Terms of Service

Last updated: October 25, 2025

1. Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, or using the Bookchoy mobile application and website ("Services"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use our Services.

2. Description of Service

Bookchoy is a personal language learning application that provides:

• Chinese language learning tools and resources
• Spaced repetition system for vocabulary memorization
• OCR capabilities for character recognition
• Story-based learning content
• Cloud backup and synchronization of your personal learning data across your devices

Our Services are designed for individual, personal use only.

3. User Account

You may need to create an account to access certain features. You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use
• Ensuring you are at least 13 years of age

You may not share your account credentials with others or allow others to access your account.

4. User Content and Intellectual Property Rights

4.1 Ownership and Rights

You retain all ownership rights to content you upload, create, or import into Bookchoy ("Your Content"). By using our Services, you represent and warrant that:

• You own or have obtained all necessary rights, licenses, and permissions for Your Content
• Your Content does not infringe on any third-party intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, or patents
• You have the legal right to upload, store, and use Your Content within our Services

4.2 Personal Use Only

Important: Bookchoy is designed exclusively for your personal learning and is NOT intended to be used as a platform for storing or sharing copyrighted materials with others. You agree that:

• Your Content is uploaded solely for your own personal, non-commercial learning purposes
• You will not use our Services to store, distribute, or share copyrighted materials you do not have rights to
• Our cloud backup feature is provided solely to allow YOU to access YOUR content across YOUR own devices using YOUR account
• We do not provide content sharing features between users

4.3 Your Responsibility

You are solely responsible for Your Content and any consequences of uploading, storing, or using it within our Services. We do not:

• Review or verify the copyright status of Your Content
• Claim any ownership of Your Content
• Grant you rights to upload copyrighted materials you don't own
• Accept liability for any copyright infringement related to Your Content

4.4 Limited License to Us

By uploading Your Content to our Services, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to store, process, and display Your Content solely for the purpose of providing our Services to you. This license terminates when you delete Your Content or close your account.

4.5 Enforcement

We reserve the right to remove any content and terminate accounts that violate intellectual property rights or these Terms, without prior notice and at our sole discretion.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use our Services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose
• Upload content that infringes on third-party intellectual property rights
• Use our Services to store or distribute copyrighted materials for sharing with others
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of our Services
• Interfere with or disrupt the operation of our Services
• Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or malicious code
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from our Services
• Use automated tools to access our Services without permission
• Violate any applicable laws or regulations
• Share your account with others or create accounts on behalf of others

6. Subscriptions and Payments

6.1 Subscription Plans

Bookchoy may offer subscription plans, including lifetime subscriptions. Subscription fees are non-refundable except as required by law or as explicitly stated in these Terms.

6.2 Service Discontinuation

In the event that we discontinue our Services after you have purchased a lifetime subscription, we will make reasonable efforts to provide you with:

• At least 90 days advance notice of service discontinuation
• A way to export your personal learning data
• Where technically feasible, access to an offline version of the application that allows you to continue using core features without cloud services

However, please note: While we will make reasonable efforts to provide offline functionality, this is not a guarantee. Technical, legal, or financial constraints may prevent us from providing an offline solution. Our maximum liability in such circumstances is limited to a pro-rated refund based on the unused portion of your subscription, calculated over a reasonable expected service lifetime (minimum 5 years for lifetime subscriptions).

7. Intellectual Property

The Services and all original content, features, functionality, design, and software are owned by Bookchoy and are protected by international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Services without our explicit written permission.

8. Third-Party Services

Our Services may integrate with or contain links to third-party services, including:

• Supabase (authentication and cloud storage)
• Google Cloud Vision (OCR)
• Text-to-speech providers
• AI language processing services

These third-party services have their own terms of service and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the content, practices, or availability of these services. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk.

9. Data Backup and Loss

While we provide cloud backup features, you are responsible for maintaining your own backups of Your Content. We are not liable for any data loss, corruption, or inability to access your data, whether due to technical failures, service interruptions, account termination, or service discontinuation.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

OUR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• Warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement
• Guarantees that the Services will be error-free, secure, or uninterrupted
• Guarantees regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of any content or learning materials
• Guarantees that defects will be corrected

Your use of our Services is at your sole risk. We do not warrant that our Services will meet your requirements or expectations.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:

• WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, DATA LOSS, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
• OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR $100, WHICHEVER IS GREATER
• WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES RESULTING FROM YOUR UPLOAD OR USE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS
• WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS, DATA LOSS, OR INABILITY TO ACCESS YOUR CONTENT

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of liability, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Bookchoy, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from:

• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property rights
• Your Content or your use of Your Content within our Services
• Your use or misuse of our Services

13. Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of material changes by:

• Posting the updated Terms on our website with a new "Last updated" date
• Sending an email notification to your registered email address (for significant changes)
• Displaying an in-app notification

Your continued use of our Services after such modifications constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must stop using our Services.

14. Termination

14.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your account at any time by deleting your account through the app settings or contacting us. Upon termination, you will lose access to cloud-synced data, but local data on your device will remain until you uninstall the app.

14.2 Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your account and access to our Services immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason, including but not limited to:

• Breach of these Terms
• Violation of intellectual property rights
• Fraudulent or illegal activity
• Extended period of inactivity
• Request by law enforcement or legal authorities

14.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination, your right to use our Services will immediately cease. We may delete your account data in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.

15. Dispute Resolution

Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of our Services shall be resolved through good faith negotiation. If negotiation fails, disputes shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of [Arbitration Organization] in [Your Jurisdiction], unless otherwise required by law.

16. Governing Law

This privacy policy is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising from this policy will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in San Francisco County, California.

17. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

18. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Bookchoy regarding our Services and supersede any prior agreements.

19. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

Email: support@bookchoy.app