Terms of use

Last updated 2 September 2026

1. Who these terms are for

Handwritten Journal (the "app") is made by Matt Vorst ("we", "us"). It is designed for children of roughly five to eight, used under the supervision of a parent, guardian or teacher (a "grown-up"). By installing or using the app, or by letting a child use it, the grown-up agrees to these terms on their own behalf and on behalf of the child. A child should not agree to these terms alone.

These terms also cover this website.

2. The App Store and Apple's licence

The app is distributed through Apple's App Store. Your use of it is also governed by Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement, including its rules on the devices you may install it on. Where these terms and Apple's agreement differ on a matter that agreement covers, Apple's agreement governs. Apple is not responsible for the app, for these terms, or for providing support for the app.

3. Your licence to use the app

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to install and use the app on Apple devices you own or control, or, for schools, on devices managed through Apple School Manager, in accordance with Apple's usage rules. You may not copy, modify, sell, rent, reverse-engineer or redistribute the app, or attempt to get around any protection Apple or the app applies.

4. Your journal is yours

Everything a child says, types or writes in the app belongs to the child and their family. It is stored only on your iPad; we never receive it and claim no rights in it. Because the app keeps no copy anywhere else, you are responsible for any backups you want — the app can export any page, or the whole journal, as a PDF at any time.

5. Free, and future upgrades

This version of the app is free and contains no in-app purchases, no advertising and no subscription. We may offer optional upgrades in a future version. If we do, purchases would be made through Apple, and Apple's payment and refund rules would apply. Any page a child has already written will remain readable and exportable without a purchase.

6. What the app is, and is not

The app is a journal with handwriting practice built in. It marks ink and judges stroke order against ordinary print letter formations, and it gives scores, stars and badges to encourage a child. Those scores are a difficulty setting chosen by a grown-up, not a measure of a child against any standard. The app is not a curriculum, a reading programme, an assessment, a diagnosis or a therapy, and it is not a substitute for a teacher, an occupational therapist or a doctor. Speech recognition and letter judgement are imperfect; the app is built so a misheard word can be fixed and a misjudged letter costs little, but it will sometimes be wrong.

7. Acceptable use

Use the app and this website only as intended and only in ways that are lawful. Do not try to interfere with the website, misrepresent your relationship with us, or use our name or materials in a way that suggests we endorse something we do not.

8. Intellectual property

The app, its name, icon, design, text and images are ours and are protected by copyright and trademark law. You may share screenshots of the app and quote this website for reviews, news, teaching and personal use, with attribution. The typefaces bundled in the app — Jua, Andika, Varela Round, Sniglet and Comic Neue — are licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 by their respective designers. Apple, iPad, Apple Pencil and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc.

9. Changes and availability

We may update the app, change or remove features, or stop distributing it. Because the app works entirely on your iPad, a version you have installed keeps working without us. We are not obliged to provide updates or support, though we try to answer every message.

10. No warranty

The app and this website are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, to the fullest extent permitted by law — including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not promise that the app will be error-free, that speech will always be recognised correctly, or that a letter will always be judged fairly.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, arising out of or related to the app or this website. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid for the app in the twelve months before the claim arose. Some jurisdictions do not allow some of these limitations, in which case they apply only to the extent permitted.

12. Ending the licence

You may stop using the app at any time by deleting it; your journal goes with it, so export first if you want to keep it. We may end your licence if you breach these terms. Sections 4, 8, 10 and 11 survive.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of [your state], United States, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and any dispute will be brought in the courts located there, except where the law where you live gives you rights that cannot be waived.

14. Changes to these terms

If these terms change, the new version will be posted here with the date at the top. Continuing to use the app or the website after a change means you accept the new terms.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms: hello@handwrittenjournal.app.