Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a legally binding agreement between you and Sothes LLC ("we," "us," or "our"), developer and operator of SafaScan. By downloading, installing, registering for, or using SafaScan (the "App"), you agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, do not download, install, or use SafaScan.

SafaScan is a halal food ingredient scanner. The App enables users to:

• Scan food product barcodes to classify ingredients as Halal, Mushbooh, Haram, or Pending verification
• Photograph ingredient labels for AI-powered label analysis when a barcode lookup returns no result
• Search for products by name when a barcode is unavailable
• Submit unrecognised barcodes to the community verification pipeline and receive a push when verified
• Apply a personal madhab preference to adjust Mushbooh boundary classifications (client-side only)
• View AI-generated ingredient explanations, confidence scores, and halal alternative suggestions
• Save and search personal scan history, My Halal Pantry, and Safe List (subscribers only)
• Track a weekly Halal Confidence Score, Halal Streak, and Weekly Haram-Found Summary (subscribers only)
• Receive a daily AI-generated duʿa contextualised to the Islamic calendar (all users)
• Submit feature requests via Profile → Help & Support

Halal classification disclaimer: SafaScan is an informational tool. Verdicts are generated by a combination of database lookup and AI classification and do not constitute a scholarly halal certification from any certifying body. Always verify with a certified halal authority if you are uncertain.

IMPORTANT: SafaScan does not provide religious rulings (fatwas), halal certifications, or scholarly opinions on the permissibility of specific foods. The App's halal verdicts — Halal, Mushbooh, Haram, or Pending — are generated using:

• An offline SQLite ingredient database covering ~1,000 high-frequency ingredients
• A Firestore cloud ingredient cache populated through community scanning and AI classification
• AI classification by OpenAI's GPT-5 Nano (text) and GPT-5.4 Nano (vision)
• Multi-source product data from Open Food Facts, UPC Item DB, and Nutritionix — community-contributed databases that may be incomplete or inaccurate

You acknowledge that:

• AI classification may be incorrect, particularly for ambiguous ingredients (e.g., mono and diglycerides, natural flavours, L-cysteine)
• Mushbooh indicates unclear or disputed permissibility — the appropriate response depends on your madhab and level of caution
• Pending means the product is AI-classified but awaiting community verification; treat with caution
• SafaScan and Sothes LLC are not liable for any harm arising from reliance on App verdicts
• Third-party product ingredient data may be outdated, incomplete, or incorrect

Anonymous authentication is used on first launch so you can experience the App immediately. To access certain features (scan history, My Halal Pantry, community submission tracking), you may create a permanent account using email, Apple Sign-In, or Google Sign-In after the paywall decision in onboarding. You may upgrade to a permanent account at any time without losing scan session data. You agree to:

• Provide accurate registration information
• Maintain the confidentiality of your login credentials
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to your account
• Take responsibility for all activity under your account

6.1 Subscription States

• never_subscribed — free tier; no trial initiated
• free_trial — within the 3-day free trial window; full access
• paid_monthly — active monthly subscriber; full access
• paid_annual — active annual subscriber; full access
• trial_expired — trial ended, no conversion; free tier
• subscription_expired — paid subscription lapsed; treated as free tier

6.2 Free Tier Restrictions

Users in non-paying states (never_subscribed, trial_expired, subscription_expired) are subject to the scan-then-blur gate:

• The camera opens normally and the full analysis pipeline runs
• The result screen loads — then the verdict and ingredient detail are blurred
• A RevenueCat paywall overlay surfaces with a single CTA: "Start Free Trial"
• On confirmed entitlement, the blur removes and the paywall dismisses without requiring a rescan

Non-paying states do not have access to saved scan history, My Halal Pantry, AI ingredient explanations, halal alternative suggestions, the Halal Confidence Score, Halal Streak, or Weekly Haram-Found Summary. The daily AI duʿa notification is delivered to all users regardless of subscription state.

6.3 Subscription Pricing

• Monthly: $5.99 / £4.99 / CA$7.99 per month (displayed in your local currency at checkout)
• Annual: $39.99 / £32.99 / CA$52.99 per year, billed annually, with a 3-day free trial at start
• Annual plan saves $32 (44%) vs the monthly price

6.4 Billing and Cancellation

Subscriptions are billed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. All billing, refund, and cancellation terms are governed by the applicable platform's policies. You may cancel at any time through your device's subscription settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. No partial refunds are issued for unused periods except as required by law.

7.1 5-Stage Classifier

• Stage 1 — Offline exact match: local SQLite ingredient database on-device (~1,000 ingredients)
• Stage 2 — Offline alias and pattern: local alias arrays and substring pattern rules
• Stage 3 — Firestore cache lookup: cloud ingredient database, populated by prior AI classifications and community scanning
• Stage 4 — Madhab modifier: your personal madhab preference applied client-side to Mushbooh boundary cases
• Stage 5 — AI fallback: GPT-5 Nano classification for ingredients not found in stages 1–3; results written back to Firestore cache

7.2 Verdict States

• Halal — all ingredients verified permissible under the classification system
• Mushbooh — one or more ingredients have unclear or disputed source; AI explanations and halal alternatives provided
• Haram — one or more ingredients are classified as forbidden; AI explanations and halal alternatives provided
• Pending — AI-classified but not yet 3-confirmed by community; treat with caution

7.3 Madhab Modifier

Your madhab preference (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafiʼi, Hanbali, or "I'd prefer not to say") applies a client-side boundary adjustment to Mushbooh verdicts only. It does not alter the underlying ingredient database classification and is applied locally on your device. If you select "I'd prefer not to say," the App uses "matched to your profile" in any personalised paywall copy rather than naming a madhab.

7.4 AI Confidence Scores

AI-classified ingredients include a confidence score (0.0–1.0) and a reasoning field. Products with a confidence score below 0.85 are flagged for manual review in our moderation queue before being promoted to verified status. A Pending badge is displayed when a product is awaiting verification.

By submitting unrecognised product barcodes you agree that:

• Your submission undergoes an AI moderation pre-check before entering the classification pipeline
• Submissions are limited to 10 per user per day
• AI auto-classification is performed with a confidence score; products below 0.85 are flagged for manual review
• A product is promoted from Pending to verified when 3 independent scanners confirm it; you are notified via FCM push
• You must not submit fabricated, malicious, or deliberately incorrect ingredient data
• Sothes LLC reserves the right to remove any submission that violates these Terms

By using AI label scan you agree that:

• Label images are processed transiently by OpenAI's GPT-5.4 Nano vision model and are not stored permanently by SafaScan
• An image quality pre-gate assesses whether the image contains readable ingredient text; you'll be prompted to retake if quality is insufficient
• AI label scan results are stored in products_pending with a "community pending" badge and may be overridden by subsequent community verification
• You are responsible for submitting a clear, accurate photograph; deliberately submitting misleading images is a violation of these Terms

Every day at 8:00 AM in your local time zone, SafaScan delivers an AI-generated duʿa to all opted-in users. You acknowledge that:

• The daily duʿa is generated by OpenAI's GPT-5 Nano and is intended as a spiritual reflection tool, not a scholarly religious pronouncement
• No individual user's personal data is used; a single duʿa is generated each day for all users
• Free-tier users receive the notification; tapping it takes them to the paywall. Subscribers see the full duʿa screen.
• You can disable duʿa notifications at any time in Notification Settings

After 3 successful scans, SafaScan may display an in-app review banner. You acknowledge that:

• The review prompt is shown at most 3 times per 365-day period, with a minimum 120-day gap between displays
• SafaScan does not track whether you submitted a review; Apple and Google do not expose this to developers
• Apple limits SKStoreReviewController calls to 3 per 365 days per app; if exhausted, the system silently ignores the call — this is expected behaviour
• You are never required to leave a review; the banner can be dismissed at any time

By submitting feature suggestions you agree that:

• Submissions are limited to a title (max 120 characters) and an optional description (max 500 characters)
• Submissions are limited to 5 per user per 24-hour period
• Submissions enter a moderation queue and are not publicly visible without review by Sothes LLC
• You grant Sothes LLC a royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual licence to use, implement, or discard your suggestion without compensation
• You must not submit offensive, harmful, or legally objectionable content

SafaScan uses Firebase Cloud Messaging to deliver several categories of notifications. By using the App, you consent to receive:

• Scheduled / AI notifications: daily AI duʿa, Halal Tip of the Week, Weekly Haram-Found Summary (paid), Halal Confidence Score (paid), Halal Streak nudge (paid), and Ramadan seasonal notifications
• Transactional notifications: trial nurture, trial expiry, trial lapsed, win-back, annual upsell, renewal reminder, payment failure, and product verified callbacks
• Engagement notifications: inactivity re-engagement after 2 days without scanning or opening the App
• Reclassification alerts: when an ingredient in your scan history or Safe List changes verdict (subscribers only)

Optional notifications can be disabled in the app's Notification Settings. Transactional lifecycle notifications (trial expiry, payment failure, renewal reminders) are account-management communications and cannot be opted out.

You agree not to:

• Use the App for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms
• Submit fabricated, malicious, or deliberately incorrect ingredient data to the community verification pipeline
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the App
• Circumvent or tamper with any subscription enforcement or paywall mechanism
• Abuse the feature request or community submission systems (e.g., spam, automated submissions)
• Interfere with or disrupt the App's infrastructure, AI classification pipeline, Firestore database, or Supabase backend

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access immediately and without notice for breach of these Terms.

SafaScan — including its name, logo, design, 5-stage classifier architecture, AI prompt engineering, verdict system, daily duʿa feature, and all content produced by Sothes LLC — is protected by intellectual property laws. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the App for personal, non-commercial purposes.

You retain ownership of content you create in the App (community submissions and feature requests). By submitting, you grant us the limited licences described in Sections 8 and 12.

SafaScan integrates third-party services including Firebase (Google), Google Analytics, Google Ads, OpenAI, RevenueCat, Sentry, PostHog, AppsFlyer, Meta Platforms (Meta Developer / Meta Ads / Facebook SDK), TikTok (TikTok SDK / TikTok Ads), Open Food Facts, UPC Item DB, Nutritionix, and Supabase. Your use of the App is subject to the terms and privacy policies of these providers. We are not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or practices of third-party services.

Product ingredient data from Open Food Facts, UPC Item DB, and Nutritionix is community-contributed and may be incomplete or inaccurate. SafaScan does not independently verify third-party product data.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW (INCLUDING UK AND CANADIAN LAW), SOTHES LLC AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: RELIANCE ON AN INCORRECT HALAL CLASSIFICATION, CONSUMPTION OF PRODUCTS BASED ON APP VERDICTS, LOSS OF SAVED SCAN HISTORY, HEALTH OUTCOMES, REVENUE, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE APP, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) USD $50 (OR LOCAL EQUIVALENT).

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law in the UK or Canada.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States, without regard to conflict of law provisions. UK users may also have rights under UK consumer protection law; nothing in these Terms affects those statutory rights. Canadian users may have rights under provincial consumer protection legislation.

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the App shall be resolved by binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association, conducted in English. YOU WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION AGAINST SOTHES LLC.

For questions about these Terms or to report a violation, please contact:

Sothes LLC
Legal: legal@sothesllc.com
Support: support@sothesllc.com

These Terms of Service were last updated on September 5, 2026 to reflect SafaScan PRD v6.0 features.