Terms of Service
The rules for buying, activating, and using Phoaly.
1. Agreement
These Terms govern your use of the Phoaly app, the website at phoaly.com, and the license service that activates and validates Phoaly licenses. By downloading, using, or buying Phoaly, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the app or the website.
If you use Phoaly for an organization, you confirm that you have authority to accept these Terms for that organization.
2. What Phoaly is
Phoaly is a local-first photo organizer for macOS. It does not require an account and does not upload your photos. It reads the folders you choose and changes files only when you confirm an organize plan, a rotate, or a crop. It requires macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon.
3. Trial
The trial lasts 30 days from first launch and includes every feature, with no account or card required. After it ends, the app becomes read-only: you can still browse and export, but cannot organize, edit, or cull. Your originals and index are not affected. We may change the trial arrangement for future versions.
4. License and seats
A license is a one-time purchase that grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use Phoaly. The one-Mac tier activates one device; the two-Mac tier activates two. Activation binds a seat to a device. You can release an old device in the license portal and then activate another Mac.
Do not share a key publicly, resell it, rent it, sublicense it, or use one license for multiple people. A lifetime license does not expire and includes the updates we release for the product.
5. Price, payment, and taxes
Prices are shown in US dollars. Payment is processed by Stripe. Applicable taxes may be added at checkout. No account is required. The activation key is sent to the email address Stripe collects; if it does not arrive, check your spam folder before contacting us. Promotion codes are subject to the terms of the promotion.
6. Refunds
You may request a full refund within 14 days of purchase, without giving a reason. Write to support@phoaly.com from the email used at checkout, or include the key prefix. A refund revokes the license and releases its seats.
We may decline a refund where there is evidence of fraud or abuse. This policy does not limit rights you have under applicable consumer law. If you bought through a third party or a promotion, that party's terms may also apply. If something is wrong with your order, contact us before starting a chargeback.
7. Updates
A lifetime license includes free updates that we release for Phoaly. Updates are installed manually from the download page. New versions keep your existing index and settings. We may add, change, or remove features, and we cannot guarantee that every future macOS release will be supported.
8. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the app, except where the law allows it;
- bypass activation, seat limits, or other licensing controls;
- resell, rent, sublicense, or redistribute the app or a license;
- use Phoaly in a way that violates the law or infringes someone else's rights;
- interfere with the website or license service, or send requests designed to overload or probe them.
If we detect abuse, we may suspend the affected license or access to the license service.
9. Your files
You own your photos. We claim no rights in them and do not upload them. You are responsible for keeping backups. Culling, organizing, rotating, and cropping can move, delete, or rewrite files; review the preview before confirming and keep a reliable backup.
10. Our intellectual property
The app, website, brand, code, and design are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. A license does not transfer ownership. If you send us feedback, we may use it without restriction or payment.
11. Third-party services
Phoaly uses Stripe for payments, Cloudflare for hosting and infrastructure, map tile providers for the map view, and open-source components. Those services may have their own terms. We do not guarantee the availability of map tiles or other third-party services.
12. Availability and changes
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue parts of the website or the license service. We will try to keep activation and validation available for licenses you have already bought, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted service.
13. Disclaimer of warranties
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Phoaly is 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 error-free or compatible with every file, device, or future system version. Warranties that cannot be excluded by law are not affected.
14. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for loss of files or data, lost profits, or business interruption. Our total liability under these Terms will not exceed the amount you paid for the license in the 12 months before the claim.
Nothing in these Terms limits liability for willful misconduct, gross negligence, death or personal injury, or any liability that cannot be limited by law.
15. Termination
You may stop using Phoaly at any time. We may terminate a license if you materially breach these Terms. After termination, the license stops working. Refunds are handled under section 6. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will continue to apply.
16. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws applicable at Phoaly's principal place of business, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Before filing a claim, contact us so we can try to resolve the dispute informally. Nothing in this section prevents you from bringing a claim in a court that consumer law requires.
17. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms and will post the new version with a new date on this page. Material changes apply to use after they are posted. Continuing to use Phoaly after a change means you accept the updated Terms.
18. Contact
Questions about these Terms: support@phoaly.com, or the contact page.