Terms of Use

Last updated: June 15, 2026

These terms are a legal agreement between you and Contemplative Software LLC (“we,” “us,” “our”), the maker of Lembic (“the app”). By downloading, purchasing, or using Lembic, you agree to them. If you don’t agree, don’t use the app.

Plain-English summary (the agreement below is what controls): Lembic is a tool for exporting your own messages so you can use them with AI. It’s sold as-is. Its sensitive-data flagging is a helpful aid, not a guarantee. You’re always the final reviewer of anything you export and share. It relies on a local macOS feature, the Messages database, so if Apple changes or removes that, the app may stop working, and refunds are only available within 30 days of purchase. We’re not responsible for what a third-party AI service does with content you paste into it, and our liability is limited to what you paid us.

1. Your license

When you buy Lembic, we grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the app on your own Macs, subject to the per-license device limit. You may not resell, redistribute, or share license keys. The app’s open-source export engine is available separately under its own open-source license; these terms cover the paid app.

2. Your data, your responsibility

Lembic reads messages from your own Mac at your direction. You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to access and export the conversations you use it on, for complying with applicable law, and for respecting the rights of others who appear in those conversations. You alone decide what to do with an export, including reviewing it and choosing where to send it. Your use must follow our Acceptable Use Policy.

3. Sensitive-data flagging is best-effort, not a guarantee

Lembic can flag and help you redact some categories of high-risk content (such as passwords, card numbers, and similar) before you export. This is an automated, best-effort aid. It is not guaranteed to detect or remove all sensitive information, and it is not a security or compliance control. We never represent that an export is “clean” or “safe.” You are the final reviewer of every export, and you are responsible for what remains in it and where you send it.

4. Third-party AI services

If you copy or upload an export to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other service, that is between you and that provider. Their handling of your content, including whether they use it to train their models, is governed by their terms and privacy policy, and is outside our control. We are not responsible for any use, disclosure, or retention of content you choose to share with a third party.

5. Lembic relies on Apple

Lembic works by reading the local Messages database that macOS maintains on your Mac, which requires you to grant Full Disk Access. These are Apple platform features, entirely outside our control. You acknowledge and agree that:

  • If Apple changes, restricts, or removes the local Messages database, or restricts or removes Full Disk Access, Lembic may stop working in whole or in part, possibly permanently.
  • This is an inherent risk of the product, and a future Apple or macOS change that affects the app is not a defect in the app.
  • We will make reasonable efforts to keep Lembic working across macOS updates, and the export engine is open-source, so it can be community-maintained. But we do not guarantee continued compatibility or availability.

Your sole remedy if a macOS or Apple change affects the app is the 30-day money-back guarantee in §8, and only if you are within that window.

6. No warranty

THE APP IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not warrant that the app will be uninterrupted or error-free, that it will detect all sensitive content, or that it will remain compatible with future versions of macOS (see §5).

7. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE APP OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR YOUR LICENSE. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS ARISING FROM CONTENT YOU EXPORT OR SHARE WITH THIRD PARTIES, OR FROM A MACOS/APPLE CHANGE THAT AFFECTS THE APP, even if we have been advised of the possibility. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.

8. Refunds

Purchases are processed by Polar as merchant of record. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee: within 30 days of purchase you may request a refund for any reason, including a macOS or Apple change that breaks the app (see §5). Outside the 30-day window, purchases are non-refundable, including if a later Apple or macOS change degrades or disables the app. To request a refund within the window, contact us and we’ll help (we coordinate with Polar, the merchant of record).

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Missouri, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Missouri.

10. Changes

We may update these terms; we’ll update the date above. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated terms.

Contact

Questions? Email [email protected].