Hydrofy Terms of Service

1. Acceptance, Eligibility, and Scope

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Hydrofy iOS app, the Hydrofy website, and related features, content, APIs, support, and backend services (collectively, the “Service”). Hydrofy is operated by Merek Barrett in Ontario, Canada.

By downloading, accessing, purchasing, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and the Hydrofy Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

You must be at least 13 years old and legally able to enter into these Terms. If you use Hydrofy for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization.

2. App Identity and Security

Hydrofy may allow core use without asking you to create a traditional email-and-password account. The app may automatically create a pseudonymous or anonymous account identifier through service providers such as Firebase, RevenueCat, or Apple so that app functionality, subscriptions, analytics, and purchase restoration can operate.

You are responsible for your device, Apple account, connected-service credentials, locally stored information, and activity performed through your installation. Notify Hydrofy if you believe your access or information has been compromised.

3. Limited Licence

Subject to these Terms, Hydrofy grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, and revocable licence to use the Service for lawful hydroponic and plant-care purposes.

You may not copy, distribute, sell, lease, sublicense, commercially exploit, reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the Service except where applicable law expressly permits it. You may not bypass usage limits, access controls, subscription checks, or security measures.

4. Your Content and Data

You retain ownership of the plant information, notes, measurements, schedules, reminders, photos, prompts, integration settings, and other content you provide (“User Content”). You are responsible for User Content and for having the rights necessary to provide it.

You grant Hydrofy a limited, non-exclusive licence to host, copy, transmit, format, process, and display User Content only as reasonably necessary to operate, sync, secure, support, and improve the features you choose. When you use AI or a connected service, processing may include the content you submit and relevant context that the app includes automatically to complete your request.

The Service is not a guaranteed backup system. Keep independent copies of information that is important to you. Local, iCloud, CloudKit, and device-backup behavior is controlled in part by Apple and your settings.

5. Free and Premium Features

Hydrofy may offer free, trial, Premium subscription, and lifetime-purchase access. Features, limits, and availability may vary by app version, platform, region, offer, and product displayed at checkout.

The current free tier permits access to one hydroponic system and six plants in total. Premium access may include higher limits and features such as AI tools, advanced analytics, export, and IoT integrations. Hydrofy may change feature groupings or limits prospectively, subject to applicable law and any required notice.

A lifetime purchase is a non-renewing licence to the eligible Premium features Hydrofy makes available for that product while the Service remains offered. It does not guarantee that every present feature will remain unchanged or that the Service will operate forever.

6. Trials, Subscriptions, and Billing

Purchases are processed by Apple through the App Store and managed using StoreKit and RevenueCat. The product, price, currency, billing period, trial or introductory-offer length, eligibility, and renewal terms shown in Apple’s purchase sheet control your purchase.

Unless the purchase sheet states otherwise, a free or discounted trial converts to a paid, automatically renewing subscription when the offer ends unless you cancel before renewal. An automatically renewing subscription continues for successive billing periods until cancelled.

Apple charges your Apple account and manages payment credentials. Hydrofy does not receive your complete payment-card details. Taxes may be added where applicable. Price changes are handled through Apple and any notice or consent process required by Apple or applicable law.

You can manage or cancel a subscription through your Apple account subscription settings. You may use Restore Purchases where available to restore an eligible entitlement. Refund requests are governed and processed by Apple under Apple’s policies.

7. Cancellation, Expiration, and Downgrade

Cancelling a subscription normally disables future renewal; it does not immediately end Premium access. Unless Apple issues an earlier refund or revocation, Premium access generally continues until the entitlement expiration date reported by Apple or RevenueCat.

When Premium access expires, the free-tier limits apply. Under the current limits, Hydrofy generally leaves the oldest system and up to six plants unlocked, although a plant associated with a locked system may not be practically accessible. Additional systems and plants are not automatically deleted, but may become locked and unavailable until you delete enough records to fall within the free limit or regain Premium access. Premium-only features, including AI, advanced analytics, export, and IoT functionality, may also become unavailable.

Hydrofy does not promise to preserve locked or inactive records indefinitely. Export or otherwise back up information you need before cancelling, changing devices, deleting the app, or making material account changes.

8. Deleting the App, Data, or Account

Deleting the app, clearing app data, requesting deletion of Hydrofy records, or losing access to a device does not cancel an Apple subscription. You must cancel the subscription separately through Apple.

Deleting the app may remove local information but may not remove copies in iCloud, CloudKit, device backups, synced devices, subscription records, analytics systems, or provider systems. Consult the Privacy Policy and contact Hydrofy for deletion requests relating to backend records that Hydrofy can reasonably identify.

9. AI Chat, Plant Scan, and Automated Outputs

Hydrofy may provide AI-generated responses, plant-scan results, possible diagnoses, suggestions, reminders, and related automated content. When you choose to submit an AI request, Hydrofy transmits the text and images you submit together with relevant garden context the app may include automatically—such as systems, plants, recent logs and notes, reminders, and tasks—through Hydrofy’s backend to an AI provider such as OpenAI to generate a response.

AI outputs may be inaccurate, incomplete, delayed, inconsistent, outdated, or unsuitable for your plant, crop, system, nutrients, equipment, environment, or intended use. AI outputs are informational only and are not guaranteed outcomes or instructions.

10. No Professional, Agricultural, Engineering, Food-Safety, or Treatment Advice

Hydrofy is not a horticultural, agronomic, engineering, electrical, plumbing, pest-management, food-safety, laboratory, medical, veterinary, or regulatory professional service.

Hydrofy does not guarantee that any scan, calculation, sensor reading, diagnosis, recommendation, or AI response will correctly identify a disease, pest, deficiency, toxicity, contamination, equipment problem, or safe treatment; prevent plant damage, crop loss, or equipment damage; improve health, growth, or yield; or determine whether food is safe to harvest, consume, sell, or use.

11. Verify Before Acting

Use your own judgment and independently verify important decisions before acting. Take particular care before changing nutrients, pH, water, lighting, electrical equipment, pumps, treatment chemicals, pest-control measures, sanitation procedures, harvesting, or consumption decisions.

Do not use Hydrofy as an emergency, fail-safe, life-safety, flood-prevention, equipment-shutdown, or sole crop-monitoring system. If a decision could cause injury, contamination, electrical or water damage, crop loss, or other material harm, consult a qualified professional and the relevant product or equipment instructions.

12. Weather, IoT, and Connected Services

Hydrofy may connect to services such as WeatherAPI.com, ThingSpeak, Home Assistant, MQTT brokers, or custom APIs when you enable them. You are responsible for the accuracy of configuration details, credentials, mappings, automations, and actions taken using connected data.

Third-party readings, forecasts, messages, and connections may be delayed, incomplete, unavailable, or inaccurate. Hydrofy is not responsible for third-party downtime, changed APIs, lost readings, failed automations, or actions performed by third-party hardware or services.

Use unique, limited-permission credentials where possible and protect all API keys, tokens, usernames, and passwords. Do not enter credentials you are not authorized to use.

13. Acceptable Use

You may not use the Service to:

• violate any law, regulation, intellectual-property right, privacy right, or contractual obligation
• upload malicious code or unlawful, infringing, abusive, or deceptive content
• probe, attack, overload, scrape, disrupt, or circumvent the Service or its infrastructure
• misrepresent AI output as verified professional advice or use it to facilitate unsafe or unlawful conduct
• access another person’s data or connected services without authorization
• resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Service without Hydrofy’s written permission

14. Third-Party Services and Apple Terms

The Service depends on third parties, including Apple, Firebase, RevenueCat, AppsFlyer, Meta, OpenAI, hosting and database providers, weather providers, and services you choose to connect. Their services are governed by their own terms and policies. Hydrofy is not responsible for third-party products, content, policies, availability, or actions.

For an iOS download, these Terms supplement Apple’s Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement (“Apple Standard EULA”). Apple is not responsible for the Service, maintenance, support, warranties, or claims relating to Hydrofy except as required by the Apple Standard EULA or applicable law. If these Terms conflict with mandatory Apple terms, the mandatory Apple terms control.

15. Hydrofy Intellectual Property and Feedback

Hydrofy and its licensors retain all rights in the Service, including software, interfaces, designs, branding, documentation, databases, and content supplied by Hydrofy, excluding User Content and third-party materials.

If you provide suggestions or feedback, you grant Hydrofy a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free right to use that feedback without obligation to you, provided that this does not transfer ownership of your User Content.

16. Service Changes, Suspension, and Termination

Hydrofy may modify, update, suspend, or discontinue features or the Service, subject to applicable law and any commitments attached to a paid product. We may restrict or terminate access if you materially violate these Terms, misuse the Service, create security or legal risk, or fail to pay applicable charges.

Sections that by their nature should survive termination—including ownership, payment obligations, disclaimers, liability limits, and dispute provisions—will survive.

17. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available.” Hydrofy disclaims express, implied, and statutory warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, availability, reliability, and quiet enjoyment.

Hydrofy does not warrant uninterrupted or error-free operation, preservation or synchronization of data, compatibility with every device or third-party service, accurate sensor or weather data, successful plant growth, or the accuracy or suitability of any automated output.

Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties, remedies, or consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

18. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Hydrofy and Merek Barrett will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of plants, crops, harvests, produce, profits, revenue, goodwill, data, credentials, equipment, or business opportunities arising from or related to the Service.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Hydrofy’s total liability for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid for Hydrofy in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim or CAD $100.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions or limits, so some of this section may not apply to you.

19. Privacy

The Hydrofy Privacy Policy explains how Hydrofy handles information. It is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree with the described handling of information, do not use the affected feature or the Service.

20. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable there, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

Subject to any mandatory consumer-protection right to bring a claim elsewhere, courts located in Ontario will have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes relating to these Terms or the Service.

21. Changes to These Terms

Hydrofy may update these Terms as the Service changes. We will update the effective date and provide additional notice where required. Changes apply prospectively from their effective date. Your continued use after an update becomes effective constitutes acceptance where permitted by law.

22. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact: