Short version: Burse is a bill-splitting app. We collect your phone number and the name you choose to display. Receipt images are processed by AI to extract item data and then discarded. Payments are handled entirely by Stripe — we never see or store your card details. We do not sell your data.

1. Who We Are

Burse ("Burse," "we," "us," or "our") is a mobile application and web service operated at burse.me that helps groups split restaurant and dining bills. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you use our app or website.

If you have questions about this policy, email us at privacy@burse.me.

2. Information We Collect

2a. Information You Provide

2b. Information Collected Automatically

2c. Information We Do Not Collect

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

We do not use your information to build advertising profiles, and we do not sell, rent, or broker your personal data to third parties.

4. Third-Party Services

Burse integrates with the following services to deliver its functionality. Each processes data under their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

Service Purpose Data Shared Privacy Policy
Stripe Payment processing, Connect payouts Payment amount, tab metadata, connected account IDs stripe.com/privacy
Twilio SMS delivery (OTP codes, payment links) Phone number, message body twilio.com/legal/privacy
Anthropic (Claude) Receipt image parsing (item extraction) Receipt image (not stored after parsing) anthropic.com/privacy
Supabase Database and authentication infrastructure All stored user and tab data supabase.com/privacy
Upstash (Redis) Rate limiting, session deduplication Anonymized request keys (no PII) upstash.com/privacy

5. SMS Communications

By creating an account you consent to receive transactional SMS messages from Burse, including:

You can opt out of reminder messages at any time in Settings → Notifications. OTP messages are required for account access and cannot be disabled.

Standard message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies based on app usage.

6. Data Retention

Data TypeRetention Period
Account data (phone, display name)Until account deletion or 2 years of inactivity
Tab and transaction records3 years from creation (for dispute resolution)
Receipt imagesDiscarded immediately after item extraction
Authentication tokensAccess tokens: 15 minutes. Refresh tokens: 30 days.
Server logs30 days
Revoked refresh tokens7 days after revocation, then purged

7. Your Rights

Regardless of where you live, you have the right to:

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@burse.me. We will respond within 30 days. Note that deleting your account will not erase transaction records required for legal or dispute-resolution purposes during the 3-year retention window.

California Residents (CCPA / CPRA)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, California residents have additional rights, including the right to know what categories of personal information we collect, the right to opt out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information), and the right to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights.

Categories of personal information collected: identifiers (phone number, device ID), commercial information (tab and payment records), and inferences drawn from usage (tab activity). We do not sell or share personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising.

EEA / UK Residents (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, our lawful basis for processing your data is:

You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

8. Children's Privacy

Burse is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us at privacy@burse.me and we will promptly delete it.

9. Data Security

We implement technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including:

No security system is impenetrable. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will notify you via in-app notification or SMS. Your continued use of Burse after any change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

Questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy: