lowbrowse terms of use

1. What these terms cover

1.1 These terms apply to the lowbrowse app and the daily news service in it. The provider is lowbrowse media UG (haftungsbeschränkt), c/o Paul Green, Burgherrenstraße 3, 12101 Berlin, Germany ("we"). More details are in the legal notice.

1.2 These terms are the licence agreement for the app. The agreement is between you and us only, not Apple. Your App Store purchase is also governed by the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions. Where these terms conflict with Apple's usage rules, Apple's usage rules prevail.

1.3 How the contract is formed (§ 312i BGB, Art. 246c EGBGB).

• The steps: you open the app and choose Sign in with Apple, or enter your email address. With Sign in with Apple, you confirm the sign-in in Apple's window. With email, you enter the code we send you. By completing sign-in, you agree to these terms, and the contract for your account and your use of the app is formed.
• Correcting entries: before you request the code, you see your email address and can change it. If no code arrives, simply enter the address again. You can cancel Apple's sign-in window at any time.
• Subscription: you then take out a subscription separately on the App Store. Apple shows you the plan, price and term first, and you confirm or cancel the purchase (sections 4 to 6).
• Contract text: we don't store a separate copy of the contract for you. You can view and save the current version of these terms at any time at lowbrowse.org/en/terms. We send earlier versions on request.
• Languages: German and English (section 14.3).
• Codes of conduct: we have not yet signed up to any code of conduct.

1.4 Any terms of your own do not apply.

2. What lowbrowse is

2.1 lowbrowse is a daily news edition with a small number of cards. We produce it with the help of AI tools. How lowbrowse is made explains how this works.

2.2 We work carefully and name our sources, but mistakes can still happen. lowbrowse is not legal, medical, financial or other professional advice. If you find a mistake, write to contact@lowbrowse.org.

2.3 We decide editorially which topics an edition covers, how many cards it has and how it looks. Beyond that, we change the app only for a valid reason, for example new iOS versions or Apple requirements, security, changes in the law, or developing features. This costs you nothing extra, and we tell you clearly. If a change more than slightly impairs your access or use, we tell you in advance on a durable medium, and you may end the contract free of charge within 30 days (§ 327r BGB). To do so, cancel your subscription (section 5.1) and request a refund for the period after the change from Apple (section 5.4).

2.4 During your subscription, we provide the updates needed to keep the app working as agreed, including security updates (§ 327f BGB). The app needs a current version of iOS, and an internet connection to load new editions. The App Store shows the minimum iOS version.

3. Your account

3.1 You need an account to read lowbrowse. You create one with Sign in with Apple, or with your email address and a one-time code. Each person may have one account.

3.2 You must be at least 16 years old.

3.3 Keep your access secure. If you think someone else is using your account, please tell us.

3.4 You can delete your account at any time in the app under Settings → Delete account, or by writing to contact@lowbrowse.org. Deleting your account does not cancel your Apple subscription. You can also cancel it before or after deleting (section 5).

4. Subscriptions, prices and the free month

4.1 There are two plans, Reader and Supporter, each monthly or annual. Both include exactly the same thing. Supporter is a voluntary higher price that supports lowbrowse. It adds no extra content or features.

4.2 The app shows current prices before you buy. They include VAT.

4.4 Renewal: whether and how your subscription renews is governed by the Apple Media Services Terms. Under them, Apple renews your subscription automatically for the period you chose unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it ends. These terms contain no renewal rule of their own.

4.5 Apple handles payment, using the payment methods and terms of your Apple Account. If the price of your current subscription changes, Apple tells you, and asks for your consent before the next renewal where Apple's rules require it.

4.6 We don't offer Family Sharing.

5. Cancelling

5.1 You can cancel at any time in iOS Settings under Apple Account → Subscriptions, or as Apple describes here.

5.2 After you cancel, you can keep reading until the end of the period you've already paid for. After that, you no longer get new editions. Your account stays until you delete it.

5.3 Either side may still terminate for good cause. For example, we will terminate if, after a warning, you keep scraping lowbrowse at scale or redistributing its content commercially (section 7). If we terminate for good cause, your access to lowbrowse ends. We can't end your Apple subscription ourselves, so please cancel it in your Apple settings (section 5.1). For the paid period you can no longer use, you request a refund from Apple (section 5.4). Claims for damages are unaffected.

5.4 Refunds: only Apple handles payments and refunds. We can't refund any amount to you ourselves. To request a refund, go to reportaproblem.apple.com. You can also request a refund from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. If you need help, write to contact@lowbrowse.org and we will support your request. If Apple declines a refund you are entitled to by law, tell us and we will take it up with Apple for you. Your statutory rights, including against us, are unaffected.

6. Right of withdrawal

6.1 As a consumer, you have a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal when you buy a subscription on the App Store. Apple concludes the sale with you in its own name, so Apple is your contracting party for the purchase. You therefore withdraw with Apple: through your purchase history in iOS Settings ("Withdraw Transaction"), at reportaproblem.apple.com, or as the Apple Media Services Terms describe. Apple issues the refund. Under Apple's terms, you can withdraw only from the first purchase of a subscription, not from later renewals.

7. What you may do with the content

7.1 We grant you a simple, non-transferable right to use the app on Apple devices that you own or control, within the usage rules in Apple's terms. You can access editions while your subscription runs. You may read the content for your own non-commercial purposes.

7.2 You may share links to lowbrowse, and quote individual sentences with attribution where the law allows it.

7.3 You may not:

• scrape content automatically, or use it to train AI models,
• redistribute content commercially,
• decompile or modify the app, or get around technical protections, except where the law expressly allows it,
• let others use your account or subscription.

7.4 Our World in Data charts and linked sources belong to their owners, and their licences apply to them.

8. Warranty

The statutory rights for defects in digital products apply (§§ 327 et seq. BGB). You buy the subscription from Apple; your statutory rights against Apple and against us are unaffected.

9. Liability

9.1 We are liable without limit for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the Product Liability Act, where we have given a guarantee, for fraudulently concealed defects, and under mandatory law, in particular Art. 82 GDPR.

9.2 For slight negligence, we are liable only if we breach an essential contractual duty, meaning a duty whose performance makes the contract possible in the first place and which you can regularly rely on. In that case our liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this kind of contract.

9.3 Otherwise, our liability is excluded. These limits also apply to our staff and agents.

10. Privacy

Our privacy policy explains how we handle your data.

11. Changes to these terms

11.1 We change these terms only with your agreement. We will ask you in the app and explain what changes.

11.2 If you don't agree, the current terms continue to apply. Your subscription carries on unchanged, and you don't need to do anything. You can cancel it as usual (section 5).

11.3 Changes to the app itself are covered by section 2.3.

12. Dispute resolution

We are neither willing nor obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

13. Notes about Apple

These notes apply because you got the app from the App Store. Apple requires them in custom licence terms.

13.1 This agreement is between you and us only, not Apple. We, not Apple, are solely responsible for the app and its content.

13.2 Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app. We provide maintenance and support. Contact us at contact@lowbrowse.org.

13.3 We, not Apple, are solely responsible for any warranties to the extent not effectively disclaimed. If the app fails to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price of the app to you, if any. To the extent the law allows, Apple has no other warranty obligation. Any other claims, losses, damages, costs or expenses attributable to a failure to conform to a warranty are solely the responsibility of lowbrowse media UG (haftungsbeschränkt). Your statutory rights against us are unaffected.

13.4 We, not Apple, are responsible for any claims by you or third parties relating to the app. These include product liability claims, claims that the app fails to meet a legal requirement, and claims under consumer protection or privacy law.

13.5 If a third party claims that the app, or your use of it, infringes their intellectual property rights, we, not Apple, are responsible for investigating, defending, settling and discharging that claim.

13.6 To the extent permitted by applicable law, in particular Regulation (EC) No 2271/96, you confirm that you are not located in a country subject to a US Government embargo or designated by the US Government as "terrorist supporting", and that you are not on any US Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

13.7 When using the app, you must comply with any applicable third-party terms, such as your mobile data contract.

13.8 Apple and Apple's subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of this agreement. Once you accept these terms, Apple has the right, and is deemed to have accepted the right, to enforce them against you as a third-party beneficiary.

13.9 Send any questions, complaints or claims about the app to: lowbrowse media UG (haftungsbeschränkt), c/o Paul Green, Burgherrenstraße 3, 12101 Berlin, Germany, email contact@lowbrowse.org.