Terms of Service

Stories Abroad is an app for learning a language by reading real stories, on the web and on iPhone and iPad. When you create an account or use the app, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.

Reading is free. Some features are part of a paid subscription, described in the billing section below.

You must be old enough to enter into a contract where you live. If you are younger than that, a parent or guardian must set up and supervise your account and agree to these terms on your behalf.

You sign up with an email address and a password so your progress, the words you save, your streak, your learning-style profile, and your journal, can follow you across devices.

Keep your password private. You are responsible for activity that happens under your account. Please tell us if you think someone else is using it.

Please do not try to break, overload, or reverse-engineer the service, resell or rent it, or use it to harm others. Do not upload content that is illegal, hateful, infringing, or that is not yours to share.

We may suspend or close an account that abuses the service or breaks these terms.

The stories, lessons, artwork, audio, and software are owned by us or by our licensors. We give you a personal, limited, non-transferable license to use them for your own language learning.

You may not copy, sell, redistribute, or create other works from our content without our permission.

Anything you write in the app, such as journal entries, notes, and saved words, belongs to you. You give us permission to store, back up, and show that content to you so the app can work.

We do not sell your content and we do not claim ownership of it. When you delete it, or delete your account, we remove it from active use.

Reading is free. The active-practice and social features (Sentence Builder, Games, Tests, Speak, and Rankings) are part of a paid subscription, currently $14.99 per month or $89 per year, with a 7-day free trial. The price and billing period are always shown before you pay, and you are only charged after you confirm.

On the web, payments are handled by Stripe. On iPhone and iPad, purchases go through Apple's In-App Purchase and are billed to your Apple account. In both cases we never see or store your full card number; we only learn whether your subscription is active.

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each period at the then-current price, until you cancel. You can cancel any time: on the web from your account settings, or on iOS from your Apple account subscriptions. Cancelling stops the next renewal, and you keep access until the end of the period you already paid for.

Except where the law gives you a refund right, payments are generally non-refundable, though we may offer a refund at our discretion. Refunds for Apple purchases are handled by Apple. If we change a subscription price, we will tell you in advance, and the new price applies only to periods after the change.

If you subscribe through the iOS app, the purchase is between you and Apple under Apple's terms, and Apple handles billing, renewals, and refunds. Apple is not responsible for the app or its content and is not a party to these terms, though Apple may enforce them as a third-party beneficiary where its rules require.

We work hard to keep the app accurate and available, but we cannot promise it will be perfect or never go down. Language learning is up to you; the app is a tool, not a guarantee of fluency or any particular result.

To the fullest extent the law allows, the app is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind.

To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or unexpected losses that arise from your use of the app. Nothing in these terms limits any rights you have under the law that cannot be waived.

If your misuse of the app, or your breach of these terms, leads to a claim against us, you agree to cover the reasonable costs we face as a result, to the extent the law allows.

You can stop using the app and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or end access if you break these terms, or to protect the service or other users. Sections that by their nature should continue, such as content ownership and the limits above, stay in effect after your account ends.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. If a dispute arises, please contact us first and we will try to resolve it fairly and directly.

Disputes that cannot be resolved that way are handled by the courts located in Pennsylvania, unless the law where you live gives you the right to use your local courts.

We may update these terms as the app grows. If a change is significant, we will make a reasonable effort to let you know, for example in the app or by email. If you keep using the app after a change takes effect, that counts as accepting the updated terms.

These terms and the Privacy Policy make up the whole agreement between you and us about the app. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest still applies.

Questions about these terms? Email us at contact@storiesabroad.com. We are happy to explain anything in plain language.