Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how the Bogleheads mobile application ("the App," "we," "us," or "our") handles information when you use our investing education software. Important: this App is an unofficial, independently developed educational product. It is not the official Bogleheads® app, website, or forum, and it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Bogleheads.org or any financial institution. The App is designed to keep your learning progress and financial planning notes on your device, while displaying advertisements through Google AdMob to support the free version. Please read this policy carefully before using the App.

1. Scope and Application

This Privacy Policy applies to the Bogleheads application distributed through authorized app stores and to any updates we release that link to this policy.

The App is designed primarily for educational use. It is not a brokerage, bank, custodian, tax preparation service, or registered investment adviser platform.

If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please discontinue use of the App and uninstall it from your device.

2. Independent Application — Not Official

This App is unofficial. It was created independently for general investing and personal finance education.

This App is not the official Bogleheads® application, mobile product, or communication channel for Bogleheads.org, the Bogleheads® Wiki, or the Bogleheads® forum community.

This App is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, operated by, or connected to Bogleheads.org, Vanguard, Fidelity, BlackRock, or any other financial institution, unless explicitly stated in writing by that organization.

The name "Bogleheads" and related educational references are used to describe widely taught investing concepts associated with that community's philosophy. Use of the name does not imply official status, partnership, or approval.

Bogleheads.org and other third parties mentioned in educational content have their own websites, apps, and privacy policies. Data practices described in this Privacy Policy apply only to this unofficial App, not to those third parties.

If you are looking for the official Bogleheads community or website, visit Bogleheads.org directly. Do not treat this App as an official source of community announcements, forum posts, or institutional communications.

3. Information We Do Not Collect Directly

We do not require you to create an account, provide your name, email address, phone number, or government identification to use core features.

We do not request access to your contacts, camera, microphone, calendar, or precise location for App functionality.

We do not operate our own servers to store your lesson progress, bookmarks, investment plans, portfolio models, calculator inputs, or community bookmarks. That information remains on your device in the offline-first configuration described in this policy.

We do not sell personal information we collect directly from you, because we do not collect account or contact information in the current version. Third-party advertising partners such as Google may process device and usage data for ad delivery as described in Section 8.

4. Information Stored Locally on Your Device

To provide functionality, the App stores certain data locally on your device using on-device databases and preferences storage. This may include:

• Learning progress (completed lessons, reading streak, lesson access history)

• Bookmarks for lessons and community topics

• Investment plans and portfolio builder configurations you choose to save

• Calculator inputs and saved results only if you explicitly save plans or portfolios

• Theme preference (light, dark, or system)

• Notification and learning reminder toggle states (preferences only; scheduling may not be active in all versions)

• Onboarding completion status and bundled content version markers

This information is created by your use of the App and remains on your device unless you delete it through App settings, clear App data, or uninstall the App.

5. How We Use Information

Locally stored information is used solely to operate App features: displaying your progress, restoring bookmarks, saving your plans, applying your theme choice, and presenting educational content in a personalized learning flow on your device.

We do not use your locally stored financial planning notes or calculator inputs to provide personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

Bundled educational Q&A and lesson content is preloaded in the App and is not generated from your personal data.

6. Live Financial and Market Data

The App does not display live stock prices, ETF prices, mutual fund net asset values, benchmark index levels, central bank rates, or official Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures.

Calculators use numbers you enter. Outputs are illustrative mathematical results based on your assumptions, not verified market data.

When you open external reference links (for example, SEC Investor.gov, IRS.gov, or CFPB.gov) from the Data Sources screen, you leave the App and are subject to those websites' own privacy policies.

7. Device Backup and Operating System Services

Your mobile operating system may back up App data if you enable device-level backup (for example, Google Backup on Android). Backup behavior is controlled by your device manufacturer and OS settings, not by this App directly.

If device backup is enabled, lesson progress, plans, and preferences may be included in encrypted or unencrypted backups according to your platform settings. Review your device backup settings if you are concerned about off-device copies of your data.

Uninstalling the App may remove locally stored data depending on your operating system behavior. Clearing App storage from system settings will delete local App databases.

8. Advertising (Google AdMob)

The App displays advertisements to support free access to educational content. Ads are served through Google AdMob, which is operated by Google LLC and its affiliates.

Ad formats in the current version include banner advertisements shown on the main screen and full-screen interstitial advertisements that may appear when you open certain App features (for example, lessons, calculators, Q&A topics, or settings screens).

To deliver, measure, and improve ads, Google AdMob and its partners may collect or receive information from your device, such as:

• Device identifiers (for example, Android Advertising ID)

• IP address and general location derived from IP (not precise GPS location from this App)

• App and ad interaction data (for example, impressions, clicks, and feature navigation that triggers an ad)

• Device type, operating system version, language, and network connection type

• Diagnostic and performance data related to ad loading and display

This advertising data is processed by Google and its advertising partners according to their policies. It is not combined by us with your locally stored lesson content, calculator inputs, investment plans, or bookmarks.

Google may use this information to provide contextual or personalized advertising, limit ad frequency, measure ad performance, detect fraud, and comply with legal obligations. Whether ads are personalized depends on your device settings and Google's systems.

For more information:

• Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

• Google Ads technologies: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads

You can limit personalized advertising on Android devices by opening Settings → Google → Ads and selecting "Opt out of Ads Personalization" (wording may vary by device). You may also reset your advertising identifier from the same menu.

The App requires network connectivity for advertisements to load. If no ad is available, the App may open the requested feature without showing an interstitial advertisement.

9. Third-Party Services and SDKs

In addition to Google AdMob, the App uses standard Android and Google libraries for user interface, navigation, local database storage, and preferences. Those components operate primarily on your device.

Your educational and planning data described in Sections 4 and 5 is not transmitted to application backends operated by us for storage or analytics in the current version.

When you open external reference links (for example, from the Data Sources screen), you leave the App and are subject to the privacy policies of those third-party websites.

If we add additional analytics, crash reporting, cloud sync, or other third-party SDKs in a future version, we will update this Privacy Policy and applicable store disclosures before or when such features become active.

10. Children's Privacy

The App is intended for a general audience interested in financial education. It is not directed at children under 13 years of age (or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction) without parental involvement.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children through account registration in the App. Advertising partners may process limited device data as described in Section 8. If you believe a child has provided personal information through a future online feature, contact us through the app store listing so we can take appropriate steps.

11. Security

We design the App to reduce exposure by keeping sensitive planning data on your device rather than on our servers in the offline configuration.

No method of electronic storage is completely secure. You are responsible for securing your device with a passcode, biometric lock, or other protections appropriate for information you choose to store in the App.

Do not store information in the App that you would not want accessible to someone with physical access to an unlocked device.

12. Your Choices and Rights

You may clear learning progress and saved plans from within Settings.

You may change theme and notification preferences in Settings.

You may limit personalized ads through your Android device advertising settings as described in Section 8.

You may uninstall the App to remove local data subject to your operating system's data retention rules. Uninstalling also stops further ad requests from this App.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of personal data. For data stored only on your device, exercising those rights is primarily accomplished through App settings and device controls. For data processed by Google AdMob, you may need to use Google's privacy tools and device settings.

13. International Users

Educational content may reference U.S. concepts (for example, 401(k) plans, IRS rules, or U.S. regulatory agencies). Examples are for general education and may not apply in your country.

If you use the App outside the United States, you are responsible for determining whether the educational material is appropriate for your jurisdiction and for verifying local laws and tax rules with qualified professionals.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect product changes, legal requirements, or improved transparency.

Material changes will be reflected in an updated effective date at the top of this policy and, where required, through in-App notice or store update notes.

Continued use of the App after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy unless otherwise required by law.

15. Contact

For privacy questions or requests related to this unofficial App, contact us through the app store listing where you downloaded Bogleheads.

This App is an independent educational product. It is not operated by Bogleheads.org and is not an official communication channel for Bogleheads.org, its forum, wiki, or any financial institution.