Terms of Use — Voice Journal

These terms govern your use of the Voice Journal app on iOS and Android and purchases of Voice Journal Pro through in-app purchases. Voice Journal is a private voice diary with transcription. There is no user account, and your journal content is not stored in a cloud operated by me.

Related pages: Nutzungsbedingungen (German) · Privacy Policy · Support · Impressum (legal notice)

1. Scope and provider

The app is provided by Johannes Rukaber, jrdevdesign, Adam-Stegerwald-Straße 20, 63811 Stockstadt am Main, Germany, email: johannes@jrdevdesign.com. Full provider details are in the Impressum.

The app is distributed through the Apple App Store and Google Play. The terms of the respective store also apply to downloads and purchases (Apple Media Services, Google Play).

iOS: On iOS, Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement (Standard EULA) also applies to your use of the app. It is linked in the app on iOS. These terms supplement it. Where the Standard EULA and these terms differ, these terms prevail as between you and me, in particular section 10 (Liability) and section 12 (Governing law). Mandatory statutory consumer rights remain unaffected in any case.

2. Features: free and Pro

Free: you can use every feature the app offered before Pro was introduced, without usage limits, in particular:

• Recording, transcribing, playing back and editing entries
• Notes, tags, favorites and search
• The existing export and backup features, including backup with audio
• Restoring backups

The daily reminder, app lock and mood per entry are free as well.

Voice Journal Pro additionally unlocks:

• Encrypted backup, including automatic backup
• Export of your journal as PDF
• Writing prompts in reminders
• Statistics and mood trends

Features are as described in the store listing and in the app at the time. Some features depend on your device and operating system (for example on-device speech recognition, see section 8).

Commitment to existing users: features that were free before Pro was introduced stay free. If you used the app before Pro was introduced, you keep all existing features without buying anything. Existing users may receive a one-time, time-limited discounted lifetime offer; its price and duration are shown in the app.

3. Purchases, subscriptions and free trial

Pro is available as:

• Yearly subscription with a 7-day free trial, then €19.99 per year
• Lifetime: one-time purchase for €39.99, no subscription (see below)

What “lifetime” means: you pay once and can use Pro without a subscription and without further costs for as long as I offer and maintain the app for your operating system. “Lifetime” refers to the lifetime of the app, not your lifetime, and is not a promise to develop the app indefinitely. I will announce a discontinuation of the app with reasonable notice in the app and on this website; your statutory rights remain unaffected.

These prices apply in Germany and include VAT. The price the store shows before you buy is binding; it may differ in other countries and currencies.

You buy through the in-app purchase system of the respective store (Apple App Store on iOS, Google Play on Android). The app uses the RevenueCat service to verify and unlock purchases; details are in the Privacy Policy. Pro is tied to the store account you bought it with. Use “Restore purchases” to unlock Pro again on devices signed in to the same store account. Because there are no user accounts, a purchase cannot be transferred between iOS and Android.

Free trial: the free trial applies to the yearly subscription and only where the store offers it to you (usually once per store account). If you do not cancel in time before it ends, it converts into the paid yearly subscription under the store’s terms and the store charges the yearly price.

Term and renewal: the term, renewal and billing of your subscription are governed by the terms of the store you contract with (section 5). Under those terms a subscription continues until you cancel it and is charged to your store account for each new billing period. To avoid a further charge, you usually need to cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. For your options to end a yearly subscription early with a pro-rata refund, see section 4.

4. Cancellation

You can cancel a subscription at any time in the subscription settings of your store account. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription. After you cancel, Pro stays active until the end of the period you already paid for; afterwards the free features remain available and your entries are kept.

• iOS: Cancel a subscription from Apple
• Android: Cancel or change a subscription on Google Play

For subscriptions with a billing period longer than one month (yearly subscription), the stores’ terms additionally allow cancellation with immediate effect and a pro-rata refund for the unused period: with Apple via Apple Support, with Google Play after the first subscription term. The stores’ current terms apply.

As I do not keep user accounts and have no access to your payment details, I cannot cancel a subscription for you.

5. Payment, refunds and right of withdrawal

Payment, invoicing and refunds are handled exclusively by Apple or Google under their terms. I do not receive payment details and cannot charge or reverse payments myself. Refunds are granted by the store as your contracting party; please request them directly from the store:

• iOS: Request a refund from Apple
• Android: Google Play refund policies

Right of withdrawal for consumers: you conclude the purchase contract for Pro (subscription or lifetime) with the store, not with me: on iOS with Apple (for customers in the EU, Apple Distribution International Ltd., Ireland), on Android with Google Commerce Limited, Ireland. If you are a consumer and have a statutory right of withdrawal, you therefore exercise it against the store according to its withdrawal information and through its process. For digital content and services, the right of withdrawal may expire early under applicable law once performance begins with your consent.

Your statutory rights, in particular in case of defects in digital products, remain unaffected. If you have a problem with Pro, you are also welcome to contact me directly (section 15).

6. Price changes

Prices for future purchases may change. For running subscriptions, price changes are only possible under the rules of the respective store. The store informs you in advance and, where required, asks for your consent. You can cancel the subscription before a price increase takes effect. A lifetime purchase you have already paid for will not become more expensive afterwards.

7. Your data and backups

Your entries (audio, transcripts, notes, tags, mood) are stored locally on your device. I do not operate a cloud for journal content, have no access to it and cannot restore it for you. Deleting the app, switching devices without transferring your data, or a defective or lost device can lead to the loss of your entries.

As your entries are stored only on your device, only your own backup protects them against loss. Please create backups regularly (free via export or backup in Settings; with Pro also encrypted and automatic) and keep them in a safe place. An encrypted backup can only be restored with the password you chose. That password is stored only on your device; I can neither see nor reset it.

8. Transcription and content

Transcripts are created automatically: on the device where available, otherwise through Apple's or Google's speech recognition, which requires an internet connection. Automatic speech recognition can contain errors or be incomplete. Quality depends, among other things, on recording conditions, language and the recognition service used. Please check important content against the audio recording.

Statistics and mood trends are meant for self-reflection. They are not a medical or psychological diagnosis or advice.

You are responsible for the content of your entries. Please respect the rights of others when recording conversations or other people.

9. Availability and changes

I continue to develop the app and may improve, add or adapt features, for example for new operating system versions, store requirements or legal changes. The commitment to existing users and for the free features (section 2) is not affected.

Beyond what is necessary to keep Pro in conformity with the contract, I change Pro during a running subscription or after a lifetime purchase only for a valid reason, namely to adapt it to new operating system or device versions, to changed Apple or Google requirements or to legal changes, for security reasons, or because a third-party service a feature relies on ends or changes. Such changes come at no additional cost to you, and I will inform you clearly and comprehensibly. If a change impairs your access to Pro or its usability more than insignificantly, I will inform you in good time beforehand in the app, with the option to save the notice, and on this website about the characteristics and timing of the change; you may then terminate the contract free of charge within 30 days. Section 327r of the German Civil Code (BGB) applies.

Features that rely on third-party services (for example store purchases or Apple's or Google's speech recognition) depend on their availability, which I cannot control.

10. Liability

I am liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) and to the extent of any guarantee given.

In case of slight negligence, I am only liable for breaches of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations). These are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose fulfilment you may regularly rely. In that case, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract. Otherwise, liability for slight negligence is excluded.

In case of slight negligence, I am liable for loss of data only to the extent the damage would also have occurred with regular backups appropriate to the risk (section 7). This does not apply where the loss is caused by a defect in the app’s export, backup or restore function.

Your statutory warranty rights remain unaffected.

11. Privacy

How the app handles data is described in the Voice Journal Privacy Policy (German).

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If you are a consumer with your habitual residence in another country, you keep the protection of the mandatory consumer protection provisions of that country.

13. Consumer dispute resolution

I am neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board (Section 36 VSBG).

14. Changes to these terms

I may update these terms for the future, for example for new features or legal changes. For purchases already made and running subscriptions, including after renewal, the version valid at the time of purchase applies unless you expressly agree to a change. Changes to Pro itself are governed by section 9. The current version is always available at this URL.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms or the app: johannes@jrdevdesign.com