App Terms of Use
Last Updated: November 6th, 2026
Okaeri teaches Japanese through a slice of life anime: one real scene a day in Tokyo, said out loud. It runs on your device, with no account.
We are a small indie studio and the App is updated often. Some features may not always work exactly as planned. Please be patient with us, and we will always do our best to support you.
Please read these Terms of Use ("Terms") carefully before using the Okaeri mobile application (the "Service") operated by Mango Lab ("us", "we", or "our").
Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to everyone who accesses or uses the Service.
By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of them, you may not use the Service.
1. What the Lessons Are
The lessons are a help for learning Japanese, not a promise of fluency. This is the most important section of these Terms.
a) Every episode teaches the Japanese of one everyday situation: its lines with their meaning, furigana and romaji, notes on how they are used, and a polite and a casual version. We prepare them with care, but they can contain mistakes. If you find one, please tell us. We fix what is reported.
b) Furigana and romaji are a guide to the sound, not a replacement for it. The lines are recorded with synthetic voices made with AI, and the kana prologue is read by the Japanese voice built into your iPhone, or recorded the same way on Android. A line without a recording is read by the Japanese voice on your phone. They aim to sound natural, but they are not a native speaker, and a pronunciation may occasionally be off.
c) The speaking check tells you which parts of a line came through when you said it. It is not a grade of your pronunciation, and it can miss words you said correctly or accept words you did not, especially in a noisy place.
d) The App is for personal learning. It is not an accredited course or a preparation programme for the JLPT or any other test, and we make no promise about any result, exam, visa, job, trip, or conversation.
2. The Story Is Fiction
The episodes are set in real places, such as the Yanaka neighbourhood of Tokyo, but their people, shops, cafés, and the share house Komorebi-sō are fictional. Any resemblance to real people or businesses is coincidental. The texts that people in the story send you are part of the story, written in advance, and come from the App on your phone, not from a real person.
3. Use of the Service
By using the Service, you agree to:
a) Use the Service only for its intended purposes
b) Comply with all applicable laws and regulations
c) Respect the intellectual property rights of others
d) Not engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts the Service
e) Not attempt to get around the free schedule, the daily limit on ads on Android, or the licensing of subscriber content
f) Not copy, extract, or republish the episodes, their recordings, or their artwork, whether by hand or by automated means
4. No Accounts, No Server
The Service has no signup and no login. We operate no backend and no database of our own. Your progress, answers, room, and photocards are stored locally on your device and, if you are signed in to iCloud, synced to your own iCloud under your Apple ID. On Android, they are included in your phone's backup to your own Google Account if backup is on. They are never transmitted to us.
Because there is no account, there is nothing for us to suspend, and no credentials for you to safeguard with us. Access to your data is controlled entirely by access to your device and to your Apple ID or Google Account.
Your voice is never sent to us. See our Privacy Policy for the full description.
5. Subscriptions and Ads
The kana prologue and the first two episodes are free from your first day. Without a subscription, episodes 3 to 10 each open free the day after you finish the one before, and on iPhone the story from episode 11 on is for subscribers. An Okaeri subscription opens each next episode as soon as you finish the one before, with no waiting. By subscribing, you agree to the following:
a) The subscription is offered on a yearly and a monthly plan, both of which renew automatically, at the prices shown on the App Store product page, or on Google Play on Android, and inside the App for your storefront and currency.
b) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, and is processed entirely by Apple through the App Store, not by Mango Lab. On Android, payment is charged through your Google Account at confirmation of purchase, and is processed entirely by Google Play. We never receive or store your payment details.
c) Free trial. Where a free trial is offered, its length is shown before you subscribe, and it is available once per Apple Account, or on Android once per Google Account. A trial opens episodes the same way a subscription does. If you do not cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends, the subscription begins and your Apple Account is charged. On Android, if you do not cancel before the trial ends, the subscription begins and Google Play charges you. If you ask for the reminder when you start the trial, the App sends you a notification the day before it ends.
d) Both plans renew automatically until cancelled. Your Apple Account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period, unless automatic renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before that point. On Android, Google Play charges you at the start of each billing period, unless you cancel before it begins.
e) You can manage or cancel a subscription at any time in your Apple Account settings, or on Android in the Google Play app under Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions. Cancelling stops the next payment and leaves the current paid period running to its end. It never takes back what is yours: your progress, streak, coins, room, and photocards all remain. Episodes up to 10 go back to opening free on the schedule described above, and later episodes wait for a subscription, or on Android for an ad.
f) Purchases are validated through RevenueCat, a service acting on our behalf. See our Privacy Policy for exactly what it receives.
g) On iPhone, refunds are handled solely by Apple, in accordance with App Store policy, and we cannot issue, approve, or deny a refund. On Android, refunds follow Google Play's refund policies: you can ask Google Play for one, or write to us and we will consider your request under those policies and applicable law.
h) You may restore your subscription on your devices through the App's restore function, provided you use the same Apple ID, or on Android the same Google Account.
i) Prices may change for future subscribers, and may change for existing subscribers with the notice and consent that Apple or Google Play requires.
j) Subscriber content is licensed, not sold, to you for use only under the terms of this license. Mango Lab reserves all rights not expressly granted to you.
k) Mango Lab reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue features at any time. Where a change would materially remove content you are paying for, we will make reasonable efforts to give notice.
Ads on Android. Without a subscription, you can open an episode by watching a short ad from Google AdMob, up to three a day: one of episodes 3 to 10 right away instead of waiting, or one from episode 11 on. An episode opens only when the ad has played through, and an ad may not always be available. We do not choose each ad, and we may change how many ads you can watch or what they open. Subscribers never see an ad.
6. Coins, Your Room, and Photocards
Finishing an episode puts one of its things in your room and gives you its photocard, and you earn coins by learning. Coins, room things, and photocards are part of the App's game: they have no cash value, they cannot be bought with money, and they cannot be sold, transferred, or exchanged for anything outside the App. We may change how they are earned or what coins can be spent on.
7. Your Data, Backups, and Loss
You are solely responsible for your data. We cannot recover it, and we cannot restore it for you. This is a direct consequence of how the App is built, and we would rather state it plainly than let you discover it at the worst possible moment.
a) The App syncs your progress to your own iCloud whenever you are signed in to iCloud. That data belongs to your Apple ID. We have no access to it and no ability to read, restore, or recover it on your behalf. Recovery, if any, is a matter between you and Apple. On Android, if backup is on, your phone includes your progress in its backup to your own Google Account, and the same applies: recovery, if any, is a matter between you and Google.
b) If you turn iCloud off, sign out of iCloud, or are not signed in, or on Android if backup is off, your data exists only on your device. If that device is then lost, damaged, reset, or the App is deleted, the data is gone permanently.
c) Our support cannot retrieve deleted, corrupted, or lost progress, coins, room things, or photocards under any circumstances. Any claim to the contrary is not made by us.
8. Intellectual Property
The Service and its original content, features, and functionality, including the episodes and their scripts, the recordings, the characters, Kinako the cat, the artwork, the photocards, the written copy, and the design, are and will remain the exclusive property of Mango Lab and its licensors, protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without our prior written consent.
The photocard pictures the App makes for you to share are yours to post for personal, noncommercial use, wherever you like.
9. Other Services and Links
The Service relies on Apple (App Store subscriptions, iCloud sync, and the speech recognition and Japanese voice built into iOS), or on Android on Google (Google Play subscriptions, Android backup, Google AdMob ads, and on most phones the speech recognition and Japanese voice), and on RevenueCat (purchase validation), PostHog (usage measurement) and Google Analytics for Firebase (basic counts). Your use of those services is governed by their own terms and privacy policies.
Mango Lab has no control over and assumes no responsibility for the content, policies, or practices of any service run by someone else. You acknowledge and agree that Mango Lab shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such service.
10. Disclaimer
Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, noninfringement, or the accuracy or completeness of any lesson, translation, recording, speaking check, or other content the App displays.
11. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Mango Lab shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, profits, or revenue, arising from your use of or inability to use the Service, including loss of progress stored on your device or in your iCloud or Google Account, and including any decision you make in reliance on a lesson, as set out in Section 1.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitations of liability, so some of the above may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
12. Termination
You may stop using the Service at any time by deleting the App. Doing so removes all local data, as described in Section 7. Deleting the App does not cancel a subscription; that is done in your Apple Account settings, or on Android in Google Play.
All provisions of these Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.
13. Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Vietnam, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
14. Changes
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.
By continuing to access or use the Service after revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, please stop using the Service.
15. Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms, or you have found a mistake in a lesson, please contact us at mangolab120@gmail.com.