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Sight Buddy

Legal information hosted by Drophouse Ltd

Terms of Use

Last updated: 21 July 2026

1. Introduction

1.1 These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your download, installation, and use of the Sight Buddy mobile application (“App”).

1.2 The App is provided by Drophouse Ltd (company number 17182597), whose registered office is at 5 Brayford Square, London E1 0SG, United Kingdom (“we”, “us”, “our”).

1.3 By tapping Accept in the App, or by downloading, installing, or continuing to use the App, you agree to these Terms. You also confirm that you have read our Privacy Policy at:

https://www.drophouse.uk/products/sightbuddy/privacypolicy/

1.4 Privacy. Our Privacy Policy explains how personal data is handled. For all matters relating to personal data and privacy, the Privacy Policy prevails if there is any inconsistency with these Terms.

1.5 If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the App.

2. Who may use the App

2.1 The App is an accessibility aid for people with low or no vision. It is intended for adults and older teenagers who can understand these Terms.

2.2 You must be at least 13 years old to use the App. The App is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has used the App and provided data, contact us at contact@drophouse.uk.

2.3 If you are under 18, you should use the App only with permission from a parent or guardian who accepts these Terms on your behalf.

2.4 If you use the App on behalf of an organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation, and “you” includes that organisation.

3. No accounts

3.1 The App has no accounts and no sign-up. We do not require your name, your email address, or any other identifier, and we operate no server that holds data about you.

3.2 You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the App complies with applicable laws and with any rules that apply where you use your device (for example at work, at school, or in public spaces).

4. What the App does

4.1 Sight Buddy helps with vision-related tasks using your device's camera and microphone. Depending on your settings, features may include:

4.2 On-device processing. Apart from the optional AI features described in section 5, the App runs entirely on your device. Camera images and microphone audio are processed in memory on your device. Your settings and your record of accepting these Terms are stored in your device's private storage.

4.3 Voice model download. The App can download open-source speech-recognition model files (about 154 MB) from GitHub. This download is optional, happens only if you accept the prompt, and is never automatic. Until the files are present, the App falls back to your device's built-in speech recogniser.

4.4 We may change, improve, or withdraw features over time. We will try to give reasonable notice where practicable for material changes.

5. AI features require your own OpenAI API key

5.1 The App's AI features are optional and are disabled unless you add your own OpenAI API key in Settings. We do not supply an API key, and we do not operate any AI service.

5.2 When you use an AI feature, the request is sent directly from your device to OpenAI using your key. It does not pass through any server of ours, and we neither receive nor store its content.

5.3 Your responsibility for your OpenAI account. You are solely responsible for:

5.4 Your use of OpenAI's services is a matter between you and OpenAI, and is governed by OpenAI's own terms and privacy policy. We are not a party to that relationship, and we are not responsible for OpenAI's services, availability, pricing, output, or decisions about your account.

5.5 What is sent. Only what you ask for is sent, at the moment you ask for it: in Image chat, the captured photo and your question; in Text chat, the text extracted from the capture and your question; and in Find objects, the phrase you spoke, and only when the App cannot match it on your device. Do not point the camera at information you do not wish to send to OpenAI.

5.6 You can remove your key at any time in Settings, which disables all AI features. With no key saved, the App makes no AI requests at all.

5.7 We do not charge you for AI features, and we apply no usage quotas or daily limits. Any limits you encounter come from OpenAI and your own account.

6. Important safety and accuracy disclaimers

Please read this section carefully.

6.1 An assistive aid, not a substitute for careful judgement. Sight Buddy is an accessibility and assistive tool. It supports your own judgement; it does not replace it. You must not rely on it in safety-critical situations.

6.2 Not a medical device. The App is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition.

6.3 Errors and limitations. Object detection, text recognition, colour and light readings, speech recognition, and AI-generated answers can be wrong, incomplete, delayed, or unavailable — for example in poor light, in motion, when an object is obscured, or when offline. AI answers are generated automatically and must not be relied on without independent verification where it matters.

6.4 No sole reliance for safety-critical use. Do not rely on the App as your only way to detect hazards, navigate dangerous environments, read safety-critical labels (such as medicines, chemicals, contracts, payments, or road signs), or make decisions that could cause injury, death, property damage, or legal or financial harm.

6.5 Not professional advice. The App does not provide medical, legal, financial, or mobility-training advice. Seek qualified professionals where appropriate.

6.6 Not an emergency service. The App does not contact emergency services. In an emergency, use your local emergency number or service.

6.7 Your responsibility. You remain responsible for your own conduct, for complying with the law when using the camera or microphone, and for not recording or processing other people's personal data without a lawful basis and, where required, their consent.

7. Open source and licence

7.1 Sight Buddy is free software and is open source. Its source code is published under the MIT licence at github.com/DrophouseLtd/SightBuddy.

7.2 The MIT licence governs your rights in the source code, and it prevails over anything in these Terms that would otherwise restrict what that licence permits. Under it you may use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and sell copies of the software, subject to the conditions stated in the licence itself (including retaining the copyright and permission notice).

7.3 Provided “as is”. As the MIT licence states, the software is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. See also sections 13 and 14.

7.4 Third-party components. The App includes third-party components that remain subject to their own licences, including the speech-recognition and object-detection models and the runtimes that execute them. Those licences are listed in the repository and in the App where required, and nothing here grants you rights beyond them.

7.5 Name and branding. The MIT licence covers the source code. It does not grant you rights in the “Sight Buddy” or “Drophouse” names, logos, or branding, which remain ours.

7.6 Your use of the App as distributed through Google Play also remains subject to the applicable app-store terms.

8. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

8.1 use the App unlawfully, or in a way that infringes the rights of others;

8.2 use the App to process special-category or sensitive personal data about other people visible in camera or microphone input, unless you have a lawful basis and, where required, explicit consent;

8.3 misrepresent the App's output as human professional advice, or as guaranteed to be accurate;

8.4 use the AI features in breach of OpenAI's usage policies, including to generate illegal, harmful, harassing, hateful, sexually exploitative, or violence-promoting content;

8.5 attempt unauthorised access to any third-party infrastructure used by the App.

Because we operate no server and hold no account for you, we have no technical means of suspending your access, and we do not attempt to. Your use of OpenAI remains subject to OpenAI's own enforcement of its terms against your account.

9. Third-party services

9.1 The App relies on the following third parties:

9.2 Your use may also be subject to those providers' own terms and policies. We do not authorise them to use your data for their own marketing, as stated in our Privacy Policy.

9.3 Open-source components are licensed under their respective licences; notices are available in the App and in the source repository where required.

10. Availability, updates, and changes

10.1 We aim to keep the App working, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. Device issues, operating-system changes, or third-party outages may cause interruptions.

10.2 We may deliver updates through the app store. Some updates may be required for security or for continued use.

10.3 We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the current version on our website and update the “Last updated” date. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms, unless applicable law requires a different approach for material changes to consumers.

11. Charges

11.1 The App is free of charge. There is no subscription, no in-app purchase, and no paid tier.

11.2 The only costs associated with AI features are those billed to you by OpenAI under your own account, as described in section 5. We receive no part of them.

12. Consumer rights (United Kingdom and EEA)

12.1 If you are a consumer (an individual using the App for purposes wholly or mainly outside your trade, business, craft, or profession), nothing in these Terms affects your non-excludable statutory rights, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and UK or EU consumer law where applicable.

12.2 For free digital content, some statutory remedies may be limited; your rights depend on your circumstances and on applicable law.

13. No warranty

13.1 The App is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement.

13.2 We do not warrant that the App will be accurate, uninterrupted, error-free, or suitable for any particular purpose, including any safety-critical purpose.

13.3 Sections 13.1 and 13.2 apply so far as the law allows, and do not affect the statutory rights described in section 12 or the liability we cannot exclude under section 14.1.

14. Limitation of liability

14.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

14.2 Subject to section 14.1, we shall not be liable for:

arising from or in connection with your use of the App.

14.3 Subject to section 14.1, our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising in any 12-month period in connection with the App shall not exceed £100. The App is provided free of charge, and we receive no payment from you for it.

14.4 Subject to section 14.1, you use the App at your own risk in relation to navigation, hazard detection, and reliance on recognised text or AI answers.

15. Indemnity

15.1 If you are not a consumer, or where otherwise enforceable, you agree to indemnify Drophouse Ltd against reasonable losses, claims, and expenses arising from your breach of these Terms or your unlawful use of the App, except to the extent caused by our own breach or negligence.

16. Termination

16.1 You may stop using the App at any time by uninstalling it and disabling its permissions in your device settings. Uninstalling removes your settings and your stored API key from your device.

16.2 We may stop providing or distributing the App, or discontinue features, for legal or security reasons or otherwise, with reasonable notice where practicable. Because the source code is published under the MIT licence, others remain free to use and build on it.

16.3 Provisions that by their nature should survive — including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, governing law, and the privacy cross-references — survive termination.

17. Governing law and disputes

17.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

17.2 The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory rights you have as a consumer to bring proceedings in your country of residence.

17.3 Please contact us first at contact@drophouse.uk so that we can try to resolve any concern informally.

18. Data protection summary

This section summarises key points. The Privacy Policy is the full statement and prevails for privacy matters.

18.1. No accounts, no servers of ours

Sight Buddy has no backend operated by Drophouse Ltd. We do not collect, store, or receive your images, audio, text, or usage data.

18.2. On-device processing

Object detection, printed-text reading, colour and light detection, and speech recognition all run on your device.

18.3. AI features (BYOK)

AI features require your own OpenAI API key. Your key is stored encrypted on your device only, using the Android Keystore, and is never sent to us. AI requests go directly from your device to OpenAI, billed to your account and governed by OpenAI's terms.

18.4. Crash reports

Anonymous crash diagnostics are sent to Firebase Crashlytics so that we can fix faults, and are retained per Google's retention period (typically 90 days). You can turn this off in Settings → Privacy → “Send crash reports”.

18.5. No advertising or analytics

There are no advertisements, no advertising ID, no analytics, and no behavioural tracking.

18.6. Your rights

You have rights under UK and EU GDPR, including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, and portability, and the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK or your national data protection authority in the EU. To exercise them, contact contact@drophouse.uk. Because we hold no account or identifier for you, we may be unable to locate data about a specific individual.

19. General

19.1 Entire agreement: These Terms and the Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the App, except for the MIT licence, which governs the source code, and any separate written agreement we expressly enter into with you.

19.2 Severability: If any provision is invalid, the remainder remains in force.

19.3 No waiver: A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.

19.4 Assignment: We may assign our rights and obligations; you may not assign without our consent.

19.5 Third-party rights: No person other than you and Drophouse Ltd has rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce these Terms.

19.6 Contact:

Drophouse Ltd

5 Brayford Square, London E1 0SG, United Kingdom

Company number: 17182597

Email: contact@drophouse.uk