Is it safe to keep your budget in Google Sheets?

What Google says it does with a sheet

From Google's help pages, read on 22 October 2026:

• On Drive, which is where every Google Sheet lives: "The content you save on Drive is private to you, from others, unless you choose to share it." The same page says "Drive does not use your information for advertising purposes."
• On Workspace as a whole, which includes Sheets: "Google Workspace does not collect, scan, or use your content for advertising purposes."
• And the line closest to the selling question: "The content that you put into Google Workspace services (emails, documents, etc.) is yours. We never sell your data, and you can delete your content or export it."

One honest limit sits in the Drive page too: "We access your private content only when we have your permission or are required to by law." Private here means private from other people: Google stores the file and runs its own features on it. For a household budget most people are comfortable with that, because it is the same trade they make with their email.

What about Gemini and AI training?

It depends on what you switch on. Google's page on Gemini in Docs, Sheets and the other Workspace apps says, for every user: "We do not use your Workspace data to train or improve the underlying generative AI and large language models that power Gemini, Search, and other systems outside of Workspace without permission." For people on Google AI plans it adds that Gemini in these apps "doesn't use your content to train or improve Gemini or other generative AI models."

One exception applies to personal accounts. If you choose to share data, including Workspace data, with the separate Gemini app or Search services for Personal Intelligence, or through screen actions such as screenshots, Google says it is handled under those services' own terms "and may be used for model training and improvement." What you hand to the Gemini app follows the Gemini app's rules.

To keep the smart features off your files, Google has a switch called Smart features in Google Workspace: in Drive, Settings, then Privacy, then Manage Workspace smart feature settings. Turning it off removes other conveniences too, so read Google's list first.

The risks that are real

2-Step Verification is the most useful step. Google describes it as "an extra layer of security to your account in case your password is stolen."

Check the sharing box. Open the sheet, press Share, and look at General access. With Restricted, "only people with access can open the file"; with Anyone with the link, "anyone who has the link can use your file, without signing in to their Google Account." A budget shared with a partner should list your partner by name and nothing else.

Keep your own copy. File, then Download, saves the sheet as an Excel or CSV file.

Answering the worried questions

The forum threads on this read like three questions. Privacy Guides: "Google can access 'our' stuff and sell data on it, right?" AnandTech: "How secure is a Google sheets spreadsheet?" Latenode: "Worried about privacy when tracking my budget in spreadsheet apps."

• Can Google access it? Google stores it and runs its features on it, and says it accesses private content only with your permission or when the law requires it.
• Will they sell it? Google's own words are "We never sell your data."
• How secure is it? As secure as the Google account it lives in.

One habit helps whatever you use: a budget does not need full card or account numbers. "Everyday card" is enough.

When another option fits

If you want no third party to hold the data at all, a spreadsheet saved only on your own computer (LibreOffice Calc, or Excel without cloud sync) fits better than any cloud service. The trade is that you look after backups yourself, and sharing with a partner gets harder. For most households, a Google Sheet with 2-Step Verification on and sharing set to named people is a sensible place for a budget.

Questions