Terms of Service

Last updated: 16 May 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legally binding agreement between you and Pattern Systems Ltd ("we", "us", "our"), the operator of the ForTea mobile application and website (together, the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. About us

The Service is provided by Pattern Systems Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Our registered office is Suite 12, Victoria Hall, Rawlinson Street, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 3UD, United Kingdom. You can contact us at support@fortea.app.

2. Eligibility

To use ForTea you must be at least 13 years old and able to enter into a binding contract. If you are under 18, you confirm you have the consent of a parent or guardian. By using ForTea you confirm you meet these requirements.

The Service supports adding child profiles to a household for the purpose of meal planning. Child profiles are managed by the adult account holder.

3. Your account

You are responsible for:

• Providing accurate information when creating your account.
• Maintaining the confidentiality of your password.
• All activity that occurs under your account.
• Notifying us immediately at support@fortea.app if you suspect unauthorised access.

You may delete your account at any time from inside the app. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms — see Section 11.

4. Subscriptions and payment

4.1 Tiers

ForTea offers a Free tier and two paid tiers: Basic and Premium. The features and limits of each tier are described in the app and on our website at fortea.app. We may change tier features or limits with reasonable notice.

4.2 Free trial

Paid tiers may include a 7-day free trial. Starting a trial requires a valid payment method. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, your subscription will automatically convert to a paid subscription at the price shown.

4.3 Billing

Subscriptions are processed by Apple App Store or Google Play Store, depending on your platform, and are subject to their respective billing terms. We do not directly process card details. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the renewal date.

4.4 Cancellation

You can cancel your subscription at any time from your Apple ID or Google Play account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — you retain paid access until then. We do not control the cancellation interface — it is provided by Apple or Google.

4.5 Refunds

Refunds are governed by the policies of Apple App Store or Google Play Store. If you believe you are entitled to a refund, please contact Apple or Google directly. In limited circumstances (for example, if the Service has not worked as advertised due to a confirmed fault on our side), we may issue or facilitate a refund at our discretion. Email support@fortea.app.

4.6 Promo and referral codes

We may offer promotional codes that grant free or discounted access for a defined period. Codes are non-transferable, may have redemption limits, and may be revoked at our discretion if misused. Referral codes give both the referrer and the new user a free period as described in the app; we may modify or end the referral programme at any time with reasonable notice.

4.7 Price changes

We may change subscription prices for new subscribers at any time. For existing subscribers, we will give at least 30 days' notice of any price increase, and you may cancel before the new price takes effect.

5. Your content

You may enter information into the Service such as ingredients, family member profiles, allergies, dislikes, and uploaded receipt images ("Your Content"). You retain ownership of Your Content. You grant us a limited, worldwide licence to store, process, and display Your Content solely to operate the Service on your behalf.

You confirm that Your Content does not infringe anyone's rights and does not include another person's personal data unless you have their consent (or, for child family members in your household, parental responsibility).

6. AI-generated recipes

Recipes are generated by third-party large language models. By using ForTea you understand and accept that:

• Generated recipes are suggestions, not professional culinary or nutritional advice.
• Suggested cook times, temperatures, and portions are estimates and should be verified against your own equipment and judgement.
• AI output is not always perfect — recipes may occasionally contain errors, omissions, or unusual combinations.
• You are responsible for safe food preparation, including correct temperatures and hygiene practices.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in breach of any applicable law.
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract source code from the Service.
• Attempt to bypass usage limits, paywalls, or rate limits.
• Use the Service to generate content that is unlawful, harmful, hateful, sexually explicit, or that promotes harm.
• Submit prompts designed to manipulate the AI into producing such content.
• Resell, redistribute, or commercially exploit the Service without our written permission.
• Create multiple accounts to abuse free trials, promo codes, or referral credits.
• Use automated tools or scrapers to access the Service.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these rules.

8. Health, allergy, and dietary disclaimer

ForTea is a meal suggestion app. It is not a medical device, a nutritional service, a dietetics service, or a food safety service. Nothing in the Service constitutes medical, nutritional, allergen, or dietary advice.

While ForTea allows you to record allergies and dietary requirements for household members and will attempt to avoid those ingredients in generated recipes, you acknowledge and agree that:

• You must independently verify ingredients in every recipe before cooking, especially if anyone in your household has a serious food allergy or intolerance.
• Manufactured products vary — read product labels before consuming. "May contain" warnings are not visible to the Service.
• Cross-contamination risks are not assessed by the Service.
• Generated recipes may inadvertently contain or fail to flag an allergen due to AI error, mishearing during voice input, or a typo in your profile.
• If you or a household member has a severe food allergy, anaphylaxis risk, coeliac disease, or any condition where ingredient errors could cause harm, do not rely solely on the Service. Always check ingredient labels and consult a qualified medical or nutritional professional.
• The Service is not suitable for medically prescribed diets without independent verification of each meal.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for adverse reactions, allergic responses, nutritional deficiencies, or any other health outcome arising from use of the Service.

9. Intellectual property

The ForTea app, website, branding, design, and software are the property of Pattern Systems Ltd and are protected by UK and international intellectual property law. We grant you a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to use the Service in accordance with these Terms.

Recipes generated by the Service may be freely used in your personal cooking and shared informally with friends and family. Commercial use (e.g. publishing generated recipes in a paid product) requires our written permission.

10. Availability and changes

We aim for the Service to be available continuously but cannot guarantee uninterrupted operation. We may suspend the Service for maintenance, security, or technical reasons. We may add, modify, or remove features at any time. If we make a material change that affects paid subscribers adversely, we will give reasonable notice.

11. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you:

• Breach these Terms.
• Use the Service in a way that risks harm to yourself, others, or the Service.
• Fail to pay subscription fees.
• Are determined by us to be fraudulently abusing trials, promo codes, or referrals.

Where reasonable, we will give you notice and a chance to respond. On termination, your right to use the Service ends; provisions that by their nature survive termination (e.g. liability, intellectual property, governing law) will continue.

12. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• The Service is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied.
• We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service.
• Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, is limited to the amount you paid us for the Service in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or £100, whichever is greater.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; (c) any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under UK law, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where you are a consumer.

13. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Pattern Systems Ltd, its directors, employees, and partners from any third-party claim arising out of your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the Service, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes we will notify you via email or in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent version. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Service, except that consumers resident elsewhere in the United Kingdom may bring proceedings in their local courts.

If you have a complaint, please contact support@fortea.app first — most issues can be resolved quickly.

16. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement: These Terms (together with our Privacy Policy) form the entire agreement between you and Pattern Systems Ltd concerning the Service.
• Severability: If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.
• No waiver: Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.
• Assignment: You may not assign your rights under these Terms. We may assign ours, for example in connection with a merger or acquisition, with reasonable notice.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email support@fortea.app.

Pattern Systems Ltd, Suite 12, Victoria Hall, Rawlinson Street, Barrow-in-Furness, LA14 3UD, United Kingdom.