Terms of Use

Last updated 24 July 2026

Plain terms for using Balm. By downloading or using the app, you agree to them. If you do not, please do not use Balm.

1. Balm is not therapy

Balm is a self-help tool based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy. It helps you write down and examine your own thinking. It does not diagnose or treat any condition, it is not medical or psychological advice, and it is not a substitute for a qualified professional.

If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please use the crisis resources listed in Settings → Crisis resources, contact a mental-health professional, or call your local emergency number. Balm is not an emergency service and cannot monitor, detect or respond to what you write.

2. Who can use Balm

You need to be old enough to agree to these terms where you live — at least 16, or the minimum digital-consent age in your country. Balm is not intended for children.

3. Your licence to use the app

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use Balm on devices you own or control, for your own personal use, in line with the rules of the app store you downloaded it from. You may not copy, resell, rent out or redistribute the app, reverse engineer it except where the law expressly permits, or use it to build a competing product. We keep all rights in the app itself — its code, design, text and branding.

4. One purchase, no subscription

Balm Premium is a single payment that unlocks full Insights, the therapist-ready PDF report and app lock. Nothing renews, no subscription starts, and you are not charged again. The price shown in the app at the time of purchase applies, including any limited launch offer, and prices may change for future buyers.

Premium belongs to the app store account that bought it — your Apple Account or Google account — not to a Balm account, because there isn't one. Plain CSV export and the core thought-record and check-in features are free and stay free.

5. Restoring your purchase

Reinstalled Balm, or moved to a new device? Tap Restore purchase on the Premium screen while signed in to the same store account you originally bought with. Because there is no Balm account, a purchase cannot be moved to a different store account.

6. Refunds

Purchases go through Apple or Google, so refunds are handled by them under their own policies — we cannot issue refunds ourselves. On the App Store, request one through Apple's Report a Problem page. On Google Play, use Google's refund request form . If you are in the EU or UK, statutory withdrawal rights may also apply through the store you purchased from.

7. What you write is yours

You keep every right to the records, check-ins and notes you create in Balm. We never claim ownership or any licence over them, and we cannot read them — they stay in your device's private storage. Because we hold no copy, you are responsible for keeping your own backups if your writing matters to you; the CSV and PDF exports in Settings are there for exactly that.

8. Using Balm responsibly

Balm is a private, single-user tool with nothing to post and no one to send anything to, so there is little to misuse. Please don't attempt to interfere with the app's operation or security, or use it in a way that breaks the law where you live.

9. Availability and changes to the app

We may update Balm, change or remove features, or stop distributing it. Because the app works entirely on your device, it keeps working on your phone even if we stop publishing updates, and your data remains yours to export. Features that depend on an app store — buying and restoring Premium — depend on that store remaining available.

10. Disclaimers and liability

Balm is provided "as is". To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim implied warranties of 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 using it will produce any particular outcome for your wellbeing.

To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability arising out of or relating to Balm is limited to the amount you actually paid for it. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of data stored on your device — you control that data and can export it at any time.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or fraud. If you are a consumer, you keep all mandatory statutory rights under the consumer law of the country you live in, and nothing here overrides them.

11. A note about the app stores

Apple and Google are not parties to these terms and are not responsible for Balm or its content. Where you obtained Balm from the App Store, Apple has no obligation to provide support for the app, and Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms with the right to enforce them against you. Your use of the app must also comply with the relevant store's terms of service.

12. Changes to these terms

If these terms change, the updated version appears on this page with a new date at the top. Continuing to use Balm after that means you accept the change. If you do not accept it, stop using the app — and export your data first if you want to keep it.

13. Contact

Questions about these terms go to balm.mobapp@gmail.com.