Terms of Service & Subscription Agreement

1. Ownership & Contracting Entity

1.1. Operating Entity

The Service, including all associated software, dynamic curriculum content, design systems, branding, and intellectual property, is owned and operated exclusively by Sky Bison Code Design, a registered business entity in New Zealand.

1.2. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand for any disputes arising out of or in connection with the Service.

2. Licence Tiers & Permitted Scope of Use

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use Chirp Literacy in accordance with your selected subscription tier:

2.1. Whānau (Home) Pass ($4.99/month or $59.88/year):

Licensed strictly for single-household use by immediate family members/caregivers and their dependent learners. Sharing access credentials, QR login keys, or account details with external households, un-enrolled learners, or commercial entities is strictly prohibited. Each Whānau (Home) Pass includes up to two (2) learner profiles. Households needing more than two learner profiles may purchase an additional Whānau (Home) Pass.

2.2. Specialist Pass ($14.99/month or $179.88/year):

Licensed for a single named speech-language therapist, literacy practitioner, or private tutor. Covers direct 1-on-1 or small-group interventions within the named specialist's active caseload. Access credentials cannot be shared across multi-practitioner clinics without purchasing additional licences. Each Specialist Pass includes up to ten (10) learner profiles for learners within the specialist's active caseload; additional learners require an additional Specialist Pass.

3. Subscriptions, Billing & Cancellation Policies

3.1. Card Payments (Recurring Subscriptions):

Monthly and Annual Whānau or Specialist passes purchased via credit card or debit card are recurring auto-renewable subscriptions. Your payment method will be charged automatically at the end of each billing cycle (monthly or annually) until you cancel your subscription. You may cancel auto-renewal at any time prior to your next renewal date via your account portal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid billing period; no partial refunds will be issued for unused remaining days in a billing cycle.

3.2. Afterpay & BNPL Purchases (One-Time Prepaid Licences):

Annual Whānau passes purchased using Afterpay (or other Buy-Now-Pay-Later options) operate as one-time, non-renewing prepaid 12-month licences. Instalments are managed directly between the purchaser and Afterpay under Afterpay's terms. Access to the Service automatically expires 12 months from the date of purchase unless renewed. There are no automatic recurring charges applied to Afterpay purchases.

3.3. Gift Subscriptions:

Gift passes purchased for third parties generate a unique, single-use redemption link/code. Gift passes are non-refundable once redeemed by the recipient and grant access for the duration of the specified gift period (e.g., 12 months).

3.4. Refund Policy:

We offer a 14-day refund window for unused Whānau or Specialist passes, or accidental duplicate orders. Once learning activity has commenced or a gift code has been redeemed, refunds are granted solely at the discretion of Sky Bison Code Design, subject to applicable law.

3.5. Pricing & GST Disclosure:

All prices displayed on the Service are listed in New Zealand Dollars (NZD). Sky Bison Code Design is not currently registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST) under the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985; accordingly, GST is not charged on purchases.

4. Consumer Guarantees Act & Fair Trading Act Compliance

4.1. Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA):

If you are acquiring the Service as a consumer for personal, domestic, or household use (Whānau Pass), nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any rights or guarantees you have under the New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

4.2. Contracting-Out for Business & Educational Use:

Under Section 43 of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, if you are acquiring a subscription for business, educational, or commercial purposes (including Specialist Passes purchased by or for a school, kura, clinic or practice), you acknowledge and agree that:

• The Service is being acquired for business/educational operations;
• The provisions of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 do not apply to the supply of the Service to you; and
• It is fair and reasonable that the parties are bound by this clause.

4.3. Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA):

We acknowledge our obligations under the Fair Trading Act 1986. All pricing displayed in NZD represents the total amount payable, with no additional tax surcharges applied.

5. Data Privacy & Child Safeguards (Privacy Act 2020)

Sky Bison Code Design is committed to protecting user privacy and fully complies with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and its 13 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs):

5.1. Minimal Data Collection

We collect only the information necessary to provide and manage the Service — such as caregiver contact details, school billing information, learner display names and progress, and A–Z customisations, saved Board Themes and sentence stories that adults choose to create. Pictures and recordings are optional and uploaded only when an adult chooses to save them.

5.2. Child Privacy & Progress Tracking:

Learner progress data (e.g., phoneme mastery, audio recordings, stage progression across Kākano, Tupu, Māhuri, and Rākau) is stored securely and linked strictly to the authorized family or school account. We do not sell, monetize, rent, or distribute student data or personal information to third parties or advertisers.

5.3. Audio & Media Recordings

Voice capture and initial processing for custom character or phrase recordings happen on the user's device. A recording is only uploaded to our managed server-side storage if an adult deliberately chooses to save it — for example, when creating a custom character pack or a custom phrase recording — and is then used solely for speech feedback and progress display.

6. Intellectual Property & Content Restrictions

6.1. Ownership

All software code, UI designs, character artwork, decodable text packages, Gestalt phrase modules, audio assets, and curriculum mappings remain the exclusive intellectual property of Sky Bison Code Design.

6.2. Restrictions

You agree that you will not:

• Copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer any portion of the App;
• Extract, scrape, or systematically harvest curriculum lists, decodable word banks, or audio files for use outside the platform;
• Sub-licence, lease, or commercialize access to Chirp Literacy without express written permission.

7. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by New Zealand law:

• Sky Bison Code Design shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from your use or inability to use the Service.
• Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of these Terms shall not exceed the total amount paid by you for the Service in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.

8. Amendments to Terms

We reserve the right to update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in legal requirements or platform functionality. Continued use of the Service following notice of updated Terms constitutes acceptance of the revised agreement.

9. Data Safeguarding Statement

Chirp maintains server-side records for accounts, licences, learner profiles, progress, custom character packs, gestalt phrases, A–Z tile customisations, saved A–Z Board Themes and sentence stories. Optional pictures and recordings are uploaded only when an adult chooses to save them; voice capture and initial processing happen on-device. Only small preferences and caches, including cached content and the queued progress outbox, remain on-device. Data travelling between a device and our servers is transmitted over encrypted connections, and access to student and account records is isolated by licence ownership. Account data can be removed on request at admin@chirp.org.nz. Our practices are informed by Safer Technologies for Schools (ST4S) guidelines and New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 principles.

This statement is not a claim of formal ST4S certification, an independent security audit, absolute or unbreakable security, or that all stored data is encrypted at rest — it describes our verified current implementation only, not a broader compliance guarantee.

10. Contact Information

For legal inquiries, billing support, or privacy requests under the Privacy Act 2020, please contact:

Sky Bison Code Design
Email: admin@chirp.org.nz
Location: Auckland, New Zealand