FAQ
Questions and answers
Here are 38 short answers about cost, your score, your data, the Advisor, your account and debt consolidation. After them, Credit basics explains how credit reports and scores work.
All questions
Cost
Bivo is free. Here's how that works.
Yes. Bivo doesn't charge fees or require a payment method. Bivo may receive compensation in connection with partner services, and you're never obligated to use one.
Bivo is free to use. Bivo may receive compensation in connection with partner services. That doesn't change the analysis Bivo shows you, and you're never obligated to use a partner service.
No. Bivo doesn't ask for a credit card or any other payment method.
Bivo doesn't charge fees. The Terms say that if Bivo ever adds optional paid features, they'll be clearly marked and their charges will be described before you pay anything.
No. You are never obligated to use a partner service. Debt consolidation and other debt solutions come from third-party partners, and each one is a separate service with its own terms and privacy policy.
Your score
Here's what the number is and where it comes from.
No. Bivo uses a soft inquiry to get your Equifax report, and soft inquiries don't affect your score.
Bivo shows your VantageScore® 4.0 score from your Equifax report. Lenders may use different scores.
Bivo uses Equifax. It's one of the three major credit bureaus. You see your score, the factors behind it and your account history.
Lenders may use a different scoring model, a different version of it or data from another credit bureau. Scores also change as reports change. The scores shown in Bivo may differ from the ones used in actual lending decisions.
No. Bivo checks your Equifax report one time during setup. Your score, your accounts and your plan all come from that day.
They're the bands Bivo uses on the 300 to 850 range: 300 to 639 is Needs attention, 640 to 699 is Fair, 700 to 759 is Good and 760 to 850 is Excellent. They're Bivo's labels. Each lender sets its own standards.
Good, Fair and Needs work are Bivo's summary of each factor in your report. For example, credit utilization is Good under 30%, Fair from 30% to 49% and Needs work at 50% or more. How it works shows the rule for every factor.
Your data
Here's what Bivo keeps and how to delete it.
Your data is encrypted in transit and protected with 256-bit encryption at rest. Sensitive identity fields get extra safeguards, and access is tightly restricted. Your full SSN is used once and isn't stored. We keep the last four digits. We never sell your information.
No. Your full Social Security number is used once to retrieve your report and isn't stored. Bivo keeps only the last four digits to identify your account.
No. Bivo doesn't sell your personal information and doesn't use your credit data for advertising.
You can see all of it. Inside Bivo, only the small group of people who need it to run the service can see it, through role-based permissions recorded in audit logs. Service providers, such as hosting and identity verification companies, handle data for Bivo under contracts that limit how they use it. A partner gets information only if you choose to use its service.
Yes. Close your account in Settings to permanently delete your credit reports, scores, account history, plan and Advisor conversations from our production systems and revoke your authorization. Some records, like consent records, are kept where the law requires.
Bivo is a product of Aurora Technologies Group. Your credit data comes from Equifax through our licensed provider.
The Advisor
Here's what the Advisor knows and where it stops.
Ask in plain English about an account, what to pay first or how to prepare for a mortgage, and Bivo answers using details from your Equifax report. Answers are AI-generated, for education only, can contain errors, and aren't financial advice.
Yes. The Advisor is AI, and its answers can be wrong or incomplete. They're for education only and aren't financial advice, so check anything important before you act on it.
It reads a summary of your report and your recent messages. The summary covers your score, Equifax's reasons and your main accounts.
No. The Advisor is instructed never to ask for your SSN or full account numbers. Please don't type them into a chat.
Yes. Your conversations stay in your account so you can come back to them. Deleting your account deletes them.
The Advisor doesn't give legal or tax advice. It can't change your report, apply for credit or file a dispute for you.
Your account
Here's how to sign up and sign in and what to do if a check can't finish.
You need to be a US resident aged 18 or over, with a Social Security number. You confirm your email with a 6-digit code, enter your name, date of birth, address and SSN, and authorize a soft pull. Your report and plan are ready once the pull completes.
You need to be at least 18 and a US resident with a valid Social Security number. You sign up for yourself only, and each person can have one account.
Use your email and password, or choose Email me a sign-in code.
Choose Forgot password? on the sign-in page. Bivo emails you a link to choose a new password.
Usually one detail doesn't match, like a typo or a recent move. Bivo shows you what happened, and you can check your name and address and try again. Checking doesn't affect your score.
A security freeze stops new credit checks, and that includes Bivo's soft pull. Lift or pause the freeze with Equifax and then come back. Bivo keeps your other details, so you'll only re-enter your SSN.
Bivo checks your Equifax report one time during setup. If a check couldn't finish, the screen that explains why lets you try again when a retry can work.
Go to Settings and choose Delete account, then type your email to confirm. Bivo deletes your reports, scores, plan and Advisor conversations and revokes your authorization.
Debt consolidation
Here's what prequalification means and when a hard credit check can happen.
No. Your Bivo report uses a soft credit pull, which never affects your score. A hard inquiry can only happen later, if you choose to formally apply for a specific offer.
It means that based on your credit profile, you meet an offer's basic requirements and are likely to be approved. Approval isn't guaranteed. Your information is still verified during the formal application before any final decision.
No. Bivo is a free credit-insights service. It does not issue loans or make credit decisions. The offers themselves always come from lenders, and you decide whether to continue.
You can review the actual rates, terms, and monthly payments. If one fits, you apply with the lender. That is when documents are verified and a hard credit check may happen. You can also do nothing. Prequalification never obligates you.
No. Like everything in Bivo, checking where you stand is completely free.
Didn't find your answer?
The Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy have the full detail. After you sign up, the Advisor can answer questions about your own report.
Credit basics
How credit reports and scores work, in plain English. This is general information that applies whether or not you use Bivo.
This is general education. It isn't financial, legal or tax advice. Rules and scoring models change, so each topic links to the public source it comes from.
Your report and your score are different things
Your credit report is the record. Your credit score is a number calculated from it.
Your credit report
It's a statement of your credit activity and your current credit situation. Credit bureaus collect and store this information. It usually includes:
- Your credit accounts and their type, such as cards, loans and mortgages
- How you've paid them and any late payments
- Collections and public records such as liens and foreclosures
- The companies that have accessed your report
Source: What is a credit report? (CFPB) (opens in a new tab)
Your credit score
It predicts how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, based on the information in your credit reports. Most credit scores range from 300 to 850.
Score 724, Good, on a scale of 300 to 850.
Bivo shows a score like this one. VantageScore® 4.0 from Equifax. Lenders may use different scores.
You don't have just one credit score
The CFPB explains that a score depends on the data used to calculate it. Three things can change the number.
The scoring model
FICO® and VantageScore® are two well-known scoring models, and each has several versions. Which one a lender uses can depend on the type of loan.
The credit bureau
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion each keep their own report about you. A score built from one bureau's data can differ from one built from another's.
The day it's calculated
Your report changes as your accounts are updated. A score from today can differ from one calculated last month.
Bivo shows one score: VantageScore® 4.0 from your Equifax report, from the day of your pull. Lenders may use different scores.
What goes into a score
Scoring models look at the same kinds of things. Each company weighs them in its own way.
Paying on time
Your bill-paying history and any late payments.
What you owe and use
Your unpaid debt and how much of your available credit you're using.
How long you've had credit
How long your accounts have been open.
New applications
How often you apply for new credit.
Your mix of accounts
The number and type of accounts you have.
Source: What is a credit score? (CFPB) (opens in a new tab)
- Payment history41%
- Depth of credit20%
- Credit utilization20%
- Recent credit11%
- Balances6%
- Available credit2%
Source: The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore 4.0 Credit Score (VantageScore) (opens in a new tab)
- Payment history35%
- Amounts owed30%
- Length of credit history15%
- New credit10%
- Credit mix10%
Source: What's in my FICO® Scores? (myFICO) (opens in a new tab)
Both companies say payment history matters most. Their categories are drawn differently, so they don't line up one to one. These are the general weights each company publishes for its model.
Soft and hard inquiries
Every time someone checks your credit, it's recorded as an inquiry. Only hard inquiries can affect your scores.
Soft inquiries
For example:
- Checking your own credit report
- Lenders prescreening you for offers
- Lenders and insurers reviewing accounts you already have
- Employment screening
- They don't affect your credit scores.
- Only you see them when you look at your own report.
Hard inquiries
For example:
- A lender checking your credit after you apply for a loan or a card
- They usually have a small effect on your scores.
- Others can see them when they get your report.
- They stay on your report for up to two years. FICO says its scores count them for one year.
Shopping for a mortgage? The CFPB says that within a 45-day window, credit checks from mortgage lenders are recorded on your report as a single inquiry. The effect is the same however many lenders you check with.
Bivo uses a soft inquiry. When Bivo counts inquiries for your report, it looks at the 12 months before your snapshot.
Sources: What is a credit inquiry? (CFPB) (opens in a new tab), What exactly happens when a mortgage lender checks my credit? (CFPB) (opens in a new tab) and Credit checks: what are credit inquiries? (myFICO) (opens in a new tab)
Credit utilization
It's the share of your credit card limits you're using. If your cards have $10,000 in limits and you owe $3,600, you're using 36%.
- The CFPB says experts advise keeping your use of credit at no more than 30% of your total credit limit.
- Closing cards and moving balances onto one card may hurt your score, the CFPB says.
- VantageScore says its 4.0 model looks at your utilization for up to two years.
Sources: How do I get and keep a good credit score? (CFPB) (opens in a new tab) and The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore 4.0 Credit Score (VantageScore) (opens in a new tab)
Try your own numbers
36%of your card limits in use
That's over the 30% the CFPB says experts advise staying under.
Paying down $700 would bring it to 29%.Estimate
In your Bivo report, utilization counts open cards that report a limit. Loans and closed cards aren't part of it.
How long things stay on your report
Negative information doesn't stay forever. The CFPB says a credit reporting company can generally report most negative information for seven years.
- Hard inquiriesUp to 2 years
- Most negative information such as late paymentsGenerally 7 years
- BankruptciesUp to 10 years
Sources: How long does negative information remain on my credit report? (CFPB) (opens in a new tab) and Credit checks: what are credit inquiries? (myFICO) (opens in a new tab)
The CFPB notes that these limits may not apply when a report is used for a job that pays more than $75,000 a year, or for credit or life insurance over $150,000.
Your rights as a consumer
You can get free credit reports, freeze your credit, place a fraud alert and dispute errors. Here's what the FTC says about each.
Free credit reports
- You can get your report from each of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion once a week for free.
- AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized to fill orders for the free reports you're entitled to by law.
Credit freeze
- While a freeze is in place, nobody can open a new credit account in your name, including you.
- It's free to place and to lift. It doesn't affect your credit score.
- You contact each of the three bureaus. Lift it when you need lenders to check your credit.
With Bivo: A freeze also stops Bivo's soft pull. Lift or pause it with Equifax before you set up Bivo.
Source: What To Know About Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts (FTC) (opens in a new tab)
Fraud alert
- An initial fraud alert tells businesses to check with you before opening a new account in your name.
- You contact one bureau. It must tell the other two.
- An initial alert lasts one year and can be renewed. An extended alert lasts seven years. It's for people whose identity was stolen and who have an FTC identity theft report or a police report.
Source: What To Know About Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts (FTC) (opens in a new tab)
Disputing errors
- The credit bureau and the business that supplied the information must both correct wrong or incomplete information, and they must do it for free.
- The bureau has 30 days to investigate and must give you the results in writing.
With Bivo: Bivo doesn't file disputes for you. You dispute directly with Equifax or with the creditor that reported it.
Source: Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports (FTC) (opens in a new tab)
Glossary
Short definitions for words you'll see on a credit report and in Bivo.
- Credit report
- A statement of your credit activity and current credit situation, such as your loan payment history and the status of your accounts.
- Credit bureau
- A company that collects and stores financial data about you and sells credit reports. It's also called a credit reporting company or a consumer reporting agency.
- Credit score
- A number that predicts how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, based on your credit report. Most range from 300 to 850.
- Revolving account
- Credit you can use again as you pay it down, such as a credit card. It has a credit limit.
- Installment loan
- A loan you repay in set payments over a set time, such as a student, auto or home loan.
- Credit utilization
- The share of your credit card limits that you're using.
- Soft inquiry
- A credit check that doesn't affect your scores, such as checking your own report.
- Hard inquiry
- A lender's credit check after you apply for credit. It can affect your scores.
- Collection account
- A debt that a debt collector is now trying to collect.
- Credit freeze
- A free block on new credit in your name, placed separately with each bureau.
- Fraud alert
- A note on your report that tells businesses to check with you before opening new credit in your name.
- Dispute
- A request to correct wrong or incomplete information on your report.
- Thin file
- A credit file that doesn't have enough history for a score yet.
- Scoring model
- The formula that turns a credit report into a score. FICO® and VantageScore® are two companies that make them.
Sources
Credit basics draws on these public pages. They open in a new tab.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What is a credit score?
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What is a credit report?
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What is a credit inquiry?
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: How do I get and keep a good credit score?
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What exactly happens when a mortgage lender checks my credit?
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: How long does negative information remain on my credit report?
- Federal Trade Commission: What To Know About Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
- Federal Trade Commission: Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports
- Federal Trade Commission: Free Credit Reports
- VantageScore: The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore 4.0 Credit Score
- myFICO: What's in my FICO® Scores?
- myFICO: Credit checks: what are credit inquiries?
Ready to see where your credit stands?
It's free, you don't need a credit card, and the soft pull never affects your score.