These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and Sprout Technologies ("Sprout", "we", "us", or "our"), a company registered in the Republic of South Africa. By creating an account, downloading, or using the Sprout mobile application (the "App") you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa and incorporate the consumer protections of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 ("CPA") and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 ("ECTA") where applicable.

1. The Service

Sprout is a personal-productivity app that helps separated and co-parenting families:

Important: The App is provided as a tool to help you organise your records. It is not legal, financial, tax, or accounting advice. It is not a substitute for a lawyer, mediator, accountant, or financial advisor. Decisions about maintenance, custody, tax, or any dispute remain your responsibility.

2. Eligibility and accounts

3. Your content

You retain all rights in the information, files, photos, and documents you submit to the App ("Your Content"). Your Content includes your expense entries, family information, receipt photos, parenting agreements, and court orders.

By using the App, you grant us a limited, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, process, and transmit Your Content only as needed to provide the App to you. We do not use Your Content for advertising, model training, analytics, or any purpose other than running the service for you.

You are solely responsible for ensuring that Your Content does not infringe anyone else's rights or breach any law. In particular, you confirm that you are entitled to upload any parenting agreement, court order, or receipt that names another person.

4. Acceptable use

When using the App, you agree not to:

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately if you breach this section.

5. Subscriptions, payments, and the free plan

5.1 Current pricing

Sprout is currently available at no charge. All features are free to use while the app is in its initial launch period. We will notify you at least 14 days in advance before any subscription or pricing change takes effect.

5.2 Future Sprout Pro subscription

We intend to introduce an optional "Sprout Pro" subscription in a future update. If and when introduced, it will be an auto-renewing subscription sold through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store using their in-app purchase systems. Pricing and feature details will be communicated clearly in the App before any purchase is required.

5.3 Refunds

If and when paid subscriptions are introduced, refund requests will be handled by Apple or Google according to their refund policies. We will consider hardship refunds on a case-by-case basis if you contact [email protected] within 7 days of a renewal.

6. AI features — additional terms

The AI Scan and Agreement Chat features are powered by Anthropic's Claude API. By using these features you acknowledge that:

7. Cloud sync

Cloud sync is provided on a best-effort basis. We aim for high availability, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted service. You remain responsible for keeping your own backup copies of any data that is important to you. The on-device export and PDF features give you a way to do this.

8. Intellectual property

The App, including the Sprout name, the Sprout sprout-leaf mark, the user interface design, all icons, illustrations, and the underlying code, is owned by Sprout Technologies and protected by South African and international intellectual-property law. Nothing in these Terms transfers any of those rights to you.

These Terms grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use the App on devices you own or control, for your personal, non-commercial use.

9. Disclaimers (subject to the CPA)

The CPA gives you certain warranties — including that goods and services be of good quality, in good working order, and free of defects — which cannot be excluded. Nothing in these Terms limits those statutory warranties.

Subject to those statutory warranties, the App is provided "as is" and "as available", without further warranty of any kind. We do not warrant that the App will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free; that the AI features will be accurate; that any defect will be corrected; or that your data will never be lost.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law and subject to the CPA:

Nothing in this section limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claim, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of (a) Your Content, (b) your breach of these Terms, or (c) your unlawful use of the App. This does not apply to claims that arise from our own breach of these Terms or our negligence.

12. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the App at any time if you breach these Terms, if we are required to by law, or if we discontinue the App. We will give you reasonable notice where it is practical to do so.

You may stop using the App at any time. To delete your account and the data we hold about you, go to Setup → Account → Delete account in the App, or email [email protected].

13. Dispute resolution

If you have a complaint, please first contact us at [email protected] so we can try to resolve it directly. We will respond within 7 business days.

If we cannot resolve the dispute, you may refer it to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (cgso.org.za) or, for privacy disputes, the Information Regulator.

These Terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa, and the courts of South Africa have non-exclusive jurisdiction.

14. General

15. Contact

Sprout is operated by Sprout Technologies, a company registered in the Republic of South Africa with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).