Terms of Service

Last updated: 26 August 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Lodestone (the "app"), a private journaling application for macOS provided by The Amsterdam Tech Company, based in the Netherlands ("we", "us", or "our"). The app is available through the Mac App Store and offers in-app purchases.

By using the app, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree to them, you must not use the app and must stop using it immediately.

1. Provider

The app is provided by The Amsterdam Tech Company, registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) under number 97338605, at Korte Lijnbaanssteeg 1, Office 4468, 1012 SL Amsterdam, the Netherlands. You may contact us at info@amsterdamtechcompany.com.

2. Eligibility

Lodestone is available only to individuals who are at least 18 years old. By using the app, you represent that you are 18 or older.

3. The service

Lodestone is a private journaling application that lets you write, store, sync, and read journal entries. Where you choose to use them, its AI features process your entries to maintain an evolving understanding of your writing (your "story") and to provide optional prompts, reflections, and follow-up conversations. Access to new AI processing requires an active subscription or free trial and is subject to the included AI-usage allowance described in section 5.

Lodestone is a self-reflection tool, and is not therapy, medical or psychological care, or a crisis or emergency service. We may update the service for the reasons and subject to the safeguards described in section 5 and applicable law.

4. Your account

You access Lodestone using Sign in with Apple; no separate password is required. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your Apple Account and device, and for all activity that occurs under your account.

5. Subscriptions, trials, billing, and included AI usage

  • Lodestone is offered on paid subscription plans. At the date of these Terms, the paid plans are Standard and Enthusiast. Both include the journal and sync service described in section 3 and access to all of its AI feature categories; Enthusiast includes a higher amount of AI usage than Standard. The plans then available, their current contents and comparative allowances, prices (inclusive of applicable taxes), billing periods, and any free-trial offer are shown in the app before you purchase.
  • Where a free trial is offered, it includes a separate, lower AI-usage allowance than the paid plan. The paid plan's allowance applies if and when the trial converts to a paid subscription. Trial eligibility, duration, and the price charged after the trial are shown before you subscribe.
  • All payments are processed by Apple. You purchase and manage your subscription through your Apple Account, and Apple is the seller of record; we do not receive or store your payment details.
  • Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You may cancel at any time in your Apple Account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
  • Refunds are handled by Apple in accordance with Apple's policies. We are unable to issue refunds directly, as we do not process payments.

Included AI usage covers the processing used to keep your story up to date and to provide prompts, reflections, and follow-up conversations. How quickly the allowance is used varies with the amount and complexity of your writing and conversations and the processing required to provide the feature. It therefore does not represent or guarantee a fixed number of entries, prompts, reflections, messages, or other actions.

The app shows the percentage of your allowance used and when it next changes or resets. Allowances ordinarily reset in recurring monthly usage periods tied to your subscription anniversary. Once the applicable allowance is reached, new AI processing pauses until more allowance becomes available. You may continue to write, sync, and read your existing entries and previously generated material. Reaching the allowance does not result in an automatic overage charge.

We may change the amount of included AI usage or the way it is measured where reasonably necessary because of material changes in the pricing or availability of third-party AI services; changes in models, technology, or the processing required to provide the features; security, abuse-prevention, or legal requirements; or material operational changes needed to maintain service quality or fair availability. A change to an allowance or its measurement does not by itself create an additional charge. Increases may take effect immediately. A reduction will not apply to an allowance already made available for a usage period or free trial that has begun. We will inform you clearly before a reduction takes effect.

If a change has more than a minor negative effect on your access to or use of the service, we will give you reasonable advance notice on a durable medium describing the change and when it will take effect, and inform you of any right you have under applicable law to terminate without charge or to keep using the service without the change. Nothing in this section limits your mandatory statutory rights.

6. Your content and our rights

You retain all rights to your entries and to the material the app derives from them ("your content"). You grant us only the limited licence necessary to operate the service: to store your content and process it to maintain your story and generate your reflections, prompts, and conversations, as described in the Privacy Policy. We do not claim ownership of your content and do not use it to train AI models.

Lodestone, including its software, design, name, and branding, remains our property. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable licence to use the app for your personal, non-commercial purposes on Apple-branded devices that you own or control, as permitted by the Usage Rules in the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions. These Terms confer no other rights in the app.

7. AI-generated content

Lodestone's story, reflections, prompts, and conversations are generated by artificial intelligence. Accordingly:

  • Accuracy. AI output may be inaccurate, incomplete, or inappropriate, even where it appears confident, and should not be treated as reliable.
  • Not professional advice. Lodestone does not provide medical, psychological, legal, financial, or other professional advice, and is not a substitute for a qualified professional. You should consult an appropriate professional before making any decision affecting your health or safety.
  • Not a crisis service. Lodestone is not an emergency or crisis service and cannot help in an emergency. If you are in crisis, or at risk of harming yourself or others, contact your local emergency number (for example 112 across Europe, or 911 in the United States and Canada) or a crisis line. You can find crisis, addiction, eating-disorder, and abuse support lines for your country on our resources page, or at findahelpline.com.
  • Reliance. You use AI-generated output at your own risk and agree not to rely on it as the sole basis for any significant decision. We are not responsible for any decision you make, or any action you take or do not take, in reliance on AI output.

8. Acceptable use

You agree to use Lodestone lawfully, and not to:

  • use the app for any unlawful purpose, or to plan or carry out harm to yourself or others;
  • attempt to cause the AI to produce harmful content or instructions, or to circumvent its safety measures;
  • abuse, disrupt, or defraud the service, or circumvent its AI-usage allowance or access controls;
  • copy, reverse-engineer, or resell the app, or access it by automated or bulk means; or
  • upload the personal information of others unlawfully, or infringe the rights of any third party.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these Terms or place the service or others at risk.

9. Privacy

Our processing of your personal data is described in the Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms.

10. Suspension and termination

You may stop using Lodestone at any time. Cancelling a subscription does not delete your account or content and takes effect at the end of the then-current billing period. After your subscription expires, you may continue to write, sync, and read your existing entries and previously generated material, but new AI processing will not be available unless you have an active subscription or free trial. You may delete your account within the app, which permanently destroys the key to your content, as described in the Privacy Policy.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you materially breach these Terms or place the service or others at risk. If we discontinue the service or make a change that gives you termination or other rights under applicable law, those rights continue to apply. Refund requests for App Store purchases are administered by Apple, without limiting any remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.

11. Availability

Lodestone is provided on a reasonable-efforts basis. We do not warrant that it will be available at all times, uninterrupted, or error-free, and we may temporarily suspend access where reasonably necessary for maintenance, security, or service changes. Lodestone depends on third-party services, including the App Store, network connectivity, and our AI provider. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for failures, downtime, or loss caused by services outside our reasonable control. Nothing in this section limits our obligations or your remedies under mandatory consumer law.

12. Liability and indemnity

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

  • Lodestone is provided "as is" and "as available." We disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, and we do not warrant that the app will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that its AI output will be accurate, complete, or reliable.
  • We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive loss, including loss of profits or goodwill, or for loss arising from your reliance on AI output. We take reasonable care to safeguard and back up your content; beyond that duty, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for loss of data.
  • Our total liability to you in connection with Lodestone is limited to the amount you paid for your subscription in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under the law applicable to you. In particular, nothing here excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or intentional misconduct, or under mandatory product-liability or consumer-protection law; and if you are a consumer, these Terms do not affect your mandatory statutory rights. If any part of this section is unenforceable, the remainder continues to apply.

You will indemnify us against any claims, losses, and reasonable costs arising from your unlawful use of Lodestone, your breach of these Terms, or content you submit that infringes the rights of others. This does not apply to the extent a claim results from our own negligence or wilful misconduct, and nothing in this paragraph affects your mandatory rights as a consumer.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms where reasonably necessary to reflect changes in the service, law or regulatory requirements, security needs, or our business or operating practices. Changes apply prospectively from the effective date stated in the revised Terms. Where a change materially affects you, we will give you reasonable advance notice in the app and, where required by law, on a durable medium that you can retain.

Changes to the service itself, including included AI usage, are also subject to section 5. If you do not agree to revised Terms, you may stop using Lodestone and cancel your subscription before they take effect. Continued use after the effective date means that the revised Terms govern that continued use, but does not waive any mandatory right or constitute consent where the law requires your express agreement.

14. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the law of the Netherlands, and the courts of Amsterdam have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute. If you are a consumer, this does not deprive you of the protection afforded by the mandatory law of your country of residence, and you may bring proceedings before the courts of that country. We ask that you contact us at info@amsterdamtechcompany.com before pursuing a dispute. As an EU consumer, you may also have access to alternative dispute resolution in your country.

15. Apple

As Lodestone is distributed through the Apple App Store, the following additional terms apply:

  • These Terms are concluded between you and us, not Apple, and Apple is not responsible for the app or its content.
  • Your licence to use the app is limited to use on Apple-branded devices that you own or control, is non-transferable, and is subject to the Usage Rules in the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions.
  • Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app.
  • To the extent permitted by law, Apple provides no warranty for the app. In the event of any failure of the app to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple may refund the purchase price (if any); Apple has no other warranty obligation.
  • We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing any claims relating to the app, including product-liability claims, any failure to comply with legal or regulatory requirements, consumer-protection claims, and any claim that the app infringes intellectual-property rights.
  • We, not Apple, are your point of contact for any questions or complaints regarding the app (info@amsterdamtechcompany.com).
  • You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo or designated as "terrorist-supporting", and that you are not listed 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.

16. Feedback and submissions

If you send us ideas, suggestions, feature requests, or other feedback about Lodestone ("Submissions"), the following applies. Submissions are voluntary and non-confidential, and we are under no obligation to review, use, respond to, or compensate you for them. You grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, modify, and otherwise exploit your Submissions for any purpose, including developing and improving our products, without attribution or compensation. You waive any moral rights in your Submissions and agree not to bring any claim against us in respect of them, including where we independently develop similar features. You represent that your Submissions do not infringe the rights of any third party.

17. General

  • Assignment. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms. We may transfer our rights and obligations to another entity (for example, upon a reorganisation or incorporation of the business as a company), provided your rights under these Terms are not reduced.
  • Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect.
  • No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision does not constitute a waiver of it.
  • Events beyond our control. We are not liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

18. Contact

The Amsterdam Tech Company

info@amsterdamtechcompany.com

Korte Lijnbaanssteeg 1, Office number 4468, 1012 SL Amsterdam, the Netherlands