Terms of Use

These terms and Apple’s license

The Vonode app is licensed to you under Apple’s Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement (the “Apple EULA”). These terms add to the Apple EULA for the Vonode services and the node software described below. For the app, the Apple EULA prevails where it conflicts with these terms, except where these terms give you more rights.

These terms are between you and VONODE LLC, not Apple. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app. VONODE LLC, not Apple, is responsible for the app, the node software and the Vonode services, and for addressing any claims relating to them, including product liability claims, claims that they do not meet a legal or regulatory requirement, consumer protection claims and claims that they infringe someone else’s intellectual property rights. As far as these terms concern the app, Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.

Emergency calls

The app and node software refuse calls to the emergency numbers they recognize, which do not include every emergency number. Any call to an emergency number made through a node or Wi-Fi calling may fail, may not reach the right emergency service, or may give it a wrong location or none. When you need emergency services, call them directly from your phone over its own cellular network, for example with the iPhone Phone app. Vonode is not a certified safety system either: do not rely on it for emergency messages, medical alerts or other life-safety communication.

Free tier and subscriptions

Current price and regional availability are shown on the App Store product page. Without a subscription, apart from managing the node (paired phones, the administrator password, backups and software updates), the app and node offer one function only: viewing in the app the SMS that one number you choose on one node receives over the cellular network. The number cannot be changed once chosen, and the app offers this on one node. Every other feature requires an auto-renewable Vonode subscription, purchased in the app through the App Store. Each subscription unlocks one node at a time: the node the app is connected to when you buy. You can move it to another node in the app, up to 3 times in 30 days; the node it leaves returns to the function available without a subscription. A subscription includes every app feature for its node. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; you can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Refunds are handled by Apple. When a subscription period ends without renewal, the node keeps working for up to 72 hours so the app can deliver a renewal, then returns to the function available without a subscription until a valid subscription is submitted again. A refunded or revoked subscription returns the node to that function immediately. Data stored on the node is kept in every case.

The features of the free tier and of the subscription may change over time, for example through app or node software updates, or because of changes by Apple, carriers or the law. The App Store product page and the app describe the current features before you buy. Such changes do not alter the renewal and cancellation terms above: you can cancel at any time in your Apple Account settings, and Apple tells you before a renewal at a higher price. If a change during a paid period affects your use of the subscription more than slightly, you may also have rights under consumer law (see “Your consumer rights”), for example, in the European Union, the right to end the contract under the Digital Content Directive.

Node software

The Vonode node software is licensed, not sold. With a subscription, or within the free tier, VONODE LLC grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to install and run the node software on hardware you own or control, for your own use with the Vonode app. We may revoke this license only as described in “Ending these terms”. You may not copy it except to install and back it up, sell, rent, sublicense or redistribute it, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble it, or remove, bypass or disable its license, subscription, integrity or verification checks, except to the extent that applicable law expressly permits this despite this limitation.

The node software and the app include open-source components. Each of them is licensed under its own license, which applies to that component instead of these terms; see the third-party notices. Where a license requires it, the corresponding source code is made available as that license requires. Nothing in these terms limits your rights under those open-source licenses.

User-operated infrastructure

Vonode is a companion for nodes, hardware and carrier services selected and operated by the user. The app does not include a server, VPS, modem, SIM, mobile plan, carrier charges, telephone number or Internet access.

Lawful use and your responsibilities

You are responsible for your nodes, hardware, SIM cards and carrier accounts and for how you use them. Each SIM card and carrier account you connect must be yours, or you must have its owner’s permission. You must follow your carrier’s terms of service and the laws that apply to you, including telecommunications, radio equipment and privacy laws; some carriers do not allow their SIM cards to be used in modems or with Wi-Fi calling from another device, and checking this is your responsibility. You may not use the app, the node software or the relay to:

• change or disguise the IMEI or another hardware identifier of a device;
• send spam or unsolicited bulk messages, or harass, threaten or defraud anyone;
• impersonate anyone, or access communications or accounts you are not authorized to use;
• break the law or infringe the rights of others, including their privacy;
• interfere with the relay, overload it, or access it without authorization.

Export controls and sanctions

You must comply with the export control and sanctions laws that apply to the app and the node software, including those of the United States. You may not use, export or re-export them in violation of those laws, including in or to a country or region under a U.S. embargo, or by or for a person on a U.S. government list of restricted parties, and you confirm that you are not such a person.

Developer-operated relay

VONODE LLC operates a relay at push.vonode.cc. The app and nodes use it for:

• delivering notifications and incoming-call alerts through the Apple Push Notification service (APNs);
• confirming subscriptions: it checks App Store signed transactions, receives App Store Server Notifications from Apple about renewals, refunds and revocations, and issues short-lived signed subscription leases to the app and to nodes;
• checking with Apple App Attest that requests come from a genuine copy of the app;
• checking the integrity of the node software, through integrity reports and short-lived verification modules that the node runs;
• delivering encrypted carrier configuration bundles to nodes with a subscription.

The privacy policy describes the data the relay handles. A node keeps its subscription features only while it can renew its lease from the relay: if it cannot get a valid lease for 30 minutes, it continues with the function available without a subscription until it can. Availability depends on Cloudflare, Apple and Internet connectivity. The relay may apply reasonable rate limits, may reject malformed, unauthorized or abusive requests, and may stop delivering notifications or leases to a node whose integrity or verification checks fail.

A node with a subscription can be used with up to 5 phones that have used it in the last 14 days; with more, the subscription cannot be used on that node: the app offers only the function available without a subscription and the relay may stop delivering its notifications, until no more than 5 phones have used it in the last 14 days. The relay may also limit how many notifications each app installation receives per day (UTC).

Availability and changes

Features can depend on iOS, node software, hardware firmware and carrier behavior. Maintenance, security incidents, provider outages or legal requirements may temporarily affect hosted relay availability.

No warranties

To the extent permitted by law, the app, the node software and the relay are provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement and uninterrupted or error-free operation. We do not promise that any carrier, SIM, modem, network or feature will work with Vonode, or that messages, calls or notifications will be delivered.

This does not affect warranties and remedies that the law gives you and that cannot be excluded (see “Your consumer rights”), such as, in the European Union, the legal guarantee that digital content and digital services conform to the contract, or, in Australia, the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law.

Limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by law, VONODE LLC is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, data or goodwill, or for carrier charges, arising from or related to Vonode, even if we were told they were possible. Our total liability for all claims relating to Vonode is limited to the greater of the amount you paid for Vonode subscriptions in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim and 50 U.S. dollars.

These exclusions and limits do not apply to liability for intent or gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under product liability laws or for fraud, or to any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law, and they do not affect your rights described in “Your consumer rights”, including the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. Some jurisdictions do not allow these exclusions or limits, and where they are not allowed, they do not apply to you.

Your consumer rights

If you use Vonode as a consumer, the law of the country where you live may give you rights that cannot be waived or limited by contract, for example in the European Union and the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Australia. Nothing in these terms affects those rights, and where these terms conflict with them, those rights prevail. In Australia, our goods and services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.

Ending these terms

You can stop using Vonode at any time by deleting the app and stopping the node software. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription; cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Cancellations and refunds of subscriptions are handled by Apple under Apple’s rules. We may suspend or end your use of the relay, of subscription features or of the node software license if you seriously breach these terms, for example by abusing the relay or bypassing license checks, or if the law requires it; where reasonable, we will tell you first. Data stored on your node stays on your hardware. Provisions that by their nature should continue, such as those on warranties, liability and governing law, continue after these terms end.

If we decide to stop offering the Vonode services, we will announce it on this website and on the App Store product page at least 30 days before they end. From the announcement, we will stop selling new subscriptions and take the steps the App Store provides to stop renewals of existing subscriptions. Refunds are handled by Apple under Apple’s rules, and you can ask Apple for one.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms, for example when Vonode’s features, the law or Apple’s rules change. We post the updated terms on this page with a new “Last updated” date. Material changes take effect 30 days after we post them (we may also announce them in the app's release notes or in the app), unless a change is needed sooner for legal or security reasons; other changes take effect when posted. Changes do not apply to events before they take effect. If you do not agree with a change, stop using Vonode and cancel your subscription; if you keep using Vonode after a change takes effect, the updated terms apply.

Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules; the Apple EULA has its own governing-law clause. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply. Disputes arising from these terms, the node software or the Vonode services will be decided by the state or federal courts located in Michigan, and you and VONODE LLC agree to their jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, you also keep the protection of the mandatory laws of the country where you live and may bring a claim in its courts; if you are a consumer living in the European Union or the United Kingdom, VONODE LLC may bring a claim against you only in the courts of the country where you live. If you have a problem, please first contact us at support@vonode.cc so we can try to resolve it.

General

If any part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest remains in effect, and that part applies as far as the law allows. These terms, together with the Apple EULA, are the entire agreement between you and VONODE LLC about Vonode and replace earlier versions. If we do not enforce a provision, we do not waive it. You may not transfer your rights under these terms without our consent; we may transfer them to a company that takes over Vonode, provided this does not reduce your rights. Translations of these terms are provided for convenience; the English version prevails.

Contact

VONODE LLC, a Michigan limited liability company, United States. Questions about these terms: support@vonode.cc.