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Product Thinking 6 May 2026 · 4 min read

How we decided to go offline-first


When we started building AnuPlan, the default assumption in the market was that apps should sync to the cloud. Persistence, backup, cross-device access — these are real benefits, and they're easier to build when your data lives on a server you control.

We went the other way. AnuPlan's core — planning, tracking, insights — requires no internet connection at all. Your data lives on your device. The only thing that ever touches the network is AnuAI, an optional assistant you switch on yourself with your own API key. Leave it off and the app is fully offline.

0 bytes

Data sent to our servers, ever

Why offline-first?

Financial data is personal in a way that most data is not. Your salary, your SIP allocations, your discretionary spending, your EMIs — this information tells someone a precise picture of your economic life. We don't think that information should leave your device by default, with opt-out for the privacy-conscious. We think it shouldn't leave your device at all, unless you explicitly export it yourself.

The privacy guarantee isn't a policy — it's an architecture.

The tradeoffs we accepted

What we gave up

  • No cross-device sync — switching phones requires manual export/import
  • No cloud backup — if you lose your phone without a local backup, history is gone
  • No web companion — the app works only on the device it's installed on

What we gained

You never have to trust us with your financial data. There is no server to breach. There are no analytics to misuse. There is no account to compromise.


We believe offline-first is a feature, not a limitation. It's a choice that says: your data is yours, not ours to hold on your behalf.