KitebillPrivacy-first invoicing
Your invoices contain client names, rates, addresses and sometimes tax IDs. Privacy-first invoicing means that data is not sitting in a vendor's database by default. Kitebill is built that way on purpose.
What "privacy-first" means here
- No account. We never collect an email to create a user profile for the free app.
- Device-local storage. Clients and invoices live in your browser's storage on your computer or phone.
- No analytics scripts on the marketing site or app that track your invoicing behaviour (see the Privacy Policy).
- License checkout is separate. If you buy Pro, Paddle processes payment as Merchant of Record. The license Worker only sees what it needs to issue a key for a paid (or verified) transaction — not your full invoice history.
Compared with typical cloud invoicing
| Typical cloud tool | Kitebill | |
|---|---|---|
| Where invoices live | Vendor servers | Your browser |
| Login | Required | None |
| Vendor can read your clients | Technically yes (they host them) | No — we never receive them |
| Works offline | Often limited | Yes after first visit |
| Trade-off | Sync, portals, card payments | You back up; no live sync or payment links |
Honest limits
- Clearing site data deletes invoices in that browser. Export backups from Settings after invoicing days.
- No zero-knowledge cloud sync — because there is no cloud copy to sync. Moving devices means export/import.
- Printed PDFs you email leave your device; that is normal and under your control.
For the technical offline model, read the offline invoice guide and the local-first explainer.
Who privacy-first is (and is not) for
Good fit: solo freelancers, consultants under NDAs, people in regions with unstable connectivity, and anyone tired of free tiers that quietly become sales funnels.
Poor fit: teams that need shared inboxes, client portals, or automatic card collection. Those workflows belong in cloud tools such as Zoho Invoice or Invoice Ninja.
Backups are part of privacy
Privacy does not mean "no copies". It means you choose the copies. Keep encrypted disk backups or a password manager attachment for your export JSON. Losing the only copy is still data loss — just self-inflicted.
Try without handing over an email
Free one-invoice generator (saves nothing) or full app (saves locally). Pro is US$29 once if you outgrow the free limits.
Questions
Is privacy-first the same as encrypted cloud?
No. Encrypted cloud still stores ciphertext on someone else's servers. Kitebill keeps data on your device and does not offer cloud sync.
Who processes Pro payments?
Paddle is the Merchant of Record. See our Privacy Policy and Paddle's terms for payment data.
Can you recover my invoices if I lose the laptop?
No. Only your backups can. That is the trade-off of not holding your data.