Last updated: April 2026. We've written this in plain English because that's kind of our thing.
The short version: We don't store your searches. We don't know who you are. We don't sell anything to anyone.
Who we are
DecodeMyCharge is a free tool that helps you identify mysterious charges on your bank or credit card statement. The site is operated as a personal project.
What information we collect
We collect as little as possible. When you type a charge into the tool, that text is sent to our server solely to process your request — it is not stored, logged, or retained after your result is returned. We do not store search history on our servers.
Cookies and local storage
The site uses your browser's localStorage to save your recent lookups so you can see them again on the same device. This data never leaves your browser and we cannot access it. You can clear it at any time by clearing your browser's site data.
Google AdSense
We display advertisements served by Google AdSense. Google may use cookies to show you relevant ads based on your browsing history. This is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. You can opt out of personalised ads at adssettings.google.com.
Third-party AI processing
The text you enter is sent to Anthropic's API to generate a plain-English explanation. Anthropic processes this data according to their Privacy Policy. We do not send any personally identifiable information — only the raw charge string you paste in.
Analytics
We may use anonymised, aggregate analytics to understand how the site is used (e.g. how many lookups happen per day). No individual users are tracked or identified.
Data we do NOT collect
We do not collect your name, email address, account details, bank details, IP address logs tied to your searches, or any other personally identifiable information. There is no account system.
Children
This service is not intended for users under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, correct, or delete any personal data we hold. Since we don't store personal data, there is nothing to request — but if you have questions, contact us at the address below.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy occasionally. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent version.
Contact
For any privacy-related questions, please reach out via the GitHub repository for this project.