Why I Chose IndexedDB Over a Backend for My Finance App

When I decided to build a personal finance app, the first question wasn't "which framework?" — it was "where does the data live?" I'm a solo developer. I wanted to build something I'd actually use daily to track spending, budgets, and financial goals. But the thought of storing anyone's bank transactions, income details, and spending habits on my server? That felt wrong from the start. So I made a deliberate choice: no backend. No database server. Everything stays in the browser via IndexedDB. Here's how that went — the good, the bad, and what I'd tell you if you're considering the same approach. The Problem: Financial Data Is Sensitive Most finance apps want you to create an account, hand over your data, and trust that their server is secure. For a solo dev project, that's a huge responsibility: You need authentication, encryption at rest, HTTPS everywhere You're liable if there's a breach You need ongoing server costs, even for a side project GDPR/privacy compliance becomes your prob