robbyx, thank you for linking their info and for your comments. Their current encryption practices does sound solid. However, I just don’t want to put my file on any app’s private server in order to access it from my Mac, iPad and phone I’m just not that trusting to rely that the app’s file encryption is and always will be bug free when it’s is out of my possession. This type of information is a gold mine for hackers.
I say this with no disrespect, but if this is your attitude, you're not going to like the future. Cloud services aren't going away. If anything, they are becoming the norm. At some point you have to trust someone. IGG is using the same level of encryption that Apple uses for iCloud. Encryption is encryption. The data is encrypted on your machine, then transferred to a server, so what "bug" is there to worry about? The cloud never has unencrypted data, nor does it have your login credentials.
Also, Banktivity’s info about storing OFX login credentials is a show stopper for me. Their privacy statement indicates the download password is encrypted, but not the username which for me is my social security number for some banks and my account number for some others. There’s no mention if accounts numbers are encrypted.
What are you referring to? Where are they storing login credentials for OFX? I have multiple OFX connections set up in Banktivity. When I added a second Mac recently and synced the new machine, Banktivity made me enter my username and password for each account on the new machine in order for OFX to work.
So Banktivity is out for me. To be honest, I’ve never really liked Banktivity/iBank in the many of the iterations of it that I’ve tried. It has come a long way, but it has always seemed they have focused on the new fads of macOS instead of general functionality or fixing the bugs people have reported with the app. I demoed Banktivity 7 thinking I’d go local storage only, but it crashed importing my QIF file four times! Lots of data needed corrected once I did get the QIF file imported. Then I had several other crashes just performing routine tasks. That has been a fairly common experience when I’ve tested their different versions over the years.
That's unfortunate. I thought iBank was pretty weak, but Banktivity 6 changed my mind. It imported my Quicken data almost flawlessly. I had to make some corrections to my investment accounts and a few transfers were erroneous, but it didn't take long to find the problem. And, frankly, it's hard to know whether the problem lies with Banktivity's import or Quicken's export functionality (my guess is the latter, as there have been problems with QIF files for decades).
I've now been using Banktivity for several years and it's never crashed on me. I don't agree with your assessment of the application's functionality. I used to run Quicken for Windows and when I switched to Banktivity, I didn't miss anything. Feature-wise it's quite comparable, the UI is nicer, and the reports are easier to create and more flexible in my opinion. I can't really speak to bugs as I haven't found anything major, haven't had any crashes, and I use it every day. I have 15 accounts at 6 different institutions. Five of those institutions are updated daily via OFX.
I’m really looking for the “Apple” of money management apps in terms of privacy perspective compared to the “Google” perspective of having to data mine everything. I want to have my cake and eat it too. Demoing Moneydance. It seems to fit my (paranoid) needs for security, but I’m not loving the GUI.
Again, I don't see the problem with Banktivity, other than your reported bugs and crashes (which might be deal breakers). From a security perspective, though, I don't see any issues. If you use Direct Access, yes, you expose yourself to data mining. But Direct Access is not required. I don't use it. The only thing IGG has on their servers is encrypted register data. They do not have my usernames or passwords.
I’m don’t want to put all of my finances on a private server and blindly trust a company, whose primary business isn’t data encryption, to keep it safe.
Well that pretty much rules out trusting any company that produces financial software, doesn't it? I mean, if a company's primary business is encryption, they're probably not selling financial software, just like Quicken or IGG's primary business isn't encryption. Apple's primary business isn't encryption either. I'm curious, do you use iCloud Keychain? Most companies are using the same standard encryption technology, AES-128 and AES-256. You're basically making it impossible for yourself to find a product that meets your excessive security requirements.
[doublepost=1539373904][/doublepost]
I used Moneydance for years and switched to Banktiity about a year ago. Now, after a year, I’m done. People complain about Quicken’s ‘subscription model,’ but that’s exactly what Banktivity has - $45 per year for web access and yearly software updates are another $60. Beyond that, I have had regular issues with online connectivity - online connections breaking and not working or downloading duplicate transactions, making my registers inaccurate and requiring me to spend hours digging through the register to find the mistakes. I’ve had to contact tech support at least once a month regarding problems.
While you might be unhappy with Banktivity, stop spreading FUD. You make it sound Banktivity requires Direct Access at $45/year. It does NOT. I've never used Direct Access and I've used Banktivity for several years now. I have multiple accounts that update via OFX. Banktivity offers Direct Access for accounts that don't support OFX (which is really an issue with your bank), but it is not required.
If your bank does not support OFX, you can login to your bank's website, download your transactions and import them. If the convenience of importing directly is worth $45/year, you have that OPTION. I've never used it, so I can't speak to how well it works, but I can say that in several years of using Banktivity and importing data via OFX, I have never had a single duplicate transaction.
And what's this nonsense about yearly software updates? Did Banktivity 6 stop working for you when 7 was released? No. Because it's NOT a subscription service. Upgrade if you want to or stick with what you have.