Etch Terms of Service

v1.1 — Last updated: 2026-07-11

These terms are a plain-language agreement between you and the maker of Etch. They cover how you may use the app, what you can expect from us, what we expect from you, and how in-app purchases and premium content work. They sit alongside the Privacy Policy, which explains how your data is handled and which forms part of these terms.

By downloading, installing, or using Etch, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the app.

1. Who we are

Etch is made by Bartosz Nowak, an independent app developer based in Poland ("Etch", "we", "us", "our"). Etch has no company behind it — it's a one-person indie project.

You can reach us any time at feedback@barteknowak.com. Because Etch is distributed through Google Play, our full trader contact details — including our postal address and phone number — are the ones we've verified with Google and that Google publishes on Etch's Google Play listing for users in the EU. We'll also provide them by email on request.

2. Who can use Etch

You must be at least 13 years old (or the minimum age for using an app like this in your country, if that is higher) to use Etch. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use Etch only with the involvement of a parent or guardian who agrees to these terms on your behalf. Etch is not directed at children under 13 (see Privacy Policy §16).

3. Your licence to use Etch

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to install and use Etch on devices you own or control, for your own study — including studying for your job, exams, or profession. You may not resell the app or redistribute it commercially. This licence is personal and revocable as described in §15.

The app itself — its code, design, name, logo, and other original material we provide — belongs to us. Using Etch doesn't transfer any of that to you, and these terms don't grant you any rights to our branding.

4. Your content is yours

The flashcards, decks, notes, images, audio, and files you create or import are your content. We claim no ownership of it.

Etch is local-first: your content lives in private storage on your device, and we run no server and hold no account for you (see the Privacy Policy for the details and the few, scoped exceptions). Because your content lives on your device:

• You are responsible for your own backups. If you uninstall Etch, wipe your device, or lose it, content that wasn't backed up may be gone. Etch offers export and works with Android's system backup, but keeping copies is ultimately up to you.
• You control where your content goes. When you export a file or share it, that's your choice and your responsibility.

5. Content you import

Etch lets you import decks and files — for example Anki .apkg packages, CSV/TSV files, and .etch bundles. You are responsible for making sure you have the right to use anything you import. Don't import, use, or share content that infringes someone else's copyright or breaks the licence it came with. We don't review imported content and we aren't responsible for it.

If you believe content we provide in Etch (such as a premium deck) infringes your rights, email feedback@barteknowak.com with the details and we'll look into it. Your own decks live only on your device and we don't host them, so we can only act on content we actually provide.

6. Premium and other Etch-provided content (licensed, not sold)

Separately from your own content, Etch may also offer premium decks and other content that we license to you — we do not sell or transfer ownership of it. When you unlock premium content, you receive a personal, non-transferable, non-sublicensable licence to use it within Etch for your own study.

For that licensed content you may not:

• copy, redistribute, resell, publish, lend, or share it with others;
• extract, rip, or repackage it (including its embedded images and audio) for use outside Etch; or
• remove or work around any measure we use to protect it.

Premium decks may include photos, artwork, or audio that we license from third parties. Those come with their own licence terms, and your right to use them does not include any right to reuse or redistribute them elsewhere. To protect this content we may use technical measures, and we may exclude premium content from the app's export feature.

These restrictions apply only to premium and Etch-provided content — never to the decks and cards you create or import yourself (§4). Your own content always stays fully yours to edit, export, and back up.

7. In-app purchases

Etch offers optional one-time purchases — currently Etch Pro and Etch Supporter (which unlock features) — and may offer premium decks in future.

• Purchases are made through Google Play's billing system. For buyers in the EEA and the UK, Google is the seller / merchant of record; for buyers elsewhere, we are the seller of record and Google Play acts as the payment processor. Either way, we never see or handle your payment details.
• What you receive from us is a licence to use the content or features (we keep ownership of the content itself — see §6); the purchase itself is processed through Google Play.
• Prices are the ones shown in Google Play at the time of purchase, in your local currency, and may change over time.
• Your unlock (entitlement) is tied to the Google account you buy with. Etch checks that account with Google Play to decide what you own — there is no Etch account and no Etch server involved.
• What data this involves is described in Privacy Policy §7a.

Your purchase is also subject to the Google Play Terms of Service.

8. Refunds

Because we don't handle your payment directly, the quickest route to a refund is to request one through Google Play, under Google's refund policies. If something is genuinely broken, email us at feedback@barteknowak.com — we can also issue or arrange a refund through Google Play.

As a consumer you also have a 14-day right to withdraw from a digital purchase; because Google Play delivers unlocks immediately, that right ends once delivery begins (Google collects that consent at checkout). This doesn't affect your rights if a paid item is faulty (see §12 and §13).

9. Third-party services

Etch relies on a small number of outside services, and your use of them is subject to their own terms:

• Google Play — for installing the app and for all purchases and refunds (see §7).
• Sentry — for optional crash reports and in-app feedback, only when you opt in (or in a beta build). See Privacy Policy §3, §5, and §7.

We aren't responsible for these third-party services, but we've tried to keep our use of them minimal and clearly documented in the Privacy Policy.

10. Using Etch responsibly

When you use Etch, please don't:

• reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble the app, except to the limited extent the law expressly allows;
• circumvent or defeat any protection on premium content, or copy or share premium content in breach of §6;
• use Etch to break the law or infringe anyone's rights; or
• deliberately interfere with the app's normal operation or security.

11. Etch is a study tool, not professional advice

Etch is a spaced-repetition study aid. It does not provide medical, legal, financial, or other professional advice, and you shouldn't rely on any deck content as such. We don't guarantee any particular learning outcome or exam result.

Etch's reminders and pop-up cards depend on your device, its operating system, battery settings, and the permissions you grant. Because of how Android manages background apps, we can't guarantee a card will appear at any exact moment — treat Etch as a helpful nudge, not a critical alarm.

12. What we promise, and the limits of it

Etch's free features are provided "as is" and "as available." Beyond the guarantees that apply to you by law, we don't promise the app will be uninterrupted, error-free, or fit for a particular purpose.

For anything you pay for (Etch Pro, Etch Supporter, and any premium decks), you have a statutory guarantee that it matches its description and works as such content normally would. If it doesn't, you're entitled to have it put right or, where appropriate, to a price reduction or refund, at no cost to you — nothing here limits those rights.

To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for loss of your content or data that is not caused by a fault in the app — which is why §4 asks you to keep your own backups. Where we are liable and the loss is not covered by your statutory rights above, our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us (through Google Play) for the app or content giving rise to the claim.

None of this limits liability that cannot be limited by law — for example liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud or intentional or gross fault.

13. Your rights as a consumer

If you use Etch as a consumer, you have rights under Polish and EU consumer-protection law that these terms do not take away or reduce. Nothing in these terms — including §8, §12, §14, and §15 — affects those mandatory statutory rights.

14. Changes to Etch and to these terms

We may change, improve, or discontinue Etch or any of its features over time.

If we discontinue Etch or remove it from Google Play, copies already installed keep working for as long as they function on your device, and content you've unlocked stays available where it's already active. Because unlocks are checked through Google Play, reinstalling or restoring a purchase may stop working once the app is no longer on Google Play. This does not affect your statutory rights (§13).

We may change these terms for a valid reason — for example a change in the law, in the features we offer, or in how purchases work. When we do, we'll update the "Last updated" date and give in-app notice of material changes before they take effect, where practical. Changes apply only going forward and do not reduce or remove anything you've already bought — your Etch Pro or Supporter unlock, and any premium deck, stay available on the terms you bought them under. Continued use after a non-material change means you accept it; if you don't accept a material change, you can stop using Etch (see §15).

15. Ending your use of Etch

You can stop using Etch at any time by uninstalling it. Uninstalling removes the app's local data from your device (see Privacy Policy §9).

We may suspend or end your licence to use Etch — or specific premium content — if you materially breach these terms, for example by pirating or redistributing premium content. Where a breach concerns only premium content, we'll limit any step to that specific premium licence, as a proportionate response and after notice where practical. Ending your licence does not delete or claim your own content, and does not remove your ability to export or keep the decks and cards you created or imported (§4). Purchases you've already made remain governed by Google Play's terms and refund policies.

16. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Poland. If you are a consumer resident in the EU or EEA, this choice of law does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory consumer rules of the country where you live, and you may also be able to bring proceedings there.

17. General

• The Privacy Policy is part of these terms, incorporated by reference.
• Severability. If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest stays in full force.
• No waiver. If we don't enforce a term straight away, that isn't a waiver of it.
• Transfer. You may not transfer your rights under these terms. We may transfer ours — for example if Etch is taken over by a company or another maintainer — as long as your rights are not reduced.
• Feedback. If you send us feedback or ideas, we may use them to improve Etch without any obligation to you.
• Whole agreement. These terms, the Privacy Policy, and Google Play's terms are the whole agreement between us about Etch.

18. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email us: feedback@barteknowak.com

Etch is a one-person indie project. We've written these terms in plain language and tried to keep them fair. If anything here seems unclear or unreasonable, tell us — we'd rather fix it than hide behind it.