Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, or using the Sproutstep mobile application ("App", "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the App.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Mikkel Schröder, the developer of Sproutstep ("we", "us", "our"). Please read them carefully before use.

2. Description of Service

Sproutstep is an iOS app that uses your step count data (via Apple HealthKit) to gamify daily movement. The App allows you to:

• Set a personalised daily step goal and track your progress
• Fill two in-app resource bubbles (sun ☀️ and water 💧) by hitting the first and second halves of your goal respectively
• Earn in-app credits at a rate of 1 credit per 10 steps — earned from all steps, not only steps beyond your goal
• Spend credits on virtual plants, mystery boxes, and shelf decorations
• Grow and maintain a collection of virtual plants on a customisable shelf or windowsill
• Unlock new shelf sceneries and additional shelf space as you progress
• Receive push notifications to support your daily movement habits

Sproutstep is intended for entertainment and motivational purposes. It is not a medical device and does not provide medical, fitness, or health advice. Step data displayed in the App may differ from other devices or apps.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years of age to use the App. If you are under 18, you must have the consent of a parent or legal guardian. By using Sproutstep, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements.

4. Account & Registration

Certain features require you to create an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately of any unauthorised use at mikkelschrroederr@gmail.com.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that have been inactive for an extended period, with reasonable notice where possible.

5. Subscriptions & Payments

Sproutstep offers an optional paid subscription ("Premium") on a monthly or annual basis. Subscriptions unlock an ad-free experience and may include additional premium features. All payments are processed by Apple through the App Store.

• Free trial: A 7-day free trial may be available for new subscribers. Your subscription auto-renews at the end of the trial unless cancelled at least 24 hours before expiry.
• Auto-renewal: Subscriptions renew automatically. Your Apple ID account is charged within 24 hours prior to the end of the current billing period.
• Cancellation: Cancel at any time via Apple ID subscription settings (Settings → Your Name → Subscriptions). Cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period; you retain access until then.
• Refunds: All refund requests are handled by Apple under their refund policy. We do not process refunds directly.
• Price changes: Subscription prices are displayed in the App at the time of purchase and may vary by region. We will notify you of price changes before your next renewal.

6. In-App Purchases, Credits & Virtual Items

The App includes a virtual credit system and optional in-app purchases (IAPs).

• Earning credits: You earn 1 credit for every 10 steps recorded by HealthKit. All steps count, regardless of whether you hit your daily goal.
• Spending credits: Credits can be spent on virtual plants, mystery boxes (which reveal a plant of random rarity), and shelf decorations.
• IAPs: Certain items — including plant revival (see Section 7) — may require a real-money in-app purchase in addition to or instead of credits.
• No cash value: Credits have no real-world monetary value and cannot be exchanged for cash, transferred between accounts, or carried over if your account is terminated.
• Licensed, not owned: Virtual items (plants, decorations, shelf layouts) are licensed to you for personal use within the App. You do not own them. We may modify, rebalance, or remove virtual items, credit costs, or plant prices at any time.
• No refunds: In-app purchases and credit spends are final, except where required by applicable law.

7. Plant Health, Death & Revival

Plant health is a core gameplay mechanic. Please read this section carefully before making significant credit or IAP investments.

• How plants stay healthy: Each plant has specific sun and/or water requirements. These are met by filling the corresponding resource bubble(s) via your daily step goal. Plants whose requirements are not met on a given day begin to deteriorate.
• Plant death: If a plant's care requirements are not met for a number of consecutive days (which varies by plant species and rarity — displayed on each plant's detail screen), the plant will die. Dead plants are removed from your active shelf but remain visible in your collection as deceased.
• Revival: Dead plants can be revived via a real-money in-app purchase. The revival cost is shown on the plant's detail screen. Revival purchases are final and non-refundable, except as required by applicable law.
• No automatic recovery: There is no automatic or free revival. If you do not wish to spend money on revival, you may also choose to let a dead plant remain deceased or purchase a replacement through credits or IAPs.
• Connectivity and data issues: If a HealthKit sync failure, device outage, or data error prevents the App from recording your steps accurately, we are not liable for any resulting plant deterioration or death. If you believe a technical error caused plant death that was not due to your inactivity, contact us and we will review the case.

8. Push Notifications

During onboarding, the App requests permission to send you push notifications. These include daily step reminders, plant health warnings, and motivational messages.

• Notifications are optional. The App remains fully functional if you decline or later disable notifications.
• You can opt out at any time via iOS Settings → Notifications → Sproutstep, or within the App's settings.
• We do not send unsolicited marketing communications. Notification content is limited to App-related activity.

9. HealthKit & Step Data

Sproutstep integrates with Apple HealthKit to read your step count. By enabling this integration, you grant the App read-only permission to access step data from your Apple Health profile.

• HealthKit data is used solely to power core gameplay mechanics (step tracking, goal progress, resource bubble fill, credit calculation).
• We do not share your HealthKit data with third parties for advertising or marketing purposes.
• Step counts from HealthKit may occasionally differ from what other apps or devices report. We are not responsible for discrepancies originating from HealthKit or your device hardware.
• Revoke access at any time via iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Health → Sproutstep → turn off Steps. Revoking access will disable all step-based gameplay.

For full details on how we handle your data, see our Privacy Policy.

10. User Conduct

You agree not to:

• Use the App for any unlawful purpose
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or tamper with the App or its backend
• Use automation, bots, GPS spoofing, step-injection scripts, or any other method to falsify step data or earn credits fraudulently
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to our systems, databases, or other users' accounts
• Sell, trade, transfer, or commercially exploit your account or virtual items
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity

Violations may result in suspension or permanent termination of your account without refund, and may be reported to relevant authorities where required by law.

11. Intellectual Property

All content within the App — including but not limited to plant artwork, animations, UI design, text, sounds, and code — is owned by us or our licensors and is protected under applicable intellectual property laws.

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the App for your personal, non-commercial purposes. This licence does not include any right to reproduce, distribute, modify, sublicense, or create derivative works from our content.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE APP WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE FROM BUGS OR VIRUSES.

Sproutstep is not a medical, fitness, or health service. Do not rely on App data for medical decisions. Step counts may differ from other sources due to device or HealthKit variations.

13. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE APP, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF VIRTUAL ITEMS, CREDITS, PLANT PROGRESS, OR DATA.

Our total aggregate liability to you for any and all claims arising from these Terms or your use of the App shall not exceed the total amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or €50, whichever is greater.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be lawfully excluded.

14. EU Consumer Rights

If you are a consumer resident in the EU or EEA, you have statutory rights that these Terms do not override.

• Right of withdrawal (cooling-off period): Under EU Directive 2011/83/EU, you ordinarily have 14 days to withdraw from a digital purchase without giving a reason. However, by starting to use a subscription or accessing digital content (such as a plant or mystery box) immediately after purchase, you acknowledge that the service has begun and you expressly consent to waiver of the 14-day withdrawal right for that specific purchase. This waiver applies only to digital content and subscriptions you have already begun to use.
• Subscription cancellations: For recurring subscriptions you have not yet used in the current billing period, your right of withdrawal applies to the most recent charge. Contact us or request a refund via Apple.
• Conformity of digital services: We are obligated to provide the App free of defects and in conformity with these Terms. If the App does not conform, you may be entitled to a remedy under applicable EU consumer law.

15. Apple as Third-Party Beneficiary

You acknowledge and agree that Apple Inc. is a third-party beneficiary of these Terms, and that Apple has the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof.

These Terms are concluded between you and us only, and not with Apple. Apple is not responsible for the App or its content. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and Apple's App Store terms, Apple's terms shall prevail with respect to App Store-related matters.

16. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the App at any time, with reasonable notice where practicable, if you violate these Terms or if we choose to discontinue the Service.

Upon termination: your licence to use the App ends; virtual items and credits are forfeited; active subscriptions will be cancelled at the end of the current billing period (or immediately if termination is due to a Terms violation). Refunds for termination due to our discontinuation of the Service will be handled via Apple.

You may also delete your account at any time within the App settings, which will initiate account and data deletion as described in our Privacy Policy.

17. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Denmark, without regard to conflict of law principles. For consumers in the EU/EEA, mandatory consumer protection laws of your country of residence also apply and are not displaced by this clause.

Any disputes arising under these Terms that cannot be resolved amicably shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Denmark. EU consumers may also use the European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution platform: ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

18. Severability & Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed if modification is not possible. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding your use of the App, and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements on that subject matter.

19. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top. For material changes, we will notify you via in-app message or email at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Continued use of the App after that date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree with the changes, you should stop using the App and may cancel your subscription before they take effect.

20. Contact

For questions about these Terms:

Email: mikkelschrroederr@gmail.com