Terms of Service

Last Updated: May 10, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and Asthra LLC, doing business as VākJournal ("VākJournal," "we," "us," or "our"), and govern your access to and use of the VākJournal mobile application, website, features, content, subscriptions, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account, subscribing, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and acknowledge our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect your information. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility & Accounts

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. The Service is not intended for children or teenagers under 18, and you may not create an account or use the Service if you are under 18.

By creating an account, subscribing, accessing, or using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

You agree to provide accurate account information and keep it updated. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account, device, login credentials, and authentication methods, and for all activities that occur under your account.

You must notify us immediately at support@asthrasolutions.com if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization, your phone number has changed, or your device or login method has been compromised.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, provide inaccurate information, create risk to the Service or other users, or are used in a way that may be unlawful, fraudulent, abusive, or harmful.

3. Phone Number & SMS Authentication

You may create and access your account using your mobile phone number. We will send one-time passcodes (OTPs) by SMS to verify ownership. By providing your phone number, you authorize us to send service and security messages (e.g., verification codes, login alerts). Message and data rates may apply. Frequency varies. OTPs are single-use and time-limited – do not share codes. You are responsible for safeguarding your device and account. If your phone number changes or is compromised, update your account immediately and notify us of any suspected unauthorized use. We may block or rate-limit authentication attempts to prevent fraud or abuse. We use your phone number for authentication, security, and required account communications only. See our Privacy Policy for details.

4. User Content & License

You retain ownership of any content you submit, upload, record, create, or otherwise provide through the Service, including journal entries, voice recordings, transcripts, reflections, growth moments, summaries, and related content ("User Content").

You grant VākJournal a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, transmit, process, transcribe, analyze, display, and create AI-generated outputs from your User Content solely as necessary to operate, secure, maintain, personalize, troubleshoot, and provide the Service to you.

We do not sell your User Content. We do not use your identifiable User Content for advertising. We do not use your identifiable User Content to train third-party AI models.

You are responsible for the User Content you choose to provide, including any personal, sensitive, or third-party information you include in your journal sessions.

5. AI Output & Third-Party Services

VākJournal uses artificial intelligence and third-party service providers to provide features such as transcription, journaling assistance, summaries, reflections, themes, growth moments, personalized context, and related insights.

To provide these features, we may transmit and process User Content, including journal transcripts, AI assistant responses, growth moments, and related context, through third-party AI providers, including OpenAI. We do not intentionally send your profile name, phone number, email address, or profile picture to OpenAI. However, your journal transcripts may contain personal information, sensitive information, or third-party information that you choose to include during a journal session.

AI-generated outputs are generated automatically and may be inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, inappropriate, or not suitable for your circumstances. You are responsible for reviewing and evaluating AI-generated outputs before relying on them.

VākJournal does not guarantee that AI-generated outputs will identify important issues, risks, emergencies, medical concerns, mental-health concerns, self-harm, abuse, threats, or other dangerous situations. You should not rely on the Service for crisis detection, emergency response, medical advice, mental-health advice, legal advice, financial advice, or any other professional advice.

We do not use your identifiable User Content for advertising. We do not use your identifiable User Content to train third-party AI models.

We also use third-party service providers to operate, secure, analyze, and improve the Service, including providers for hosting, authentication, databases, voice processing, AI processing, analytics, crash reporting, subscription management, and app operations. Our Privacy Policy provides more detail about the categories of data processed by these providers.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to misuse the Service. The following are examples of prohibited conduct:

• Excessive usage: Initiating an unreasonable number of voice sessions designed to consume system resources rather than for genuine journaling purposes. VākJournal is designed for personal reflective journaling — automated, scripted, or bulk usage is not permitted.
• Content abuse: Using the AI assistant for purposes unrelated to personal journaling and reflection, including but not limited to generating commercial content, circumventing AI safety guidelines, or using the Service as a general-purpose AI assistant.
• Account sharing: Sharing your account credentials with others or allowing multiple individuals to use a single subscription. Each subscription is for one individual's personal use.
• Trial abuse: Creating multiple accounts to repeatedly obtain free trial periods. Free trials are limited to one per person. We reserve the right to revoke trial access if abuse is detected.
• Reverse engineering: Attempting to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract the Service's source code, AI models, or proprietary systems.
• Harmful content: Uploading or generating unlawful, harmful, threatening, or infringing content through the Service.

Consequences of Violations

If we determine that you have violated these terms, we may, at our sole discretion:

1. Issue a warning for first-time or minor violations
2. Temporarily suspend your account and access to the Service
3. Permanently terminate your account without refund
4. Report illegal activity to appropriate authorities

We will make reasonable efforts to notify you before taking action, except where immediate action is necessary to protect the Service or other users. Termination of your account does not automatically cancel your Apple App Store subscription — you must cancel it separately through your Apple account settings.

7. Service Availability & Disruptions

The Service may be interrupted, delayed, or unavailable due to maintenance, upgrades, or failures. We are not responsible for delays or failures outside our reasonable control.

7.1 Service Discontinuation

We reserve the right to discontinue the Service at any time. If we decide to permanently shut down VākJournal:

• We will provide at least 30 days advance notice via email and in-app notification
• During the notice period, you will be able to export all your data (journals, insights, growth moments) in JSON format
• Active subscriptions will not be renewed after the shutdown date. We will cancel all recurring subscriptions before the shutdown takes effect.
• Because purchases are processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, refund requests must be submitted through the applicable app store. We do not process refunds directly, but no further charges will occur after subscriptions are canceled before the shutdown date.
• After the shutdown date, all user data will be deleted from our servers according to the data retention schedule in our Privacy Policy

7.2 Feature Changes

We may add, modify, or remove features of the Service at any time. If we remove a feature that is core to your subscription (e.g., voice journaling or AI insights), we will provide reasonable notice and you may cancel your subscription before the next renewal.

8. Subscriptions & Billing

8.1 Subscription Plans

VākJournal requires a paid subscription to access full features after the free trial period. The following plans are available:

• Monthly subscription: Billed monthly at the price displayed in the App Store or Google Play Store at the time of subscription.
• Annual subscription: Billed annually at the price displayed in the App Store or Google Play Store at the time of subscription.

Prices may vary by region and currency based on App Store and Google Play pricing. We reserve the right to change pricing with reasonable notice.

8.2 Free Trial

New users receive a 7-day free trial with full access to all features. The trial begins when you confirm your subscription through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You will not be charged during the trial period. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, your subscription will automatically convert to a paid subscription at the selected plan rate.

8.3 Automatic Renewal

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period (monthly or annually) unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your Apple ID or Google Play account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period.

8.4 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your Apple App Store or Google Play Store account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — you retain full access until then.

Important: Uninstalling the app does not cancel your subscription. If you delete VākJournal from your device without canceling your subscription first, you will continue to be charged. To cancel, you must go to your device's subscription settings:

• iOS: Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions → VākJournal → Cancel
• Android: Google Play → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → VākJournal → Cancel

8.5 Refunds

All purchases are processed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Play Store). We do not process refunds directly. To request a refund:

• iOS: Visit reportaproblem.apple.com or contact Apple Support
• Android: Open Google Play → Account → Order history → Request a refund, or contact Google Play Support

Refund eligibility and decisions are made by Apple or Google according to their respective refund policies. We do not offer partial refunds for unused portions of a billing period. If a refund is granted by Apple or Google, your subscription access will be revoked accordingly.

8.6 Lapsed Subscriptions

If your subscription expires or is not renewed, your account enters read-only mode. You may continue to view your past journal entries and insights, but you will not be able to create new voice journal sessions. You may resubscribe at any time to restore full access.

8.7 Grandfathered Users

Users who created accounts before the introduction of paid subscriptions are granted permanent free access to all features ("Lifetime Pro"). This access is non-transferable and tied to the original account.

8.8 Account Deletion and Subscriptions

Deleting your VākJournal account does not automatically cancel your App Store or Google Play subscription. You must cancel your subscription separately through your device's subscription settings to stop future charges. We will remind you of this during the account deletion process.

9. No Medical, Mental Health, Therapy, Crisis, or Emergency Services

VākJournal is a personal journaling and reflection tool. The Service provides reflective tools, AI-generated summaries, themes, growth moments, and personal insights for general self-reflection and personal growth.

VākJournal is not a healthcare provider, mental-health provider, therapy service, counseling service, crisis service, emergency service, medical device, or substitute for professional advice. The Service does not provide medical, psychological, psychiatric, therapeutic, legal, financial, or other professional advice.

The Service does not diagnose, treat, cure, prevent, monitor, or manage any disease, condition, mental-health issue, emotional disorder, or crisis situation.

We do not monitor journal entries in real time and are not responsible for detecting or responding to emergencies, self-harm, suicidal ideation, abuse, threats, dangerous situations, or other serious risks. You should not rely on the Service for crisis detection, emergency response, safety monitoring, or urgent support.

If you are experiencing a medical or mental-health emergency, believe you may harm yourself or others, or need urgent help, call emergency services or contact a qualified professional immediately.

10. Intellectual Property

We retain all rights to the Service, including software, design, and trademarks. These Terms do not grant you any rights to our intellectual property except as necessary to use the Service.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VĀKJOURNAL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, SECURITY, OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION, FREE OF ERRORS, FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT AI-GENERATED OUTPUTS, JOURNAL SUMMARIES, REFLECTIONS, THEMES, GROWTH MOMENTS, MOOD-RELATED INSIGHTS, OR PERSONALIZED CONTEXT WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE, APPROPRIATE, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING AND EVALUATING ANY OUTPUTS OR INSIGHTS BEFORE RELYING ON THEM.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VĀKJOURNAL, ASTHRA LLC, AND OUR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, USER CONTENT, GOODWILL, USE, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE, THE SERVICE.

THIS LIMITATION APPLIES WHETHER THE CLAIM IS BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO VĀKJOURNAL FOR THE SERVICE IN THE THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE; OR (B) $100.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

13. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless VākJournal, Asthra LLC, and our officers, directors, employees, contractors, service providers, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or relating to:

• your access to or use of the Service;
• your User Content;
• your violation of these Terms;
• your violation of any law, regulation, or third-party right;
• your misuse of AI-generated outputs;
• your sharing of another person's personal, sensitive, confidential, or proprietary information through the Service; or
• your use of the Service in a manner not intended by VākJournal.

We reserve the right to assume exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification, and you agree to cooperate with our defense of those claims.

14. Changes to the Service or Terms

We may modify or discontinue the Service or update these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

15. Consumer Rights

Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you may have under laws that cannot be waived by contract. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain disclaimers, exclusions, limitations of liability, arbitration provisions, class-action waivers, or indemnification obligations. In those jurisdictions, these Terms apply only to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

16. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

16.1 Informal Resolution

Before initiating any formal dispute proceedings, you agree to first contact us at legal@asthrasolutions.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days. Most concerns can be resolved quickly this way.

16.2 Binding Arbitration

If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, you and VākJournal agree to resolve any claims relating to these Terms or the Service through final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. Arbitration will take place in Fulton County, Georgia, or at another mutually agreed location. The arbitrator's decision is final and enforceable in any court.

You and VākJournal each waive the right to a jury trial.

16.3 Class Action Waiver

All disputes must be brought in your individual capacity, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, consolidated, or representative proceeding. You agree to waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration against VākJournal.

16.4 Exceptions

The following disputes are excluded from arbitration:

• Claims that may be brought in small claims court
• Disputes related to intellectual property infringement
• Requests for injunctive relief to stop unauthorized use of the Service

16.5 Opt-Out

You may opt out of the arbitration and class action waiver provisions by sending written notice to legal@asthrasolutions.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. If you opt out, disputes will be resolved in the courts of Fulton County, Georgia.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at: legal@asthrasolutions.com