Terms of Service

Last updated: August 29, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Birder Diary ("the app") and its related online services (together, the "service"). By using the service, you agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy.

1. Eligibility and Lawful Use

You must be legally able to agree to these Terms. You may use Birder Diary for lawful purposes and must comply with applicable laws, regulations, and the rights of others.

2. Account and Security

The iOS app uses Sign in with Apple to help protect access. You are responsible for safeguarding your Apple account and device and for activity while signed in. Do not transfer, sell, or misuse access to the service, and contact us promptly if you believe your account or sign-in status is compromised.

3. Your Content

You retain ownership of the photos, videos, notes, and other content you add. You are responsible for having the rights and permissions needed to use that content. When you choose identification or another online feature, you allow us to transmit and process the relevant content only to the limited extent needed to provide that feature. This permission is non-exclusive and limited to providing and protecting the service.

4. Bird Identification and Reference Information

Species identification, regional, taxonomic, conservation-status, and other information provided by the service is for reference and may be incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate. Do not use it as the sole basis for scientific, medical, legal, emergency, navigation, conservation-enforcement, or other safety-critical decisions. You can review and correct your records.

5. Recognition Modes, Limits, and Plans

The service offers free features and may offer features that require an active subscription. Different recognition modes may have daily or other reasonable usage limits. Availability and limits may depend on your plan, region, app version, and service status. We may reasonably adjust features and limits to maintain service quality, prevent abuse, or reflect changes in the service, with additional notice for material changes where required by law.

6. Auto-Renewable Subscriptions

Purchases completed through Apple are also subject to Apple's applicable terms, billing, and refund rules. Non-waivable consumer rights prevail if they conflict with these Terms.

7. Acceptable Use

To keep the service safe and fair for everyone, please use its features responsibly. Do not interfere with the service, bypass authentication or usage limits, submit malicious or unlawful material, use automated means to overload or extract from the service, probe for vulnerabilities without permission, impersonate another person, or reverse engineer the service except where applicable law expressly permits it.

8. Intellectual Property and Licensed Content

The app, service, design, software, documentation, and original materials provided by us are owned by or licensed to Birder Diary and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Encyclopedia text, images, and other third-party content may be provided under their respective licenses, with applicable source and license details displayed in the app. These Terms give you a limited, revocable, non-transferable right to use the service; they do not transfer ownership of our intellectual property, a licensor's rights, or your content.

9. Technology Supporting the Service

Some features use operating-system, network, and related technical services. Their availability may depend on their own rules and network conditions. We are not responsible for independent third-party services beyond the extent required by applicable law.

10. Availability, Changes, and Suspension

We work to keep the service stable and reliable and may maintain and update it to improve features. Maintenance, network conditions, or other reasonable circumstances may cause temporary interruptions. We may also limit or suspend access when necessary to protect users and the service, address abuse, or comply with law.

11. Ending Use and Account Requests

You may sign out, uninstall the app, or otherwise stop using the service at any time. Uninstalling deletes the local diary and app data on that device, but the online account and related service records are not automatically deleted when the app is uninstalled. To request deletion of your online account and associated information, contact us as described in the Privacy Policy. Transaction, security, or audit records that must be retained by law may remain for the required period.

12. Disclaimer

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. We do not warrant the accuracy of identification or location results, fitness for a particular purpose, or uninterrupted operation. Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties or rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Birder Diary and its operators will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages, or for loss of data, profits, goodwill, or business opportunity arising from the service. This limitation does not apply where liability cannot legally be limited.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms as the service changes. We will post the revised Terms with a new last-updated date and provide additional notice where required. By continuing to use the service after revised Terms take effect, you agree to them to the extent permitted by law.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about these terms, contact us at feedback@birderdiary.com.