Markdrip Terms of Service & End User License Agreement

Effective date: August 17, 2026 Last updated: August 30, 2026

1. Who we are and what you are agreeing to

These Terms of Service and End User License Agreement ("Terms") are an agreement between you and Markdrip ("we," "us"), the developer of the Markdrip™ desktop application (the "App"). Contact: [email protected].

By selecting “I agree” in Markdrip's mandatory in-app clickwrap—presented on first run and again whenever Markdrip asks you to accept an updated document set—you affirmatively agree to the version of these Terms presented to you. This acceptance mechanism applies whether you use the Free tier or a paid plan, and whether you use the App for personal or internal business purposes. If you do not agree, select “I disagree” and do not use the App.

2. What Markdrip is

Markdrip is a private, local-first meeting-notes application for macOS and future platforms. It records microphone and (optionally) system audio, transcribes speech on your device, identifies speakers using on-device voice fingerprinting, and stores your notes as Markdown files in a vault on your device.

Core design facts relevant to these Terms (described fully in the Privacy Policy):

Your content is processed and stored on your device. Audio, transcripts, notes, summaries, voice fingerprints, voice clips, and names never leave your device to us ("Tier 0" and "Tier 1" data, as classified in the Privacy Policy).
Three disclosed outbound channels exist. The licensing channel (Section 5) carries only content-free license operations: it activates once when the App registers your device, and later when you activate and maintain a paid license. The product-usage telemetry channel (Section 5) sends pseudonymous, content-free usage measurements; it is on by default outside the EEA and UK (off by default and consent-gated in the EEA and UK), and you can turn it off under Settings → Privacy → Share usage data. The update-check channel (Section 12) activates only when you explicitly select "Check for updates" in Settings and sends only your platform, operating-system architecture, and current App version — no content, no usage data, no personal information.
Model downloads are explicit and user-initiated. The App downloads on-device model files only when you ask it to (for example, the first time you enable a feature that needs a model). Those downloads send none of your data out (Privacy Policy, "Model downloads").
Because your data lives only on your device, we cannot recover it for you. You are responsible for your own backups of your vault and voice data. Uninstalling the App does not delete your vault or voice data; see Section 17.

3. License grant — Free tier

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the App in the Free tier for your own personal or internal business purposes. The Free tier is permanent — it has no countdown, no expiry, and never lapses. It provides access to the core App functions described in the App; features reserved for paid subscribers are not available in the Free tier.

Device registration. When you first accept these Terms in the App, the App makes a single content-free request to our licensing service to register your device (and, if you reinstall or your local record is lost, to restore it). That request sends only a pseudonymous device fingerprint and technical request metadata — no name, email, payment method, meeting content, or usage data. If the service is unreachable, your acceptance is still recorded and you can proceed; see Section 5 and the Privacy Policy.
No licensing channel while remaining in the Free tier. Using the App in the Free tier without a paid license establishes no further network communication with our licensing service beyond the initial registration above.
Prospective changes. We may update the features available in the Free tier for new downloads. We will not remotely disable functionality you are already using, except as required by law or these Terms.

4. License grant — paid license

If you purchase a paid license, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the App's paid functionality for the duration of your subscription term, subject to these Terms:

Plans and pricing. Markdrip is available as a monthly plan ($5.00 USD/month, plus applicable taxes) or an annual plan ($54.00 USD/year, plus applicable taxes — save 10% versus twelve monthly payments). The plan and price are confirmed at checkout before any charge.
Permitted devices. Your license may be activated on up to one (1) of your own devices at a time. The license is to you, not to your household or organization; do not share your license key or license file with others.
Subscription term. Your plan renews automatically for successive billing periods of the same length (monthly or yearly) as the plan you chose, as described in Sections 6 and 17, unless cancelled or terminated earlier.
Delivery. Your paid license is delivered as a license key and a cryptographically signed license file stored on your device. Keep them safe; treat the key like a password.
No account required. Using the App does not require an account with us. Purchasing or managing a license happens through Markdrip (Section 6).

5. How your paid license works (the honest mechanics)

This section describes, in plain language, the license behavior implemented by the App. It is written to match the software exactly — if the software changes, this text must change with it.

Offline-first verification. The App verifies your signed license file entirely on your device. Using the App never requires an internet connection, and no online check gates whether the App opens.
License heartbeat. With an activated paid license, the App contacts our licensing service at most once per 24 hours, and only when your device is already online. The licensing channel is used at two moments: once when you first register your device (Section 3), to obtain a signed, device-bound record; and once when you first activate a paid license, sending your license key and a device fingerprint so the license can bind to your device. Each recurring heartbeat thereafter carries license validation only — an activation identifier, a timestamp and anti-replay nonce, and a cryptographic signature. It carries no audio, transcripts, notes, names, titles, voiceprints, usage counters, location data, or any other content. Our server does not retain your raw connection IP. From that connection address the server derives two coarse signals — a truncated network prefix (/24 for IPv4, host octet zeroed; /48 for IPv6, host bits zeroed) and a 2-letter country code — which are stored with the product-usage analytics record described below; the raw IP is then discarded and is never written to any database, log, or export. The connection IP is also processed for three non-analytics purposes — repeat-install abuse detection, rate limiting, and concrete security investigations — in encrypted, purpose-separated storage; none of those uses flows into marketing, support tools, profiling, or visitor classification. A separate one-way-hashed rate-limiting record is retained for at most 72 hours. (Full retention and deletion schedule: Privacy Policy, licensing-channel section.)
Product-usage telemetry. The App sends a small set of pseudonymous, content-free usage measurements to Markdrip — integer counts of product actions such as completed captures and feature activations, and current object counts in your vault. No audio, transcripts, notes, summaries, speaker names, voice data, prompts, meeting identifiers, or other meeting content is included. Both Free-tier and licensed users send telemetry when it is enabled.

Default and regional posture. Outside the EEA and UK, telemetry is on by default. In the EEA and UK, it is off by default and is not collected unless you opt in — a difference required by applicable law.

Opt-out. Turn telemetry off at any time under Settings → Privacy → Share usage data. Turning it off immediately stops future sends and clears any queued measurements on your device; it does not affect recording, transcription, local files, or your license. Previously sent pseudonymous data ages out within 35 days. A separate Delete previously shared data action sends an authenticated deletion request to remove your install's record within seven days; if the request fails, the action remains retryable and does not re-enable reporting.

What we never do. Your usage data is never sold, used for advertising, or linked to your meeting content, licensing identity, or any other personal information.

The Privacy Policy describes the full metric list, retention schedule, deletion procedure, and regional consent configuration.

Fail-open periodic heartbeat. A failed, timed-out, or unreachable periodic license heartbeat never disables or downgrades the App. Your offline license file remains authoritative through your paid term, plus a generous offline grace window. Device registration and first paid activation each contact the licensing service once; see Section 3 for behavior when that request cannot reach the service.
Revocation. A license is revoked only on a definitive server verdict — principally after a refund or chargeback (Section 6) or for breach of these Terms. Revocation takes effect on the next successful license check and, after the grace window, returns the App to the Free tier. We do not brick devices: an offline device simply continues until its license file expires.
Expiry. When a subscription ends without renewal, paid functionality reverts to the Free tier at the end of the paid term (with a short clock-skew grace). Your data is never touched by expiry, revocation, or termination.

6. Payments and billing

Who you are buying from. Paid plans are sold to you directly by Markdrip. Stripe, Inc. processes the transaction for Markdrip, including charging your payment method, calculating applicable tax shown at checkout, storing payment-card details, and providing a payment receipt. Stripe is not the seller of the Markdrip plan. Markdrip is responsible for the App, the subscription terms, cancellation and refund decisions, and seller obligations that applicable law places on Markdrip.

Prices and recurring charges. Markdrip is $5.00 USD/month or $54.00 USD/year, plus applicable taxes. Save 10% with annual billing versus twelve monthly payments. When you purchase a monthly or yearly plan, you consent to recurring charges at the price and interval shown at checkout until you cancel. Before your first charge, checkout clearly shows the plan, the price, the billing interval, and that the plan renews automatically until you cancel, and asks for your express agreement to those recurring charges.

No card data to us. We never receive, store, or process your full payment-card details; those remain with our payment processor. What Markdrip receives is a confirmed purchase event that triggers issuance of your license.

Cancelling. Cancel before your next renewal to avoid the next recurring charge. Your paid access remains available through the end of the current billing period. You can cancel at any time via the self-service billing portal linked in your receipt email or in the App's account settings — you never have to call or email us to cancel. Cancellation stops future renewals; it does not delete any of your local data.

Renewal and change reminders. We send the renewal, price-change, and cancellation notices required by applicable law to the email associated with your purchase.

Refunds. Refunds are provided as required by applicable law. You may request a refund or dispute a charge at https://markdrip.app/refunds/ or by emailing [email protected] from the address used for the purchase. Mandatory withdrawal, conformity, cancellation, billing-error, chargeback, and other non-excludable consumer rights always control.

When we confirm a full refund of the total amount charged, including tax, for your first paid subscription purchase, we also stop future renewal of the associated subscription and revoke its paid entitlement. The App returns to the Free tier when it receives the signed entitlement update. A refund or chargeback never deletes, encrypts, moves, or locks your local data; your existing files remain available to read and export, and privacy deletion controls remain available.

If you optionally select a refund reason in the App, that selection and any additional text stay only on your Mac; they are not sent to Markdrip, Stripe, or the licensing service. This feedback becomes eligible for deletion 47 days after it is saved. The App removes eligible feedback the next time it starts or you save additional refund feedback; you can delete all saved refund feedback at any time in Settings. Do not include meeting content or other sensitive personal information in that optional text.

Taxes and total price. The advertised $5.00 monthly and $54.00 annual subscription prices exclude tax. Before you submit an order, checkout shows the subscription subtotal, applicable tax, and total amount due that day. Applicable tax is calculated using your billing location and may change on a later renewal if your location, tax rates, or tax rules change. Unless you cancel, Markdrip will charge the selected subscription price plus applicable tax at each renewal. Any mandatory consumer right or tax rule that applies to you controls if it conflicts with these Terms.

7. Your content and your privacy

You own your content. Your recordings, transcripts, notes, summaries, contacts, and voice data are yours. We claim no license to your content — by design it never reaches us, so there is nothing for us to license, sell, or analyze.
Privacy terms. The Markdrip Privacy Policy and the Biometric & Voice Data Notice explain what is stored on your device, the limited license and commerce communications, retention, and deletion. They are part of these Terms. If they conflict with these Terms on a privacy question, the Privacy Policy and Notice control.
Optional egress modes. Any future feature that sends Tier 1 content off your device (for example, encrypted sync or a user-directed cloud enrichment you enable with your own API key) is off by default, is used only at your explicit choice, and is disclosed before first use. Tier 0 data — raw audio and voice fingerprints — never leaves your device to anyone, in any mode.
Feedback. If you choose to send us feedback or suggestions, you agree we may use them without restriction or compensation. Sending feedback is voluntary; never include your meeting content in feedback.

8. Recording other people — your legal responsibilities

Markdrip records conversations and identifies speakers. Those activities are regulated, and the rules differ by place. Please read this section carefully.

You are the operator. You choose when to record, whom to record, and whose voice to enroll or fingerprint. You are responsible for complying with the recording and consent laws that apply to you and to the people you record. Depending on where you and your participants are, the law may require the consent of every participant (for example, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, and much of the EU), not just yours.
Biometric consent is yours to obtain. Voice fingerprints may be biometric data under laws such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), Texas CUBI, and the GDPR. Where those laws apply, you are responsible for providing the required notices and obtaining the required consents — in Illinois, a written release — from each person whose voice you enroll or fingerprint.
The honest limit of this section — and of any EULA. The people in your meetings are not parties to these Terms, and nothing in these Terms can transfer, waive, or extinguish their legal rights. A checkbox cannot consent on someone else's behalf. If you record or fingerprint someone without a required consent, that person's rights run against the person who recorded them — that is you.
How Markdrip helps. The App provides: a visible recording indicator; a recording-consent affirmation on first capture; a participant-notice you can share (a spoken announcement line and a copyable written notice, Settings → Participant notice); an attestation step when you enroll someone other than yourself, recorded in an on-device consent ledger; and controls to correct, forget, or erase a person's voice data. These tools are designed to make compliance practical. They are aids, not substitutes for your own legal judgment, and they are not legal advice.
If you cannot lawfully record, do not record. Where you are unsure of your obligations — an all-party-consent jurisdiction, an employment context, a call crossing borders — get consent from everyone, or consult a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the App to:

record, monitor, or intercept any conversation without every consent required by applicable law, or engage in unlawful surveillance or eavesdropping;
violate any person's privacy, publicity, biometric, or other legal rights;
circumvent, tamper with, or interfere with the licensing mechanism, license files, device limits, or the license heartbeat, or share, sell, or publish license keys or license files;
copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease the App except as these Terms or open-source licenses expressly permit;
reverse engineer the App except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by applicable law;
misrepresent the App's behavior to others (for example, concealing that a recording is in progress where disclosure is required).

10. Intellectual property

The App, including its code, design, and documentation, is owned by Markdrip and its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. These Terms grant you a license to use the App; they do not sell or transfer any ownership. "Markdrip"™ and associated logos are our trademarks.

Your content remains yours (Section 7).

11. Open-source and third-party software

The App incorporates open-source and third-party components, which are licensed under their own licenses. On-device model attributions are listed in the App under Settings → Acknowledgements. Additional third-party notices for other included components are provided in the notice files included in the application bundle. Nothing in these Terms limits your rights under those open-source licenses.

12. App updates

User-initiated update check. The App provides a "Check for updates" option in Settings. When you select it, the App contacts our update server at updates.markdrip.app and sends only your platform, operating-system architecture, and current App version. No content, usage data, or personal information is transmitted in update checks. There is no startup check, background polling, or automatic update-check trigger.
How you get updates. When an update is available, you can download and install it through the App's Settings. New versions are also made available for download from our website and, if the App is distributed through the Apple App Store, through the store's update mechanism (see Section 19).
Updates are licensed under these Terms. Any update, upgrade, or new version of the App we make available is provided under these Terms (or the updated Terms presented with it, Section 20). Installing an update is your choice; we may end support for older versions at any time. Your local data is carried forward by normal updates — keep your own backups regardless (Section 2).

13. Beta software

The App is currently offered as a BETA. It may contain defects, and features may change before general availability. Beta status does not reduce any statutory rights that cannot be waived, and does not change our privacy commitments, which apply in full.

14. Warranty disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITH ALL FAULTS, AND WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING SECTION 8, WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE APP WILL HELP YOU COMPLY WITH ANY RECORDING, BIOMETRIC, OR PRIVACY LAW; LEGAL COMPLIANCE OF YOUR RECORDINGS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.

Consumer floor: nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any warranty, guarantee, or right that cannot be excluded or limited under the law of your place of residence — including statutory conformity rights for digital content where those rights exist. Where those rights apply, they apply in full.

Digital-content conformity. If you are a consumer in a jurisdiction with statutory digital-content conformity rights, the law gives you rights that the App conform to this agreement and to the objective requirements for digital content. If the App fails to conform, you may be entitled to have it brought into conformity, to a proportionate reduction in price, or to termination and a refund, as that law provides. The disclaimers above do not limit those rights.

15. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST DATA, OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE APP OR THESE TERMS.
OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE APP OR THESE TERMS IS CAPPED AT THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID FOR THE APP IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) US $100.
Because your content never leaves your device, we cannot access, lose, leak, or restore it — and we are not liable for loss of locally stored data, including from device failure, misconfiguration, or third-party sync tools you point at your vault.

Carve-outs. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or willful misconduct, or under mandatory consumer-protection, product-liability, or data-protection law.

16. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Markdrip and its officers, employees, and agents from third-party claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of (a) your violation of recording, consent, biometric, or privacy laws in your use of the App, or (b) your breach of these Terms. If you are a consumer, this Section 16 does not apply to you.

17. Term, renewal, and termination

Renewal. Paid plans renew automatically for successive billing periods of the same length (monthly or yearly) as the plan you chose, at the price and interval shown at checkout, until you cancel. We provide the renewal and price-change notices required by applicable law.
Termination by you. You may cancel at any time via the self-service billing portal linked in your receipt email or in the App's account settings. Cancelling stops future renewals; your paid access remains available through the end of the current billing period. Amounts already paid are refundable under the first-purchase policy in Section 6 and whenever applicable law requires. Cancellation by itself does not create a refund.
Termination by us. We may suspend or revoke your license if you breach these Terms (including Section 9) or if required by law, with notice where practicable. Revocation works as described in Section 5: it returns the App to the Free tier; it never deletes or touches your local data.
Your data on exit. Your vault and voice data remain on your device whatever happens to your license. Uninstalling the App does not delete them. To permanently destroy all voice data: Settings → Privacy → "Erase all voice data," confirm, then uninstall (full procedure in the Privacy Policy).

18. Governing law and disputes

These Terms and any dispute arising from them or the App are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, and the state and federal courts located in Texas have exclusive jurisdiction — except that, if you are a consumer, nothing in these Terms deprives you of the protection of the mandatory laws, or the right to bring proceedings in the courts, of your place of residence.

19. Apple App Store additional terms

If you obtained the App from the Apple App Store:

These Terms are between you and Markdrip only, not Apple. Apple has no obligation to furnish maintenance or support for the App.
The license granted is limited to a non-transferable license to use the App on Apple-branded devices you own or control, as permitted by the App Store Usage Rules (including Family Sharing or volume-purchase access where applicable).
Apple is not responsible for the App or its content; to the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no warranty obligation with respect to the App. If the App fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any) to you; beyond that, Apple has no other warranty obligation.
Markdrip, not Apple, is responsible for addressing any claims by you or any third party relating to the App or your possession and use of it — including product-liability claims, any claim that the App fails to conform to applicable legal or regulatory requirements, and claims arising under consumer-protection, privacy, or similar legislation.
Markdrip, not Apple, is responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of any third-party claim that the App, or your possession and use of it, infringes that third party's intellectual-property rights.
You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. government embargo and are not on any U.S. government restricted-party list.
You must comply with applicable third-party terms of agreement when using the App (for example, your wireless-data service agreement).
Questions, complaints, or claims about the App: [email protected].
Apple, and Apple's subsidiaries, are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the current version at https://markdrip.app/terms/ and, for material changes, provide notice in the App or on our website before the change takes effect. Changes take effect for you on the date stated in the notice or, for paid subscribers, no earlier than your next renewal. If you do not agree to a change, you may cancel your subscription before renewal and stop using the App. We will never retroactively weaken the Tier 0 privacy guarantee without any consent required by law.

21. General

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Biometric & Voice Data Notice, are the entire agreement between you and us about the App.
Severability. If a provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in effect, and the provision is enforced to the maximum extent permitted.
No waiver. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, with notice where required.
Contact. Questions about these Terms: [email protected].