How to Split Bills in iMessage Without an App

Splitting bills with friends used to mean one person paying and awkwardly chasing everyone down for weeks. Apps like Splitwise helped, but they require everyone to download something and create an account, which never actually happens.

There's a simpler way. SettleBlue is a bot that lives inside iMessage. You add it to any group chat and split bills by texting naturally, the same way you'd text a friend.

How it works

Add the SettleBlue number to your iMessage group and text "settleblue" to activate. The bot introduces itself and asks everyone for their name.

To create a bill, text something like:

"new bill: dinner $120 split between everyone"

The bot calculates each person's share, shows a summary, and asks you to confirm. Text "yes" and it's saved.

Scanning receipts

Instead of typing the total manually, you can send a photo of the receipt. SettleBlue reads every line item using AI and asks whether to split equally or by item. If you split by item, each person claims what they ordered and the bot calculates proportional tax and tip automatically.

Tracking balances

Text "balances" anytime to see who owes what across all open bills. Text "what do I owe" to see just your balance.

Settling up

Text "settle up" and the bot shows the minimum number of payments to zero everything out, with Venmo links pre-filled for each person.

No app. No account. Just iMessage.