Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 15, 2026

1. Who we are

Smart Splits is an app for tracking shared expenses, calculating balances, real-time group chat, receipt scanning (OCR), AI-powered assistant, and exporting reports.

2. Data we collect

• Email address: used for authentication and session management via Firebase Auth.
• Display name: used as default host name when creating groups.
• Profile photo: optionally uploaded and stored in Firebase Storage.
• Default currency: used as default for new groups.
• Groups and expenses: titles, amounts, participants, dates, balances, and payment status.
• Optional payment link: a payment-service link or account identifier that you choose to save. It is synchronized with your groups so other group members can use it to pay you. Depending on the link, it may identify a payment account, handle, phone number, or bank-payment destination.
• Chat messages: text, images, voice recordings, and payment requests within group chats.
• Receipt images: temporarily processed for OCR; not stored permanently on servers.
• App preferences: theme, language, text size, and notification settings.
• Diagnostics and usage: app interactions, crash reports, device information, and OCR result quality or correction events used to diagnose failures and improve receipt scanning. OCR telemetry may include a pseudonymous user ID, extracted amount or category, and a normalized text pattern or hash, but not the receipt image.
• Subscription verification: product ID, platform, entitlement status and expiry, and a one-way hash of the purchase token. Google Play processes the Premium purchase and Smart Splits does not receive the card details used for that purchase.

3. Where data is stored

Data is stored locally on your device and synchronized to the cloud via Firebase (Firestore, Auth, Storage) when signed in, enabling shared groups across devices.

4. Purpose of data processing

• Enable app functionality: groups, expenses, balances, chat, and exports.
• Authenticate users and maintain sessions securely.
• Synchronize data across devices for shared groups.
• Improve user experience (e.g., remembering preferences and default values).
• Process receipt images for automatic amount extraction (OCR).
• Diagnose crashes, prevent abuse, verify Premium access, and measure app reliability.

5. Legal basis (GDPR)

• Contract performance: to provide app functionality you requested.
• Legitimate interest: to improve usability (e.g., default values, preferences).
• Consent: where applicable (e.g., optional features, photo uploads).

6. Third parties

We do not sell your data. We use Firebase services from Google for authentication, cloud storage, synchronization, analytics, crash reporting, notifications, and Cloud Functions. We use Google ML Kit for on-device receipt scanning; receipt images are processed locally and are not uploaded for basic OCR. Optional AI enhancement can send the extracted receipt text to Gemini. When you use the AI assistant in a group, its context can also include the optional payment links saved by group members. Google's privacy policy applies to these services.

7. Advertising

Smart Splits may display Google AdMob interstitial ads to users without an active Premium entitlement. To serve, measure, and protect those ads, the Google Mobile Ads SDK automatically collects and shares the device IP address (which may be used to estimate general location), product interaction data such as app launches, taps, and video views, diagnostic information, and device or account identifiers such as the Android advertising ID and app set ID when available. Google processes this data for advertising, analytics, and fraud prevention.

We request consent before requesting ads where the law requires it. The app does not send expense amounts, group names, chat messages, or receipt images to AdMob to create custom advertising audiences.

8. AI Assistant

Smart Splits includes an AI-powered assistant that helps you manage expenses and groups through natural language. When you use the AI assistant:

• Data processed: The AI processes your conversation messages, group names, participant names, expense titles, amounts, balances, and group members' optional payment links to provide relevant responses and execute actions.
• How it works: The app sends requests through authenticated Firebase Cloud Functions to Google's Gemini service. Gemini receives only the information needed for the requested AI feature. Voice transcription sends the selected audio recording and its language setting.
• Data retention: Conversation history with the AI is stored locally on your device and in Firebase for synchronization. You can clear this history at any time from the AI chat interface.
• Provider terms: Google processes AI requests under its applicable privacy terms. We do not use AI conversation content to create advertising audiences.
• Actions: The AI can create expenses, confirm payments, add participants, and perform other group management actions on your behalf after you confirm them.

9. Data retention and deletion

You can delete individual groups and expenses from the app. To delete your account, sign in to the account you want to remove, open Settings, select Delete Account, and confirm the warning. You may be asked to sign in again before the deletion can finish.

Deleting an account removes its authentication record, profile, preferences, profile photo, AI chat history, OCR telemetry linked to its user ID, Premium entitlement record, groups it owns and their expenses, payments, activity, messages and uploaded media, as well as the account's join, claim, and iOS access requests. Local app data is cleared as part of the process.

Records in shared groups owned by another member can remain as that group's history; the deleted account is removed from the group membership and profile fields. Google Play purchase and transaction records are handled by Google under its own retention policies.

10. Your rights (GDPR)

• Access: know what data is stored about you.
• Rectification: correct inaccurate data (e.g., your name).
• Erasure: request deletion of your data (via Delete Account).
• Portability: export your data as PDF or Excel.
• Restriction and objection: limit processing in certain cases.

11. Security

We implement reasonable security measures including Firebase security rules, encrypted connections, and authentication requirements. However, no system is 100% secure.

12. In-app purchases

Smart Splits offers optional premium features via in-app purchases through Google Play. Google handles payment details. Smart Splits stores the minimum subscription verification data described in section 2 so Premium access can be restored and unauthorized reuse of a purchase can be prevented.

13. Contact