← Back to LtdBooks

Privacy policy

LtdBooks · Last updated 29 September 2026

LtdBooks is made by CosmoLabs Ltd, a company registered in Scotland (company number SC883326), registered office 5 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh EH2 4AN. We are the data controller for the small amount of information described below. CosmoLabs Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office, registration number ZC111592. Contact us at hello@cosmolabs.co.uk.

The short version

Your records live on your iPhone, and in your own private iCloud if you turn sync on. We don't have accounts, we don't run analytics or ads, and we can't see your invoices, receipts or figures. A few things do leave your phone so the app can work, and they are all listed below.

What stays on your phone

Everything you enter, scan or import: invoices, customers, receipts and receipt photos or PDFs, mileage, salary, dividends, fixed assets, benefits, deadlines, bank statement files you import, settings and your company details. Receipt photos are read on the phone by Apple's built-in text recognition, and text in PDF receipts is read on the phone too. The photo or file itself is never uploaded to us.

If you turn on the app lock, Face ID or Touch ID is handled entirely by Apple. LtdBooks never sees your face or fingerprint data.

What leaves your phone, and why

  1. Receipt text. When you use AI scanning on a receipt (a photo, a PDF or a file shared into LtdBooks), the text read from it, not the image, is sent through our server to Anthropic, whose AI turns it into a date, supplier, amount and category. Receipt text can include things like a shop name, the last four digits of a card, or a staff name printed on the till roll. Anthropic processes it to return the result, does not use it to train its models under its commercial terms, and may keep it for a limited period for safety and abuse monitoring before deleting it. We don't store it.
  2. Company lookups. When you search for your company, the name or number you type is sent through our server to Companies House, and the public company record comes back. Company dates are refreshed from Companies House from time to time.
  3. Exchange and tax rates. To convert foreign receipts into pounds, the app asks our server for HMRC's published rates for a currency and month. To keep tax figures current, it downloads the latest published UK rates. No personal information is sent with these requests.
  4. A random device code. Our server uses a random code, created by the app, to stop the service being abused (rate limiting). It isn't linked to your name, Apple account or records, and the counters it feeds are short-lived.
  5. iCloud sync and backups (optional). If you turn on iCloud sync, your records are stored in your own private iCloud database, run by Apple under your Apple account. We cannot access it. Backup files you export are files you control.
  6. Purchases. Subscriptions are handled entirely by Apple. The app checks with Apple whether a subscription is active; we never see your payment details.
  7. Things you send yourself. When you email an invoice, share it with another app, or share a year-end pack, it goes through your own Mail app or share sheet, to the people you choose.
  8. Emails to us. If you email us from the app's Help & contact screen, your message includes the app version, build and iOS version so we can help. We keep support emails only as long as we need them to deal with your question.

Our server runs on Cloudflare. We keep its logs free of receipt text and company details.

Bank statement imports

Bank statement files you import (CSV) are read and matched on your phone. They are never sent to us or to Anthropic. They are stored with your other records, and in your iCloud if sync is on, and included in your year-end pack and backups.

Legal basis

We use this information to provide the service you asked for (contract), and for rate limiting and keeping the service secure (legitimate interests).

International transfers

Anthropic is based in the United States and Cloudflare operates worldwide, so some of the information above may be processed outside the UK. Where that happens we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.

How long we keep things

We don't keep your receipt text or company searches. Rate-limit and scan counters expire automatically. Your records stay on your phone, and in your iCloud if you use sync, until you delete them. UK companies usually need to keep their records for at least six years after the end of the financial year they relate to, so check with your accountant before deleting anything.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask to access, correct or delete personal information we hold, or object to how we use it. Because almost everything stays on your phone, you can do most of this yourself in the app. For anything else, email hello@cosmolabs.co.uk. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Children

LtdBooks is for company directors and isn't intended for anyone under 18.

Changes

If we change this policy we'll update the date at the top, and tell you in the app if the change is significant.