Legal

Terms of Service

Effective Date: April 16, 2026  (Section 9 rewritten to reflect tip-jar model)
Developer: Eric Shine  ·  Contact: [email protected]
Welcome to Oarsum. Please read these Terms of Service carefully before using the app. By downloading, installing, or using Oarsum, you agree to be bound by these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the app.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Oarsum (the "App"), you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms of Service, the Privacy Policy, and the Safety & Disclaimer. All three documents together form the complete agreement between you and the developer.

If you are under 13 years of age (or under 16 in the European Union), you may not use this App without verifiable parental consent.

2. Description of Service

Oarsum is a recreational GPS tracking and paddle sports logging application for iPhone and Apple Watch. It is designed for personal use by kayakers, canoeists, stand-up paddleboarders, and other paddle sports enthusiasts.

Oarsum provides:

Oarsum is a recreational tracking tool only. It is not a safety device, navigation system, emergency communication tool, or medical monitoring device.

3. User Responsibilities

By using Oarsum, you agree that:

  1. You are responsible for your own safety and the safety of any persons accompanying you on the water. The App does not replace proper safety equipment, training, or judgment.
  2. You will comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including U.S. Coast Guard boating regulations and any local waterway rules.
  3. You will not interact with the App while actively operating your watercraft. Configure your session before launching; review your data after returning safely to shore.
  4. You will not use Oarsum to navigate. Do not rely on the App as your sole means of determining your position or route. Always carry appropriate backup navigation tools.
  5. You will not use the App for any unlawful, harmful, or abusive purpose.
  6. You will not attempt to reverse engineer, modify, decompile, or redistribute the App or any portion of it.

4. Assumption of Risk

Kayaking, canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, and all paddle sports carry inherent risks, including but not limited to: drowning, hypothermia, capsizing, collision, physical injury, and death. These risks exist regardless of your skill level, experience, or fitness.

By using Oarsum, you voluntarily acknowledge and assume all risks associated with paddle sports. You acknowledge that:

Please read the full Safety & Disclaimer for a complete statement of inherent risks and your safety responsibilities.

5. Limitation of Liability

Oarsum is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

  1. The developer makes no warranty that the App will be uninterrupted, error-free, or accurate at all times.
  2. The developer is not liable for any personal injury, death, property damage, data loss, device damage, or any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the App.
  3. The developer is not liable for inaccurate GPS data, inaccurate health metrics, missed or miscounted strokes, or any other data errors.
  4. In any jurisdiction that does not permit full exclusion of liability, the developer's total liability to you for any claim is limited to the amount you paid for the App (if any) in the twelve months preceding the claim.

This limitation of liability applies whether the claim is based in contract, tort, statute, or any other legal theory.

6. Health Data

Oarsum integrates with Apple HealthKit to read heart rate, calorie estimates, and other fitness metrics from your Apple Watch or iPhone.

Important limitations:

Your health data stays on your device. Oarsum does not transmit HealthKit data to any server. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

7. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property in Oarsum — including the Oarsum name, app icon, logo, the Balmo mascot character, design, code, and all content created by the developer — is owned by Eric Shine and protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use Oarsum on Apple devices you own or control, solely for personal recreational purposes as permitted by these Terms and the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, sublicense, or create derivative works from any part of Oarsum without the developer's prior written permission.

8. Your Data

Trip data, routes, session logs, and statistics you create in Oarsum belong to you.

9. Optional Tips

Oarsum is free. Every feature — GPS tracking, stroke detection, HealthKit integration, GPX export, Apple Watch support, Live Activity, and analytics — is available to every user without any purchase. There are no subscriptions and no feature gates.

If you choose to support ongoing development, Oarsum offers three optional one-time tips:

  1. Optional: Tips are entirely voluntary. No app functionality requires or is unlocked by a tip.
  2. One-time: Tips are Consumable in-app purchases, not subscriptions. There is no auto-renewal.
  3. Managed by Apple: All purchases and billing are processed by Apple through the App Store. The developer does not have access to your payment information.
  4. Not restorable: Because tips are Consumables, they are not restored across devices or reinstalls. This is standard App Store behavior for Consumable products.
  5. Refunds: All refund requests are handled by Apple in accordance with Apple's standard refund policy. The developer has no authority to issue refunds directly.

10. Termination

The developer reserves the right to terminate or suspend your access to Oarsum at any time, without notice, if you violate these Terms of Service, misuse the App, or engage in conduct the developer reasonably determines to be harmful, fraudulent, or abusive.

You may stop using Oarsum at any time by deleting the App from your device. Uninstalling removes locally stored data on that device.

Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including Sections 4, 5, 7, and 12 — will survive.

11. Modifications to These Terms

The developer may update these Terms of Service from time to time. When changes are made, the effective date at the top of this document will be updated.

Your continued use of Oarsum after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you should stop using the App.

12. Governing Law

These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

Nothing in this section limits your rights under mandatory consumer protection laws applicable in your country of residence.

13. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach out at:
Email: [email protected]

14. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed if modification is not possible. The remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

15. Entire Agreement

These Terms of Service, together with the Privacy Policy and the Safety & Disclaimer, constitute the entire agreement between you and the developer regarding your use of Oarsum. They supersede any prior agreements or understandings, written or oral, relating to the App.

By using Oarsum, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms of Service.

This is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for legal guidance specific to your situation.