Terms of Service

Head and Preamble

These Terms of Service (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (hereinafter referred to as “you,” “your,” or the “User”) and CoFlows Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (hereinafter referred to variously as “LoroBuddy,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), governing your access to and use of the LoroBuddy mobile application and all related products, services, features, and functionalities (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Software” and the “Services”).

This Agreement is important and affects your legal rights. Please read it carefully before using the Services. By downloading, installing, accessing, or otherwise using the Software, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by this Agreement in its entirety. If you do not agree with any provision, you must cease all use of the Software and uninstall it from your devices.

LoroBuddy is designed for children (recommended for ages 2–12) to use under the supervision of a parent or guardian. If you are a parent or guardian, you accept this Agreement on your own behalf and on behalf of the child you supervise, and you agree to be responsible for that child’s use of the Services.

I. Eligibility

The Services are intended to be downloaded, purchased, configured, and supervised by an adult who is at least eighteen (18) years of age or the age of legal majority in their jurisdiction. By accepting this Agreement, you represent that you meet this requirement and that you have the legal authority to accept this Agreement on behalf of any child who will use the Services under your supervision. Children may use the Services only under the supervision of such an adult.

II. About the Software and the Services

LoroBuddy is a reading and learning application for young children. Its features include reading printed pages and text aloud, sounding out words, support for multiple languages, gentle rewards and progress, and a family messages feature in which a child can create drawings, voice recordings, and photos. The Services are offered free of charge with non-personalised, child-directed advertisements, and include an optional paid subscription that removes those advertisements, as described in Section VIII.

Book Mode additionally offers an optional “Practise” mode with AI-assisted scoring, which is off by default. It functions only if a parent connects their own third-party AI provider account (currently Groq) by entering an API key in the Settings, behind the parental gate. When enabled, the child reads a sentence aloud, the device transcribes it on-device, and the transcript text (never the audio) is sent directly to the parent’s AI provider to return an encouraging score. Use of this optional feature is governed by Section III.iv and the Privacy Policy.

III. License Grant and Restrictions

i. Limited License

Subject to your compliance with this Agreement, we grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, and revocable license to download and use the Software on devices you own or control, solely for your and your family’s personal, non-commercial use.

ii. On-Device Models

The Software includes or downloads voice, language, and recognition model files that are licensed for on-device use as part of the Services only. You may not extract, copy, redistribute, or repurpose these model files.

iii. Restrictions on Use

You agree that you will not, and will not permit any person to:

• copy, modify, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software, except to the extent such restriction is prohibited by applicable law;
• rent, lease, lend, sell, sublicense, or otherwise commercially exploit the Software;
• circumvent, disable, or interfere with advertising, the subscription, the parental gate, or any security or access-control feature;
• use the Software for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law; or
• use automated means to access the Software or attempt to disrupt its operation.

iv. Optional AI Provider (Bring Your Own Key)

Practise-mode scoring is an optional feature that requires you to supply your own API key from a third-party AI provider (currently Groq, Inc.). If you choose to enable it:

• you are responsible for creating and maintaining your own account with the AI provider, for keeping your API key secure and confidential, and for complying with the AI provider’s own terms of service and acceptable-use and privacy policies;
• you are responsible for any fees, usage limits, or charges that the AI provider applies to your account (the AI provider currently offers a free tier, but its pricing and limits are set by the provider and may change);
• you acknowledge that, when enabled, the target sentence and the on-device speech transcript are sent directly from your device to the AI provider under your account, that we do not control the AI provider, and that the AI provider’s processing of that data is governed by its own policies; and
• you may disable the feature at any time by removing the key in the Settings.

We provide this integration “as is,” do not endorse or assume responsibility for the AI provider, and may change or discontinue the integration, or the supported provider, at any time.

IV. User Conduct and Responsibilities

i. Lawful Use

You are responsible for ensuring that your and your child’s use of the Services complies with all applicable laws.

ii. Content Responsibility

You are solely responsible for the content created within the Services (including drawings, recordings, photos, and messages). Such content is stored on your device and, where you permit, in your device’s gallery. You are responsible for supervising the content your child creates and for keeping it appropriate.

iii. Educational Aid and Accuracy

The Services are an educational aid intended to support reading. Optical character recognition, text-to-speech, speech recognition, and AI-assisted Practise-mode scoring are provided on an “as is” basis and may not always be accurate or complete. Practise-mode scores and encouragement messages are generated automatically, are approximate and for motivational purposes only, and are not a formal assessment of a child’s reading ability or development. The Services are not a substitute for professional educational, medical, or developmental advice, and should be used under adult supervision.

iv. Recording Compliance

The voice-recording features are intended for personal, family use. You are responsible for ensuring that any recording you make complies with applicable laws, including obtaining any consent that may be required.

v. Copyright and Fair Use

You are responsible for ensuring that you have the right to scan and have read aloud any printed material you use with the Services. Use of the Services with copyrighted material should be limited to personal, educational, or other lawful use.

V. Intellectual Property Rights

The Software and the Services, including all software, designs, text, graphics, the “Loro” character and mascot, logos, and trademarks, are owned by or licensed to the Company and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except for the limited license granted above, no right, title, or interest in the Software or the Services is transferred to you. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

VI. Regional Feature Restrictions

Certain features, languages, advertising behaviour, or availability of the Services may vary by region, device, or platform, including to comply with local legal requirements. We may add, modify, or remove features at any time.

VII. Third-Party Services

The Services rely on certain third-party providers, including Google AdMob (for non-personalised, child-directed advertising) and the Apple App Store and Google Play Store (for distribution and in-app purchases). If you enable the optional Practise-mode scoring, you also engage the AI provider (Groq, Inc.) under your own account, as described in Section III.iv. Your use of those services is also subject to the providers’ own terms and policies. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of third-party providers.

VIII. Payments, Subscriptions, and Costs

i. Subscription Plans

LoroBuddy offers an optional “Basic” subscription, priced at US$2 per month (or the local equivalent set by the app store), which removes advertisements. Prices are shown in the application before purchase and may vary by region and over time.

ii. Auto-Renewal Terms

Subscriptions automatically renew for successive periods unless cancelled. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of that period. You can manage and cancel your subscription at any time through your Apple App Store or Google Play Store account settings.

iii. In-App Purchases and Transaction Processing

All purchases are processed by the applicable app store provider, which collects and processes your payment. We do not receive your payment card details. Refunds, where available, are handled by the app store provider in accordance with its policies and applicable law.

iv. Advertisements

When used without an active subscription, the Services display non-personalised, child-directed advertisements served by Google AdMob. Subscribing to the Basic plan removes these advertisements.

v. Costs

You are responsible for any device, data, and connectivity costs incurred in downloading and using the Software, including downloading voice and language model files. If you enable the optional Practise-mode scoring, you are also responsible for any fees or usage charges applied to your own third-party AI provider account; LoroBuddy does not charge for this feature and does not receive any part of the AI provider’s fees.

IX. Privacy

Your use of the Services is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle information and protect children’s privacy. By using the Services, you acknowledge the Privacy Policy.

X. Disclaimers of Warranty

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SOFTWARE AND THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF READING, RECOGNITION, TRANSLATION, OR AI-GENERATED SCORING OUTPUT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY THIRD-PARTY AI PROVIDER WILL BE AVAILABLE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

XI. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US FOR THE SERVICES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR US$10. NOTHING IN THIS AGREEMENT EXCLUDES OR LIMITS LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING YOUR STATUTORY CONSUMER RIGHTS.

XII. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses arising out of your or your child’s misuse of the Services or violation of this Agreement or any applicable law, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

XIII. Termination

i. Termination by You

You may stop using the Services at any time by uninstalling the Software, and you may cancel any subscription through your app store account.

ii. Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services if you materially breach this Agreement or use the Services unlawfully.

iii. Effect of Termination

Upon termination, the license granted to you ends and you must cease using and uninstall the Software. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and governing law) shall survive.

XIV. Governing Law

This Agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules, except that mandatory consumer protection laws of your place of residence may also apply.

XV. Dispute Resolution

i. Informal Resolution

Before commencing any formal proceeding, you agree to first contact us and attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally.

ii. Binding Arbitration

To the extent permitted by applicable law, any dispute not resolved informally shall be finally resolved by binding arbitration administered in Hong Kong, save that you may instead bring a qualifying claim in your local small-claims court.

iii. Class Action Waiver

To the extent permitted by applicable law, disputes shall be resolved on an individual basis, and you waive any right to participate in a class or representative action.

iv. Exceptions

Nothing in this Section prevents either party from seeking injunctive or equitable relief for the infringement or misuse of intellectual property, and nothing limits any non-waivable statutory right you may have.

XVI. Modifications to This Agreement

We may modify this Agreement from time to time. When we make material changes, we will revise the version number and effective date above and, where appropriate, provide notice within the application. Your continued use of the Services after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the modified Agreement.

XVII. Contact Us

CoFlows Limited (Hong Kong)
Email: hello@lorobuddy.com

XVIII. General Provisions

This Agreement, together with the Privacy Policy, constitutes the entire agreement between you and the Company regarding the Services. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in effect. Our failure to enforce any right or provision shall not be a waiver of that right or provision. You may not assign this Agreement without our consent; we may assign it in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. This Agreement is published in English, which is the governing language; any translation is for convenience only.