Legal

Terms of service

Effective date: July 4, 2026

Caveau is a local app with a one-time purchase, so these terms are mercifully short. Plain-English summaries appear in each section; the plain English is the point, not a decoration.

1. What these terms cover

These terms apply to your use of the Caveau iOS application and this website. By using the app, you agree to them. If you obtained Caveau through the App Store, Apple's standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement also applies to the App Store copy, and Apple's Media Services Terms govern the purchase itself.

2. What Caveau is

Caveau is an on-device photo vault. It encrypts photos and videos locally on your iPhone. It has no server component, no account system, and no online service that we operate on your behalf. Because there is no service, there is no uptime commitment, no account termination clause, and no acceptable-use monitoring — the app runs on your device under your control.

3. Purchase and refunds

The optional lifetime unlock is a one-time in-app purchase processed by Apple. Pricing is shown in the App Store at the time of purchase. Refunds are handled exclusively by Apple under its refund policy; we have no ability to process payments or refunds ourselves. The unlock is tied to your Apple Account and can be restored on a new device via "Restore Purchases."

4. License

The Caveau source code is published under the MIT License. You may read it, build it, modify it, and redistribute it under that license's terms. The compiled app distributed through the App Store is licensed to you under the EULA referenced in section 1. Nothing in these terms restricts the rights the MIT License grants you over the source code.

5. Your responsibilities

Caveau is designed so that only you can open your vault. That design puts real responsibility on you:

  • Keep your recovery kit safe. If you lose both your password and your recovery key (including inheritance shares), your data is permanently unrecoverable. This is a deliberate property of the encryption, not a failure we can override — see our support page.
  • Keep backups. Your vault lives on your device. If the device is lost, damaged, or erased and you have no encrypted backup, the data is gone. Caveau provides backup and export tools; using them is up to you.
  • Use the app lawfully. You are solely responsible for the content you store. Don't use Caveau to store or distribute material that is illegal in your jurisdiction.

6. No warranty

Caveau is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind beyond those that applicable law does not allow us to disclaim. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Nothing in these terms limits statutory consumer rights that cannot be waived, including any non-waivable warranty rights in your country of residence.

7. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to Caveau is limited to the amount you paid for the app in the twelve months before the claim, and we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including loss of data. Some jurisdictions do not allow these limitations; where they don't, they apply only to the extent permitted.

Read together with section 5: the most likely way to lose data with Caveau is losing your own credentials and backups, and we cannot undo that for you — by design.

8. Changes to the app and these terms

We may update the app and these terms. Material changes to the terms will be reflected on this page with a new effective date and noted in the changelog. Because the app has no server, no update can be forced onto your device, and no change to these terms can reach into data on your phone. One commitment does not change: the lifetime unlock stays a one-time purchase — Caveau will not convert to a subscription.

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the seller's place of business as identified on the App Store listing, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where the mandatory consumer-protection law of your country of residence applies instead.

10. Contact

Questions about these terms: support@getcaveau.app.