Developer is tricking people with the name
It is wildly deceptive of the developer to use the same name as another budget app; I believe it as a clear attempt to trick people into using this one.
Response from developer
Similar names exist all over the App Store, and a similar name alone is not a fair reason to call an app deceptive. This is an independent iPhone and iPad app, built with its own code. The open source Actual Budget is a completely different project, and we have no connection to it. Our app needs no setup. It gives you a weekly Safe to Spend figure and keeps track of your expenses, bills and savings goals, all stored in your own iCloud. It may not be what you were looking for. If you do try it, we would love to hear what you think.
Using an established app name when unaffiliated
Response from developer
This isn't the open source Actual Budget from actualbudget.org, and it has no connection to it. It's a separate iPhone and iPad app with its own code, and afterbudget.com is our site. The two do different jobs. The open source project is self hosted and syncs to a server you run yourself. This one needs no setup: a weekly Safe to Spend figure, expenses, bills and savings goals, all kept in your own iCloud. If the self hosted project is what you came for, go straight to actualbudget.org. It's the right fit, and we'd rather you end up there than here by mistake.
Scam
Response from developer
Every specific claim in this review is false, and all of it takes about a minute to check. There is no sign up. No account, no email, no password, nothing to register. The one setup screen turns on iCloud sync and it can be skipped. You described a flow this app does not have. There is no AI. No chatbot, no generated text, no model, nowhere in it. The app adds up numbers you type in, on your own device. It never asks for a bank login or card details, and the price is on screen before anything is charged. I am an independent developer. I have never claimed to be anyone else, or to be connected to anyone else. You did not use this app. You opened it, saw a price, and typed "scam". That word is an accusation, and nothing in your review earns the right to make it.
“free trial” charged me $30
Response from developer
Calling it a lie does not change your own purchase history, so here it is plainly. You got the free trial. You started it, you kept it the full week, and it cost you nothing. Apple gives that trial once per Apple ID, not once per visit. So when you came back later and tapped the plan a second time, there was no trial left to give you. That tap was a purchase and it billed. We do not take your money and we cannot. Apple bills, and Apple refunded you in full the next day. This app has been paid nothing. What was on us is that our screen still said trial to people Apple would no longer give one to. That wording is gone. It shipped in 1.7.0.
Productivity
Response from developer
Thanks for writing this. Keeping the daily use quick is the part we work hardest on, so your weekly budget and your Safe to Spend number are a glance rather than a chore. Speed and smoothness get measured every release and we keep pushing on them. One thing worth knowing: there are no ads, no bank login and no account.
