BillShield Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 26, 2026
Effective date: May 26, 2026
App: BillShield — Medical Bill Auditor (iOS / iPadOS, Bundle ID com.jchen.BillShield)
Privacy contact: hello@familymedvault.com
Support: support.html · Terms (EULA): eula.html

For educational purposes only. Not legal, medical, insurance, or tax advice. BillShield does not file insurance appeals on your behalf and does not guarantee any billing or appeal outcome.

This Privacy Policy explains how BillShield (“App,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, retains, and protects information when you use the BillShield mobile application for iPhone and iPad and related services. BillShield is developed, published, and operated by an individual developer (the “Developer,” “Data Controller”). By downloading or using the App, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the App.

At a glance:

1. Who We Are

The Developer is the data controller for personal information processed through BillShield, except where listed third parties process data on our behalf as service providers (processors).

2. What BillShield Does (and Does Not Do)

BillShield is an educational and organizational tool for U.S. consumers who want to understand medical bills, insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOBs), and related appeal steps. Features include, among others:

BillShield is not medical, legal, insurance, billing-advocacy, or tax advice. The Developer is not a healthcare provider, insurer, law firm, tax preparer, or licensed patient advocate.

The Developer is not a HIPAA “covered entity” or “business associate” unless separately agreed in writing (not offered by default). OCR, rule-based outputs, AI-assisted drafts, savings estimates, and timeline dates may be incomplete or wrong. You must verify all amounts, codes, deadlines, and procedures with your insurer, provider, and qualified professionals.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information you provide

DataPurposeStored whereLinked to you?
Photos, camera scans, PDFs, pasted text of bills & EOBs OCR, on-device audit, appeals, archive, export On your device (SQLite) by default; cloud only if Cloud AI is on and you opt in per document Yes
Patient profile (name, member ID, ZIP, state, insurer brand/type, appeal-related fields) Appeal drafts, timeline estimates, price lookup by ZIP, reminders On device (Secure Store / local DB); may sync when signed in Yes
Family member names and relationships Organize bills by household member On device only Yes (labels you enter)
Appeal letter drafts, denial codes, notes, PDFs you export Your records; optional cloud-assisted drafting if enabled On device; cloud processing only when opted in Yes
Active Case metadata (title, insurer, denial code, linked bill/EOB IDs, status) Case limits, appeal tracking, cross-device sync when signed in On device; Supabase medical_cases when signed in Yes
Apple User ID (Sign in with Apple) Account, save history, subscriptions, Cloud AI authentication Device; Apple; Supabase Auth Yes
Email / name from Apple (only if you choose to share with the App) Account profile, support Supabase profiles when signed in Yes
Support emails you send us Respond to your request Developer email systems Yes

3.2 Information collected automatically

DataPurposeStored where
Subscription / purchase status (Free, Pro monthly, Pro annual, Appeal Pack) Unlock plan features, case limits, usage allowances Apple App Store; RevenueCat; Supabase profiles when signed in
Plan tier, active case count/limit, premium appeal review balance, remaining AI credits Enforce Active Case limits and Cloud AI quotas Supabase profiles when signed in; summarized in App Settings
Cloud AI usage metering (action type, credits consumed, timestamps) Fair-use enforcement, abuse prevention, cost control Supabase user_ai_usage and related tables
Appeal reminder preferences & notification permission status Local deadline reminders (if you enable) On device; Apple Push Notification service
Privacy & feature consent (GDPR gate, Cloud AI toggle, per-scan cloud opt-in, notifications) Honor your choices On device (AsyncStorage / Secure Store)

3.3 Device permissions (Apple)

The App may request access only when needed for features you use:

Permission strings are shown in the App Store listing and in iOS system dialogs.

3.4 What we do NOT collect

4. How We Use Information

5. Plans, Active Cases & AI Usage Limits

5.1 Active Cases

BillShield tracks open billing work as Active Cases. Your plan caps how many may be open at once. The App may display usage such as “1 / 1 used.” If you reach your limit, you must resolve or remove a case, or upgrade, before opening a new one.

5.2 Cloud AI credits (server-enforced)

When Cloud AI is enabled, usage is metered on our servers by AI credits tied to your plan (e.g., deep bill analysis, cloud-assisted appeal drafts). Unused credits generally do not roll over unless stated in the App or EULA at purchase time.

5.3 Current plan overview

Prices and limits are shown in the App Store at purchase time and may vary by region. Typical U.S. values at last update:

PlanActive CasesAI credits / billing cycleTypical U.S. price
Free120Free
BillShield Pro (monthly auto-renewable)10300USD $12.99 / month
BillShield Pro (annual auto-renewable)25500USD $99 / year
Appeal Pack (one-time consumable)+100 credits; +1 Premium Appeal ReviewUSD $24.99 (one-time)

Exact limits and prices are enforced in the App and App Store at the time of purchase. We may update limits or pricing with notice as described in Section 18 and our EULA.

6. Local-First Processing & Optional Cloud AI

6.1 Default: on your device

Unless you enable Cloud AI, bill and EOB content is processed only on your iPhone or iPad. OCR (including Apple Vision where available), denial decoding, timeline math, Medicare benchmarks, reference price ranges, negotiation templates, and offline appeal letter templates do not upload document content to our servers.

6.2 Optional Cloud AI (off by default)

Cloud AI is disabled when you first use the App. To use it you must:

  1. Sign in with Apple and maintain a valid authenticated session with our backend;
  2. Turn on Cloud AI Assistance in Settings; and
  3. For each scan, separately check include this document in Cloud AI review (per-document opt-in).

When enabled and opted in:

You can disable Cloud AI anytime in Settings. Disabling stops new cloud uploads; it does not by itself delete data already processed by third-party processors subject to their retention policies.

We do not use your name or branding of any AI model in the App interface as an endorsement. OpenAI is listed here only as a subprocessors for transparency.

7. Subscriptions & In-App Purchases

BillShield offers:

All payments are processed by Apple. We receive entitlement and purchase status via RevenueCat, not your full payment card details. Manage or cancel subscriptions in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Use Restore Purchases in the App after signing in with the same Apple ID used for the original purchase. Refunds are handled by Apple under its policies.

8. Third-Party Service Providers

ProviderRoleTypical locationPrivacy policy
Apple Sign in with Apple, App Store, IAP, push notifications United States / global apple.com/legal/privacy
Supabase Auth, database (profiles, medical_cases, usage logs), Edge Functions United States (project region) supabase.com/privacy
OpenAI Cloud AI text analysis (only when you opt in) United States openai.com/policies
RevenueCat Subscription and purchase entitlement management United States revenuecat.com/privacy

When you tap Call resource or open external links in the financial assistance section, you leave the App and interact directly with third-party websites or phone systems—we do not control those parties.

We require service providers to protect information consistent with this Policy and applicable law. Their privacy policies also apply.

9. Legal Bases (EEA / UK / Switzerland)

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on:

You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

10. Health, Financial & Tax-Related Information

Medical billing documents may contain Protected Health Information (PHI) or other sensitive personal data. Tax-related CSV exports contain estimates only—not professional tax advice.

If you are a HIPAA-covered entity or business associate, do not use BillShield to process PHI subject to a BAA unless you have a separate written agreement with the Developer (not offered by default).

11. Data Retention

12. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures, including:

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. You use the App at your own risk.

13. Your Privacy Rights & Account Deletion

13.1 All users

13.2 California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

We do not “sell” or “share” personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. California residents may request access, deletion, or correction. Submit requests to hello@familymedvault.com. We will verify your request and will not discriminate against you for exercising privacy rights.

13.3 EEA / UK residents

You may have rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict, port, or object to processing, and to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. Contact us first at hello@familymedvault.com.

14. Children’s Privacy

BillShield is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child provided us information, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

15. International Data Transfers

If you use Cloud AI or sign in, data may be processed in the United States by Supabase and OpenAI. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (e.g., Standard Contractual Clauses offered by processors) for transfers from the EEA/UK.

16. Apple-Specific Disclosures (App Store)

This section helps meet Apple App Store Review and App Privacy requirements:

17. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised version at the same URL and update the “Last updated” date at the top. Material changes may also be communicated in-app where appropriate. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

18. Limitation of Liability (Developer Protection)

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE APP AND ALL SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE DEVELOPER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT AI OUTPUTS, OCR TEXT, SAVINGS ESTIMATES, APPEAL TIMELINE ESTIMATES, CASE LIMITS, REFERENCE PRICING RANGES, DENIAL INTERPRETATIONS, RESOURCE LINKS, OR TAX-RELATED ESTIMATES ARE COMPLETE, CURRENT, OR CORRECT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE DEVELOPER SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE APP, CLOUD AI, SUBSCRIPTIONS, CONSUMABLE PURCHASES, EXTERNAL LINKS, OR RELIANCE ON ANY OUTPUT. THE DEVELOPER’S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE APP SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) USD $100 OR (B) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO THE DEVELOPER (THROUGH APPLE) FOR THE APP, SUBSCRIPTIONS, OR IN-APP PURCHASES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those cases, limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted.

19. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Developer from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of your misuse of the App, your violation of this Policy or applicable law, your violation of third-party rights, or content you submit or export from the App, except to the extent caused by the Developer’s gross negligence or willful misconduct where such limitation is prohibited by law.

20. Governing Law & Disputes

This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where mandatory consumer protection laws in your country of residence provide otherwise and cannot be waived. Any dispute shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in California, unless applicable law requires a different forum. You may also have rights to bring claims in your country of habitual residence where required by consumer law.

21. Contact Us

For privacy questions, access/deletion requests, or complaints:

Email: hello@familymedvault.com
Subject lines: BillShield Privacy Request · BillShield Account Deletion

We aim to respond within 30 days (45 days where permitted for complex California requests).


BillShield © 2026. Operated by an individual developer. Apple, App Store, Sign in with Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc. OpenAI, Supabase, and RevenueCat are trademarks of their respective owners. This Policy does not create a doctor-patient, attorney-client, insurer-insured, or tax-advisor relationship.