DRAFT — REQUIRES LEGAL REVIEW BEFORE PUBLICATION.
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Storage Studio (the "Software"), a desktop application published by Techtonic Systems Research and Media LLC, a limited liability company organised under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States ("we", "us", "our").
By installing, launching, or using the Software, you ("you", "the user") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not install or use the Software, and uninstall it if already installed.
1. The Software
Storage Studio is a desktop utility for macOS that pairs your internal SSD with an external storage volume and manages files between them. It runs locally on your Mac. It is not a backup product, a cloud storage product, or a file-sharing product.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction (whichever is higher), to enter into these Terms. If you accept these Terms on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation.
3. License grant
Subject to these Terms and your payment of any applicable fees, we grant you a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to install and use the Software on Devices you own or control, for your own purposes.
4. Restrictions
You may not, and may not permit any third party to: (a) reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law; (b) remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notices in or on the Software; (c) sublicense, rent, lease, lend, sell, redistribute, or otherwise commercially exploit the Software; (d) use the Software to violate any law or third-party right; (e) use the Software to develop a competing product; (f) circumvent any license-enforcement mechanism.
5. License, activation, and payment
5.1 Plans
(a) Free trial. Every new installation begins a seven-day (7-day) free trial. No payment information is required to start the trial. The trial is bound to your specific Device, identified by a one-way hashed machine fingerprint, and a trial may be started only once per Device. Reinstalling the Software does not reset the trial.
(b) Monthly plan. A recurring subscription that renews every month at the price stated at checkout, until cancelled. Each monthly renewal is a separate transaction.
(c) Annual plan. A recurring subscription that renews every twelve (12) months at the price stated at checkout, until cancelled. The Annual plan is priced below twelve months of the Monthly plan as a discount for committing to a longer term.
(d) Lifetime plan. A one-time purchase that entitles you to a perpetual, non-exclusive license to use the Software on Devices you own or control, including all future updates we release for the Software.
5.2 Payment processor
All payments, invoices, and refunds for the Software are handled by Stripe, Inc. ("Stripe") under Stripe's own terms of service and privacy policy. We do not receive, store, or process your payment card details.
5.3 Activation
After payment, Stripe will send you a receipt containing a transaction identifier — pi_… for Lifetime, or sub_… for Monthly or Annual. You activate the Software by entering your purchaser email address and the transaction identifier in the Software. The backend distinguishes Monthly from Annual internally from the Stripe price ID; you do not need to indicate which plan you bought.
(a) You may use the same license credential on Devices that you own or personally control.
(b) You may not share, sell, transfer, sublicense, or otherwise make your transaction identifier or license credential available to any third party.
(c) We may invalidate license credentials that we determine in good faith have been shared, leaked, fraudulently obtained, or used in violation of these Terms.
5.4 Renewal and cancellation (Monthly and Annual plans)
(a) The Monthly plan renews automatically each month, and the Annual plan renews automatically every twelve months, using the payment method you provided to Stripe, until you cancel.
(b) You may cancel at any time through the Stripe Customer Portal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the then-current billing period (the next monthly or annual anniversary); you retain full access until that period ends.
(c) We do not charge a cancellation fee.
(d) You may switch plans at any time by cancelling the current subscription in the Stripe Customer Portal and purchasing the new plan via the appropriate Stripe Payment Link. We do not pro-rate or refund the unused portion of the cancelled subscription.
5.5 No refunds — important
Please read carefully. This section affects your right to a refund. Mandatory consumer-protection rights are preserved in §5.6 below.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, all payments for the Software are final and non-refundable, including but not limited to:
(a) the one-time Lifetime plan purchase, in whole or in part, once you have activated the Software using the corresponding transaction identifier;
(b) any past or current Monthly plan or Annual plan billing period, including the most recent renewal at the time of your cancellation, regardless of how much time remains in that period;
(c) periods during which you did not use the Software, did not install the Software, were prevented from using the Software by your own action or inaction, or were unable to use the Software because of a failure of your own hardware, network, operating system, or third-party services;
(d) duplicate or unintended purchases that you do not report to us within seven (7) days of the charge appearing on your statement.
We offer the 7-day free trial described in §5.1(a) specifically so that you can fully evaluate the Software before paying. By choosing to pay rather than continue evaluating during the trial, you confirm that you are satisfied that the Software is suitable for your needs and you waive any subsequent expectation of a refund, except as required by mandatory law.
5.6 Mandatory consumer-protection rights (carve-out)
Nothing in §5.5 limits or excludes any statutory right you may have as a consumer under the mandatory consumer-protection laws of your jurisdiction that cannot be waived by contract, including the EU/UK Consumer Rights Directive 14-day right of withdrawal (subject to the Article 16(m) waiver below), the Australian Consumer Law, the Indian Consumer Protection Act 2019, and any applicable US state consumer-protection statutes.
By activating the Software using your Stripe transaction identifier, EU/UK consumers expressly consent to the immediate supply of the digital content and acknowledge that they thereby lose their statutory right of withdrawal under Article 16(m) of Directive 2011/83/EU. If you do not wish to waive this right, do not activate the Software and request a refund via Stripe within fourteen (14) days of purchase.
Where a mandatory statutory right applies, we will honour it. Contact us at hi@rajneeshmaurya.com with your Stripe receipt and the legal basis for your request.
5.7 Discretionary refunds
In a small number of exceptional cases — for example, a documented defect that prevents the Software from launching at all on a supported configuration, a duplicate or accidental purchase reported within seven (7) days, or a clear billing error on our part — we may, at our sole discretion, issue a partial or full refund as a gesture of goodwill, without admitting liability and without establishing a precedent. To request a discretionary refund, contact us at hi@rajneeshmaurya.com within thirty (30) days of the charge, including your Stripe receipt and a description of the issue.
5.8 Chargebacks and disputes
If you have a concern about a charge, please contact us first so we can attempt to resolve it. Initiating a chargeback or payment dispute through your card issuer or bank without first contacting us may, at our discretion and to the extent permitted by applicable law, cause your license to be revoked for the duration of the investigation, and — if the chargeback succeeds without legitimate basis — cause your license to be permanently revoked and your purchaser email and machine fingerprint to be flagged to prevent re-activation.
Nothing in §5.8 limits your statutory right to dispute a charge where you have a legitimate basis to do so.
5.9 Taxes
Stripe collects applicable sales tax, VAT, GST, or equivalent taxes at checkout based on your billing address. Stripe-issued invoices include all information required for VAT/GST recovery in most jurisdictions.
6. Updates
We may publish updates to the Software from time to time. Some updates may be required to continue using paid features; the Software will tell you in advance if so. Updates are governed by these Terms unless we explicitly say otherwise.
7. Privacy
Our handling of personal data is described in the Privacy Policy. Storage Studio runs on your Mac; your files do not leave your Mac through the Software.
8. Term and termination
These Terms remain in effect until terminated. You may terminate at any time by ceasing all use of the Software and uninstalling it. We may suspend or terminate your license if you materially breach these Terms, including by sharing a license credential or attempting to circumvent license enforcement.
9. Disclaimer of warranties; limitation of liability
The disclaimer of warranties and the limitation of liability that apply to the Software are set out in our Disclaimer & Limitation of Liability and are incorporated into these Terms by reference.
10. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. The exclusive forum for any dispute arising out of these Terms is the state and federal courts located in New Castle County, Delaware. Nothing in this section deprives a consumer of the protection of mandatory consumer-protection laws of their place of habitual residence.
11. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified inside the Software at next launch and on this page. Continued use of the Software after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
12. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Email hi@rajneeshmaurya.com.