Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 11, 2026

This privacy policy explains which personal data is processed when you use the iOS app “CostRadar” (the “App”) and this website. In short: CostRadar does not require an account, contains no ads, no analytics or tracking tools, and we have no access to the data you enter in the App.

1. Controller

The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:

2. Data processing in the App

2.1 Data you enter

The subscriptions, costs, categories, notes, payment methods, one-off payments, customer numbers, provider addresses and other information you enter in the App are stored locally on your device only. The same applies to App settings such as reminder time, appearance, currency, app lock, calendar settings or manually set exchange rates. This data is not transmitted to us; we have no access to it.

2.2 iCloud sync

If you are signed in to iCloud on your device, the App syncs your subscriptions via Apple’s CloudKit service in your private iCloud database so they are available on all your devices. The data is stored by Apple and can only be accessed with your Apple Account – we as the developer cannot see it. To deliver changes to your other devices promptly, Apple may send the App invisible push notifications. Your monthly budget and category limits, the free trials you choose to keep, when you last confirmed that you still use a subscription and which events go into the calendar are synced via iCloud key-value storage in your Apple Account.

The provider is Apple Distribution International Ltd., Hollyhill Industrial Estate, Hollyhill, Cork, Ireland. Data may be transferred to Apple Inc. in the USA; Apple Inc. is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (providing the feature you requested). You can turn off syncing at any time by signing out of iCloud or disabling iCloud for CostRadar in iOS Settings. For more information, see Apple’s Privacy Policy.

2.3 Exchange rates

If you enter subscriptions in a foreign currency, the App regularly downloads current reference rates from the Frankfurter service (api.frankfurter.dev), which provides the reference rates published by the European Central Bank. The request contains no data from your subscriptions – only your device’s IP address, which is technically required, is transmitted. If you have no foreign-currency subscriptions, no request is made. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is showing you accurate conversions.

2.4 App search and app icons

When adding a subscription, you can search the App Store for apps to use their name and icon. For this, your search term and your region’s country code are sent to Apple’s iTunes Search API (itunes.apple.com). Selected app icons are loaded from Apple’s servers for display. This technically requires your device’s IP address to be transmitted to Apple. The search only runs when you actively use it. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

2.5 Reminders and Live Activities

Reminders about upcoming renewals, trial ends and cancellation deadlines, as well as the occasional question whether you still use a subscription, are scheduled as local notifications directly on your device. On the last day of a free trial, the App can show a Live Activity on your Lock Screen; it is also created and updated on your device only. No server is used and no data is transmitted to us. You can revoke the notification permission and turn off Live Activities at any time in iOS Settings.

2.6 Calendar

If you turn on calendar sync, the App asks for access to your calendars and keeps a calendar named “CostRadar” up to date in the calendar account you choose (for example iCloud, Exchange or Google). Its events contain the name of the subscription, the date and type of the event (such as charge, end of trial or cancellation deadline), the billing cycle, optionally the amount, and a link that opens the subscription in the App. The App only reads and changes its own events; it does not evaluate your other calendars. The events are stored by the provider of the chosen calendar account under its own terms and are visible to everyone with access to that account or calendar; for iCloud this is Apple (see section 2.2). You can turn off amounts in the calendar settings, stop syncing at any time, remove the CostRadar calendar in the App and revoke calendar access in iOS Settings.

If you export a calendar file instead, the App creates it on your device. It is only passed on to the app or recipient you choose in the share sheet. The legal basis for both is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

2.7 App lock

If you turn on the app lock, the App asks iOS to confirm that it is you with Face ID, Touch ID, Optic ID or your device passcode. Biometric data is processed exclusively by iOS; the App only learns whether the check succeeded. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

2.8 Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, Apple Intelligence and importing screenshots and documents

The App offers actions for Siri and the Shortcuts app, for example to look up your monthly costs or the next charge. If you use them by voice, your request is processed by Apple under its own terms; the App only answers on your device with the data you have entered. To let you find your subscriptions in Spotlight, the App adds their names, prices and categories to the search index on your device. If you describe subscriptions in your own words, the text is read by Apple Intelligence’s on-device language model and is not transmitted to us or to Apple. The same applies to the monthly comment above the overview: the on-device language model of Apple Intelligence writes it from figures the App computes on your device; you can turn it off in the App’s settings. If you import screenshots, PDFs or other documents, for example of your App Store subscriptions or an invoice, the text in them is recognized on your device and, where available, read by Apple Intelligence on your device; the files are not uploaded and are not kept by the App. If you share text or documents to CostRadar from another app, for example an order confirmation from Mail, they are kept on your device in a storage area shared by the App and its share extension until the App reads them the next time it opens, and deleted after a week at the latest. If you share your year in review, the App creates the image on your device and passes it only to the app or recipient you choose in the share sheet. These features only run when you actively use them. You can manage Siri and Spotlight for CostRadar in iOS Settings. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

2.9 Apple Wallet

In the US and the UK, you can let the App look for subscriptions in Apple Wallet. Only when you start this search does the App ask iOS for access to the financial data Wallet shares via Apple’s FinanceKit (Apple Card, Apple Cash and connected accounts). With your permission, the App reads the transactions of about the last two years on your iPhone – merchant, amount, currency, date, type and status of the transaction and the account name – to find charges that recur at a steady rhythm and suggest them to you. This evaluation takes place on your device only; the transactions are not transmitted to us or to third parties and are not stored by the App. Only the suggestions you add become subscriptions (see section 2.1); the account name is then used as their payment method. With Pro, a subscription’s details also show when Wallet charged more than its price; for this, the App reads the transactions again on your device while access is granted, without asking. To help with support requests, the App keeps the results of the latest search on your device as counts only – such as the number of accounts and transactions – without merchants, amounts or account names (see section 4). You can revoke access at any time in iOS Settings. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

2.10 In-app purchases

Purchases of CostRadar Pro are handled entirely by Apple’s App Store. We receive no payment data and no information about your identity. The App only checks on your device via Apple’s StoreKit whether a valid purchase exists. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Apple’s Privacy Policy applies.

2.11 Crash reports and statistics from Apple

If you have agreed in iOS Settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple provides us with anonymized crash reports and aggregated usage statistics via App Store Connect. This data cannot be traced back to you. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time in iOS Settings under “Privacy & Security” › “Analytics & Improvements”.

2.12 No tracking

The App contains no ads, no third-party analytics, tracking or advertising SDKs, and does not track you across apps or websites owned by other companies.

3. Data processing on this website

3.1 Hosting and server log files

When you visit this website, our hosting provider automatically stores information transmitted by your browser in server log files: IP address, date and time of access, page requested, referrer URL, browser type and operating system. This data is required to deliver the website securely and reliably and is only stored for as long as necessary for this purpose. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

3.2 No cookies, no external content

This website does not set cookies, does not use analytics tools and does not load any content (such as fonts or scripts) from third parties. If you choose a language with the EN/DE switcher, only that choice is stored locally in your browser (local storage) so the site is shown in that language next time; it is not transmitted to us.

4. Contact by email

If you contact us by email, we process your email address and the content of your message to answer your request. If you write to us from within the App, the email is prefilled with technical information that helps us solve problems: App and iOS version, device model, language, region and time zone, your Pro status, the number of subscriptions and free trials, the currencies used, reminder, notification, sync, appearance and exchange rate settings and, if you have searched Apple Wallet, the counts from the latest search described in section 2.9. It contains no names, amounts or notes from your subscriptions and no merchants, amounts or account names from Wallet. You can view and remove this information before sending. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR if your request relates to the use of the App, otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. We delete the data once your request has been fully handled, unless statutory retention obligations apply.

5. Retention and deletion

The data you enter in the App remains stored until you delete it in the App or remove the App. Deleting the App removes the locally stored data. Data stored in iCloud can additionally be deleted in iOS Settings under “[Your Name]” › “iCloud” › “Manage Storage”. Events in the CostRadar calendar remain in your calendar account until you remove the calendar in the App or in the Calendar app.

6. Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right of access (Art. 15), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to object to processing based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (Art. 21). You can withdraw any consent you have given at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)). Please note that we have no access to the data in the App or in your iCloud – you can view, change and delete it yourself at any time.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR), in particular in the member state of your residence.

7. Changes to this privacy policy

We update this privacy policy when the App, this website or the legal situation changes. The version published here applies.

In case of discrepancies, the German version prevails.