Online sync

Online Sync’s main purpose is to keep a secure copy of your data in the cloud. Switch to a new phone and your data is restored automatically; if your phone is lost or unavailable, your data is still safely stored in the cloud. It also lets you use Bluecoins on more than one device — or share one budget with your family. Sync works through your own cloud account: you pick a provider, link your account, and Bluecoins backs up and restores the database through it. Online sync is a premium feature.

How online sync works

Your data lives in a folder inside your own cloud account, and no Bluecoins server holds a copy. Keeping it in your own account is also what keeps Bluecoins a one-time purchase rather than a subscription — storing everyone’s data on a Bluecoins server would be an ongoing cost that a subscription would have to cover. When you set up online sync, the app creates a “Bluecoins” folder on your cloud provider — there is nothing for you to select or create yourself. When you link an account, Bluecoins reads that folder and pulls your data down automatically — and with Automatically sync data turned on, it keeps your devices in step without any action from you.

Bluecoins syncs through three providers:

• Google Drive
• Dropbox
• OneDrive

You pick one as your backup provider. All three support the same operations, so switching providers does not change how sync behaves — only where the folder lives.

Share data between devices

To use Bluecoins on more than one device, link the same provider and the same account on each device. Bluecoins pulls your existing data down automatically, so there is no separate restore step when you set up a new device. Family sharing works the same way: every device links that same cloud account, and each person adds their own expenses to the shared data.

The three providers exist partly for exactly this. Adding a second Google account to a phone can be awkward, while creating a new Dropbox or OneDrive account is quick. So when two people want to share one budget, the simplest route is a single shared Dropbox or OneDrive account: both people sign in to that one account on their own phone. Use whichever provider fits your setup.

To bring a second device in:

1. Install Bluecoins and open it.
2. Open the app drawer, tap Settings, then Online Sync.
3. Choose the provider you used on the first device and link the same account.
4. Bluecoins pulls your data down automatically — turn on Automatically sync data so the two devices stay in step.

Online sync is a premium feature, and premium is tied to the Google Play account that bought it — so a second person who sets up their own device with their own Google Play account needs their own premium purchase.

Your data stays yours

Nothing is stored on a centralized server. Your backup goes to your own Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive account, so the data is visible only to you — and to anyone you deliberately share that cloud account with. No Bluecoins server holds it: the only parties with access to your backup are you, the people you share your account with, and your chosen cloud provider. See Privacy for how the app handles your data.

What the screen does

• Choose Backup Provider — pick Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox.
• Link … — connect (or disconnect) your cloud account. The linked account’s email shows under the toggle.
• Backup to … — push a backup to the cloud now.
• Restore from … — list the backup files stored in the cloud and restore the one you want.
• Upload attachments — automatically upload transaction attachments to the cloud.
• Automatically sync data — keep your data syncing on its own, without you thinking about it.
• Wi-Fi only — perform automatic QuickSync and attachment upload on Wi-Fi only, to save mobile data.

Backup to … and Restore from … stay greyed out until you link an account. Silent cloud login runs at startup, so a linked account reconnects without prompting, and the app drawer shows the cloud connection status so you can see at a glance whether sync is live.

Manual and automatic sync

Backup and sync work both ways:

• Automatic — with Automatically sync data on, Bluecoins syncs by design at the points it matters: when the app opens, when it closes, and whenever a transaction change is detected. Background workers also handle scheduled local backups and cleanup.
• Manual — QuickSync in the app drawer forces a sync right away, in case you want to push or pull on demand.

Sync safety notes

• Restoring from the cloud replaces local data with the backup you pick, so the restore screen lists the available files before you choose.
• If the app cannot reach the cloud, it tells you rather than silently failing.
• Sync is tied to the cloud account you link: every device signed in to that account reads and writes the same data, so only share an account with people you intend to share your budget with.