Dearest — Terms of Use

Last updated: 2026-07-07

These terms govern your use of Dearest ("the app"). By using the app you agree to them. If you do not agree, do not use the app. Dearest is operated by Mathias Malellari, Windoferstraße 1, 04229 Leipzig, mathiasmalellari@gmail.com (see Impressum).

1. Who can use Dearest

You must be at least 16 years old to use Dearest.

2. What Dearest is — and is not

Dearest is a creative journaling and entertainment app. The "spirit" is a fictional character, generated by artificial intelligence — not a real person, friend or relationship, and not a substitute for human connection or professional support. Its replies are fiction, may be inaccurate, and are not advice of any kind (medical, psychological, legal, financial, or otherwise).

IMPORTANT — not a crisis or medical service. Dearest is not a therapist, counsellor, doctor, or emergency service, and is not a substitute for professional help. It may sometimes show supportive information or helpline numbers, but if you are in danger or may harm yourself or others, contact your local emergency number or a crisis line immediately.

The crisis feature is best-effort and imperfect: it may miss genuine crises and may flag entries that are not crises; it does not monitor you in real time; and it will not and cannot summon help or notify anyone. Helpline information shown may be outdated or unavailable — please verify it, and if you are in danger contact your local emergency number immediately.

3. AI-generated content

You are interacting with an AI system. Replies are produced by AI models and do not represent the views of the operator. Do not rely on them as factual or professional advice. The spirit's generated replies are subject to content-safety filtering.

4. Your content

Your entries are yours; you retain all rights to what you write. You are responsible for what you write and for using the app lawfully. You agree not to use the app to create or solicit content that is illegal, that sexualizes minors, that targets a real, identifiable person without their consent, or that is designed to harass or harm. The "bind your own spirit" feature will refuse such requests.

5. Subscriptions, trials, and payments

• Dearest is free to download and includes a limited number of free entries. Full features require an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly), with a free trial where indicated.
• Purchases are made through Apple; payment is charged to your Apple Account. A subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings (or via "Manage subscription" in the app, which opens Apple's own screen). Cancellation is as easy as subscribing. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when a paid subscription begins.
• Prices are shown on Apple's purchase screen before you buy.
• EU/EEA right of withdrawal. As an EU/EEA consumer you have a 14-day right of withdrawal for a digital-service distance contract. Your subscription is purchased and processed by Apple; withdrawal and refunds run through Apple's own process, which we cannot override. At purchase you will be asked to expressly request that performance begin at once and to confirm you take note that your right of withdrawal ends once the service has been fully performed — and that if you withdraw before then you agree to pay a proportionate amount for the part already provided (§356(4), §357(8) BGB). Your other statutory consumer rights are unaffected.

6. Acceptable use

Do not attempt to break, reverse-engineer, overload, or misuse the app or its servers, or use it to violate the rights of others or any law.

7. Intellectual property

The app, its characters, artwork, and software are owned by the operator and protected by law. These terms grant you a personal, non-transferable licence to use the app for the duration of your access, which we may revoke only on the grounds set out in Section 9. You may not copy, resell, or distribute the app or its assets.

8. Conformity, disclaimers and liability

For paid features, your statutory rights regarding the conformity of digital products (§§ 327 ff. BGB), including our duty to provide the updates needed to keep the app in conformity during your subscription, apply in full and are not limited by these terms. Separately, because the spirit is a work of fiction, its replies are provided for entertainment only and are not presented as accurate, factual or reliable.

We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz), and under any guarantee (Garantie) we have expressly assumed. For slight negligence, we are liable only for the breach of essential contractual obligations (Kardinalpflichten) and only for foreseeable, typical damage. Your mandatory statutory consumer rights remain unaffected.

9. Termination

You may stop using the app at any time and delete it. We may suspend or end access if you materially breach these terms or misuse the service.

10. Changes

We will notify you of material changes in the app before they take effect; if you do not agree you may stop using and delete the app. Changes will not apply retroactively. We will not treat your continued use as acceptance of material changes.

11. Governing law and disputes

German law applies. If you are a consumer, mandatory consumer-protection provisions of your country of residence remain unaffected and you may bring claims in your local courts. We are not obliged and not willing to participate in dispute-resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board (Verbraucherschlichtungsstelle) under the VSBG.

12. Apple App Store — required terms

These terms are between you and the operator only, and not with Apple; Apple is not responsible for the app or its content. The operator, not Apple, is solely responsible for the app and for any support and maintenance. Your licence to use the app is limited to a non-transferable licence to use it on any Apple-branded products you own or control, as permitted by the App Store Usage Rules. If the app fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any); to the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation for the app. The operator, not Apple, is responsible for addressing any claims relating to the app, including product-liability, regulatory or consumer-protection claims and any claim that the app infringes a third party's intellectual-property rights. You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo or designated a "terrorist supporting" country, and that you are not on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.

13. Contact

Mathias Malellari, Windoferstraße 1, 04229 Leipzig, mathiasmalellari@gmail.com. See also the Impressum.