Terms of Service

Eligibility

The Service is intended only for users who are 18 years of age or older. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old and that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are not at least 18, you may not use the Service.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a person under 18, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

The Service

Parla is a language-learning application that places you in real, spoken conversations with an AI conversation partner. During a conversation, the Service captures audio from your device microphone and uses it to power interactive, voice-based practice.

We may add, change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, including features and supported languages. We are not liable to you or any third party for doing so.

Your Account

To use most features of the Service, you must create an account using a valid email address. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to provide accurate information and to keep it up to date.

Notify us promptly at support@speakparla.com if you believe your account has been accessed without your authorization. We are not responsible for any loss arising from unauthorized use of your account.

Subscriptions and Payments

Certain features of the Service require a paid subscription. Subscriptions are sold and billed through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store using their in-app purchase systems. When you purchase a subscription, your payment is processed by Apple or Google under their respective terms, and we do not receive or store your full payment card details.

Subscriptions automatically renew for successive periods at the then-current price unless you cancel before the end of the current billing period. Your subscription, including renewal and cancellation, is managed through your Apple App Store or Google Play account settings, not by Northstar Apps directly.

Except where required by law or by the applicable app store’s policies, payments are non-refundable. Any refund requests are handled by Apple or Google in accordance with their policies.

Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree that you will not:

• use the Service in any way that violates applicable law or regulation;
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other accounts, or our systems or networks;
• interfere with, disrupt, or place undue load on the Service or its infrastructure;
• reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service, except as permitted by law;
• use the Service to transmit content that is unlawful, harassing, abusive, or that infringes the rights of others; or
• use any automated means to access or scrape the Service without our prior written consent.

Your Content

The Service captures audio of your spoken conversations and other content you submit (“Your Content”). You retain ownership of Your Content. You grant Northstar Apps a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, process, transmit, and use Your Content solely to operate, provide, maintain, and improve the Service, including by transmitting audio to our service providers for processing as described in our Privacy Policy.

You represent that you have all rights necessary to grant this license and that Your Content does not violate these Terms or the rights of any third party.

Third-Party Services

The Service relies on third-party providers to function. In particular, audio from your conversations is transmitted to OpenAI for processing in order to generate responses and power the conversational experience. Your use of the Service is therefore also subject to the relevant terms and policies of those providers. We are not responsible for the practices of third-party providers, and their inclusion does not imply our endorsement.

Intellectual Property

The Service, including its software, design, text, graphics, logos, and all other materials (excluding Your Content), is owned by Northstar Apps or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for your personal, non-commercial use. No other rights are granted.

Disclaimers

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or that any content, including AI-generated responses, will be accurate or reliable. The Service is an educational tool and is not a substitute for professional instruction.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, in no event will Northstar Apps or its officers, members, employees, or agents be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the Service, whether based in contract, tort, or any other legal theory, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability for all claims arising out of or relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid to us, through the applicable app store, in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or fifty U.S. dollars (US$50).

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Northstar Apps and its officers, members, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your use of the Service, Your Content, or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

Dispute Resolution and Binding Arbitration

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights, including your right to file a lawsuit in court.

You and Northstar Apps agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its applicable rules, and will take place in Illinois unless you and we agree otherwise. The arbitrator’s decision may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Class Action Waiver. You and Northstar Apps agree that each may bring claims against the other only in your or its individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims or otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.

If the class action waiver above is found to be unenforceable as to a particular claim, then that claim (and only that claim) will be severed and may proceed in court, while all other claims remain subject to arbitration. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to support@speakparla.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms.

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms or to protect the Service or other users. You may stop using the Service at any time and may delete your account by contacting us. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including the sections on Your Content, Disclaimers, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, and Dispute Resolution.

Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Service are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Subject to the arbitration agreement above, you agree that any claim not subject to arbitration will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Illinois, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to support@speakparla.com.