Terms of Use

Covers the Lichtung app for iOS and macOS, including its embedded Safari Web Extension (also named “Lichtung” within Safari). If you use the Chrome or Firefox extension instead (“Web Reader for LingQ”), these terms don’t apply to that product. See its own Terms of Use.

Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, or using Lichtung (the “App”), you agree to these Terms of Use. If you don’t agree, don’t use the App.

What the App Is

Lichtung is a language learning app. It lets you read in your target language on the web or in imported books (EPUB, TXT, MOBI) using its built-in ereader, and highlights the words in whatever you’re reading according to how well you know them. Tapping a highlighted word shows a translation without leaving the page. LingQ integration is optional: connect an account to track vocabulary status and pull translations from it, or use the App without one. Lichtung is an unofficial, independently developed companion app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by LingQ. “LingQ” is a trademark of its respective owner, referenced here only to describe interoperability. Use of LingQ’s own service is governed separately by LingQ’s terms and privacy policy, not by this document.

License

Subject to these Terms, you’re granted a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the App on devices you own or control, for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may not reverse-engineer, redistribute, sell, or sublicense the App itself, except as permitted by applicable open-source licensing for any components we’ve published as such.

Your Data

The App’s data handling (what’s stored, what’s transmitted, and to whom) is described in the Privacy Policy, which these Terms incorporate by reference. In short: reading happens on your device, your data goes only to lingq.com on your behalf, and we use one privacy-first analytics service (TelemetryDeck) to see anonymous, aggregate feature usage, never who you are.

No Warranty

The App is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to accuracy, reliability, or fitness for a particular purpose. LingQ’s API is undocumented and can change without notice; we make no guarantee the App will always correctly reflect your LingQ vocabulary or sync state.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, the App, including loss of data, vocabulary, or imported books. Nothing here limits liability that can’t be limited under applicable law.

Changes and Termination

We may update the App, these Terms, or discontinue the App at any time. If we make material changes to these Terms, we’ll update the “Last Updated” date above. Continued use of the App after a change means you accept the updated Terms. You can stop using the App and delete it at any time.

For Lifetime licenses purchased on or after September 3, 2026: a Lifetime license covers perpetual access to the App and its ordinary updates within the major version line you purchased under. If we ever ship a ground-up rewrite or new major version, new capabilities introduced in it may be offered as a separate, optional one-time purchase rather than included automatically; your existing Lifetime license is never revoked, suspended, or invalidated, and you keep full access to the version it was purchased for whether or not you buy any later upgrade. Lifetime licenses purchased before September 3, 2026 aren’t subject to this paragraph.

Third-Party Services

LingQ is a separate, independent service. Your use of LingQ through the App is subject to LingQ’s own terms and policies, which we don’t control and aren’t responsible for. LingQ’s API isn’t offered as a stable public integration, and LingQ can change, restrict, or shut it off entirely at any time and without notice, for any reason. Both the Free tier (which reads LingQ’s public word-status data without requiring a paid LingQ account) and Pro features depend on that API, so an interruption or discontinuation of LingQ’s API access could degrade or disable core parts of the App across all tiers. That isn’t a defect in the App, isn’t something we can guarantee against, and on its own doesn’t create a right to a refund of any subscription or Lifetime purchase.

We also use TelemetryDeck, a privacy-first analytics provider, to see anonymous, aggregate usage of the App. See the Privacy Policy for exactly what that does and doesn’t include.

Apple App Store Terms

If you downloaded the App from the Apple App Store, this section is between you and us, not Apple, and these additional terms apply on top of everything above:

• Scope of license. Your license to use the App is limited to a non-transferable license to use it on any Apple-branded device that you own or control, as permitted by the App Store’s Usage Rules, including use by other accounts under Family Sharing or volume purchasing, where Apple makes that available.
• Maintenance and support. We, not Apple, are solely responsible for providing maintenance and support for the App. Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance or support services for the App.
• Warranty. We, not Apple, are solely responsible for any product warranties, whether express or implied by law. If the App fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price for the App to you, if any; to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple has no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App, and any other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses attributable to a failure to conform to a warranty are our sole responsibility.
• Product claims. We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing any claims relating to the App or your possession and/or use of it, including product liability claims, claims that the App fails to conform to legal or regulatory requirements, and claims under consumer protection, privacy, or similar legislation.
• Intellectual property. In the event of any third-party claim that the App, or your possession and use of it, infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, we, not Apple, are solely responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of that claim.
• Legal compliance. You represent that you’re not located in a country subject to a US government embargo or designated a “terrorist supporting” country, and that you’re not on any US government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• Third-party agreements. Your use of the App must comply with the terms of any third-party agreement applicable to you, such as your wireless data service agreement, and you’re responsible for any charges that agreement imposes.
• Developer contact. Direct questions, complaints, or claims about the App to us at josh@lichtung.xyz or through our contact page, not to Apple.
• Third-party beneficiary. Apple and Apple’s subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and upon your acceptance of these Terms, Apple has the right (and is deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the developer resides, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except where applicable consumer-protection law (such as the App Store’s own terms, where relevant) requires otherwise.

Contact Us

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at josh@lichtung.xyz or through our contact page.