Terms of Service

1. Provider

The App and Website are operated by:

GreenVend UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Bredtschneiderstr. 14
14057 Berlin, Germany
Email: [email protected]

("we", "us", or "our")

2. Scope and Subject Matter

ShameLock is a self-discipline tool ("commitment device") for Android. It lets you choose apps on your phone that you want to limit and requires you to take a selfie before those apps can be opened. The selfie is checked on your device for the presence of a real face; once confirmed, the blocked app is accessible for a five-minute grace period.

ShameLock is not a security product. It is a friction-based habit tool that works at the application layer. As disclosed on the Website and in the App itself, a determined user can bypass the lock by revoking the relevant Android permissions in system settings. This is by design: the small friction and mild self-confrontation are the mechanism, not technical enforcement.

These Terms cover your use of both the free and paid functionality of the App, and your use of the Website.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years old to use ShameLock. By using the App or Website, you confirm that you meet this requirement. If you are between 16 and 18, you confirm that you have obtained any parental or guardian consent required by applicable law.

4. Free Tier and Pro Upgrade

Free tier: After installing the App, you may block one app of your choice at no charge, with no time limit.

ShameLock Pro: A one-time, non-recurring purchase that unlocks the ability to block more than one app, access additional schedule options, and use other features marked as Pro within the App. The exact feature set of Pro may be updated over time; we will not remove core Pro functionality once you have purchased.

The purchase price is displayed at checkout and may vary by region and payment provider. Once purchased, Pro access is tied to your Google Play account or the payment account used at purchase and is not transferable to another account.

5. Purchase, Payment, and Right of Withdrawal

5.1 Payment

Purchases are processed either through Google Play's in-app billing or through Paddle (paddle.com), acting as merchant of record. The applicable payment terms, including VAT handling and currency, are governed by those platforms.

5.2 Right of Withdrawal (EU/EEA/UK consumers)

If you are a consumer resident in the EU, EEA, or UK, you generally have the right to withdraw from a distance contract within 14 days without giving a reason.

For digital content (ShameLock Pro): In accordance with Art. 16(m) of EU Directive 2011/83/EU and § 356(5) of the German Civil Code (BGB), the right of withdrawal expires once the performance of the digital content has begun — provided you have expressly consented to this and acknowledged that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal. At checkout, you will be asked to confirm this consent. Once you have done so and the Pro entitlement has been delivered to your device, the right of withdrawal no longer applies.

If you did not provide this consent, or if the Pro entitlement was not delivered, you may exercise your right of withdrawal within 14 days of purchase by contacting us at [email protected] or through the relevant platform's refund process.

5.3 Refunds

Outside the withdrawal window described above, refunds are subject to the refund policies of Google Play or Paddle, as applicable. We do not process payment refunds directly. For refund requests via Google Play, follow Google's in-app purchase refund process. For purchases via Paddle, contact Paddle's support or us at [email protected] and we will assist in initiating the request.

6. Required Android Permissions

ShameLock requires the following Android permissions to function. Granting them is voluntary; revoking any of them disables the corresponding feature.

These permissions are used solely for the purposes described. No data collected through these permissions is transmitted off your device by ShameLock. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

7. How the App Works — Technical Disclosures

• Face detection is performed on-device using Google ML Kit. It checks whether a real face is present in the selfie. It is not facial recognition and does not identify who you are. The detection is imperfect: unusual lighting, partial obstruction, or technical failures may produce false negatives (no face found when one is present) or, rarely, false positives. In either case, the user may retake the selfie.
• Grace period: After a confirmed selfie, the blocked app is accessible for five minutes before the lock re-engages. This is a product decision intended to allow genuine use; it means ShameLock does not provide continuous, uninterrupted blocking of the app.
• Bypass: As noted in Section 2, you can bypass blocking by revoking permissions in Android Settings. ShameLock does not prevent or resist this. It is not intended to.
• Data stays on your device: Selfies, unlock logs, app-blocking schedules, and statistics are stored in local device storage only. We operate no server that receives this data. Uninstalling the App removes all locally stored data.

8. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble the App, except to the extent permitted by applicable law;
• Use the App to monitor or control another person's device without their knowledge and consent;
• Attempt to circumvent any access controls in the App other than as documented (i.e., through the standard permission revocation described above);
• Use the Website or App in any way that violates applicable law or the rights of others.

ShameLock is designed for personal use as a self-discipline tool. Using it to monitor others without consent is prohibited and may violate applicable privacy and surveillance laws.

9. Intellectual Property

The App, Website, and all associated content (including the name "ShameLock", logo, design, and code) are the intellectual property of GreenVend UG (haftungsbeschränkt). These Terms do not transfer any intellectual property rights to you. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the App on your Android device for personal, non-commercial purposes, subject to these Terms.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

• The App is provided "as is" and "as available". We do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that defects will be corrected.
• We make no warranty that ShameLock will prevent all access to blocked apps, improve your productivity, or achieve any specific outcome. It is a tool; outcomes depend on your own choices and behaviour.
• We do not warrant the accuracy of on-device face detection.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits warranties that cannot be excluded under applicable mandatory law (including implied terms as to satisfactory quality and fitness for purpose under UK consumer law, or equivalent provisions under German law).

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for:

• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the App;
• Any loss of data (all data is stored on your device; we have no copy of it);
• Any harm arising from your reliance on the App as a security or parental-control tool (it is not designed for either purpose);
• Any consequences of the App failing to block access to an app, including but not limited to continued app usage, productivity loss, or any associated harm.

Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be limited under German law (including § 309 No. 7 BGB) or other applicable mandatory law.

12. Changes to the App and Terms

We may update the App (including adding, modifying, or removing features) and these Terms at any time. For material changes to these Terms, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this document. Continued use of the App after such updates constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to a material change, you may stop using the App. Paid Pro access is not affected by changes to features that are not part of the core Pro offering.

13. Termination

You may stop using the App at any time by uninstalling it. We may suspend or terminate your access to the App if you materially breach these Terms and fail to remedy the breach within a reasonable time after notice. Termination does not entitle you to a refund of any purchase made, except as required by applicable law or the refund policies described in Section 5.3.

14. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding its conflict-of-law provisions. If you are a consumer resident in another EU member state, you also benefit from any mandatory consumer protection provisions of your country of residence that cannot be derogated from by contract.

For consumers in the EU/EEA, disputes may be submitted to the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. We are not obliged to participate in alternative dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board, and we do not currently do so.

For disputes not resolved informally, the courts of Berlin, Germany shall have non-exclusive jurisdiction.