Long story short - I wanted to track expenses using bank SMS but couldn't find an app that didn't send that data to their servers. So I built one.
Why I got paranoid:
Your bank SMS contains your account number, balance, every merchant you've paid, every UPI ID. It's basically a complete financial fingerprint.
Most popular expense apps ask for SMS permission and quietly upload all of that to their servers for parsing. Read the privacy policies - it's in there.
I'm a developer so I just built something that doesn't do that.
How it's different:
SMS is parsed entirely on your phone - turn airplane mode on, it still works. That's your proof.
No account, no sign‑up, no server.
Data stays on your device in a local database.
Backup goes to your own Google Drive - I have zero access to it.
50+ Indian banks supported (HDFC, ICICI, SBI, Axis, Kotak and more)
Important -
It doesn't auto‑add expenses silently. When a bank SMS comes in, the app shows you a draft. You review it, edit anything - category, tag, note, payment method - then tap add. Nothing gets logged without you seeing it first. The SMS parsing just removes the boring part of typing it all out.
Why it helps:
Do this for a month and you'll have a clear picture of exactly where your money went - category breakdowns, budget alerts, monthly trends, spending heatmap. That visibility alone changes how you spend.
Why I'm posting here:
I use it daily but I'm one person with a couple of banks. Would love feedback from this crowd specifically:
Does SMS parsing work for your bank?
What's missing that would make you actually stick with it?
Core features are free.
There are ads - felt more honest than a subscription or selling your data.
Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.santhoshkumr96.fintracker
Happy to answer anything about how it works under the hood.
Make it open source maybe? It'd be better so others can have a look and also for the privacy claim
Another one...
Interesting. I'll give it a shot. Ads are a turn‑off though. Hope this is better than Axio, as I've been using that since the start when it was called Walnut
Is it treating self‑account transfers as expenses? What about credit‑card bill payments?