN.
This website
garelochsoft.com is a static site. There is no analytics, no tracking pixel, no advertising and no cookie banner, because there are no cookies to consent to. There are no forms and nothing to sign up for.
- Hosting. The site is served by Cloudflare, which processes standard request data (IP address, browser details, the page requested) to deliver pages and protect against abuse.
- Local storage. Your light or dark choice is remembered in your own browser
under the key
mfl-theme. It never leaves your device. - Web font. Pages request the Inter font from
rsms.me, so your browser contacts that host. If it is unavailable, the site falls back to a system font.
Your rights
We hold no personal data about you, except support emails you send us. You can ask us to see, correct or delete those at any time, by writing to support@garelochsoft.com. If you are in the UK or the European Economic Area, you also have the right to complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office, ico.org.uk).
Because your financial data is only on your PC, you control it directly: delete the file to delete the data.
Children
The app is a general personal finance tool. It is not aimed at children and collects no data from anyone.
Changes to this policy
If what the app does with data changes, we will update this policy before releasing that version, and change the effective date above. A significant change will also be described in the app’s release notes.
Contact
Mark Hall, trading as Garelochsoft, support@garelochsoft.com, garelochsoft.com
See also the terms.