Last updated: September 2026
Philip Corlatan
Email: arcata@corlatan.de
Arcata is an app for managing household finances: bookings, recurring costs and income, and per-category budgets. The app does not collect personal data for advertising or analytics purposes and does not share data with advertisers. There is no Arcata user account and no server operated by the developer: your content lives on your device and, if you're signed in to iCloud, in your own iCloud account. Arcata never connects to any server outside Apple's own iCloud infrastructure, with one exception: if you enable the optional AI-powered savings tips and choose a cloud provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Perplexity or Mistral), data is sent to that provider for that purpose (see 3.3). Without that explicit choice, Arcata does not integrate any third-party services and does not use artificial intelligence.
Everything you enter — bookings, recurring costs and income with their amounts, categories and schedules, budget limits, and settings — is stored locally on your device. If you're signed in with an Apple ID on your device, the app automatically syncs this data with your iCloud account, with nothing to configure (see 3.2). Without an iCloud account, all data stays exclusively on the device.
If you're signed in with an Apple ID on your device, your bookings, recurring costs and budgets are synced across your other Apple devices via CloudKit (Apple Inc.) and, if you use the sharing feature, shared with people you choose (e.g. a partner or family). The data is stored in your personal iCloud container and is subject to Apple's privacy policy. Arcata has no access to this data outside your device.
You can maintain several households in parallel and share each one individually. Within a shared household, other participants can see who created a booking or a rule: Arcata stores the first and last name Apple provides for your iCloud account through the sharing feature for this purpose. This is shown only within that shared household.
iCloud sync happens automatically as long as you're signed in with an Apple ID on your device. It can be turned off in iOS Settings under iCloud. Without an iCloud account, the app works purely locally.
The AI-powered savings tips are optional. You choose the provider in Settings; the default is "None", in which case the feature is not visible anywhere and no data is transmitted for AI purposes. Once you've chosen a provider, opening the savings-tips screen automatically triggers a new analysis of your spending.
What's transmitted or processed: the monthly average amount per category, the title and monthly amount of each of your active recurring bookings (e.g. "Rent", the name of a streaming subscription or an insurance policy), your monthly income, and your currently remaining amount. Not transmitted: the titles of individual spontaneous bookings (e.g. specific store or merchant names), account data, or your household's name.
Some settings belong to the household rather than the device: the household's name, its month-start day, and the category order sync via iCloud along with the rest of that household's content (see 3.2). In a shared household, they therefore apply to every participant.
Which household is currently active is additionally stored in your private iCloud area, so your own devices follow the same household. This is never shared with anyone else.
Purely local to the device (UserDefaults): settings that concern only this device — your choice of AI provider, and whether the onboarding flow has already been shown. This data never leaves your device.
The data described above is processed under Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract / providing the app's features) and, if you enable optional features such as the AI-powered savings tips, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent).
Your data is not disclosed to third parties, with the exception of:
Data on your device is stored for as long as the app is installed. You can delete any data within the app at any time, or remove it entirely by uninstalling the app. iCloud data can additionally be deleted in your device's iCloud settings.
Under the GDPR, you have the right to:
Since all data lives locally on your device or in your personal iCloud account, you have direct access for most of these rights through your device and the app itself.
For requests, contact: arcata@corlatan.de
This privacy policy may be updated as needed. The current version is always available at this URL. Material changes will be communicated in the App Store release notes.
Arcata · com.pcor.Arcata · arcata@corlatan.de