Privacy Policy — Cardinal
Last updated: October 24, 2026
Applies to the Cardinal iOS app, the Cardinal Safari Web Extension, and the Cardinal Chrome extension (together, "Cardinal," "the app," "we," "us"). You can add any card to track its rewards by category; bulk offer activation, at this first release, works with Chase and American Express, with more banks planned.
The Short Version
Add any card to your wallet to see its cashback and rewards by category. For Chase and American Express, Cardinal can also bulk-activate offers directly on your bank's site, then sync them into the app — all in one place, searchable by merchant or category, and mapped to any location.
To do that, we need a few things from you: an account (email or Google/Apple sign-in), the offer details activated on your bank's website, and the name of each card in your wallet. We never record your card number, cardholder name, or any digits of your card — only its bank and card name (e.g. "Chase Sapphire Preferred"), used purely as an identifier. Location is optional, used only to show nearby offers on the map.
We never see, ask for, store, or transmit your bank login username or password. You sign in to your bank's website directly, in your own browser, the same way you always have. Cardinal's browser extension only reads the offers already visible on the page once you're logged in — it has no access to your banking session, account numbers, balances, or transaction history.
There are no ads in Cardinal, and we don't use third-party analytics or ad-tracking SDKs.
01 — Information We Collect
Account information. To use Cardinal, you create an account with an email address and password, or sign in with Google or Apple. We store your email address and a unique account ID.
Card information. When you add a card to your wallet, we record only its issuing bank and card name (e.g. "Chase Sapphire Preferred") as an identifier. You can add a card either by picking it from a list, or by taking a photo of it — either way, we keep only the bank and card name. We never record your card number, cardholder name, expiration date, CVV, or any digits of your card.
Offer data. On Chase and American Express, the Safari or Chrome extension reads offer details on the bank's own offers page — merchant name, offer terms, reward amount, expiration date, and category — while you're already logged in there, and activates them for you on the bank's site itself. The activated offers are then synced to your Cardinal account, so they show up in one place in the app: searchable by merchant or category, and mapped to any location, not just offers near you. This happens only on pages you navigate to yourself, while you're separately and directly authenticated with your bank.
We do not collect, store, or have access to your bank username, password, security questions, card number, cardholder name, any digits of your card, account number, routing number, balance, or transaction history. Cardinal only reads what's rendered on the offers page you're viewing, and only ever records a card's bank and card name; it never intercepts your bank login or captures any other card-identifying detail.
Location. If you grant permission, Cardinal uses your device's location (while the app is in use) to show nearby merchants with eligible offers on the map. Location queries are sent to our server, which proxies them to a geocoding service (Photon, including a self-hosted instance we operate) to look up nearby places. We don't store a history of your location over time.
Card photo (optional). If you choose to add a card by taking a photo of it instead of picking it from a list, the photo is sent to Google's Gemini API solely to read the bank and card name printed on it. We do not store the photo after identification completes — we keep only the resulting bank and card name, the same information we'd keep if you'd picked the card from the list yourself.
Purchases. If you subscribe to Cardinal through Apple, Apple shares transaction and entitlement information with us (via App Store Server Notifications) so we can unlock it on your account — including on the Chrome and Safari extensions, which don't go through Apple's payment system themselves. We don't receive or store your payment card number; that's handled entirely by Apple.
Device and diagnostic information. We may receive basic technical information needed to operate the service (e.g., app version, OS version) for support and debugging. We do not use third-party analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting SDKs.
02 — How We Use Your Information
We use the information above only to:
- Activate offers on your bank's own website and sync them into your Cardinal account
- Show your saved offers, cards, and nearby merchants in the app and browser extensions
- Keep your account, cards, and offers in sync across the iOS app, Safari extension, and Chrome extension
- Read the bank and card name off a photo, if you choose to add a card that way
- Unlock purchases across all three surfaces
- Provide customer support and fix bugs
We do not sell your information, use it for advertising, or share it with data brokers.
03 — Where Your Data Is Stored
Cardinal is a cloud-synced product — unlike a purely local app, your cards, offers, and account data are stored on our backend (Supabase, which provides our database, authentication, and file storage) so they stay in sync across your iOS app, Safari extension, and Chrome extension.
- Your account, cards (bank + card name only), and activated-offer data are stored in our Supabase database.
- Authentication tokens are stored securely on your device (iOS Keychain / browser extension storage) and used to connect to your account.
- Card photos (if used) are processed by Google's Gemini API to read the bank and card name, and are not retained by us afterward.
04 — Third-Party Services
Cardinal relies on a small number of service providers to operate:
| Service | Purpose | What it may receive |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, authentication, file storage, backend functions | Account email, card names/banks, offers, auth tokens |
| Google Gemini API | Reads the bank and card name off a photo, if you choose to add a card that way | Card photo (if you use this feature); no account info |
| Photon (including our self-hosted instance) | Looks up nearby merchants for the map | Approximate location you search near |
| Apple App Store | Confirms and syncs your purchases across platforms | Purchase/transaction identifiers tied to your account |
| Google / Apple Sign-In | Optional account sign-in | Your choice of email/basic profile, per Google's/Apple's own sign-in flow |
We do not use third-party advertising networks, ad SDKs, or cross-app tracking.
05 — The Browser Extensions Specifically
The Cardinal Safari and Chrome extensions are designed to need the least access possible:
- At this first release, bulk offer activation works only on Chase and American Express — not on every website you visit. Support for additional banks is planned, and this policy will be updated as coverage expands.
- They read offer information already displayed on the page, and activate it on the bank's own site, after you log in yourself; they do not read, intercept, or store your bank credentials, and they cannot access your account if you're not already logged in through the bank's own site.
- The Chrome extension's
identitypermission is used only to support Google sign-in to your Cardinal account — not to read your Google account data more broadly. - Offers you activate are synced to your Cardinal account (via Supabase) so they appear in the iOS app and the other browser extension automatically.
06 — Advertising
Cardinal contains no ads. This is a core product principle, not a current-version default.
07 — Children's Privacy
Cardinal is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. Using Cardinal requires a credit card account, which by design is not available to children.
08 — Your Choices
- You can delete activated offers or remove a card at any time from Settings in the app.
- You can revoke location access at any time in your device settings; the map will simply not show nearby offers.
- You can remove the Safari or Chrome extension at any time; this does not delete your Cardinal account or previously synced data.
- To request deletion of your account and its data, email us at the address below — there's no in-app self-service deletion yet, so this goes through our team directly.
09 — Changes to This Policy
If we make changes to this policy, we'll update the "Last updated" date above. We'll note here if a change is significant enough to warrant it — for example, when support for additional banks is added. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
10 — Contact Us
Questions about this policy or your data? Email us at admin@lifeflow-ai.com.