Terms of service

1. Acceptance

By downloading, installing, or using the GMEOW VPN application ("the App") you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, stop using the App and uninstall it. These terms are between you and the operator of GMEOW VPN, reachable at support@gmeow.org.

2. What the service is

GMEOW VPN opens an encrypted OpenVPN tunnel from your Android device to a server you pick, using Android's own VpnService API. While that tunnel is up, your device traffic is routed through the server instead of straight out through your network.

Not every server is ours, and that shapes what we can promise

Part of the server list is published by third parties, who host and administer their own machines. We do not own, rent, or administer those machines, we cannot audit them, we cannot guarantee they will be online, and we are not in a position to make privacy commitments on their behalf. What we can do is verify each server's TLS certificate before the tunnel opens, and move DNS resolution away from the server operator. We do both. The privacy policy sets out what a server operator can and cannot see.

Because of that, availability, throughput, and latency are not guaranteed and can change without notice. Servers appear and disappear from the list as independent operators start and stop hosting them.

3. What the service is not

Stated plainly, because the opposite is easy to assume:

• It is not anonymity. A VPN moves who can see your traffic; it does not make you unidentifiable.
• It is not antivirus, and it does not stop malware, phishing, or an account being compromised.
• It does not hide you from a site you are logged into, and it does not stop tracking that happens inside your browser.
• It is not legal advice about whether VPN use is permitted where you are. Checking that is your responsibility.

A longer version of the same list, with the reason behind each line, is on the what it does page.

4. Accounts

• You need a working email address to create an account. Nothing else is asked for.
• Keep your password to yourself. Anything done through your account is treated as done by you.
• You must be old enough to enter a binding agreement where you live.
• One account is for one person. It is not for sharing across a household or a group.

Sharing is limited by how many tunnels an account can hold at the same time rather than by counting your devices: one concurrent connection on Free, three on Premium. You are free to move between phones. We do not store a device identifier to do this, and the privacy policy explains why.

5. Acceptable use

For part of the list, the tunnel exits on a machine an independent operator provides. Abuse falls on that operator rather than on us, and it is how access to a free network gets withdrawn. Do not use the App to:

• Break any law that applies to you, or to the country the exit server sits in.
• Send spam, distribute malware, or run phishing.
• Scan, attack, or try to reach any system you are not authorised to reach.
• Infringe copyright or distribute unlawful material.
• Harass, threaten, or exploit anybody, and never a child.
• Resell or sublicense the service, or load it in a way that degrades it for other users.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or tamper with the App in order to bypass tier limits or billing.

An account in breach can be suspended or closed. Where a payment has been taken through Google Play, any refund remains a matter for Google under its own policy.

6. The free tier

The free tier is free permanently. It is not a trial and it does not expire into a paid plan. It is separated from Premium by capability rather than by time: a smaller share of the server list, one concurrent connection, and a fixed DNS resolver. There are no adverts in the App on any tier, and no advertising or analytics SDK is bundled into it.

7. Premium, billing, and cancellation

Premium is sold as a subscription through the Google Play Store. Google takes the payment, issues the receipt, and handles refunds under Google Play's own policies. We never see or hold your card details.

Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel. Cancel in the Play Store under Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions, at least 24 hours before the period ends. Cancelling stops the next renewal; it does not shorten the period you have already paid for, and Premium stays active until that period runs out. Prices are shown in the App before purchase and may change for future periods, never retroactively for a period already paid.

Premium can also be granted by a voucher code. A voucher is a grant of access rather than a purchase: it carries no cash value and is not refundable or exchangeable. Redeeming one while Premium is still running adds its days on top of the time you have left.

8. Privacy

How your data is handled is set out in the privacy policy, which forms part of these terms. The short version: we do not log your browsing, and we do store your email address, your settings, and a record of your live tunnels so the concurrent-connection limit can be enforced.

That policy lists every field rather than summarising it, and it is explicit about what a server operator and the DNS resolver can see, because neither of those is us.

9. Ownership

The App, its name, and its artwork belong to GMEOW VPN. You get a personal, revocable, non-transferable licence to use the App on devices you control, for as long as you keep to these terms. OpenVPN and the Android platform are the property of their respective owners, and any third-party server list the App draws on is provided by its own operators under their own terms.

10. No warranty

The App is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranty of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant uninterrupted service, any particular speed, that a given server will be reachable, or that the App fits a purpose you have in mind for it. Where the law where you live gives you rights that cannot be excluded, those rights still apply and nothing here limits them.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, GMEOW VPN is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential loss, or for lost data, revenue, or profit, arising from your use of or inability to use the App. This includes the conduct of a server operator we do not control. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to the amount you paid for the service in the twelve months before the claim, which is nil on the free tier.

12. Ending the agreement

You can stop at any time. Deleting your account inside the App ends this agreement and erases your account data:

If you have a Premium subscription, cancel it in the Play Store as well. Deleting the account here does not cancel a subscription there, and the privacy policy explains what deletion does and does not reach.

We may suspend or close an account that breaches these terms, or where we are required to by law. If we discontinue the service entirely we will say so in the App and on this site before it happens.

13. Changes to these terms

These terms can change. When they do, the date at the top of this page changes with them, and this page always holds the version in force. Continuing to use the App after a change means you accept the revised terms. If a change is one you do not accept, deleting your account is how you decline it.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms, and anything else:

Email support@gmeow.org, or use the form at gmeow.org/contact.html.

Read the privacy policy