faq - is it free, is it safe, how does it work

is teresa really free?

personal chats: yes, forever - unlimited expense logging, no ads. groups start with a free trial (the first 30 expenses) and then cost 5 usd a month for the whole group, however many people are in it. every feature - splitting, receipts, budgets, the live web page, csv/xlsx/pdf exports - is included either way; there is no feature paywall. details on the pricing page.

is it safe to track expenses in whatsapp?

teresa never connects to a bank and never asks for app permissions - you text what you spent, and that's all it knows. it only reads chats it has been added to, your web page is behind a private link you can rotate any time, and you can export or delete everything by asking. details in the privacy policy.

how do i add a bot to a whatsapp group?

save teresa's number as a contact, then add it to the group the way you'd add anyone. whatsapp doesn't announce bots, so it stays quiet until the next message in the group - then it introduces itself once.

do my friends have to install anything?

no. nobody installs an app, nobody makes an account. if they're in the whatsapp group, they're in.

how does it know a message is an expense?

it reads the chat for money actually spent - "tacos 250", "paid 600 for dinner" - and reacts 💸 when it logs one. wrong? say "delete that" or "that was 350" and it's fixed.

can it split unevenly, or between just some people?

yes - say it in words: "dinner 480, just milo and me" splits between the two named people. teresa never assumes a split you didn't state.

what happens when the trip ends?

close the tab. teresa posts the final who-owes-who and the fewest transfers to settle, then the tab freezes so the posted numbers stay true.

can we use it without splitting?

yes - reply "no split" when it asks (or say so later). one shared pot: totals by person and category, no balances, nobody owes anyone. budgets still work.

does it work in my language?

text it in any language - it answers in the language of the chat. the web pages come in english, spanish, portuguese and french.

what about receipts?

send the photo or the pdf in the chat; it's stored with the matching expense (📎), shown on the web page and included in exports.

can i get my data out?

any time: csv, xlsx or pdf, from the chat ("send me the xlsx for july") or from your live web page. your data is yours.

what's the catch?

the price is the whole story: personal chats free, groups 5 usd a month after the trial - no feature tiers hiding behind it. teresa is whatsapp-only, never connects to your bank, and never moves your money between you - it keeps the book, the paying stays between you.