Zero App — Terms of Service
Version: 0.1 (Draft) | Last updated: 2026-03-20 | Status: DRAFT — Requires professional legal review before publication
IMPORTANT: This document is a working draft prepared for internal review. It must be reviewed and approved by a qualified solicitor before being published or shown to users.
Terms of Service
Effective date: [TBD — date of launch]
Last updated: [TBD]
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Zero mobile application ("the App"), operated by [Business Entity TBD] ("we", "us", "our"). By creating an account or using the App, you agree to these Terms.
1. About the App
1.1. Zero is a financial education and personal finance management application. It provides interactive calculators, budgeting tools, and a secure digital legacy vault.
1.2. The App does not provide financial advice. All calculators, projections, and educational content are for illustrative and informational purposes only. The App does not constitute regulated financial advice under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) framework. The operators of the App are not regulated financial advisers.
1.3. You should consult a qualified, FCA-regulated financial adviser before making significant financial decisions. The App is not a substitute for professional advice.
2. Eligibility
2.1. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.
2.2. The App is designed for residents of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). Tax thresholds, regulatory information, and calculator defaults are based on UK rules for the current tax year. Users outside the UK may use the App but should verify all figures against their local regulations.
3. Account Tiers and Access
3.1. Free Tier: You may use the App's calculators without creating an account. No data is saved. Results are ephemeral and not retained.
3.2. Standard Tier: Available via a one-time in-app purchase (£0.99) or by redeeming a single-use book code. Includes all calculator features with saved data, personal finance tracking (Pillar 2), and partner linking. Standard tier access is perpetual once purchased (subject to these Terms).
3.3. Vault Tier: Available via a monthly (£1.99) or annual (£9.99) subscription. Includes all Standard tier features plus the Digital Legacy Vault (Pillar 3) with end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and next-of-kin access management. Vault tier access requires an active subscription.
3.4. Redemption Codes: Book purchasers receive a single-use code that unlocks Standard tier access at no additional cost. Each code may only be used once. Codes cannot be resold, transferred, or exchanged for cash. We reserve the right to invalidate codes obtained through unauthorised means.
4. Subscriptions and Payment
4.1. Vault tier subscriptions are processed through Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). Payment terms, renewal, and cancellation are governed by the respective platform's terms.
4.2. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period.
4.3. Subscription Lapse: If your Vault subscription lapses (payment failure or cancellation):
- A 30-day grace period begins from the date of lapse.
- During the grace period, your vault is read-only — you can view existing data but cannot add new entries.
- You will receive notifications at: day of lapse, day 7, day 14, day 21, and day 28 (final warning).
- After 30 days, your vault data is permanently and irreversibly destroyed. Your account will be downgraded to Standard tier.
- We cannot recover vault data after destruction. This is a consequence of end-to-end encryption — we do not hold decryption keys.
4.4. No refunds are provided for unused portions of subscription periods, except where required by applicable law or the policies of Apple or Google.
5. Calculator Accuracy and Disclaimers
5.1. All calculator outputs are illustrative estimates only. They are based on the inputs you provide and the regulatory thresholds configured in the App at the time of calculation.
5.2. Tax year data: Tax bands, National Insurance rates, pension allowances, ISA limits, Stamp Duty bands, benefit thresholds, and other regulatory figures are based on the current UK tax year unless otherwise stated. These figures change annually and may change mid-year following government announcements.
5.3. We endeavour to update regulatory thresholds promptly after each Budget and at the start of each tax year (6 April). However, we do not guarantee that thresholds are up to date at any given moment.
5.4. You are responsible for verifying any figures before making financial decisions. We accept no liability for decisions made based on calculator outputs.
5.5. Growth rate assumptions (e.g., 7% nominal return on pensions/investments) are illustrative and based on commonly used long-term averages. Real-world returns will vary and are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
6. Digital Legacy Vault
6.1. The Vault uses end-to-end encryption (AES-256-GCM). Your vault data is encrypted on your device before being transmitted to our servers. We do not hold your encryption keys and cannot access, read, or recover your vault data.
6.2. Your encryption key is derived from your account password. If you change your password, your vault data is re-encrypted with the new key.
6.3. At Vault enrolment, you will be shown a 24-word recovery phrase. This is your only means of recovering vault access if you forget your password. You are solely responsible for storing this recovery phrase securely. If you lose both your password and your recovery phrase, your vault data is permanently unrecoverable. We cannot assist with recovery.
6.4. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is mandatory for Vault tier. You must configure an authenticator app (TOTP) to access vault features.
7. Next-of-Kin Access
7.1. The Vault allows you to designate one or more next-of-kin ("Nominated Persons") who may request access to your vault data under specific circumstances.
7.2. You configure:
- Which Nominated Persons have access
- What access layer each person is assigned (determining what data they can see)
- The countdown timer duration (1–365 days) before access is granted if you do not respond
- What data is visible under emergency (incapacity) access vs full (death) access
7.3. Emergency Access (Track 1): Any single Nominated Person may request emergency access. If you do not reject the request within the countdown period you have configured, access to the pre-configured subset of your vault data is granted to the requesting person.
7.4. Full Access (Track 2): Requires either (a) two Nominated Persons from different access layers to independently submit requests, or (b) one Nominated Person plus upload of a death certificate. If you do not reject the request within the countdown period, full access to your vault data is granted.
7.5. You will be notified of all access requests via push notification and email. You may approve or reject any request at any time during the countdown period. Approval cannot be given from your device's lock screen — you must unlock the device and open the App.
7.6. If you reject a request, the Nominated Person is notified and a 30-day cooldown period applies before they can re-request.
7.7. You are solely responsible for configuring your next-of-kin settings, including the choice of Nominated Persons, access layers, timer durations, and data visibility. We do not verify the identity, relationship, or intentions of your Nominated Persons.
7.8. You may add, remove, or modify Nominated Persons and their access settings at any time.
7.9. We are not liable for any consequences arising from the use or misuse of the next-of-kin access mechanism, including but not limited to: unauthorised access resulting from failure to reject a request, loss or misuse of data by a Nominated Person, or disputes between family members.
8. Partner Linking
8.1. You may link your account with a partner for shared budgeting purposes. Both parties must consent to linking.
8.2. You control what data is shared with your linked partner. You may share nothing, selected items, or all financial data.
8.3. Either partner may unlink at any time. On unlinking, shared data handling is configurable: you may keep shared history, archive it, or delete it.
8.4. If you update your relationship status (e.g., from married to divorced), the App will prompt you to review your partner linking and shared data settings.
9. Your Responsibilities
9.1. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials, including your password, MFA device, and recovery phrase.
9.2. You must not share your account credentials with any other person (next-of-kin access is provided through the dedicated mechanism described in Section 7, not through credential sharing).
9.3. You must not use the App for any unlawful purpose or in any way that could damage, disable, or impair the App.
9.4. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to other users' accounts or data, or to our systems or networks.
10. Intellectual Property
10.1. The App, its content, features, and functionality are owned by [Business Entity TBD] and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
10.2. Your data remains yours. We do not claim ownership of any data you enter into the App.
11. Limitation of Liability
11.1. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the App.
11.2. Without limiting the foregoing, we are not liable for:
- Financial losses resulting from reliance on calculator outputs
- Loss of vault data due to lost passwords/recovery phrases (the data is encrypted and unrecoverable by design)
- Actions taken by Nominated Persons who gain access to your vault data through the next-of-kin mechanism you configured
- Inaccurate regulatory thresholds due to delays in updating tax year data
- Service interruptions, data loss, or security breaches beyond our reasonable control
11.3. Our total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising from these Terms or your use of the App shall not exceed the amount you have paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.
12. Termination
12.1. You may close your account at any time via Profile → Privacy & Data → Delete my account. See our Privacy Policy for details on data deletion.
12.2. We may suspend or terminate your account if you breach these Terms, with notice where practicable.
12.3. On termination, all your data (including vault data) is permanently destroyed, except for anonymised audit logs retained for legal compliance.
13. Changes to These Terms
13.1. We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via in-app notification and email at least 30 days before the changes take effect.
13.2. Your continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree, you may close your account.
14. Governing Law
14.1. These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
15. Contact
For questions about these Terms, contact us at:
Email: privacy@darrensterling.co.uk
These Terms of Service are a draft and have not been reviewed by legal counsel. They must be reviewed and approved by a qualified solicitor before publication.