Privacy Policy

The short version

Itemize is a local-first bill-splitting app. Your bills, participants, history, and receipts live on your phone. We don't have user accounts, we don't collect analytics, and we don't sell anything to anyone.

The one exception is the AI receipt-scanning feature: when you choose to scan a bill, the photo is sent to a cloud service that extracts the text, then deletes the image. We never store your receipts on our servers.

What we collect

Nothing about you, by default. No name, email, phone, location, or device identifier is sent to us when you use the app for manual splits.

When you use the AI scan feature, the photo of your receipt is transmitted (over HTTPS) to our OCR provider, which extracts the text and returns it to your device. The image content is the only thing transmitted — no user identifier, name, or device ID goes with it.

Where data lives

• Bill data (names, amounts, splits, history) is stored in a local SQLite database on your device.
• Receipt photos are saved in your app's private file directory, accessible only to Itemize.
• Settings and preferences are stored in local AsyncStorage.
• Token balances are managed by Apple App Store / Google Play in-app-purchase systems and synced to your device's store account.

Third-party services

• Apple App Store / Google Play — for download, updates, and in-app purchases. They have their own privacy policies.
• Our purchase verification provider — handles purchase verification and token-pack delivery. Receives a pseudonymous app-install ID, never your personal info.
• Our receipt OCR provider — only invoked when you scan a receipt. Receives the image bytes and returns the parsed text. No metadata is logged against you.

International data transfers

Our OCR provider's servers may be located in a different country to you. The only thing crossing borders is the receipt image content — never a user identifier or any personal info attached to it. Everything else stays on your device.

Data security

Bill data lives in a private SQLite database on your device, protected by your phone's standard sandboxing and (when you've enabled it) device-level encryption. OCR requests go out over HTTPS. No third-party SDKs have access to your data. No cloud sync, no remote backup, no way for us to read your bills.

Cookies & analytics

This landing page may use first-party, privacy-friendly analytics (page-view counts only — no cross-site tracking, no third-party cookies, no user identification). The Itemize app itself uses no analytics, no tracking, no advertising SDKs.

Permissions

Itemize asks for camera and photo-library access only when you tap "Scan Bill Photo." You can deny these and use the app fully via manual entry. We don't request location, contacts, or background data.

Deleting your data

Open Settings → "Clear all data" to wipe every bill, participant, photo, and preference from your device. Uninstalling the app also removes all data on iOS and Android.

Your rights

Under GDPR (EU), POPIA (South Africa), and similar laws, you have the right to access, correct, delete, or export the personal data we hold about you. Since we don't actually hold any personal data about you, there's nothing to access, correct, delete, or export. If that ever changes, this section will be longer. For now: you have the rights, and we have nothing.

Questions about your rights? Email us at the address below.

Children

Itemize isn't directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone — adult or otherwise — but we especially don't want to from kids.

Changes

If we ever change this policy, we'll update the "last updated" date and post the new version here. Material changes will be flagged in-app.

Contact

Questions? Email support@pheonixwebdesign.co.za.