Chipn privacy policy

Last updated: 20 September 2026

Chipn splits restaurant bills. This text describes what the app does with data, and above all what it does not do.

The short version: Chipn sends nothing to a server. Never, and there is no exception. The app contains no internet call whatsoever. There is no account, no login, and not a single user in a database, because there is no database. Joining a table (see below) also works without internet: that data goes straight from one device to the other.

Which data does Chipn process?

Of your companions, nothing more is stored than a name to assign products to. No email address, no phone number, no account number. They do not need to install Chipn and therefore never give Chipn any data.

What does not happen

• No data is sent to a server. The app contains no network call whatsoever.
• There is no analytics, no tracking, no advertising, and no crash reporting to the outside. If the app crashes, it only records that on your device (Settings, Crash reports), without names, amounts or account numbers; such a report only leaves your device if you share it yourself.
• No data is shared with or sold to third parties.
• There is no account and nothing is linked to a profile.

Scanning the receipt

The photo of your receipt is read on your own device with Google ML Kit Text Recognition. That text recognition runs entirely offline; the photo does not leave your device and no internet connection is needed.

A reduced copy of the photo is stored in the app's temporary folder so you can view it on the review screen. It is not kept in the history and disappears when your device clears its cache or you remove the app.

The QR code

Chipn creates an EPC QR code (SEPA credit transfer) per person, containing the account holder's name, the IBAN of the account you chose for that meal, and the amount. You show that code yourself to the people at the table. No intermediary is involved: the payment goes straight from their bank to yours.

Your IBAN is therefore in the QR code you show your companions. That is the point: it is the same number that appears on every transfer you make.

Joining a table

Whoever pays the bill can "open the table"; companions with Chipn can then tick off on their own device what they had. The receipt lines go to the guest's device, and the guest's name and choices go to the device with the receipt, directly, without internet and without an intermediary. This works in two ways, and the payer chooses: over bluetooth and the local network between devices of the same kind (Google Nearby Connections on Android, Multipeer Connectivity on iPhone), or over Bluetooth Low Energy between iPhone and Android mixed (the payer's device sends the list straight to the devices at the table). Neither passes through anywhere: only the list of "who had what" travels, the receipt lines, the names and the choices, never the photo of the receipt. Turn on flight mode and it still works.

The guest sends along: a self-chosen name, the ticked products, and a randomly chosen installation id (so that reconnecting does not create a duplicate person). That id says nothing about who you are, is used for nothing else, and only leaves the device towards the table you join yourself. This feature is entirely optional; companions without the app simply take part as always.

Permissions

• Camera: to take a photo of the bill. Only at the moment you scan yourself.
• Photo library: only if you choose to use an existing photo instead of taking a new one.
• Bluetooth and nearby devices: only when you open or join a table. This is how devices find each other; nothing goes over the internet.
• Location: only for that same table feature, and only because Android requires this permission to search for nearby devices over bluetooth and wifi. Chipn never requests your position and therefore never stores it; for Android the permission is the entry ticket to scanning, nothing more.

Backups

Android and iOS can include app data in their own backup to your Google or Apple account. Your bank accounts are excluded from that and stay on your device. Saved groups and the history of meals may be included in that backup; that is your own backup at your own cloud service, to which Chipn has no access.

Deleting your data

Everything is on your own device. You can delete your bank accounts and your name in Settings, remove groups and meals in the app, or remove the app, and then everything is gone. Nothing needs to be requested, because there is no copy anywhere else.

This website

chipn.be keeps it simple too. The site sets no cookies and uses no analytics, no external scripts and no third-party fonts. Your language choice is kept in your own browser (localStorage) and does not leave it. If you fill in the tester form, your name, email address, device, motivation and, optionally, who referred you go via the service Formsubmit.co straight to [email protected] and nowhere else; they are only used to invite you to the test. The site is served through Cloudflare and our own web server, which, like every web server, keep short technical logs (IP address, time, requested page) to keep the site running and secure.

Changes

If anything changes in what the app or this website does with data, this text is updated and the date at the top moves.

Contact

Questions about this policy: [email protected].