Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data Pay with Friends ("Pay with Friends", "we", "us") collects when you use the app at paywithfriends.org, why we collect it, and the choices you have. By using the app you agree to this policy.

Who we are

Pay with Friends is a personal-scale tool for tracking shared expenses among friends and splitting them fairly. The data controller for the purposes of the GDPR is the operator of Pay with Friends. You can reach us at privacy@paywithfriends.org for any privacy request.

What we collect

• Account information (from Google Sign-In). When you sign in with Google we receive your name, email address, Google profile picture, and a Google account identifier. We use Google only to identify you and link you to your trips; we never see your Google password.
• Trip content you create. Trip names, the names of people on a trip, optional email addresses you attach to those people, expense descriptions and amounts, and payments recorded between people.
• Information about other people. When you add friends to a trip you may enter their names and email addresses even if they have never signed up. See "Information about people you add" below.
• Technical and log data. Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) processes standard request logs — including IP address and user-agent — to run and secure the service. These logs are short-lived (retained on the order of days).

We do not collect or store payment card details. Pay with Friends only records who owes whom; it does not move money.

Why we use it (legal bases)

• To provide the service — creating trips, computing balances, and suggesting settlements (performance of our agreement with you; GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)).
• To authenticate you and keep the service secure (legitimate interests; Art. 6(1)(f)).
• To store contact details of people you add so trips reconcile correctly when those people sign in (legitimate interests; Art. 6(1)(f)).
• To understand product usage through minimal, account-keyed analytics so we can improve the app (legitimate interests; Art. 6(1)(f)).

Who we share it with

We rely on a small number of third-party processors and services:

• Google — authentication (Google Sign-In).
• Cloudflare — hosting, the application database (D1), encrypted database backups (R2), and network security.
• PostHog — privacy-friendly product analytics. We send a small set of server-side events (for example "trip created" or "expense added") keyed only to your account identifier, so we can understand how the app is used. We do not send your name, email, or the contents of your trips, and PostHog sets no cookies in your browser.
• Ko-fi — an optional "Buy me a coffee" donation panel. It is contacted only if you choose to open it; it does not load when you simply view a page. If you use it, Ko-fi processes your request under its own privacy policy.

Web fonts are served from our own servers, so viewing a page does not contact any third party for fonts. We do not sell your personal data.

Connecting an AI client (MCP)

Pay with Friends offers an optional Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoint so you can connect an AI assistant (for example Claude or ChatGPT) to your trips. This connection is initiated by you and requires you to sign in and explicitly approve access. If you connect an AI client, the trip data it accesses — including the names and email addresses of people on those trips — is sent to that AI provider and handled under that provider's terms and privacy policy, not ours. Only connect clients you trust, and disconnect them when you are done.

Cookies and analytics

We use a single strictly-necessary cookie to keep you signed in. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies, and no third-party scripts load when you simply view a page. Our product analytics (PostHog) are collected server-side and set no cookies in your browser. Because the only cookie we set is essential to signing in, we do not show a cookie consent banner. The Ko-fi donation panel is contacted only if you choose to open it.

Information about people you add

A trip can include people who never signed up — their name, and sometimes an email address you provide so they can be recognized later. We store this only to make the shared-expense tracking work. If you are someone whose details were added by a friend and you would like them removed, email privacy@paywithfriends.org and we will delete them.

Data retention and deletion

We keep your account and trip data for as long as your account exists or until you ask us to delete it. Deleting a trip removes its people, expenses, and payments. Server logs are retained only briefly by our hosting provider.

To delete your account and associated data, or to request a copy of it, email privacy@paywithfriends.org from the address on your account and we will action it within a reasonable time (generally within 30 days). We keep encrypted database backups for up to 90 days, so deleted data may persist in those backups until they roll off, after which it is permanently removed.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data, and to object to or restrict certain processing (GDPR for the EU/UK; CCPA/CPRA for California). To exercise any of these, email privacy@paywithfriends.org and we will respond within a reasonable time. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

International transfers

Our providers may process data in countries outside your own, including the United States. Where required, transfers rely on appropriate safeguards offered by those providers.

Children

Pay with Friends is not directed to children and is not intended for use by anyone under 16.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

Contact

Questions or requests: privacy@paywithfriends.org.