Terms of use & EULA

1. Acceptance of Terms, Eligibility & Scope

By downloading, installing, accessing, or using the Octoshield iOS mobile application (“App”) or visiting and using https://octoshield.app, including its free client-side browser utilities, interactive demonstrations, and field guides (collectively, the “Website,” and together with the App, the “Services”), you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference.

If you do not agree to every provision of these Terms —and in particular the strict local-only storage rules, zero password recovery capability, backup exclusions, and limitations of liability— do not download, install, import files into, or use the Services.

Eligibility: You must be at least 13 years of age (or at least 16 years of age in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or any jurisdiction requiring a higher age of digital consent, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction if required to enter into a binding agreement) to use the Services. If you are under the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, your parent or legal guardian must review and accept these Terms on your behalf.

2. Mandatory Apple App Store EULA Provisions

With respect to your download and use of the Octoshield iOS App from the Apple App Store, the following mandatory terms apply pursuant to Schedule 1 / Schedule 2, Section 3.8 of the Apple Developer Program License Agreement:

• 2.1 Acknowledgement: You and TengrX acknowledge that this Agreement is concluded solely between you and TengrX, and not with Apple Inc. (“Apple”), and that TengrX, not Apple, is solely responsible for the Licensed Application (the App) and the content thereof.
• 2.2 Scope of License: Subject to your continuous compliance with these Terms, TengrX grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to download, install, and use the App on any Apple-branded iOS products (such as iPhone) that you own or control and strictly as permitted by the Usage Rules set forth in the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions ↗, except that the App may be accessed and used by other accounts associated with the purchaser via Apple Family Sharing or volume purchasing where enabled (noting that encrypted vault contents remain strictly isolated per physical device and Keychain).
• 2.3 Maintenance and Support: TengrX is solely responsible for providing any maintenance and support services with respect to the App, as specified in these Terms or as required under applicable law. You and TengrX acknowledge that Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to the App.
• 2.4 Warranty & Apple Refund Limit: TengrX is solely responsible for any product warranties, whether express or implied by law, to the extent not effectively disclaimed in Section 12 of these Terms. In the event of any failure of the App to conform to any applicable warranty that cannot be disclaimed under mandatory law, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any) paid for the App to you; and, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App, and any other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses attributable to any failure to conform to any warranty will be TengrX’s sole responsibility, subject always to the limitations of liability set forth in these Terms.
• 2.5 Product Claims: You and TengrX acknowledge that TengrX, not Apple, is responsible for addressing any claims of yours or of any third party relating to the App or your possession and/or use of the App, including, but not limited to: (i) product liability claims; (ii) any claim that the App fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement; and (iii) claims arising under consumer protection, privacy, or similar legislation. This allocation of responsibility between TengrX and Apple does not expand TengrX’s liability to you beyond the limits permitted by applicable law and Section 13 of these Terms.
• 2.6 Intellectual Property Infringement Claims: You and TengrX acknowledge that, in the event of any third-party claim that the App or your possession and use of the App in accordance with these Terms infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, TengrX, not Apple, will be solely responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of any such intellectual property infringement claim to the extent required herein.
• 2.7 Legal Compliance & Sanctions: You represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country or region that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government, European Union, United Kingdom, or United Nations list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• 2.8 Third-Party Terms of Agreement: You must comply with applicable third-party terms of agreement when using the App (for example, your wireless data service agreement and Apple’s iCloud Terms of Service).
• 2.9 Third-Party Beneficiary: You and TengrX acknowledge and agree that Apple, and Apple’s subsidiaries, are third-party beneficiaries of this Agreement, and that, upon your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce this Agreement against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof.

3. Zero-Knowledge Encryption & Irreversible Data Loss Waiver

You expressly understand, acknowledge, and agree that Octoshield encrypts imported photos, videos, documents, thumbnails, and catalog indices locally on your iPhone using authenticated AES-256-GCM encryption, with keys derived via HKDF-SHA256 and protected by combining your chosen secret (stretched via PBKDF2-SHA256) with a random hardware-bound key stored exclusively in that specific iPhone’s iOS Keychain.

By using the App, you voluntarily assume 100% of the risk of permanent, irreversible loss of access to your vault files arising from any of the following events:

• Forgetting, misremembering, or losing your chosen vault PIN, alphanumeric passphrase, 3×3 pattern, or rotary safe combination dial;
• Uninstalling or deleting the Octoshield App from your iPhone (or allowing iOS “Offload Unused Apps” or a device reset to purge the app sandbox or Keychain);
• Losing, having stolen, damaging, breaking, water-damaging, trading in, selling, or replacing your physical iPhone without first unlocking your vault and exporting decrypted copies of your files;
• Changes to your iPhone’s Face ID or Touch ID biometric enrollment, system passcode resets, iOS Keychain corruption, iOS beta/system updates, or flash storage hardware failure; or
• Relying solely on Face ID / Touch ID for daily access and subsequently forgetting the underlying secret required when iOS or the App mandates secret re-entry.

4. Brute-Force Throttling & 10-Failure Self-Erase

To protect your vault against unauthorized guessing, Octoshield automatically throttles failed unlock attempts after five (5) incorrect tries. In addition, the App offers an optional, user-configurable destructive security setting: Erase Vault After 10 Failed Attempts.

If you choose to enable the ten-failure erase setting, you explicitly instruct the App to permanently and irreversibly destroy all encrypted vault data and keys on the tenth (10th) consecutive failed unlock attempt—whether those failed attempts are made by an intruder, a curious friend, a child handling your phone, accidental pocket touches, or yourself while trying to remember your secret. TengrX shall have zero liability for any data destroyed by this feature.

5. Backup Exclusion, Device Upgrades & User Duty

Octoshield is an on-device privacy boundary, NOT a backup service. To prevent unencrypted or encrypted vault artifacts from leaking onto remote cloud servers or shared computers, the App explicitly marks its vault storage container with Apple’s isExcludedFromBackup attribute and binds its Keychain keys to the physical device hardware.

• No Automatic Device Migration: Your vault will not transfer to a new iPhone via iCloud Backup, Apple Quick Start device-to-device migration, or Finder/iTunes computer backups.
• Mandatory Pre-Upgrade Export: Before upgrading, trading in, sending for repair, or resetting your iPhone, you must unlock Octoshield, export all files you wish to keep, and verify that the exported files open properly at their destination.
• Independent Backup Obligation: You agree to maintain at least one independent backup copy (on encrypted storage you control outside the App) of any irreplaceable, legally required, tax, financial, medical, identity, or sentimental documents and photos. Never store your sole existing copy of an irreplaceable document exclusively inside a non-backed-up local mobile vault.

6. Photo Cleaner, Originals, Apple Photos & iCloud

• Two-Stage Cleaner Deletion & User Confirmation: In Octoshield’s Swipe-to-Clean module, swiping left queues a photo for deletion and swiping up imports an encrypted copy into your vault while queuing the camera-roll original for removal. No photo or video is removed from your Apple Photos library until you review the pending queue and explicitly approve the native iOS system deletion dialog presented by Apple’s PhotoKit framework. You are solely responsible for inspecting the review queue and iOS prompt before confirming.
• Apple Photos “Recently Deleted” & iCloud Sync: When you approve the iOS deletion prompt, Apple Photos normally moves those items to Collections → Utilities → Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. If iCloud Photos is enabled on your device, deleting a photo from Apple Photos deletes it across iCloud.com and all other iPhones, iPads, and Macs signed into the same Apple Account. Conversely, if you permanently empty Recently Deleted in Apple Photos, Apple cannot recover those files.
• Original & External Copies Remain Separate: Importing a photo, video, or file into Octoshield creates a separate encrypted copy inside the vault. Importing does not automatically erase copies stored in the iOS Files app, iCloud Drive, Shared Albums, Messages attachments, third-party cloud backups (such as Google Photos, Dropbox, or OneDrive), or other devices. You are solely responsible for removing unencrypted originals and emptying Recently Deleted if you want those copies gone.

7. Security Model Boundaries & Threat Disclaimers

Our Security Model and About pages describe the cryptographic implementation of the App in good faith. However, no software or cryptographic system can guarantee absolute security against every possible threat. You acknowledge and agree that Octoshield cannot protect against, and TengrX is not liable for:

• Visual observation (“shoulder surfing”), cameras recording your screen while you enter your secret or view unlocked files, or physical coercion;
• Actions taken by any person to whom you hand your iPhone while the Octoshield vault is unlocked, or who knows your vault secret (or who has an enrolled face/fingerprint on your device when biometric unlock is enabled);
• Compromised, jailbroken, rooted, or malware-infected iOS devices, hardware implants, or zero-day vulnerabilities in the iOS operating system, Apple Keychain, or hardware Secure Enclave;
• Operating system limitations regarding screen capture: while the App obscures its interface in the iOS app switcher and upon detecting screen recording, iOS does not permit third-party apps to block the creation of every system screenshot before capture occurs;
• Temporary decrypted scratch files required by iOS system viewers to render certain document formats while a preview is actively open, or files that you export/share outside the vault; or
• Weak, easily guessed secrets chosen by you (such as 0000, 1234, birthdays, or simple L-shaped patterns).

Descriptions of cryptographic algorithms (such as AES-256-GCM, HKDF-SHA256, and PBKDF2-SHA256) explain our software engineering architecture and do not constitute a warranty of a formal government or third-party certification.

8. Downloads, In-App Purchases, Subscriptions & Refunds

Octoshield is available for download on the Apple App Store. To the extent the App offers optional paid features, one-time unlocks (“Lifetime” or “Pro” upgrades), or auto-renewable subscriptions now or in future releases, the following terms apply in accordance with Apple App Store Review Guideline 3.1.2:

• Apple Billing Processing: All payments are charged to your Apple Account by Apple Inc. at confirmation of purchase. TengrX does not collect your payment card details and has no access to your Apple billing account.
• Auto-Renewable Subscriptions (If Applicable): Any auto-renewable subscription automatically renews for the same duration and price unless auto-renew is turned off at least twenty-four (24) hours before the end of the current billing period. Your Apple Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period.
• Managing & Canceling Subscriptions: You can manage or cancel an App Store subscription at any time by opening iOS Settings → [Your Name / Apple Account] → Subscriptions. Uninstalling the Octoshield App from your iPhone does not automatically cancel an active App Store subscription.
• Free Trials (If Applicable): Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable.
• Refunds: Because all transactions are processed by Apple, TengrX cannot directly issue refunds for App Store purchases. All refund requests are subject to the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions and must be submitted directly to Apple via reportaproblem.apple.com ↗.

9. Website Browser Tools, Guides & Comparisons

• Client-Side Browser Tools (/tools): The free browser utilities on octoshield.app/tools (including EXIF metadata removal, face/plate blurring, passport photo cropping, QR code generation, passphrase entropy estimation, and image conversion/compression) run locally in your web browser and are provided strictly “AS IS” without warranty of any kind. You are solely responsible for inspecting and verifying any processed file before using, submitting, or publishing it. In particular: (a) TengrX does not guarantee that a passport or ID photo generated in the browser tool will be accepted by any embassy, consulate, or government agency; (b) you must verify that all sensitive metadata or visual details have been sufficiently removed or blurred before sharing an image publicly; and (c) passphrase entropy scores are mathematical estimates, not guarantees against compromise.
• Field Guides & Comparisons (/guides & /compare): Articles, tutorials, and competitor comparisons published on the Website are provided for general informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice, forensic cybersecurity advice, or a binding specification. iOS menus and third-party apps change frequently; always verify current behavior on your own device.
• Interactive Website Demonstrations: The interactive iPhone vault and cleaner previews on the Website are illustrative simulations and may differ visually or functionally from the shipping iOS App.

10. Acceptable Use, Lawful Content & User Conduct

You may use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You represent, warrant, and covenant that:

• You own or possess all necessary legal rights, licenses, and permissions to store, encrypt, organize, modify, or delete the photos, videos, and documents you process using the Services;
• You will never use Octoshield or the Website tools to store, conceal, process, or distribute any content that is illegal under applicable local, national, or international law, including without limitation Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSAE), non-consensual intimate imagery, terrorist content, stolen data, or material that infringes third-party intellectual property or privacy rights; and
• You will not reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, attempt to bypass security controls of, or launch automated Denial-of-Service or scraping attacks against the Services (except to the limited extent that applicable statutory law expressly prohibits restrictions on reverse engineering).

Because Octoshield operates entirely offline on your device without server inspection, you bear 100% of the civil, administrative, and criminal legal responsibility for all files and data stored on your device.

11. Intellectual Property Rights & Trademarks

The App, the Website, their source and object code, cryptographic pipeline architecture, user interface designs, original guide text, the Octoshield name and wordmark, the TengrX name and mark, and the green-eyed octopus guardian mascot artwork are owned by TengrX and its licensors and are protected by international copyright, trademark, trade dress, patent, and unfair competition laws. Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership interest in the Services to you.

Third-Party Trademarks: Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPad, Mac, iOS, Face ID, Touch ID, iCloud, App Store, and Keychain are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. Mixpanel is a trademark of Mixpanel, Inc. All other third-party product names or trademarks referenced in educational comparisons or guides on the Website remain the property of their respective owners and are used solely for nominative, comparative identification without any implied affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties (“AS IS” & “AS AVAILABLE”)

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW IN YOUR JURISDICTION, THE APP, THE WEBSITE, ALL CLIENT-SIDE BROWSER TOOLS, AND ALL GUIDES ARE PROVIDED STRICTLY ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS, OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. TengrX EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, TengrX DOES NOT WARRANT THAT: (A) THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OR OPERATE WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR ERROR; (B) THE APP WILL PREVENT EVERY POSSIBLE FORM OF UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, DEVICE COMPROMISE, SCREEN CAPTURE, OR FORENSIC EXTRACTION; OR (C) ANY FILES STORED IN THE VAULT OR PROCESSED IN THE CLEANER OR BROWSER TOOLS WILL BE IMMUNE FROM LOSS, CORRUPTION, OR ACCIDENTAL DELETION.

13. Limitation of Liability & Maximum Liability Cap

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW IN ALL COUNTRIES AND REGIONS, IN NO EVENT SHALL TengrX, ITS FOUNDERS, DEVELOPERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, OR SERVICE PROVIDERS ( NOR APPLE INC. OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY UNDER ANY LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, STATUTE, OR OTHERWISE) FOR:

• ANY LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF PHOTOS, VIDEOS, OR DOCUMENTS, CORRUPTION OF FILES, INABILITY TO UNLOCK A VAULT DUE TO A FORGOTTEN SECRET OR KEYCHAIN RESET, TRIGGERING OF THE 10-FAILURE SELF-ERASE FEATURE, OR FAILURE TO EXPORT FILES PRIOR TO UNINSTALLING THE APP OR CHANGING DEVICES;
• ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, EVEN IF TengrX HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; OR
• ANY DIRECT DAMAGES EXCEEDING, IN THE AGGREGATE ACROSS ALL CLAIMS, THE GREATER OF: (I) THE TOTAL NET AMOUNT ACTUALLY RECEIVED BY TengrX FROM YOUR PURCHASE OF THE APP THROUGH THE APPLE APP STORE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM; OR (II) TEN UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USD \$10.00) (OR THE EQUIVALENT MINIMUM NOMINAL SUM PERMITTED BY MANDATORY LOCAL LAW).

14. Global Statutory Consumer Rights Preservation

Some countries, states, provinces, or jurisdictions—including member states of the European Union (under Directive (EU) 2019/770 and national consumer codes), the United Kingdom (under the Consumer Rights Act 2015), Australia (under the Australian Consumer Law / Competition and Consumer Act 2010), Türkiye (under Law No. 6502 on the Protection of the Consumer), Brazil (under the Código de Defesa do Consumidor), Canada (including the Quebec Consumer Protection Act), Japan (under the Consumer Contract Act), and South Korea—do not allow the exclusion of certain statutory guarantees or the exclusion or limitation of liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, willful misconduct, or gross negligence.

Preservation Rule: Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude, restrict, or modify any mandatory statutory consumer right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under the laws of your country of residence. In any such jurisdiction, the exclusions and limitations in Sections 12 and 13 shall apply automatically to the fullest extent permitted by the mandatory laws of that jurisdiction, and if a court of competent jurisdiction holds any specific sub-clause unenforceable under local statutory law, that sub-clause shall be reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable while preserving all remaining protections in full force and effect.

15. User Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless TengrX, its founders, developers, affiliates, licensors, and service providers (and Apple Inc. as a third-party beneficiary) from and against any and all third-party claims, demands, actions, proceedings, liabilities, damages, judgments, penalties, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation costs) arising out of or relating to: (a) your access to, use of, or misuse of the App or Website; (b) any photos, videos, documents, or content you import, encrypt, store, export, or delete using the Services; (c) your breach or alleged breach of any representation, warranty, or obligation in these Terms; or (d) your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party.

16. Dispute Resolution, Arbitration & Class Action Waiver

16.1 Mandatory 60-Day Informal Dispute Resolution

Before initiating any lawsuit, arbitration, or administrative proceeding against TengrX, you agree to first contact us in writing through the developer contact channel listed in Section 18 and provide a detailed written description of the dispute, the relief sought, and how we can reach you. You and TengrX agree to negotiate in good faith for at least sixty (60) calendar days to resolve the matter informally before either party may commence formal proceedings.

16.2 Binding Individual Arbitration & Class Action Waiver (Where Permitted by Law)

To the fullest extent permitted by the laws of your jurisdiction (including under the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act for residents of the United States):

• Individual Basis Only (Class Action Waiver): YOU AND TengrX AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Unless both you and TengrX agree in writing, no arbitrator or judge may consolidate more than one person’s claims or preside over any form of representative or class proceeding.
• Arbitration & Small Claims Exception: Any dispute not resolved during the 60-day informal period shall be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration conducted in English via remote/written or video submissions, except that either party may bring an eligible individual claim in small claims court or seek injunctive relief in court to protect intellectual property rights.
• One-Year Limitation Period: To the maximum extent permitted by law, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the Services or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose, or be forever barred.

17. Governing Law, Export Controls & General Terms

• 17.1 Governing Law & Consumer Forum Rules: These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to the Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws applicable to TengrX’s principal place of business, excluding its conflict-of-law principles and excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If you are a consumer habitually resident in the European Union, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction whose mandatory consumer laws entitle you to invoke the mandatory statutory protections and courts of your country of residence, this choice of law does not deprive you of those non-waivable statutory protections.
• 17.2 Cryptographic Export Control Compliance: The App incorporates publicly standard mass-market symmetric and key-derivation cryptography (AES-256-GCM, HKDF-SHA256, PBKDF2-SHA256). You may not use, export, or re-export the App except as authorized by United States law, the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), European Union dual-use regulations, and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the App was obtained.
• 17.3 Force Majeure: TengrX shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside its reasonable control, including Apple App Store outages, iOS operating system changes, internet or CDN failures, natural disasters, war, or governmental actions.
• 17.4 Severability, No Waiver & Assignment: If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. Any failure by TengrX to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent; TengrX may freely assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of assets.
• 17.5 Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any applicable Apple Media Services purchase terms, constitute the entire and exclusive agreement between you and TengrX regarding the Services and supersede all prior understandings.

18. Modifications to Terms & Contact Information

Updates to These Terms: TengrXreserves the right to update or modify these Terms at any time to reflect new App capabilities, App Store policy updates, or changes in global law. When we update these Terms, we will update the “Effective & Last Updated” date at the top of this page. By continuing to use the App or Website after updated Terms take effect, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms.

Developer Contact Information (Apple EULA Requirement): Any questions, complaints, legal notices, or claims with respect to the Octoshield App or these Terms should be directed to TengrX via:

• Developer Studio Website: https://tengrx.com ↗
• Official App Store Support Channel: The developer support contact link on the Octoshield App Store listing ↗