Terms of Service

Effective Date: July 17, 2026 | Version 1.0

1. Introduction & Acceptance

Welcome to Vernato! These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Vernato mobile application for iOS (the "App") and any associated backend services, websites, or APIs (collectively, the "Service") provided by Vernato Ltd. ("we," "us," or "our").

Please read these Terms carefully before using our Service. By installing, accessing, or using the App or Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

2. Description of the Service

Vernato is a language learning platform built for iOS that utilizes native SwiftUI structures, native Apple audio recording and speech recognition capabilities (AVFoundation and Speech frameworks), and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) assessment models to analyze spoken pronunciation, fluency, grammar, and vocabulary. The Service provides real-time feedback, analytics dashboards, and personalized learning plans.

3. Account Security & Verification

To access full platform features, you must establish an account. Registration and authentication support Google Sign-In, standard email/password credentials, and secure FIDO2 Passkeys.

3.1 Account Responsibility

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other security breach. We are not liable for any losses or damages arising from your failure to protect your authentication credentials.

3.2 Multi-Factor & Passkeys

To enhance account protection, Vernato provides multi-factor authentication (MFA) using Time-Based One-Time Passwords (TOTP). We highly recommend enrolling in MFA and Passkeys through the Security Settings screen in the App to prevent unauthorized account takeovers.

4. Plans, Subscriptions & Billing

Vernato offers a multi-tiered subscription model consisting of a Free Tier and a Premium "Pro" Tier.

4.1 Plan Tiers

  • Free Tier: Provides basic access to language learning cards, standard assessments, and limited voice practice sessions, subject to the daily allocations under our Fair Usage Policy.
  • Pro Tier: Provides unrestricted access to advanced AI pronunciation insights, custom card customization sheets, unlimited progress history, and priority audio queue processing.

4.2 Billing & Cancellation Portal

Subscriptions, checkout routing, and payment transactions are processed securely through Stripe or the Apple App Store. Vernato does not store credit card numbers or billing addresses on its servers.

All subscription plans auto-renew at the end of each billing cycle (monthly or annually) unless canceled. You will be billed automatically using the payment method on file. You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellations must be made via your Apple ID Subscriptions settings or the Stripe Customer Portal accessible through the App settings.

Except as required by local consumer law, all subscription fees are non-refundable. Upon cancellation, your Pro Tier access will continue until the end of the current paid billing period.

5. AI Voice Assessment & Fair Usage Policy

To provide high-quality pronunciation assessment, the App records audio buffers via your device's microphone and evaluates them using resource-intensive AI models (such as Gemini or Azure Speech APIs). To ensure service stability, cost management, and equitable resource allocation, we enforce a strict Fair Usage Policy (FUP).

5.1 Usage Tracking & Limits

We track usage frequencies in the Cloud Firestore database under the /users/{userId}/voice_usage subcollection. Daily assessment limits are structured by account classification:

  • Free Users: Restricted to a set number of voice queries per day (e.g., up to 20 speech assessments).
  • Pro Users: Enjoy higher daily limits but remain subject to fair-use thresholds (e.g., up to 500 speech assessments per day) to prevent systemic abuse.

5.2 Prohibited Activities

You agree not to engage in the following prohibited behaviors:

  • Use bots, automated scripts, scrapers, or loop mechanisms to generate voice recordings or submit assessments.
  • Reverse-engineer App endpoints or spoof authentication headers (including Firebase App Check tokens) to access AI grading models outside the standard user interface.
  • Attempt to overload, flood, or bypass our API gateways.

5.3 FUP Enforcement

If your usage patterns exceed standard human learning benchmarks or exhibit automated qualities, we reserve the right to throttle your request speed, temporarily suspend access to voice assessments, or terminate your account without refund.

6. Privacy & Audio Disposal

Your privacy is vital to us. Our data handling practices are described in detail in our Privacy Policy and our GDPR Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).

  • Microphone Permissions: The App will explicitly ask for permission to access your microphone and speech recognition before launching voice tasks.
  • Audio Disposal: Raw voice recordings are processed in-transit or briefly cached on-device for analysis and are deleted immediately after transcription and score calculation. We do not persist raw voice files in cloud databases.
  • Data Export & Deletion: You can request a data export or initiate complete account deletion via settings. Account deletion permanently wipes all documents from users/{userId} and nested subcollections.

7. Intellectual Property & Licensing

We own all rights, titles, and interests in the Service, including the App's source code, layout, animations, user interface design, logo, and brand assets.

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to download, install, and use the App on iOS devices that you own or control, solely for your personal, non-commercial language learning purposes.

8. Disclaimers & Liability Limits

As-Is Basis: The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any learning outcome. While Vernato aims to assist you with language learning, we make no guarantees regarding the level of language proficiency, accent correction, or fluency you will achieve.

Limitation of Liability: To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Vernato Ltd. shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, data, or use, arising out of or connected to your use of the Service.

9. Termination of Service

We may terminate or suspend your access to the Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, if you breach these Terms (including the Fair Usage Policy).

All provisions of these Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.

10. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Data Controller is registered, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

We encourage informal resolution of disputes. If you have any concerns, please contact our support team to discuss them.

11. Contact & Support

If you have any questions or concerns regarding these Terms, or if you need assistance, please contact support:

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material updates will be communicated through the mobile application. Continued use of the Service constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.