Review: Level Money App Review – Is Level Money Safe?
In today’s world, transactions have become largely paperless.
From credit cards to debit cards, mobile money wallets to cryptocurrencies, and payment vouchers to online money platforms, we are besieged by countless options to exchange money without the physical exchange of cash.
While the convenience of this technological development is undeniable, it has also brought a few specific financial challenges to light.
Today, consumers need to worry about keeping spending under control, increased compulsive purchases, and the death of traditional budgeting methods.
Gone are the days when you would simply peek at your wallet to see how much you had to spend, or days when society emphasized living on a strict budget for proper management of finances.
This is where expense tracking software like the Level Money App comes in.
But what exactly is this Level Money App, and is Level Money safe? Does it pose a risk to the security of data and information provided by its users?
Is it safe to use this expense tracker app, or should users be aware of security concerns with the Level app?
We undertook an examination of the Level Money app and its security, and our Level Money review provides a breakdown of our findings.
About Level Money
Level Money is a dedicated mobile budgeting application, which enables users to manage their income by keeping track of all expenditures.
By comparing essential expenses like rent, utility bills, and assorted financial obligations, the Level Money app creates precise financial calculations.
If you’re considering purchasing a cup of coffee, going out to dinner, or splurging on retail therapy, the Level Money app is a great way to check available funds and determine if these financial luxuries are possible.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Level Money was launched in 2013 and now boasts of over 800,000 app downloads.
According to their website, the Level finance app has tracked over $25 billion since the launch. The app is available for Android and iOS platforms.
But after this Level Money review, the question still remains, is the Level Money app safe?
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Level Money Review
How Level Money Works
To sign up on the Level Money platform, you start the process on their website. You have to be within the U.S. because the app only supports U.S. banks and app stores.
You are required to sign up by using your email and creating a password, after which you select the bank accounts and credit cards you wish to link to the app.
After linking the bank accounts and credit cards, you verify your accounts to give the app access to all your account transaction information. Then, you can download the Level app for free.
After you download the Level Money app, it automatically captures user transactions such as income and expenses but allows you to classify these expenses and set a savings target.
For users with a regular fixed income, the Level money app offers a useful tool in tracking month-to-month expenditure and keeping track of your spending habits.
If your source of income is not fixed, you just set your monthly income at $0. This means that the Level money app reviews your transactions on an individual basis based on the amount earned that month.
To properly calculate your spendable income, Level Money reviews the following information:
- Monthly income
- Essential recurring expenditure
- Desired automatic savings amount
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The app then takes your income, deducts the essential recurrent expenditure first, followed by your desired automatic savings amount.
Whatever is left over after these deductions is then labeled as your spendable income.
This is then divided up according to the days of the month, giving you a summary of how much you can comfortably spend on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis.
PCMag did a Level Money app review in an article that rates the app as excellent and recommends it as a good app for managing finances for individuals with fairly uncomplicated finances.
In terms of security, PCMag reiterates the fact that the app has read-only access to bank accounts and credit cards, and thus cannot move funds from account to account or access credit card numbers or other information that would allow purchases.
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How Safe Is Level Money?
From the Level Money reviews thus far, we’ve learned that the Level Money app is a very useful tool in tracking expenditure and providing an insight into your income and spending habits.
However, you may be asking yourself, is Level Money safe?
You have to grant it access to sensitive personal financial information, and that can be a bit intimidating for some.
Image Source: Is Level Money Safe?
To answer this question, let’s go through the data security information provided on the Level Money website as well as a number of Level Money reviews.
A Level Money review based on information available on their website indicates that the Level app uses the same 128-bit encryption as banks and other financial institutions to secure the data of their users.
They have also partnered with Intuit to ensure that all transaction data and account information remains secure and safe, while allowing the Level Money app to detect trends in cash flow.
A Level Money review by one of the tech world top security experts, McAfee, rates the site as having earned the McAfee SECURE certification.
This security certification means that the site is free from malware or malicious links, has a valid SSL certificate, and has not had phishing detected on its website.
Reviews of the Level Money App for iOS and Android
In today’s world, it’s crucial that expense tracking software can also be used on mobile devices. The best budget apps will have mobile versions that provide all the financial benefits of the desktop version.
While creating our comprehensive Level Money review, we also took great care to look at the iPhone budget app and the Android budget app offered through the Level Money app.
iOS Version Customer Reviews
Information available in iTunes indicates that users of iOS version 9.0 and above can download the Level app for free. This iPhone budget app is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch.
The iOS version of the Level Money app review numbers are as follows: It has been rated a total of 2,453 times as of this Level Money app review.
On average, users have given the Level Money app a 4+ rating, though the current version of the iPhone budget app only has a 1+ rating.
Information available on iTunes indicates that the Level Money app utilizes a 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
This is the same encryption standard used by banks and other financial service providers. If you trust your bank to keep your funds, data, and information safe, then you can trust the Level money app to keep your account and transaction data safe.
Android Version Customer Reviews
At the time of this Level Money review, the Android budget app has been reviewed a total of 7,359 times.
The average Level Money app review for the Android budget app is 3.9 stars, making it one of the best budget apps for Android users.
The Android budget app has access to over 18,000 financial institutions, and uses the same 128-bit AES that the formal version of the expense tracking software does.
When compared to the 1+ rating for the iPhone budget app, the Android budget app has a clear advantage. Customer reviews indicate a higher overall satisfaction with the performance of the expense tracker app, shown in the picture below.
Pros of the Level Money App
- Is simple to set up and use.
- Tells a user how much they can spend on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
- Has a tracking tool that captures all transactions in linked accounts.
- Provides detailed comparisons of transactions from different months.
- Available free of charge.
Cons of the Level Money App
- Bugs and glitches leading to frequent need for re-authentication.
- Sometimes fails to update data in real time.
- Has no tools for managing or tracking financial goals.
The 128-Bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
What exactly is this advanced encryption standard discussed in Level Money reviews?
The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), is a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), publication that specifies a cryptographic algorithm for use by U.S. government organizations to protect sensitive, unclassified information.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) also anticipates that the AES will be used widely on a voluntary basis by organizations, institutions, and individuals outside of the U.S. government.
In some cases, this is even used outside of the United States to encrypt electronic data and ensure its security.
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Conclusion: Level Money App Review
As we wind up our Level Money review, we can confidently say that not ony is the Level Money app safe to use, but it is also one of the best budget apps to consider installing this year.
Just as with any other expense tracker app, however, users need to take proper precautions.
Although our Level Money review found that expense tracking software uses enhanced security measures to protect sensitive financial information, there is no such thing as a 100% safe application.
Even when using the best budget apps, users should secure their devices with encrypted passwords to avoid data and information exposure, should the device fall into the wrong hands.
If you are interested in using the Level Money app, you can enjoy using a great piece of expense tracking software free of charge, and rest assured knowing that your data and information will remain secure.
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