Hearthling Terms of Use

Effective August 28, 2026

Current and pending versions

Hearthling 2.0 is the public version. Its first buddy and ordinary care are free. Extra Hearths is an optional $2.99 one-time purchase in the U.S. App Store that permanently adds two buddy slots. Apple’s confirmation sheet shows the authoritative localized price and terms.

The former $7.99 Hearthling Caretaker product is retired and not offered to new purchasers. Prior purchasers can restore its permanent extra rooms, looks, and JSON export with the Apple Account whose verified transaction supplies the entitlement.

Hearthling 3.0 is pending App Review. If approved and installed, its free First Resonance lets you choose one of ten spirit species, complete that species' authored interaction, make a Steady, Curious, or Bold response, and meet the same companion as a Hatchling in that session. The resulting facet, score, and attunement are stored locally with the companion. Care Club Monthly, Care Club Yearly, and Cozy Hearth Pack are not currently available for purchase. The sections about those products apply only if Apple approves version 3.0, you install it, and Apple presents the applicable product in its purchase sheet.

A local companion, not a casino

Hearthling is a private pocket companion. Feeding, watering, tidying, resting, playing, and reviving are free. A neglected companion may faint but is not permanently lost. Hearthling is not a children’s app, token, gambling, or loot-box product. You are responsible for the name and journal you enter.

Free experience and optional purchases

Your first egg, First Resonance in version 3.0, first buddy, Spirit Atlas, Living Chronicle, ordinary care, and revival are free. Hearthling keeps the local companion data you have already created even when a purchase is unavailable or needs to be restored.

In version 2.0, Extra Hearths adds two buddy slots for a total of three. If the verified entitlement is temporarily unavailable, additional buddies are locked rather than deleted.

Pending version 3.0 products

If approved and released, Care Club Monthly and Care Club Yearly would be auto-renewable subscriptions with the same access and different billing periods. Cozy Hearth Pack would be a separate one-time cosmetic and play-item purchase. Neither product is part of the currently public 2.0 sale.

A released Care Club entitlement may gate later growth, Bond Journey actions, member customization, export, and membership hearth capacity. Canceling or losing an entitlement would not move a reached form backward or delete recorded care history, earned keepsakes, or local progress. Free care and revival would remain available within the verified hearth allowance.

Billing, renewal, cancellation, and refunds

Payment is charged only after you confirm a product in Apple’s purchase sheet. If version 3.0 and Care Club are approved and released, subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period; Apple may charge the renewal within 24 hours before that period ends, and cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period.

If Care Club becomes available, it can be viewed, changed, or canceled in Apple Account subscription settings. Apple administers billing and refund decisions for all purchases; requests can be made through Report a Problem. Hearthling does not promise a free trial or introductory offer. The terms shown by Apple before confirmation govern any offer.

One-time purchases and legacy access

Every player has one free buddy slot. Extra Hearths permanently adds two more slots. The planned Cozy Hearth Pack, if released, unlocks presentation and play items only; it does not improve needs, stats, or growth.

The original Hearthling Caretaker lifetime product is retired and is not offered for new sale. Existing owners may restore that verified permanent entitlement without subscribing. Restore Purchases checks the current Apple Account’s verified transaction history. Family Sharing applies only when Apple supplies a verified shared entitlement for that product.

Your data and backups

Companion data is local and is not an Apple purchase entitlement. Depending on the installed version, a backup export can contain the roster, care history, journal, growth already reached, and other recorded companion state needed for recovery, but it does not contain or transfer Caretaker, Extra Hearths, Care Club, or Cozy Hearth Pack ownership. You choose where an exported file is saved or shared.

Keep a current backup before deleting the app, replacing a device, or importing another file. Import can replace the current local roster. Deleting Hearthling may permanently remove local companion data that was not exported, even though eligible StoreKit purchases can later be restored.

Acceptable use

Do not use Hearthling or its backup files for unlawful, abusive, deceptive, or harmful activity; attempt to disrupt the app or Apple purchase services; or bypass access controls except where applicable law expressly permits. You remain responsible for names, journal text, and files you create or share.

Availability and responsibility

Hearthling is provided “as is” and “as available.” Features may change, and uninterrupted or error-free availability is not guaranteed. To the fullest extent permitted by law, House Rhymaun is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential losses arising from use of the app. These terms do not limit rights that cannot legally be waived. To the extent permitted, Florida law governs these terms without overriding mandatory consumer protections where you live.

Contact

Questions about these terms, purchase access, or companion recovery can be sent to mmrhymaun@icloud.com. See Hearthling Support for purchase and recovery steps.