Connecting Freedom24 with read-only API keys

The four steps

1. Generate the pair. In the Freedom24 cabinet, open the API settings and create a new public/secret key pair. Make one specifically for BorderFolio — a dedicated pair is trivial to revoke without touching anything else you use.
2. Paste it in. In BorderFolio, choose Connect broker, pick Freedom24, paste both keys and pick the currency the portfolio reports in — foreign holdings convert to it.
3. The pair is proven, then sealed. One read-only positions call checks the keys actually work before anything is saved. A rejected pair produces a clear error, not a stored connection that fails silently on every sync. The accepted secret is encrypted at rest.
4. First sync, then nightly. The first pull starts immediately and usually finishes in under a minute. From then on the portfolio refreshes every night on its own.

What each sync reads

• Current positions — instrument, name, ISIN, quantity, currency, and the broker's own average purchase price, fractional quantities included. Tickers arrive with Freedom24's market suffix ("AAPL.US", "VWCE.EU") and are resolved to the right listing automatically.
• Trade history — every executed buy and sell with price, the commission charged on that trade, currency and date. Each buy is stored as a dated contribution; sells reduce the position from their date.

The trade history is the point. A tracker that only mirrors today's positions can never say how much of the balance is money you put in — the dated buys are what make the contribution-vs-growth split a running figure instead of a spreadsheet reconstruction.

Why this is safer than it sounds

"Connect your broker" usually means handing over a password or routing through an aggregation service. This is neither:

• No password, no session. Every request is individually signed with your key pair using the scheme Freedom24's own API defines. BorderFolio never sees your login and never holds a session into the cabinet.
• Two calls exist, both reads. The integration implements current positions and trades history — and nothing else. There is no code path that places, modifies or cancels an order; the read-only line is drawn in the integration's interface itself.
• The secret is sealed. Stored encrypted, decrypted only for the moment a request is signed, never written to a log.
• You hold the off switch. Revoking the pair in the cabinet kills the connection immediately, whatever happens anywhere else. The next sync detects it and asks for new keys instead of retrying forever — the portfolio and its history stay intact either way.

The broader account of what is stored and who can see it is on the security page. And if even revocable keys are more than you want to share, the broker report import and manual entry build the same portfolio with no connection at all.

What the connection does not do

• No trading, no withdrawals, no account changes. Read-only means the account cannot be touched, only described.
• No real-time quotes. Nightly plus on-demand is a deliberate cadence for a long-term tracker; the Freedom24 app is the right tool for watching the market move.
• No other Freedom Finance entities. The connection is built for Freedom24 accounts. Other Freedom Finance brands are covered by statement import instead.

Common questions

Is it safe to give a portfolio tracker my Freedom24 API keys?

The keys are ones you generate yourself in the Freedom24 cabinet and can revoke there at any moment — no password or login session is ever involved. On BorderFolio's side the integration implements exactly two read-only calls, current positions and trades history; no code exists to place, modify or cancel an order. The secret key is stored encrypted, decrypted only for the moment a request is signed, and never logged.

What does the Freedom24 connection read from my account?

Two things: current positions (instrument, name, ISIN, quantity, currency and the broker's average purchase price) and executed trade history (buys and sells with price, commission, currency and date). Trades become dated contributions, which is what lets the tracker separate deposited capital from market growth.

How often does the connected portfolio update?

The first sync runs the moment the keys are accepted, usually in under a minute. After that the portfolio refreshes automatically every night, and a manual sync button pulls the current state whenever you want it — it is not tick-by-tick, by design.

What happens if my Freedom24 keys stop working?

A revoked or invalid pair is detected on the next sync and the connection is marked as needing new keys rather than retried forever. The portfolio and its history stay intact — nothing is deleted. Generate a fresh pair in the cabinet and re-enter it, or switch to statement upload.