App terms of service

1. About these terms

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the Orthodox Daily Companion, the native iPhone and iPad application, and the separate Lives of the Saintsweb app at app.livesofthesaintscalendar.com (together, the “Apps”). The Apps are operated by Lives of the Saints (“we”, “us”). The marketing page for both experiences lives at livesofthesaintscalendar.com/daily-orthodox-devotional.

These Terms cover only the Apps. Orders for printed calendars, books, and other goods placed on the storefront are covered by our separate storefront Terms of Service.

By creating an account, starting a free trial, downloading, subscribing to, or otherwise using either App, you agree to these Terms. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the Apps.

2. Who can use the App

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may only use the App with the involvement of a parent or guardian, who accepts these Terms on your behalf. The App is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

3. Your account

You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for everything that happens under your account. Notify us at orthodoxcalendarcompany@gmail.com if you suspect unauthorized use. You may delete your account at any time from the account settings inside the App or by writing to us; deletion is final and removes your journal entries, saved prayers, and other personal data, subject to backups that expire on their normal schedule.

4. License to use the App

Subject to these Terms and any active subscription, we grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to download and use the App on devices you own or control, for your personal, non-commercial devotional use. You may not sublicense, resell, rent, lease, reverse engineer, decompile, or build a competing product from the App or its content, except to the extent applicable law prohibits such restrictions.

5. Subscriptions, trials, and billing

The two Apps have separate offerings. Orthodox Daily Companion is free to download and offers optional premium features through Apple. The Lives of the Saints web app offers a separate paid plan with a free trial. Current prices and included features are shown in the App Store or at web checkout before you subscribe; local taxes may be added depending on your billing country.

Web app free trial. New web app users receive a 7-day free trial. Unless you cancel before the trial ends, your subscription will begin automatically and the payment method on file will be charged the then-current price. Only one web trial per person.

Auto-renewal. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period until cancelled. You authorize the applicable billing platform to charge your payment method for each renewal.

Where you bought it determines how you cancel.

• Apple App Store: manage or cancel in Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions on your iPhone or iPad.
• Web (Stripe): manage or cancel from the Billing screen inside the App or at app.livesofthesaintscalendar.com.

Cancellation stops the next renewal; you keep access through the end of the period you already paid for. We do not pro-rate or refund partial periods except as required by law.

6. Refunds

For subscriptions purchased through the Apple App Store, refunds are handled directly by Apple under its policies — we cannot issue refunds for those transactions. For web subscriptions billed by us through Stripe, we will refund the most recent charge on request within 14 days of the charge, no questions asked. Statutory rights (for example, the EU/UK right of withdrawal where it applies) are not affected by this section.

7. Your content

The Apps may let you write journal entries, save reflections, mark intentions, and, in the web app, submit questions to the “Ask the Fathers” search (collectively, “Your Content”). You keep ownership of Your Content. The mobile journal is stored on your device. For content you choose to store in the web app, you grant us a limited license to store, transmit, back up, and display it solely to operate that app for you.

We do not sell Your Content, do not show it to other users, and do not use journal entries to train machine-learning models. See the Privacy Policy for the full picture.

8. Ask the Fathers (AI features)

“Ask the Fathers” uses large language models to search across patristic texts (the Philokalia, St. John Chrysostom, the Desert Fathers, and other classics) and return relevant passages with citations. The feature is offered as a study aid. AI output can be inaccurate, incomplete, or out of context. Always verify quotes against the cited source, and treat the results as a starting point for reading — not as theological counsel or a canonical ruling. For matters of faith, conscience, or confession, speak with your priest or spiritual father.

Questions you submit to Ask the Fathers are sent to our model provider so the model can answer them. We do not permit those providers to train their models on your prompts.

9. Devotional content

Saint lives, scripture readings, prayers, fasting guidance, and patristic commentary in the App are compiled from traditional Orthodox sources for devotional and educational reading. They are not theological or canonical rulings of any jurisdiction, and they do not replace the guidance of your bishop, priest, or spiritual father.

Orthodox Daily Companion currently follows the Revised Julian (New) Calendar. The web app may offer additional calendar preferences. Where sources disagree, we follow the most widely received Orthodox tradition and note alternatives where relevant.

10. Acceptable use

You agree not to: (a) use the App in a way that violates applicable law or the rights of others; (b) attempt to disrupt the App, bypass security, or access data that isn’t yours; (c) reverse engineer, scrape, or bulk-download App content except where applicable law expressly permits; (d) share your account credentials so multiple people can use a single subscription; or (e) use the App to harass, threaten, or harm anyone, including through abusive prompts to Ask the Fathers.

11. Intellectual property

The App — including the software, design, illustrations, icons, original commentary, and curated arrangement of public-domain texts — is owned by us or licensed to us, and is protected by copyright and other intellectual-property laws. Personal, non-commercial devotional use inside the App is permitted. Republication, mirroring, redistribution, or use of App content to train machine-learning models requires our written permission.

Public-domain translations and third-party sources are attributed in the App where applicable.

12. Third-party services

The Apps rely on third-party providers — Apple for mobile app distribution and billing, Stripe for web billing, our cloud hosting and database providers for storage, and an AI provider for Ask the Fathers. Use of those services is also subject to their own terms. Outages, errors, or policy changes by those providers may affect the App; we will work in good faith to restore service.

13. Apple App Store terms

If you downloaded the App from the Apple App Store, you acknowledge that these Terms are between you and us, not Apple, and that Apple is not responsible for the App or its content. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the App. In the event the App fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple may refund the purchase price; to the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation with respect to the App. Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims by you or any third party relating to the App, including product liability, legal-or-regulatory compliance, and consumer-protection claims. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you. Your use of the App must comply with the Apple Media Services Terms (the “Usage Rules”) in effect at the time.

14. Export and sanctions

You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a comprehensive U.S. embargo and that you are not on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You agree not to use the App in violation of U.S. or other applicable export laws and sanctions.

15. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the App if you materially breach these Terms, if your use creates a security or legal risk to us or other users, or if we are required to do so by law. Where reasonable and lawful, we will give you notice and an opportunity to cure. You may stop using the App and cancel your subscription at any time as described in section 5.

16. Disclaimers

The App and its content are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the App will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that Ask the Fathers will produce accurate or complete results. Devotional content is not theological or canonical rulings of any jurisdiction.

17. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the App or these Terms is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid us for the App in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) twenty U.S. dollars. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, data, or goodwill. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages; in those jurisdictions our liability is limited to the smallest extent permitted by law.

18. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your misuse of the App, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.

19. Changes to the Apps and these Terms

We may add, change, or remove features of the App from time to time. We may update these Terms when we change how the App works, add new features, or to reflect changes in law. When we do, we will post the new version here and update the “Last updated” date. For material changes affecting paid subscribers, we will provide reasonable advance notice — for example, an in-app notice or an email to the address on your account. Continued use of the App after an update means you accept the new Terms.

20. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App must be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there. Nothing in this section limits any mandatory consumer rights you have under the law of your country of residence.

21. Contact

Questions, refund requests, or notices about these Terms can be sent to orthodoxcalendarcompany@gmail.com.