Terms of service

Directive Labs, LLC · Effective date: November 4, 2026 · Last updated: November 4, 2026

The short version

These are the rules for using our website and our products. The full terms below are what count; this is the gist.

• Who: an agreement between you and Directive Labs, LLC, a small North Carolina company. Using our website or products means you agree. (Our open-source products also come with their own open-source license.)
• Your content stays yours: you own what you add. We use it only to run the product for you.
• Use our products fairly: nothing unlawful, no breaking into our systems, no bots or scrapers.
• No ads, ever. Prices first: our products never show ads, not even for our other apps. Anything that costs money shows its price and terms before you buy. Apple handles App Store payments and refunds.
• Limits, changes and endings: our products come as they are, and, as far as the law allows, we aren't responsible for indirect losses such as lost data. North Carolina law applies. We may update these Terms and will tell you about important changes. You can stop at any time; we may end access for anyone who breaks these Terms.

How these Terms work

• These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and Directive Labs, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company ("we," "us," "our").
• They cover our website, directivelabs.app, and the products listed below, including test versions.
• The general terms below apply to everything. Each product then has its own section with terms just for it.
• If a product section conflicts with the general terms, the product section controls for that product.
• By using our website or one of our products, you agree to these Terms. Our privacy policy explains how we handle your information.

Open-source products: some of our products, such as Homedial and Homedial Backdrop, are released under an open-source license. That license controls how you may copy, change and share their code. These Terms add the safety and other terms in the product's section, as far as the open-source license allows. Beta testers: if you joined a private beta by email, your beta license applies to that beta version.

General terms

1. Who we are

Directive Labs, LLC, North Carolina, USA. Email: support@directivelabs.app.

2. Eligibility

• You must be at least 13 years old to use our products, unless a product's section sets a different age.
• If you're under the age of majority where you live, you need a parent or guardian's permission.
• Our apps are offered in the United States only.

3. Apps from Apple's App Store

In plain words: if you got our app from Apple, Apple's standard app license is your license, and these Terms add to it. Apple isn't responsible for our app, but Apple can enforce these Terms.

If you got one of our apps from Apple's App Store:

• Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement (the "Standard EULA," Apple's standard app license) is your license to use the app. These Terms add to it.
• These Terms are between you and Directive Labs, LLC, not Apple. Apple is not responsible for the app or its content and has no obligation to provide support for it.
• Apple is a third-party beneficiary of these Terms with the right to enforce them against you. (This means Apple can hold you to these Terms, even though Apple isn't a party to them.)
• Your use of the app must also follow the App Store's usage rules.

4. Accounts

• Where a product offers an account, you're responsible for keeping your sign-in details secure and for activity under your account.
• Tell us right away if you think someone else has accessed it.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use our website or products for any unlawful purpose;
• try to interfere with, disrupt or gain unauthorized access to our systems or other users' data;
• use bots, scrapers or other automated means to access our services;
• impersonate another person or misrepresent your affiliation with anyone.

6. Your content

• You own what you add to our products ("your content").
• You give us a limited permission to store, process and display your content only to run the product for you.
• We don't claim ownership of your content and don't use it for anything else.

7. Our products

• We own our apps, add-ons, website and their names and designs.
• These Terms (and, for App Store apps, Apple's Standard EULA) give you a personal right to use them; they don't transfer ownership.

No ads. Our products never show ads, not even for our own other apps. Our website shows no ads. Neither ever uses ad SDKs (advertising or ad-tracking code made by other companies).

8. Purchases

• Where a product sells something, its section explains the price, billing, renewal, cancellation and refunds.
• Prices and terms are shown before you buy.
• If a product is free today and we add paid features later, we'll show their prices and terms before you buy and update these Terms first.

9. Ending your use

• You can stop using our products at any time.
• Where a product has an account, you can delete it as that product's section explains.
• We may suspend or end access for anyone who breaks these Terms.

10. Disclaimers

In plain words: we offer our products as they are. We make no promises about them beyond what these Terms say, and we can't promise they'll always work or be free of errors.

Our website and products are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We don't guarantee that they will be uninterrupted or error-free.

11. Limitation of liability

In plain words: as far as the law allows, we aren't responsible for indirect losses, such as lost data, from using our website or products.

To the fullest extent the law allows, Directive Labs, LLC is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from your use of our website or products, including lost data. Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you.

12. Changes to these Terms

In plain words: we may update these Terms. We change the dates at the top and tell you about important changes. If you keep using our website or products after a change takes effect, the new Terms apply to you.

• We may update these Terms from time to time.
• When we do, we'll change the dates at the top, and for important changes we'll also tell you in the app or by email where we can.
• If you keep using our website or products after a change takes effect, you accept the updated Terms.

13. Governing law

In plain words: North Carolina law applies to these Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules.

14. Contact us

Directive Labs, LLC
North Carolina, USA
Email: support@directivelabs.app

PreOrder Pal

The short version

• Guest or account: as a guest, your data is only on your device. We can't back it up, so it may be lost if you delete the app or lose your device. An account keeps it in sync.
• Price: free today. Any paid feature will show its price before you buy.
• Book information: it comes from other sources, can be wrong and can change; check with the store. If a source asks, we may remove or replace its details, even in items you saved. What you typed yourself stays.
• Deleting: you can delete your account and its data at any time. It can't be undone.

Accounts and Guest Mode

• You can use PreOrder Pal as a guest, with your data stored only on your device, or create an account to keep your data in sync across devices.
• Guest data is not backed up by us: if you delete the app or lose your device while using Guest Mode, that data may be lost.

Price

• PreOrder Pal is currently free to use.
• If we add paid features in the future, their prices and terms will be shown before you buy, and we'll update these Terms first.

Book information from other sources

• Book details and cover images in the app come from ISBNdb, Google Books and Open Library through our book lookup service, and belong to their publishers and other rights holders.
• Release dates, prices and availability can change without notice, and we don't guarantee that this information is accurate. Always check with the store before you rely on it.
• If our arrangement with a source ends, or a source or rights holder asks us to remove something, we may remove or replace book details and cover images that came from that source, including in items you've saved.
• Your notes, prices, stores, and any details you typed or changed yourself aren't affected.

Deleting your account

• You can permanently delete your account and its data at any time in the app (Profile → Delete Account), or by email request using the steps on our account deletion page.
• Deletion can't be undone.

Limits that apply to PreOrder Pal

In plain words: as far as the law allows, the limits in section 11 also cover a missed pre-order or release date, and what you buy or don't buy because of the app.

The limitation of liability in the general terms includes missed pre-orders or release dates and purchases you make or don't make based on the app.

Homedial and Homedial Backdrop

Homedial controls your thermostat through Home Assistant, the smart-home software you run on your own equipment. Homedial Backdrop changes how your Home Assistant dashboards look and includes guides designed with ADHD and autistic people in mind.

In this section, "Homedial" means Homedial and Homedial Backdrop together, unless we name one of them.

The short version

• Not a safety device. Homedial can change your heating and cooling. Keep your own safeguards, set your own limits, and check your home after setup and every change.
• Free and open source. Homedial is free under the Apache License 2.0. You can use, change and share it under that license.
• Our names stay ours. The license doesn't let you use the Directive Labs or Homedial names or logos for your own versions.
• Our limits: Homedial comes as it is, with no warranty. As far as the law allows, we aren't responsible for damage from using it.

Free and open source

• Homedial and Homedial Backdrop are free. You can get them through HACS or download them from our GitHub page (github.com/directivelabs/homedial).
• Homedial was called DLabs Thermostat, and Homedial Backdrop was called DLabs Core, during testing. Some names inside Home Assistant, such as entity IDs, still start with "dlabs".
• Their code, themes and artwork are licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"), included with every copy. The License controls how you may use, copy, change and share them. If these Terms and the License conflict about those rights, the License wins.
• The License doesn't give you any right to use the Directive Labs name, logo or product names (such as Homedial), except to say truthfully where your copy came from. If you share a changed version, give it a different name.
• Quotes in Homedial come from works in the US public domain. Other people's software that Homedial works with, such as Home Assistant, HACS and dashboard cards, comes under its own licenses.
• If we ever offer paid extras, we'll show their price and terms before you buy and update these Terms first. What's free today stays under the License.

Guides for ADHD and autistic people

• Homedial includes guides and layouts designed with ADHD and autistic people in mind, such as calmer screens and simpler routines.
• They're practical tips about using your smart home, not medical advice, and they don't diagnose or treat any condition. For health questions, talk to a qualified professional.

Home safety

HOMEDIAL IS NOT A SAFETY DEVICE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW IT CONTROLS YOUR HOME, AND YOU USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Homedial can change your thermostat's mode and temperature. That can affect comfort, energy use, humidity, pipes, pets, plants and the health of people in your home.

1. Keep your own safeguards. Keep your thermostat's own limits, your heating and cooling equipment's safety controls, freeze protection, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in place and working. Homedial doesn't replace any of them. 2. You choose the limits. Settings such as freeze and overheat limits, the protected-room floor and Auto heat/cool start with example values. They aren't recommendations for your home. Review and set every limit yourself before you turn control on. 3. It can stop working without warning. Homedial works only while Home Assistant, your network, your sensors, your thermostat and any cloud service it uses are all working. A crash, power or internet outage, dead battery, wrong sensor reading, update or cloud limit can stop it from acting, or make it act on bad information. 4. Alerts are informational. On-screen alerts, including the automatic safety alert, aren't monitoring and don't contact anyone. Nobody at Directive Labs watches your home. Don't rely on Homedial to protect people, pets, plants or property, or for medical needs. 5. Watch it at first. After setup, and after any change or update, check that your home stays at safe temperatures before you rely on Homedial, especially when you're away or someone vulnerable is home. 6. Use it only where you're allowed. Use Homedial only in a home you own or have permission to control. Don't open, rewire or modify heating, cooling or electrical equipment unless you're qualified.

Your system and other companies' products

• You're responsible for your Home Assistant, network, devices and home: installing and updating them, choosing every setting, keeping backups and securing your accounts.
• Home Assistant, HACS, thermostats, sensors, heating and cooling equipment and their cloud services aren't ours. Their own terms apply. If they change or stop, Homedial may stop working.
• Brand names such as Home Assistant belong to their owners. We use them only to say what Homedial works with; we aren't affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Removing Homedial

Before you remove Homedial, set your thermostat the way you want it. Removing Homedial doesn't change your thermostat; whatever it was last told stays until you change it. The guide's "Removing Homedial cleanly" steps remove it from Home Assistant.

No warranty

HOMEDIAL IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITH ALL FAULTS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DON'T PROMISE THAT HOMEDIAL WILL WORK WITH YOUR SYSTEM, RUN WITHOUT ERRORS, KEEP ANY ROOM AT ANY TEMPERATURE, PREVENT DAMAGE, OR SAVE ENERGY OR MONEY. The License says the same in its sections 7 and 8.

Limit of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, DIRECTIVE LABS, LLC IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF HOMEDIAL, INCLUDING DAMAGE TO PROPERTY OR EQUIPMENT, FROZEN OR BURST PIPES, WATER OR MOLD DAMAGE, ENERGY COSTS OR LOST DATA. IF WE ARE FOUND LIABLE ANYWAY, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ABOUT HOMEDIAL IS LIMITED TO FIFTY US DOLLARS (US$50).

These limits don't apply to fraud, our gross negligence or willful misconduct, or anything else the law doesn't allow us to limit.

Disputes

• Please contact us first at support@directivelabs.app; we'll try in good faith to settle it within 30 days.
• North Carolina law applies (general terms, section 13). Claims go to the state or federal courts located in North Carolina, or to small claims court if the claim qualifies. There's no jury-trial waiver.

Serotonin Swipe

The short version

• Your photos: they stay yours, and the app never uploads them.
• Deleting: the app deletes a photo only after you confirm twice. In an iCloud Shared Library, that removes it from the library for everyone. The app is not a backup tool, so keep your own backup.
• Your data in the app: Erase my data (always free), or deleting the app, clears what the app saved. Neither touches your photos.
• Badges and tokens: what you earn stays yours. Tokens have no cash value.
• Age: kids can use it with a parent's OK.
• Pro: an optional one-time purchase through Apple. No subscription, no free trial. See Purchases.

Your photos

Serotonin Swipe works on the photos already on your iPhone. They stay yours, and the app never uploads them.

Deleting photos is your decision

• The app deletes a photo only after you confirm it on the review screen and again in iOS's own confirmation.
• Deleted photos go to the Photos app's Recently Deleted album, where Apple keeps them for about 30 days; after that, or if you empty that album, they're gone.
• If you use an iCloud Shared Library, deleting a shared photo removes it from the Shared Library for everyone. Only the person who added it can delete it for good.
• If you mark a burst on its burst card, deleting it deletes the photos in that burst too, except Favorites, photos you sorted yourself, protected and hidden ones; iOS shows how many.
• Please review before you confirm.
• Serotonin Swipe is not a backup tool, so keep your own backup of photos that matter to you.

Your data in the app

• The app's saved decisions and settings stay on your iPhone.
• Settings → Erase my data deletes them; deleting the app does too. Neither touches your photos.
• Erase my data is free in every version of the app. You never need Pro to delete your data.

Badges and tokens

• You earn badges and tokens by using the app. Tokens can only be spent on scenes and decorations inside the app.
• Badges you've earned stay earned, and your tokens never expire.
• We may add, change or offer scenes and decorations for a limited time, such as holiday or seasonal scenes.
• Anything you've unlocked stays yours after it leaves the shop. If we ever have to remove something you unlocked, we'll give back the tokens you spent on it.
• Tokens can't be bought, sold, traded or exchanged for money, and they have no cash value.
• They stay on your iPhone. Erase my data, or deleting the app, removes them, and we can't restore them.

Age

Serotonin Swipe has no minimum age. Children under 13 should use it with a parent or guardian, who agrees to these Terms for them.

Purchases

In plain words: one payment. No subscription. Yours to keep.

What you get

• Free, for real: Unlimited swipes. No daily cap. All photos, screenshots, screen recordings, videos, by month and On This Day piles. Every session mode, breaks, Review, Undo, Later and Never delete. Five themes and every comfort setting. Today's progress, days this week and milestones. Share, video play and sound, Review my keeps and Erase my data.
• Pro: a one-time purchase, billed to your Apple Account through the App Store. The app shows the price, plus any sales tax, on the Pro screen before you buy.
• What Pro includes today: Your week chart and past weeks in Stats. More photo types: Live Photos, Portrait, Panoramas, Slo-mo, Time-lapse, Cinematic, Spatial, Animated, Selfies, Bursts, RAW and Long exposure. Smart piles found on your iPhone: documents and receipts, maybe blurry and look-alikes (iOS 18 or later). More Pro features will be listed here and on the Pro screen as they're added.
• No subscription: Pro doesn't renew and doesn't expire. There's no free trial. It stays unlocked for as long as we offer the app, unless Apple refunds the purchase.
• Future Pro features: Pro features we add in future updates are included at no extra cost. Anything we sell separately will have its own name and won't be called a Pro feature.
• Changes to the app: we may add, change or remove features over time.

Restore, family and refunds

• Restoring: use Restore purchase in the app on any iPhone signed in to the App Store with the same Apple Account.
• Family Sharing: the buyer can share Pro with up to 5 family members through Apple's Family Sharing. Family members usually get Pro automatically; if not, they can tap Restore purchase.
• When family access ends: if the buyer stops sharing, leaves the family group or gets a refund, family members lose Pro.
• Payments and refunds: Apple processes payments and handles refunds; we can't give refunds ourselves. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com.