Taking part with no account

Claim what you had on a bill and pay your share with no account. Joining a tab or a group from its shared link needs one.

Someone who opens a bill's link and picks their name is a guest: they have a seat on the bill, kept on that browser, with no account. A guest claims what they had and pays their share like anyone else on the bill. Joining a tab or a group from its shared link is different, and needs an account, because both keep the same people together over time.

How to take part in a bill as a guest

Open the bill's link and press your name under Which one is you?, or press I'm someone else and enter Your name.
The next page says who you are on the bill, with Your items and Your total so far. If the name is not yours, press Not you? Change: the seat goes back, with whatever was claimed for it, and you choose again.
Press Continue. On the bill, tap what you had, then press Done claiming.
Once the bill is Ready for payment, press Pay, pay the person you owe, and press I've paid.

The bill reminds you on its Split step and when you pay: "You're a guest on this phone. Sign in to keep your seat on all your devices." Nothing more is asked of you.

What a guest can and cannot do

On a bill, a guest can:

read the bill, everyone on it and what each person owes;
claim and unclaim items for their own seat;
see the payment details of the person they owe, once the bill is Ready for payment;
say they have paid, for no more than they owe, and take it back;
leave the bill, or hand the seat back with Not you? Change.

Saying who paid the bill, adding items or people, recording a payment someone else made and confirming a payment all need an account. A guest's seat is kept on the browser they opened the link in, for 30 days from when they took it.

A tab or a group

A tab keeps a balance between people over time, and a group keeps the same people together, so joining either from its shared link needs an account. The page says so: "A tab keeps a balance between people over time, so joining one from its shared link needs an account. Paying a single bill does not." It offers Sign in to join and Create an account.

There is one way into a tab with no account: a link of your own. Whoever runs the tab can put your phone number or email on your seat and send you a link that opens the tab as you, on any device. The page says whose it is, such as "This link is Sam's", and Open the tab as Sam opens it. As a tab guest you can claim your items on its open bills, say you have paid what you owe, and confirm a payment made to you. Adding a bill or a person, and forgiving, need an account.

A bill that is in a tab is settled in the tab, so its link offers Join the tab in place of the names.

Worked example: Priya pays with no account

Priya has no account. Maya sends her the link for Luigi's Trattoria, and Priya presses Priya under Which one is you?. The next page reads "You're Priya on Luigi's Trattoria", with Your total so far 19.25. She presses Continue, checks her Margherita, her part of the garlic bread and her half of the tiramisu are claimed, and presses Done claiming.

Maya makes the bill Ready for payment. Priya opens it on the same phone, still a guest, and it shows she owes Maya 19.25. She presses Pay, sends the money from her bank, and presses I've paid 19.25. The sheet's last line reads "TabApp doesn't move money. Maya confirms when it arrives." When Maya confirms it, Priya is paid up, and she never made an account.

A month later the group starts the Lisbon weekend tab. Priya opens its shared link and is asked to Sign in to join: a tab needs an account, where a bill did not. Sam, who will not sign up, is sent a link of his own instead, and opens the tab with Open the tab as Sam.

If something stops you