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Terms of Use

Last updated: August 24, 2026

1. Acceptance of these terms

By downloading, installing, or using Compass Chinese (the "App"), you agree to these Terms of Use. If you don't agree, don't use the App.

2. What Compass Chinese is

Compass Chinese is a Mandarin Chinese learning app: spaced-repetition vocabulary review, a pinyin pronunciation course, grammar practice, AI conversation practice, pronunciation and handwriting scoring, and camera-based lookup of real-world Chinese text. Some features require an active subscription (§4).

3. Accounts

You may use the App as a guest, or create an account via Sign in with Apple or Google. You're responsible for keeping your sign-in credentials secure. You must be at least 13 years old to create an account.

4. Subscriptions and billing

  • Compass Chinese offers a free tier and a paid subscription ("Compass Pro") that unlocks the full curriculum, unlimited camera scans, and unlimited AI conversation practice.
  • Subscriptions are billed through your Apple Account and renew automatically at the price and interval shown at purchase, unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
  • Manage or cancel your subscription anytime in Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions on your device — not inside the App, since Apple handles all billing.
  • Refunds are handled by Apple according to Apple's own refund policies; we cannot issue refunds directly.
  • A free trial, where offered, converts to a paid subscription automatically at the end of the trial unless cancelled first.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Use the App for any unlawful purpose, or in a way that infringes anyone else's rights
  • Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract the App's underlying content pipeline or backend systems beyond what's incidental to normal use
  • Abuse the AI conversation or camera-scan features to generate content unrelated to language learning, or in a way that circumvents usage limits
  • Share your account credentials to circumvent subscription limits
  • Interfere with the App's servers or infrastructure, or attempt to access accounts other than your own

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms.

6. Your content

Text you submit for AI conversation practice, camera-scan text you photograph, and audio you record for pronunciation/shadowing practice ("Your Content") remains yours. By submitting it, you grant us a limited license to process it (including sending it to the third-party providers described in the Privacy Policy) solely to provide the App's features to you. We do not claim ownership of Your Content, and we do not use it to train AI models.

7. Our content and intellectual property

The App's curriculum — vocabulary, example sentences, grammar explanations, pinyin lessons, radical/mnemonic content — is either original to Compass Chinese or used under license, with full attribution available in-app under Profile → Attribution, including:

  • Dictionary definitions from CC-CEDICT (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0)
  • HSK level/vocabulary data from the complete-hsk-vocabulary project (MIT License)
  • Handwriting stroke data from the Make Me a Hanzi project (Arphic Public License)
  • A small set of public-domain audio excerpts used in shadowing practice

The App's software, design, and original content are owned by the independent developer behind Compass Chinese and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not copy, redistribute, or create derivative works from the App or its content beyond your own personal, non-commercial use for learning Chinese.

8. AI-generated content disclaimer

Explanations, conversation responses, and pronunciation/writing scores are generated by AI systems and automated scoring, not a human teacher. While we design the content pipeline to be level-appropriate and level-validated, AI output can occasionally be incomplete or imperfect. Use your own judgment, especially for anything beyond casual study.

9. Disclaimers

The App is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose. We don't guarantee the App will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that using it will result in any particular level of language proficiency.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the independent developer behind Compass Chinese is not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the App. Our total liability for any claim relating to the App is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose.

11. Termination

You may stop using the App and delete your account at any time (Privacy Policy §5). We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these terms.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the App changes. Continuing to use the App after an update means you accept the revised terms. If a change is material, we'll make reasonable efforts to notify you in the App.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws applicable to the developer's place of residence, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. This will be updated with a specific jurisdiction once Compass Chinese operates under a formal business entity.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms: hello@compasschinese.com

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Privacy Policy Terms of Use hello@compasschinese.com