Stacks

Terms of Service

Effective April 25, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Stacks (the "App"), provided by Kelp Software ("we", "us"). By creating an account or using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.

1. The App

Stacks is a personal audiobook player that lets you load audiobook files you already own onto your device, listen to them, transfer them to nearby friends over your local network, and host synchronized listening sessions. Stacks does not sell, license, host, or distribute audiobook content. You supply the content yourself.

2. Eligibility and accounts

You must be at least 13 years old to use the App, and at least the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction to enter into these Terms on your own behalf. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for all activity that occurs under your account.

3. Your content and your responsibility

You are solely and entirely responsible for any audiobook, recording, file, message, or other content you load into the App, play, transfer, share, or otherwise make available through the App ("Your Content"). Kelp Software is a software provider, not a content provider. We do not preview, screen, license, or endorse Your Content.

By using the App, you represent and warrant that:

  • You own Your Content outright, or it is in the public domain, or you have a clear, written, transferable license that permits the specific use you are making of it (including transfers to other users and synchronized playback);
  • Your Content does not infringe any copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity, privacy right, or other right of any third party;
  • Your Content does not violate any law, regulation, or contractual obligation you are subject to (including the terms of service of any retailer, library, or platform from which you obtained the file).

4. Prohibited content and uses

The following are strictly prohibited. Sharing, transferring, or playing such content through the App is a material breach of these Terms:

  • Audiobooks or other media you purchased, rented, borrowed, or otherwise licensed from a commercial retailer, subscription service, or library (including but not limited to Audible, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Libro.fm, Chirp, Spotify, Storytel, OverDrive/Libby, Hoopla, Scribd, and similar services). Even if you bought a copy, the retailer's license almost always restricts redistribution, transfer, and removal of digital rights management ("DRM"). You may not use the App to circumvent that.
  • Files created by stripping, removing, decrypting, or otherwise circumventing any technical protection measure or DRM, regardless of the source.
  • Content that infringes anyone's copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights.
  • Content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, threatening, obscene, sexually exploitative of minors, or that violates any applicable law.
  • Using the App to harass other users, send unwanted files, or evade a block.
  • Reverse engineering, decompiling, or attempting to extract source code from the App, except to the extent applicable law expressly permits.

What you may share: public-domain works (for example, recordings from LibriVox or other public-domain sources), recordings you made yourself, and recordings you have a clear and explicit right to redistribute. If you are not sure, do not share it.

5. License you grant us

You retain all ownership of Your Content. To operate the App, you grant us a limited, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, transmit, and display Your Content solely as needed to provide the App's features to you and the users you choose to share with (for example, syncing playback position to other listeners in your session). This license ends when Your Content is removed from the App, except to the extent we are required to retain it by law or for legitimate business records.

6. Copyright complaints (DMCA)

If you believe content shared through the App infringes your copyright, please send a notice to dev@kelpsoftware.com including: (a) your contact information; (b) identification of the copyrighted work; (c) identification of the allegedly infringing material and where it can be found; (d) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized; (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are the owner or are authorized to act on the owner's behalf; and (f) your physical or electronic signature. We will respond to valid notices and may terminate accounts of repeat infringers.

7. Account suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your account, or remove access to any content, at any time and without notice if we believe you have violated these Terms or applicable law, or if continued provision of the App to you would expose us to legal liability. You may stop using the App at any time and request account deletion as described in our Privacy Policy.

8. Disclaimer of warranties

THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE APP WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT FILES YOU TRANSFER WILL ARRIVE INTACT.

9. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL KELP SOFTWARE, ITS PRINCIPALS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, OR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO CONTENT YOU OR ANOTHER USER SHARED THROUGH THE APP, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE APP WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100). Some jurisdictions do not allow exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of certain damages; in those jurisdictions, the above limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Kelp Software and its principals, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) Your Content; (b) your use of the App; or (c) your violation of these Terms or any law or third-party right. This obligation survives termination of your account.

11. Changes to the App or Terms

We may modify or discontinue features of the App at any time. We may also revise these Terms; if we do, we will post the updated Terms at this URL with a new effective date and, where appropriate, notify you in-app. Continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

12. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. The exclusive venue for any dispute will be the state or federal courts located in California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

13. Contact

Questions, copyright notices, or legal requests: dev@kelpsoftware.com.