Terms of Service
Last updated: October 9, 2026 · This translation is provided for convenience; the German version prevails.
1. Who we are
These terms govern the use of the software OnDevice OCR Business (“the App”) and the related pages on ondeviceocr.com, provided by Christian Schröder, Marktstr. 242, 47798 Krefeld, Germany (“we”, “us”). Contact: [email protected].
2. The App
OnDevice OCR Business is a macOS application that performs optical character recognition (OCR) locally on your Mac. It is intended for businesses and self-employed professionals and is designed for unattended business use: it can monitor folders (including network shares), process incoming documents in the background, produce searchable PDF and PDF/A-2b files, split scan batches in monitored folders using QR separator sheets, and name files based on document content. The App requires the minimum macOS version stated on our website. The App processes your documents entirely on your device; we do not receive, store, or have access to your files unless you send them to us yourself, for example with a support request. For the optional connection to Ollama, see section 9.
3. License
We grant you a non-exclusive, perpetual license to install and use the App on the number of Macs covered by your purchase. That number follows from your purchase; where your license file states a number, that number applies; otherwise, the license covers one Mac. If you replace a Mac, you may use the App on the replacement device instead. The license is issued to the company or person named in the license file; your employees and contractors may use the App on the licensed Macs on your behalf. You are responsible for their compliance with these terms.
If you obtained the App through the Mac App Store, the following applies instead: the license is granted to the holder of the Apple account used for the purchase, and the scope of permitted use is determined by the usage rules in Apple’s App Store terms; section 15 applies in addition.
You may transfer a license purchased through our website to a third party if you hand it over completely and permanently, cease your own use of the App for good, and the third party accepts these terms. If you notify us of the transfer from the email address used for the purchase, we will issue a license file in the new holder’s name. You may also transfer part of a license for several Macs; these conditions then apply to the part transferred. You may then use the App only on the remaining number of Macs, and we will issue each holder a license file for the respective number. Purchases made through the Mac App Store are managed by Apple and are tied to the purchaser’s Apple account. We cannot transfer them; Apple’s terms apply. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, sublicense, or redistribute the App or the license file except where permitted by applicable law. The App and all associated intellectual property remain our property; nothing in these terms transfers ownership of the App to you.
If you materially breach these terms – in particular by distributing the App or your license file beyond the licensed scope – and do not remedy the breach within 30 days of written notice, we may revoke your license. Your statutory rights and remedies remain unaffected.
4. Purchases and updates
The App is free to download and try. The full version is unlocked with a one-time purchase; there is no subscription.
Purchases made through the Mac App Store are processed by Apple under Apple’s terms. Purchases made through our website are processed by Paddle as the seller (merchant of record); your purchase contract is concluded with Paddle (Paddle.com Market Ltd or another Paddle company, depending on your country), and Paddle’s buyer terms apply to it. Paddle handles payment, invoicing, and applicable taxes. The license to use the App is granted by us regardless of the purchase channel; these terms apply to it. Your statutory rights arising from the purchase – including against Apple or Paddle where they are your contracting party for the purchase, for example in the event of defects or, for consumers, the right of withdrawal – remain unaffected. In addition, you can always contact us directly if the App is faulty ([email protected]); we remedy defects in the App ourselves. Volume discounts and purchases on invoice are available as described on our website. Refunds are handled as described in our Refund Policy; any statutory right of withdrawal for consumers remains unaffected.
Your purchase includes all updates that we release for the App within three years from the date of purchase – bug fixes, new features, and compatibility updates for new macOS versions. This does not include optional add-on features that we offer for separate purchase. We will not start charging for features that were included at the time of your purchase.
Within these three years, we adapt the App to new macOS versions to the extent that this is technically possible and feasible with reasonable effort. The App relies on components of macOS, in particular Apple’s text recognition. We cannot fix errors in these components ourselves. In such cases, we endeavor to work around them in the App and point this out in the App or on our website. These commitments are contractual obligations; they are not a guarantee of particular characteristics of the App in the legal sense.
Your statutory rights remain unaffected; for consumers, this applies in particular to the statutory right to updates that are necessary to keep the App in conformity with the contract. We intend to provide updates beyond this period for as long as the App is actively developed, but this is not a contractual obligation.
5. Trial version
Without a license, the App runs in trial mode: all features are available, and output files carry a watermark. The trial version is provided free of charge; there is no entitlement to support, maintenance, or updates for trial use. For the trial version, we are liable only in the cases set out in section 12, paragraph 2.
6. Your content and responsibility
You retain all rights to the documents you process with the App. You are responsible for ensuring that you are entitled to process these documents and for complying with the laws applicable to your use, including data protection laws.
The App can operate unattended. You configure which folders are monitored and what happens to original files after processing (keep them in place, or archive them into a subfolder of the monitored folder). The App is designed not to delete original files. You are responsible for this configuration, for reviewing it after changes to your environment, and for maintaining appropriate backups of your documents.
If you are a business customer and a third party raises claims against us because your use of the App infringed their rights or violated applicable law – for example, because you processed documents you were not entitled to process – you will indemnify us against these claims, unless you are not responsible for the breach. We will inform you of any such claims without undue delay.
7. Accuracy of results
OCR is a statistical process. While the App aims for high accuracy, recognition results – including recognized text, automatic file names, and document splitting – may contain errors. You should verify results before relying on them, especially for legal, medical, or financial documents. This also applies to values that an AI model (Apple Intelligence or a model connected through Ollama) reads for file names; you should spot-check automatically assigned file names, especially when the App processes documents unattended in monitored folders.
8. Support
We provide support for licensed users by email at [email protected]. We aim to respond promptly, but specific response times are not guaranteed and are not part of this agreement.
9. Third-party tools and integrations
The App can be integrated into workflows with third-party software through monitored folders and Shortcuts. You are responsible for the file access and data handling of the third-party tools you connect; we make no warranty for those tools. This also applies to network drives and cloud sync services on or in which you place monitored folders or output folders. The App itself does not transmit your documents or recognized text to us or to any external service. Should we offer a feature in the future that uses an external service for this purpose, it will be optional, off by default, and clearly labeled in the App; it will only become active after you have expressly enabled it. This also applies to the optional connection to Ollama, a separate program that you install yourself: only after you have agreed in the App does the App pass text and, where applicable, image excerpts of the areas marked for file naming to Ollama on your Mac. If you choose a cloud model in Ollama, Ollama forwards this data to a cloud service; the terms of Ollama or of the respective provider apply, and you decide whether you may pass this data there. As long as you do not enable such a feature, the App places your documents only in the storage locations you specify.
10. Open-source components
The App contains open-source software components that are the property of their respective owners and are used under their own license terms. A list of these components and their licenses is available in the App.
11. Feedback
If you send us suggestions, ideas, or error reports concerning the App, we may use them to improve our products without obligation or compensation. This does not affect any rights to your documents or data.
12. Warranty and liability
(1) Your statutory warranty rights remain unaffected. If you are a business customer, your claims for defects become time-barred one year after the App is made available to you; this does not apply in the cases set out in paragraph 2.
(2) We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body, or health, for defects we have fraudulently concealed, to the extent of any guarantee we have given, and under the German Product Liability Act and other mandatory statutory provisions.
(3) For slight negligence we are liable only for breaches of essential contractual obligations (obligations whose fulfillment makes the proper execution of the contract possible in the first place and on whose fulfillment you may regularly rely), limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract. In these cases, our liability for loss of data is limited to the typical effort of restoring the data that would have been required if you had maintained regular, appropriate backups.
(4) Otherwise, our liability is excluded. These limitations of liability also apply in favor of our employees and agents.
13. Changes to these terms
We may change these terms for future purchases and for the use of the trial version. Your purchase is governed by the version in effect at the time of your purchase; a later version applies to it only if you accept it. If you have purchased the App, you do not need to accept a later version in order to continue using it; the rights you acquired with your purchase, including the update entitlement under section 4, remain unchanged. If the App asks you to accept the terms even though you have already purchased it (for example after a reinstall), this does not change the rights you acquired with your purchase. Use of the trial version is governed by the version you most recently accepted. The current version and its date are available on our website; earlier versions are available on request.
14. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If you are a consumer, this choice of law does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence. If you are a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is Krefeld, Germany.
15. Additional terms for the Mac App Store
This section applies only if you obtained the App through the Mac App Store.
(1) These terms are an agreement between you and us, not with Apple Inc. (“Apple”). We alone are responsible for the App and its content.
(2) You receive a non-transferable license to use the App on Macs that you own or control, as permitted by the usage rules in the App Store terms.
(3) Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the App. We provide support as described in section 8.
(4) If the App fails to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price to you. To the extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation with respect to the App. Your rights against us under section 12 remain unaffected.
(5) We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing any claims by you or a third party relating to the App or its use. This includes in particular product liability claims, claims that the App fails to conform to a legal or regulatory requirement, and claims under consumer protection or data protection law. Our liability is governed by section 12.
(6) If a third party claims that the App or your use of the App infringes its intellectual property rights, we, not Apple, are responsible for the investigation, defense, and settlement of that claim.
(7) You represent that you are not located in a country 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 that you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
(8) When using the App, you must comply with any third-party terms that apply to you.
(9) Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms. Upon your acceptance, Apple has the right to enforce these terms against you as a third-party beneficiary.
(10) Please direct questions, complaints, and claims regarding the App to: Christian Schröder, Marktstr. 242, 47798 Krefeld, Germany, [email protected].