Last updated 2026-06-19

Terms of Service

Short version: you buy Screen Mercy Pro once. The app stays yours forever. Updates are free for 5 years from your purchase date; after that the app keeps running but new versions stop installing until you renew. We won't reach into your Mac to disable anything we already shipped to you.

1. Who these terms are between

"We", "us", and "Screen Mercy" mean Atto Technologies Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in the State of California, doing business as Screen Mercy. Atto Technologies Inc. is the developer of the Screen Mercy macOS application and the operator of screenmercy.com. "You" means the person or entity using the app or buying a license. By installing the app, visiting the website, or purchasing a license you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, don't use the app; uninstalling it is the cleanest way to opt out.

2. The free app

The base Screen Mercy app is free to download and use on macOS 13 or later. No account, no payment, no telemetry. We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to install and run the free app on Macs you own or control, for personal or commercial use, indefinitely.

3. The Pro license

When you buy Screen Mercy Pro you receive a perpetual, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Pro features of the app. The license is bound to you, not to a single Mac, and it doesn't expire. You may activate it on more than one Mac you own or control, such as a primary machine, a backup, and a personal laptop, up to a per-license device limit, as long as you're the person actively using them. You can see your activated Macs and free a slot at any time from your account.

Activating Pro takes a single network request: we email you a signed license string, you paste it into the app and confirm the one-time activation, and the app registers that Mac and unlocks Pro locally. After that, the app does not contact us again to check your license.

4. Free updates and the renewal window

Each Pro license includes 5 years of free updates from the date of purchase. During that window every new version we ship is free for you. After the window:

• The version of the app you already have keeps working forever, with all the Pro features it had on the day your window ended.
• Newer versions stop offering themselves to your installation. The app does not "lock you out" or degrade; it simply doesn't push updates past the cutoff.
• You can renew at any time to extend the update window for another 5 years. Renewing after the window has expired is fine; you don't lose anything by waiting.

5. What you may do

• Use the app, free or Pro, for any lawful personal or business purpose.
• Run the app on multiple Macs you personally own or control under a single Pro license.
• Install on a work-issued Mac, provided your employer's IT policy allows third-party software.
• Take screenshots and write about the app. We like that.

6. What you may not do

• Distribute, resell, sublicense, rent, or share your license string or installer to third parties.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to derive the license signing keys, the structure of the license activation, or the source code, except where that right is granted to you by law and cannot be waived by contract.
• Bypass, remove, or alter the update-window enforcement, or modify the app to accept signatures from a key we did not issue.
• Use the app to facilitate illegal activity or to harm others.

7. Auto-updates

The app uses Sparkle to fetch a signed update feed from our server when auto-updates are enabled. You can disable auto-updates in the app's preferences at any time. Updates are signed end-to-end: the app verifies each download against a public key baked into the bundle, so a compromised host can't ship a build we didn't sign.

8. Payments and refunds

Pro purchases and renewals are processed by Stripe under their terms. We don't see or store your full card details. Refunds are governed by our refund policy. Sales tax, VAT, and equivalent obligations are handled at checkout where applicable; the price you see at the cart is the price you pay in your local currency unless your bank charges a conversion fee.

9. Disclaimer of warranties

The app is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Screen Mercy is a screen-warmth utility; it is not a medical device, it does not diagnose or treat any condition (including eye strain, sleep disorders, or circadian dysfunction), and any wellness benefit you experience from warmer light at night is your own anecdote, not a clinical claim from us.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will our aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to the app, the website, or these terms exceed the amount you paid us for the license in the twelve months preceding the claim. We will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for loss of data, profits, revenue, or goodwill, even if advised of the possibility. Some jurisdictions don't allow these limitations; in those places the limitations apply only to the extent permitted.

11. Termination: what we can and can't do

If you materially breach these terms (for example, by redistributing your license key), we may revoke your license on our server. In practice that means new device activations of that license are refused, future support requests tied to it are declined, and renewal flows for it are blocked. Copies already activated on your Macs are not remotely disabled: consistent with our refund policy, we don't reach into machines to shut off what we already unlocked.

You can stop using the app at any time by uninstalling it. Uninstallation does not entitle you to a refund outside of the window described in the refund policy.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms when product reality changes (for example, if we add a new tier, change the update window, or switch payment processors). Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and called out in the next release's notes. The version of the terms in effect at the time of your purchase governs that purchase; changes are not retroactive against existing licenses.

13. Governing law and disputes

These terms, and any dispute arising out of or relating to these terms, the website, the app, or your license, are governed by the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The exclusive venue for any such dispute is the state and federal courts located in California, and you and we each consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Nothing in this section waives any consumer-protection right that applicable law in your jurisdiction grants you and that cannot be overridden by contract. If a mandatory rule of your local law gives you the right to bring a claim in your local courts, that right is preserved.

For clarity: the internal corporate affairs of Atto Technologies Inc., including matters such as the rights and duties of its officers, directors, and stockholders, are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, the state of its incorporation, under the internal affairs doctrine. That separation is a feature of US corporate law and applies regardless of where the company operates. It does not affect the customer-facing matters covered by these terms, which are governed by California law as set out above.

Before filing a formal dispute, please email support@screenmercy.com with a clear description of the issue. The vast majority of problems get resolved faster over email than they would in court, and we'd rather spend the time fixing the bug than litigating it.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms? Reply to your license-delivery email, or write to support@screenmercy.com. A real human reads it.