Privacy Policy

The Money Tree desktop application · last updated 28 September 2026

The Money Tree is a Windows desktop application used by its author and a small number of named individuals. It runs entirely on the operator's own computer. There is no Money Tree server, no account system, no analytics, and no telemetry of any kind.

What is collected

One thing: the email address of the Google account used to activate the application, together with an identifier derived from the computer it was activated on and the time of activation.

This happens once, the first time the application runs on a given machine. Activation requests only the openid, email and profile scopes — the minimum needed to learn a verified email address. It requests no access to Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Contacts, or any other Google service.

The one exception is optional and separate: if the operator chooses to turn on backups to Google Drive, described below. Nothing about it happens unless the operator connects Google Drive themselves.

What it is used for

Only to check whether the address is permitted to run the application. The list of permitted accounts is published as salted hashes, so the list itself does not disclose anyone's address. If the address matches, the machine is activated; if it does not, the application does not run.

Where it is stored

In a single file in the application's own data folder on the operator's computer. It is not transmitted anywhere. It is not uploaded, backed up, or synchronised by the application. It stays on that machine and is readable by whoever uses that machine.

What is never done with it

• It is never sold, rented, or shared with any third party.
• It is never used for advertising, profiling, or marketing of any kind.
• It is never sent to any server operated by the developer, because there is none.

After activation

Once a machine is activated, activation never contacts Google again. It stores no Google refresh token and holds no ongoing access to the Google account. Signing in a second time is not required and does not happen. The only ongoing Google access the application can ever hold is the optional Drive backup below, and only if the operator turns it on.

Optional: backups to your Google Drive

The operator may choose to back up the application's own trading database to their own Google Drive. It is off unless they turn it on in the application's settings and click Connect Google Drive, which shows Google's standard consent screen.

• Access requested: only the drive.file scope. With it the application can see and manage only the files it creates itself. It cannot see, read, or change any other file in the operator's Drive.
• What is uploaded: a compressed copy of the application's local database, which holds the operator's own trade records and application settings, once per trading day. It goes into a folder named Money Tree Backups that the application creates in the operator's own Drive. Older copies there are deleted automatically on a fixed schedule. No passwords, keys, or other credentials are included.
• Where it goes: only to the operator's own Google Drive. Nothing is sent to the developer or to anyone else.
• What is stored on the computer: a Google refresh token, so backups can run unattended. It is encrypted with Windows data protection, is usable only by that Windows user on that computer, and is never transmitted anywhere except to Google.

Deleting the data

Deleting the application's data folder, or the activation file inside it, removes the stored address from the machine completely. To revoke the application's access from the Google side, use Google Account → Third-party apps.

If Drive backups were turned on: Disconnect in the application's settings deletes the stored token from the computer, and revoking access as above stops any further uploads. The backups already in Drive are the operator's own files; delete the Money Tree Backups folder to remove them.

Children

The application is not directed at children and is not made available to the general public.

Changes

If this policy changes, the revised version replaces this page and the date above is updated.