1. Agreement
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Guitar Buddha mobile app and the guitar-buddha.com website (together, the "Service"). By downloading the app or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the Service.
If you are using the Service on behalf of someone else, you confirm that you have authority to bind them to these Terms.
2. What Guitar Buddha is
Guitar Buddha is a guitar practice companion app. It helps you organize songs you're learning, capture musical ideas, jam to backing tracks, tune your guitar, and work through practice drills. It does not teach you to play guitar; it is a tool, not a course.
The app is local-first: your library, recordings, and settings are stored on your device. We don't operate a server that holds your music.
3. Your license to use the app
We grant you a worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the Guitar Buddha app on devices you own or control, solely for your personal, non-commercial use.
You may not:
- Copy, modify, or create derivative works of the app or its assets;
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the app, except as expressly permitted by applicable law;
- Remove or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices;
- Distribute, sublicense, rent, lease, sell, or otherwise transfer the app or any of its assets to a third party;
- Use the app to build a competing product, or to train a machine learning model.
4. Your content
Anything you put into the app — songs you add, lyrics or chords you edit, ideas you capture, audio you record, notes you write — is your content. We never see it because it never leaves your device. You retain all rights to it.
You're responsible for making sure you have the right to record, store, or share whatever you put into the app. Recording yourself playing a copyrighted song for personal practice is generally fine in most jurisdictions; sharing or publishing that recording may require a separate license from the rightsholder. We can't advise on this, and we're not responsible for how you choose to use your recordings.
5. Acceptable use
You agree not to use the Service to:
- Violate any law or regulation;
- Infringe anyone else's rights, including intellectual property and privacy rights;
- Distribute malware, exploit security vulnerabilities, or interfere with normal operation of the Service;
6. Tips, in-app & website purchases
Guitar Buddha is free. There are two separate, optional ways to tip — in the app, or on this website. Both support continued development of Guitar Buddha.
In the app: an optional "tip jar" with three consumable in-app purchases: $0.99 (Thanks!), $4.99 (Supporter), and $9.99 (Keep it flowing). These are processed by Apple's App Store or Google Play, subject to their respective terms. Refunds are handled through Apple or Google according to their refund policies — we don't process these refunds directly because we never receive your payment information.
On this website (the Support page): three one-time tip amounts — $3 (Thanks), $5 (Supporter), and $10 (Keep it flowing) — processed by Stripe. Because Stripe shares the transaction with us directly, we can issue a refund for a website tip ourselves; email us and we'll take care of it through the Stripe dashboard.
Tips are optional in both places. No feature is locked behind a tip, and no tip will ever be required to use any part of the app. Tips are non-recurring — we will never charge you again unless you initiate another purchase.
7. Third-party content
Guitar Buddha does not fetch lyrics or chord charts from any online service. The songs, lyrics, and chord charts in your library are either ones you type in yourself, ones you scan from a chord sheet with the camera (processed on-device), or songs from the built-in catalog bundled with the app. You're responsible for making sure you have the right to store any lyrics or chords you add.
Lyrics and chord charts are owned by their respective rightsholders; the app simply stores the copies you provide, for your personal practice reference under fair-use principles in your jurisdiction. We never see, host, or transmit that content — it stays on your device.
8. Availability & updates
We aim to keep Guitar Buddha working on currently-supported versions of iOS and Android. We may release updates that add features, fix bugs, or change how the app works. We may also discontinue support for older OS versions over time.
Because the app is local-first, your library and recordings remain accessible on your device even if we stop publishing updates — there is no server that can "turn off."
9. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
We make no promise that the app will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of bugs; that any particular song will be in the built-in catalog; that recordings will save successfully in every condition; or that the app will be compatible with every device or OS version.
10. Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GUITAR BUDDHA AND ITS MAKERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.
Our total cumulative liability to you for any claim arising out of or related to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the total amount of tips you have paid in the past 12 months, or (b) USD $10.
11. Termination
You can terminate this agreement at any time by uninstalling the app. We can terminate or suspend your access to the Service if you materially violate these Terms — though given the local-first design, in practice this means we may stop providing updates or pull the app from the stores. Your local data on your device is yours and we have no way to remove it remotely.
12. Changes to these terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we'll update the "last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Service after a change means you accept the updated Terms. If you don't accept them, your remedy is to stop using the Service.
13. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in San Francisco County, California, and you and we both consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
If you are a consumer in the EU, UK, or another jurisdiction that grants you mandatory rights to sue locally, this section does not override those rights.
14. Contact
Questions about these Terms, or notices required under them:
We aim to respond within 7 days.