2Fin Desktop
Your financial data, in a folder on your own computer
2Fin Desktop keeps your books on your machine. No account needed to start, no data sent while you work, and — the part that matters — you can check that for yourself with a packet capture instead of taking anyone’s word for it.
A folder you can open
The app shows the real path and opens it for you. A database file and your receipts, as ordinary files. Copy the folder and you have a backup.
No account to start
The free tier needs no sign-up. Nothing to verify, no email captured, no profile created. Sign in only when you want paid features.
A log of everything sent
Every outbound request Fin has ever made, described in counts not content — and a switch to stop each one.
Verify it yourself
Privacy claims are easy to write and hard to check. This one is checkable in about five minutes, with tools you already trust — so check it, rather than take Fin’s word for it.
Capture first, connected — nothing blocked yet
Start a packet capture (Wireshark, Little Snitch, or tcpdump) before touching any setting, then import a CSV, categorise transactions, run a report, produce a tax export. Nothing here is stopped from reaching the network.
Read that capture: nothing leaves, even though it could
That is the real claim — not that a switch can stop it, but that it never tries. Then switch Airplane mode on (the "Where your data lives" panel from the top-bar chip) and repeat the same workflow: it still works, and the capture stays empty.
Now turn one connection back on
Switch Airplane mode off and ask Fin to categorise something. Compare the capture against the app's own outbound log — the two agree, which is what makes the log trustworthy the rest of the time.
Why this exists. A claim you cannot test is marketing. A claim you can test in five minutes is a product decision Fin has to live with — and it is the reason the outbound log records counts rather than content: a log holding your transaction text would be the very copy the claim denies.
What does leave, and when
Being straight about this is the point. Nothing here happens in the background.
| When | What is sent |
|---|---|
| You ask Fin to categorise or answer something | Only the rows involved, processed and kept nowhere |
| You read a receipt with Fin | That image, processed and kept nowhere |
| You connect a spreadsheet | A read request to your own sheet |
| You send transactions to Xero | That batch, straight to Xero |
| Checking for an update | A version number. Nothing of yours |
| Crash reports and analytics | Off by default. You turn them on, or never do |
On paid plans you can bring your own AWS Bedrock, Anthropic or OpenAI key — then even those requests go straight from your machine to your provider, and 2Fin is not in the path at all.
Questions people ask
Where exactly is my data stored?
In an ordinary folder on your computer — %APPDATA%\2Fin on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/2Fin on macOS, or $XDG_DATA_HOME/2Fin on Linux. The app shows you the real path and opens the folder for you. Your records live in a single database file plus a folder of receipt files you can browse yourself.
Do I need an account to use it?
No. The free tier of 2Fin Desktop needs no sign-up at all. You download it, open it, and start. An account is only needed for paid features such as intelligent categorising, receipt reading and multi-device sync.
Does anything leave my computer?
Only when you ask for something that needs it, and the app keeps a readable log of every request it has ever made — the destination, what it was for, and how many records were involved, described in counts rather than content. You can switch each connection off individually, or use Airplane mode to stop all of them. With Airplane mode on, a packet capture shows nothing leaving.
Can I use my own AI provider key?
Yes, on paid tiers. You can connect your own AWS Bedrock, Anthropic or OpenAI key, and requests go from your machine straight to your provider — 2Fin is not in the path at all. This also covers receipt reading, because reading a receipt is a vision request to the same provider.
What happens to my data if I stop paying?
Nothing. The app reverts to the free tier and everything you already have stays readable, editable and exportable. Your own financial records are never held back as leverage — that is written into the licence, not just the marketing.
Is this the same app as the 2Fin web version?
It is the same product, built from the same code. The difference is where your records are kept and what the app is allowed to reach. The desktop build keeps them on your machine; the cloud build keeps them in your 2Fin account so they follow you between devices.
Can I run it on my own server instead?
Yes. A single-tenant build runs on your own infrastructure with Docker Compose, or on AWS in your own account with a one-stack CloudFormation template. It is intended for a business running its own books — offering it to third parties as a service needs a separate commercial agreement.
Start with the free tier
No account, no email, no card. Bring a CSV and see your own numbers in a few minutes.
Get 2Fin free