Terms of Use
Last updated: 23 August 2026
These terms cover your use of the SofiLingo app and this website.
The short version
- The app is free. Watch a short video when you need more translations.
- The Holiday pass removes the ads for 14 days. It is one payment and does not renew.
- There is no subscription, so there is nothing to cancel.
- Apple processes App Store payments and refund requests.
- SofiLingo is machine translation. Do not rely on it where being wrong matters.
Who these terms are with
SofiLingo is provided by John Sheehy, an individual trading from W91 RK2W, Ireland ("we", "us"). By downloading or using the app, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree to them, do not use the app.
Your download and use of the iOS app are also subject to Apple's Standard End User License Agreement and applicable App Store terms. Apple's terms govern the licence to use the app and matters Apple controls, including App Store billing. These terms govern the SofiLingo service, the Holiday pass and the website.
What SofiLingo does
SofiLingo translates text you scan with your camera, speak, or type, across 58 languages. Translation runs on your device, so it works without a signal.
Scanning is the documented exception. For 33 of the 58 languages a scan is read in the cloud rather than on your phone: 17 use scripts your phone cannot read at all, and in the other 16 it reads badly enough to change what a sign says. In those 17, a scan made offline is kept on your device and translated the next time you are online. In the other 16 your phone reads it there and then, less accurately, and nothing is sent. Theprivacy policy lists all of them, because this is a real limitation rather than fine print.
Free translations
The app is free to use. The first 15 translations need nothing at all, and after that you can watch a short advertisement to earn more, as often as you like. No card and no account are required at any point. A translation is counted when the app completes it, and the allowance is stored on your device, so it may not transfer when you replace or erase it. Buying the Holiday pass removes the advertisements; it is not required in order to keep translating.
The Holiday pass
| Plan | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Free, with ads | $0 | Watch a short video when you need more translations. No card and no account. |
| One-time Holiday pass | $4.99 | 14 days without ads. A single payment that does not renew. |
Prices shown are the US prices. What you actually pay is set by the store for your territory and may differ, including local taxes. The store shows you the exact price before you confirm.
All purchases are made through Apple's App Store. We never see or handle your payment details.
The Holiday pass
One payment for 14 days beginning at the time of purchase. It does not renew, there is nothing to cancel, and it will not charge you again. If you buy another pass before the first has run out, 14 days are added to what you have left rather than replacing it. Use Restore Purchases in the app to recover eligible purchases on another device using the same Apple Account.
There is no subscription
SofiLingo has no auto-renewing subscription. Nothing you buy here recurs, nothing needs cancelling, and deleting the app leaves no standing charge behind. The monthly and yearly subscriptions these terms previously described have been withdrawn. If you bought one before they were withdrawn, Apple continues to administer it and you can cancel it on iOS in Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions — we cannot cancel an App Store subscription for you, and deleting the app does not cancel one.
Refunds
Apple administers payments and refund requests for App Store purchases. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. We cannot reverse an App Store charge or see your payment details.
This does not limit any rights or remedies you have against us under applicable consumer law. If the app is not supplied as agreed or does not conform to these terms, contact us as well as using Apple's refund process.
What machine translation can and cannot do
SofiLingo produces machine translation, and machine translation gets things wrong. It can misread a word, miss a negation, or produce fluent text that reads perfectly well and means something other than the original.
Reading a label you could not otherwise read at all is exactly what the app is for. Acting on that reading, where being wrong would matter, is where it stops. Treat a translation as a way in, and confirm it before you rely on it:
- Medicines and dosages. Use it to understand what you are holding, then check with a pharmacist before you take it. They can read the packet, and they are there to be asked.
- Allergens and food safety. Ask the kitchen or the manufacturer directly where a reaction would be serious — a translated ingredients list is a starting point, not a clearance.
- Medical, legal, financial and official documents, and anything you are signing. Use a qualified human translator.
- Safety, emergency and hazard instructions. Follow the official guidance and the pictograms, not our rendering of them.
The app is a travel aid and is sold as one. It does not give medical, legal or financial advice, and nothing it produces replaces a person you can ask a second question.
Your information
SofiLingo has no accounts. We do not ask for your name, email or phone number, and your translations stay on your device. What little leaves it, and why, is set out in the privacy policy, which forms part of these terms.
The support form on this website is the one place you choose to send us something. Whatever you type into it, we receive.
Using the app reasonably
Please do not:
- use SofiLingo to break the law, or to translate material that is illegal to possess;
- reverse engineer, decompile or tamper with the app, except where the law expressly says you may despite a term like this one;
- resell, sublicense or share paid access;
- work around the free allowance, the pass, or any usage limit;
- attack the service, or submit anything through the support form in bulk or in bad faith.
We may withdraw access if the app is being used this way. Where that happens and you have paid for time you have not had, any refund or other remedy will be handled in accordance with applicable law and Apple's App Store process.
Licence and ownership
SofiLingo and the website, including their software, design, text and branding, belong to us or our licensors and are protected by intellectual-property law. Your licence to use the iOS app is the limited, non-transferable licence described in Apple's Standard End User License Agreement. Buying a pass or subscription gives you access for its stated duration; it does not transfer ownership of the app or its content to you.
Availability and changes
We may modify SofiLingo for a valid reason, including to improve it, maintain security, comply with law, address misuse, or remain compatible with operating systems and third-party technology. We will not charge you extra for a modification during a paid period. Offline translation depends on language models downloaded to your device and on your device's own capabilities, so it is affected by your storage, operating system version and changes Apple makes.
We do not promise the app will always be uninterrupted or error-free. If a change has more than a minor negative effect on your access to or use of the app, we will give the notice required by law and tell you about any right to terminate without charge. If we discontinue a material paid feature during your paid period, contact us about the remedies available to you and use Apple's refund process where applicable.
Our liability
Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law. If you are a consumer, your statutory rights stand regardless of what these terms say.
Subject to that, and to the fullest extent the law allows, we are not responsible for loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when you agreed to these terms or that results from using a translation contrary to the prominent safety warnings above. Nothing here excludes your right to have digital content or a digital service brought into conformity, to receive an appropriate price reduction, or to terminate the contract where Irish consumer law gives you that right.
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms for a valid reason, including changes to SofiLingo, the law, security requirements or App Store rules. The date at the top changes when we do. We will give reasonable notice in the app of a material change. A material change that reduces what you receive will normally apply from your next renewal, unless an earlier change is required by law or for an urgent security reason. If applicable law requires your agreement, we will ask for it.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of Ireland, and disputes are subject to the courts of Ireland. If you are a consumer, this does not take away the protection of the mandatory laws of the country you live in, or your right to bring a claim there.
Contact
For anything to do with the app, use the support form — it reaches us directly and a screenshot helps.
For formal or legal notices: support@sofilingo.com. For privacy questions: support@sofilingo.com.
Telephone: +353 899860638.