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Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 June 2026

Cheque-Mate is a bill-splitting app for iOS. You do not create an email-and-password account. For collaborative bill splits, the app may assign an anonymous app identifier (via Firebase Authentication) so sessions can sync securely — we do not use this to identify you across other companies’ apps or websites for advertising.

📋 Information We Collect

Profile information

During onboarding you may provide a display name and an optional profile photo. This is stored on your device. When you join a collaborative split, that display information may be shown to other participants and stored in Firebase Firestore for the life of the session.

Receipt images

When you scan a receipt, the image is sent to Google Gemini (via Firebase AI) to extract line items. Processing is handled by Google’s services under their terms and privacy policies; we do not intend to keep a separate long-term copy of your receipt images on our servers.

Camera & Photo Library access

We request access to your camera so you can photograph receipts for scanning, and to your Photo Library so you can import existing receipt images. Access is used only for this purpose; images are not uploaded beyond the Gemini processing described above.

Optional calorie estimates (Pro)

If you enable this feature, descriptions of bill items (and sometimes a restaurant name) may be sent to Google’s AI to generate approximate calorie information. These estimates are for convenience only and are not medical or dietary advice.

Contacts

With your permission, Cheque-Mate may access your device Contacts for two related purposes:

All contact processing happens on your device. Applying data minimisation, we read only the fields we need (name, photo, and URL); we do not upload your address book, and we never write to or modify your contacts. A payment link read from another person's contact card is used locally only to open the relevant payment app and is not transmitted to our servers. If you choose to import a link from your own contact into your saved payment methods, it is thereafter handled as described under "Payment methods (saved handles)". Names you add to a collaborative split may appear in that session's Firestore data, as described under "Collaborative split session data".

Collaborative split session data

When you create or join a collaborative split, details needed to run the session — such as line items, quantities, prices, currency, totals, participant display names, assignment state, and related metadata — are stored in Firebase Firestore. This is bill and split information, not your bank or card details.

Subscriptions (Cheque-Mate Pro)

Paid plans are purchased through Apple In-App Purchase. Apple processes payment; we do not receive your full card number. Apple may provide us information needed to confirm your subscription status.

Payment methods (saved handles)

If you use the Pay feature, you can save your own payment handles for third-party providers — PayPal, Revolut, Monzo, Venmo, and Cash App — and optional bank-transfer details (account holder name, sort code, account number, and optionally IBAN, BIC, and a reference). These are stored locally on your device. When you create or update a collaborative split as the Split Master, your saved handles are snapshotted into that split's Firestore document so participants can see a one-tap Pay button pointing at you; they are removed when the session expires (see "Data Retention").

When you settle a debt you owe, the recipient's payment handle on a Pay button may come from the split's Firestore data (a handle they saved) or, for splits on your device, from a payment link stored in that person's contact card — read locally as described under "Contacts" and not sent to our servers.

Cheque-Mate does not use this information to process payments. Tapping Pay simply opens the relevant provider's app or website with your recipient's handle, and — where the provider supports it — the amount, pre-filled. The transaction itself takes place entirely within that provider's app, under their terms and privacy policy.

Push notification tokens

If you allow notifications, a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token may be stored so we can send updates about collaborative splits. Tokens can be associated with your participation in a session while that session exists.

Product analytics

We use Firebase Analytics to understand how features are used (for example, subscription screens). We do not use this to show third-party ads in the app. Google’s processing is described in Google’s and Firebase’s privacy documentation.

🚫 What We Do Not Collect

Among other things, Cheque-Mate does not:

Bill and split amounts are processed when you use collaborative splits, as described above.

🔗 Third-Party Services

The app relies on services provided by Google and Apple, including:

International data transfers. Some of our service providers, including Google (Firebase) and Apple, may process your data outside the UK or EU. These transfers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards as described in each provider's privacy documentation.

🕐 Data Retention

Collaborative split sessions in Firestore are designed to expire and be deleted automatically after a limited period (on the order of a few days). Local profile and preferences remain on your device until you delete the app or clear app data.

⚖️ Your Rights (UK / EU)

If you are in the UK or EU, you have the right to:

To exercise any of these rights, contact hello@cheque-mate.app. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority — in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office; in the EU, your country's data protection authority.

👶 Children's Privacy

Cheque-Mate is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

✎️ Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page shows the latest version.

✉️ Contact

Questions about this privacy policy: hello@cheque-mate.app.

Our Terms of Service also apply to your use of Cheque-Mate.