Katha (कथा / കഥ) — Terms of Service

Effective date: 13 Apr 2026

Welcome to Katha. By using our app, you agree to these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree, please do not use the app.

1. About Katha

Katha is a family storytelling application that helps families preserve oral histories through voice recordings, AI-powered transcription, and shared family albums. Katha is operated by Leo Angelo George (“we,” “us,” or “our”).

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create a Katha account. By creating an account, you confirm that you are 13 or older. If you are under 18, you represent that a parent or guardian has reviewed and consented to your use of the app.

3. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You must not share your password or allow unauthorized access to your account. Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized use.

4. Subscription Tiers & Pricing

Katha offers the following subscription tiers:

• Free — 1 family album, up to 3 stories. No payment required.
• Katha Gift — $9.99 one-time purchase. 1 family album, up to 25 stories per 12-month billing period. Renewable at $4.99/year.
• Katha Heritage — $49.99/year subscription. Unlimited family albums, unlimited stories, PDF heritage book export.

4a. Auto-Renewal

Katha Heritage subscriptions auto-renew annually unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. Katha Gift is a one-time purchase that does not auto-renew; renewal is a separate manual purchase.

4b. Cancellation

You may cancel your Heritage subscription at any time through your device’s app store (Google Play or Apple App Store). Upon cancellation, you retain access to your tier benefits until the end of the current billing period.

4c. Refunds

Refunds are handled by the app store through which you made the purchase (Google Play or Apple App Store). We do not process refunds directly. Please refer to your app store’s refund policy.

5. Cooling Period & Data Lifecycle

When a paid subscription expires without renewal, your album enters a “cooling period”:

• Months 1–12 (Active) — full access: record, view, and play all stories.
• Months 13–24 (Cooling) — read-only access: view and play existing stories, but no new recordings.
• Months 25–30 (Sunset) — read-only access with export available. You may download a PDF of all transcripts and original audio files.
• After month 30 (Dormant) — text transcripts are retained indefinitely. Audio files may be deleted to manage storage costs. You will receive an annual email reminder before any audio deletion.

If you reactivate your subscription at any time, full access is restored immediately. Audio files that have not yet been deleted are made available again.

6. AI Transcription

Katha uses Google’s Vertex AI (Gemini) to transcribe your voice recordings into text. By using the recording feature, you consent to your audio being sent to Google for transcription. Google processes this data solely for transcription purposes and does not use it to train AI models. See our Privacy Policy for details on data handling.

7. Your Content

You retain ownership of all stories, recordings, and content you create in Katha. By using the app, you grant us a limited license to store, process, and transmit your content solely for the purpose of providing the service (storage, transcription, sharing with your invited family members).

You are responsible for the content you record and share. You must not use Katha to record or share content that is illegal, abusive, harassing, or violates the rights of others.

8. Family Albums & Sharing

When you invite family members to your album, they can view, listen to, and comment on stories within that album. The album owner controls membership and can remove members at any time. If the album owner deletes their account, ownership transfers to the longest- tenured family member.

9. Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time from the Settings screen in the app. Upon deletion:

• Your profile, comments, and family associations are removed immediately.
• If you choose to delete your stories, audio and transcripts are removed immediately.
• If you choose to keep stories for your family, they are anonymized but remain accessible to album members.

See our Privacy Policy for full data retention details.

10. Prohibited Conduct

• Attempting to access other users’ accounts or data without authorization.
• Uploading malware, spam, or harmful content.
• Circumventing subscription limits or payment requirements.
• Using the app for any illegal purpose.

11. Disclaimers

Katha is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, perfect transcription accuracy, or permanent data retention beyond the lifecycle described in Section 5.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of Katha, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of content, or service interruptions.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify you through the app and update the “Effective date” above. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

14. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us:

Email: kathalab.help@gmail.com