Do apps make good friends?: Tricount, legitimate spending

Keeping track of accounts when going on vacation in a group: twenty years ago, unless you were a champion of organization, this was a headache that every group of friends wanted to avoid or pass on to the most forward-thinking. Because between the stingy girlfriend, the absent-minded friend who didn't keep track of their accounts, or the unfortunate loss of the notebook used to record expenses... the matter could turn into a conflict. With the advent of smartphones in the mid-2010s, useful apps appeared for keeping track of accounts to the last cent after a restaurant, an evening out, or a trip. Or even guaranteeing peace in a shared apartment.

In Europe, the best-known of these is Tricount. Launched in 2012 by Guillebert de Dorlodot and Jonathan Fallon, two Belgian engineers and friends who are fans of Excel spreadsheets, it allows users to collect collective or individual expenses and then calculate what each person owes (or doesn't owe) to others. Simple, basic, and free. At last count, in 2022, the "anti-stingy" app has just over 5 million users in France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Italy.