Terms of Service

Last updated: March 3, 2026

Welcome to Refuge. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Refuge mobile application and related services (the "Service"). By creating an account or using Refuge, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. What Refuge Is

Refuge is a personal wellness app that helps you track your mood, reflect on your day through guided journaling, explore meditation and breathing exercises, and gain insight into your emotional patterns over time. Some features use AI to support self-reflection and provide personalized insights.

Refuge is a self-care and wellness tool. It is designed to complement your wellbeing journey, not to replace professional care.

2. Refuge Is Not Medical Advice

Refuge is not a healthcare provider. The Service does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Nothing in the app — including AI-generated insights, mood analyses, or Guide conversations — should be interpreted as clinical guidance or a substitute for the advice of a licensed physician, psychiatrist, therapist, or other qualified healthcare professional.

If you have been diagnosed with or believe you may have bipolar disorder, depression, or another mood disorder, we encourage you to use Refuge alongside — not instead of — care from a licensed mental health professional. Tracking your mood and engaging in self-reflection can sometimes surface difficult emotions. If you feel distressed, please reach out to a professional.

Refuge makes no claims, representations, or guarantees that the Service provides a therapeutic or medical benefit.

3. Crisis Resources

If you are in crisis or experiencing a medical emergency, please contact emergency services immediately.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 (US)
• Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741
• Emergency services — call 911 (US) or your local emergency number

Refuge does not monitor your entries or conversations in real time. The Service cannot detect or respond to emergencies.

4. AI Features

Refuge offers optional AI-powered features, including mood analysis, guided reflections, and conversations with AI Guides. Here is what you should know:

• AI Guides are not real people. Refuge's Guide personas (such as "Seneca," "Thich Nhat Hanh," and "CBT Guide") are AI-generated characters inspired by philosophical and therapeutic traditions. They do not represent the actual views of these historical figures, nor are they licensed professionals. Responses are generated by AI and should be treated as prompts for self-reflection, not as professional advice.
• AI responses may be inaccurate. AI-generated content may be incomplete, incorrect, or not appropriate for your situation. Use your own judgment and consult a qualified professional when in doubt.
• Third-party AI processing. AI features are powered by Anthropic's Claude API. When you use an AI feature, relevant portions of your data (such as mood scores, journal text, and category values) are sent to Anthropic for processing. Anthropic does not use this data to train its models. For details, see Anthropic's Privacy Policy.
• AI features are optional. You can use Refuge's core mood tracking, journaling, and meditation features without ever using AI. AI features require you to explicitly initiate them.

5. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account and use Refuge. If you are under 18, you should review these Terms with a parent or guardian. AI features (mood analysis, Guide conversations, and Reflect mode) are intended for users aged 18 and older.

6. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Please use a strong password and do not share your login information. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us at support@refuge.ink.

7. Your Content

"Your Content" means the mood entries, journal text, notes, and any other data you create within Refuge. You own your content. By using the Service, you grant Refuge a limited, non-exclusive license to store, process, and display your content back to you within the Service, and to process it through AI features that you explicitly initiate.

We do not sell, share, or use your journal entries, mood data, or AI conversations for advertising, marketing, or model training purposes. Your content is private to your account.

You can export or delete your data at any time from Settings within the app. When you delete your account, your data is permanently removed from our servers.

8. Subscriptions & Billing

Refuge offers both free and premium subscription tiers. Premium unlocks additional features such as AI mood analysis, Guide conversations, and Reflect mode.

• Subscriptions are billed through Apple's App Store or Google Play, depending on your device.
• Subscriptions auto-renew unless you cancel before the end of the current billing period.
• To cancel, manage your subscription through your device's subscription settings (not within Refuge).
• Refunds are handled by Apple or Google according to their respective policies.

9. Acceptable Use

You agree not to misuse the Service. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Attempting to access other users' accounts or data
• Using the Service for any unlawful purpose
• Interfering with or disrupting the Service's infrastructure
• Reverse-engineering, decompiling, or attempting to extract the source code of the Service
• Using AI features to generate harmful, abusive, or illegal content

10. Intellectual Property

Refuge, its design, features, and content (excluding your content) are owned by Refuge and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Service without our written permission.

11. Third-Party Services

Refuge uses the following third-party services to operate:

• Firebase (Google Cloud) — authentication, data storage, and hosting
• Anthropic (Claude API) — AI-powered features
• RevenueCat — subscription management

These providers have their own terms of service and privacy policies. We encourage you to review them.

12. Privacy

Your privacy matters to us. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand how we collect, use, and protect your data.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Refuge and its creators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, use, or profits, arising out of or related to your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim related to the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid for the Service in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the app or by email. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

16. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

17. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at support@refuge.ink.