Privacy Policy

JakeBooks ("JakeBooks," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our bookkeeping software and related services (collectively, the "Service"). By using JakeBooks, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information. When you register, we collect your name, email address, and password (stored as a secure hash). If you subscribe to a paid plan, billing details are collected and processed by Stripe, Inc. on our behalf.

Financial Data via Plaid. To connect your bank accounts, we use Plaid Technologies, Inc. ("Plaid"), a third-party financial data aggregation service. When you link a financial account through Plaid Link, Plaid collects and shares with us: account and routing numbers, account balances, transaction history, and account holder name and institution details. This data is retrieved through Plaid's secure, bank-grade infrastructure. We use it solely to provide bookkeeping features (transaction import, categorization, reconciliation, and reporting). We do not store your bank login credentials. Your use of Plaid is also governed by the Plaid End User Privacy Policy.

Payment Information via Stripe. Subscription billing is handled by Stripe. We do not collect or store your full credit card number, CVV, or bank account number. Stripe may provide us with limited billing details (last four digits, card type, billing address) for account management. Stripe's practices are governed by the Stripe Privacy Policy.

Usage Data. We automatically collect information such as IP address, browser type, device identifiers, pages visited, and feature usage to improve reliability and user experience.

Support Communications. If you contact our support team, we retain records of those communications to assist you and improve the Service.

2. How We Use Your Information

• Provide, operate, and improve the JakeBooks Service
• Connect your bank accounts and import transactions for bookkeeping
• AI-automatically categorize transactions and generate financial reports
• Process subscription payments and manage your account
• Send transactional emails (receipts, security alerts, account notifications)
• Respond to support requests
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service

We do not sell your personal or financial data to third parties for advertising or marketing purposes.

Artificial Intelligence & Automated Processing. JakeBooks uses artificial intelligence and machine learning models to automatically categorize your financial transactions. When you connect a bank account, transaction data (including merchant name, transaction description, amount, date, and account type) is processed by our AI systems to suggest a category (e.g., "Software," "Utilities," "Payroll"). This processing happens to improve the accuracy of your books and reduce manual data entry. You can review, correct, or override any AI-suggested category at any time. We may use aggregated, anonymized transaction patterns to improve our categorization models, but we do not share or sell personally identifiable transaction data for this purpose.

3. Sharing of Information

We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Plaid: To connect your financial accounts and retrieve transaction data on your behalf.
• Stripe: To process subscription payments and manage billing.
• Infrastructure vendors: Hosting, database, and security providers (including Supabase) who process data under contractual obligations and appropriate data processing agreements.
• Legal requirements: If required by applicable law, subpoena, or court order, or to protect the rights, safety, and property of JakeBooks or others.
• Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We will notify you before your data is subject to a different privacy policy.

4. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including:

• TLS 1.2+ encryption for all data in transit
• AES-256 encryption for all data at rest
• Row-level security (RLS) ensuring strict data isolation between accounts
• No storage of bank login credentials — ever
• Restricted and audited access to production systems

No system is 100% secure. Please use a strong, unique password and notify us immediately at security@jakebooks.com if you suspect unauthorized access.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account and financial data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within 90 days, except where required by law to retain it longer. You may disconnect bank accounts and revoke Plaid access at any time from your account settings, which terminates ongoing data retrieval.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights to: access, correct, delete, or receive a portable copy of your personal data. To exercise these rights, email privacy@jakebooks.com. California residents may exercise rights under the CCPA by contacting us at the same address.

7. Cookies

We use essential cookies to keep you logged in and maintain session security. We may use analytics cookies to understand Service usage. You can disable non-essential cookies in your browser settings.

8. Children's Privacy

JakeBooks is not directed at individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children. Contact us at privacy@jakebooks.com if you believe a child has provided us personal information.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or in-app notice. Continued use of JakeBooks after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

Questions or concerns? Contact us at privacy@jakebooks.com.