Terms of Service

1. About Gistlist

Gistlist is a local-first desktop meeting workspace for macOS. It records audio and writes notes to a folder on your disk; there is no Gistlist-hosted notes service. Transcription and summary steps use whichever providers you select. Current providers: Parakeet (local, default on Apple Silicon) or OpenAI Whisper (cloud) for transcription; local Ollama (default), Anthropic Claude (cloud), or OpenAI (cloud) for summaries. The Privacy Policy describes the data flow for each. Gistlist is provided by Gistlist, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

In these terms:

• "Gistlist", "we", "us", "our" mean Gistlist, LLC.
• "You" and "your" mean the person or entity using Gistlist.
• "Software" means the Gistlist desktop app, the command-line interface, the MCP server, the Obsidian integration, and any updates or related code we make available.
• "Services" means the Software plus the Gistlist website.
• "Your Content" means anything you record, transcribe, write, or generate using the Software, including audio files, transcripts, summaries, prompt outputs, prompt files, and notes.

2. License to use the Software

The Software is made available under the Functional Source License, Version 1.1, ALv2 Future License (FSL-1.1-ALv2), the full text of which ships with the Software in the LICENSE file (GitHub copy).

Under that license, you may read, use, modify, and redistribute the Software for any purpose other than a "Competing Use" as defined in the FSL. That is, you may not use the Software to make available a commercial product or service that substitutes for, or substantially duplicates the functionality of, Gistlist. Two years after each release, that release auto-converts to the Apache License 2.0, and the FSL Competing Use restriction no longer applies to that release.

These Terms govern your use of the Services as a whole, and your specific rights in the Software code are governed by the FSL. Website analytics are described in the Privacy Policy.

3. Your responsibilities

You agree that:

• You are at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction). Gistlist is not intended for use by anyone under 18.
• You will use Gistlist in compliance with all laws that apply to you.
• You are responsible for any cloud service you connect through Gistlist using your own API key, including Anthropic (for Claude) and OpenAI (for language models and Whisper speech-to-text). Your use of those services is governed by their own terms, and you are responsible for any charges or violations associated with your API keys. Ollama, in its default local configuration, runs on your own machine; if you point Gistlist at a remote Ollama endpoint, that remote provider's terms govern that connection.
• You will not use the Software for a Competing Use as defined in the FSL.
• You will not export the Software to anyone in violation of US sanctions or export-control law, and you confirm you are not on a U.S. government denied-party list.

4. Recording consent

This is the most important part of these terms. Read it.

Wiretapping, eavesdropping, and call-recording laws vary by jurisdiction. Many U.S. states (including California, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and several others) require that all parties to a conversation consent to being recorded. Many countries, including most of the EU and the UK, have similar or stricter rules.

You are solely responsible for complying with every recording-consent law that applies to you and to the people in any meeting you record. We do not provide legal advice and Gistlist's existence as a tool does not authorize you to record anyone. When required by law or by your own ethics, obtain consent before recording.

5. Your Content stays yours

You keep all rights in Your Content. We do not host it, copy it, or claim any rights in it.

The Software runs on your machine and writes Your Content to your disk. We do not operate a server that processes Your Content. When you choose to send a transcript or audio file to a cloud LLM or transcription provider, the request goes directly from your machine to that provider, using your own API key. If you choose to send Your Content to us as part of a support request, we use it only to handle that request. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Because we do not host Your Content on our servers, we cannot recover it, restore it, or delete it on your behalf. Backups are your responsibility.

6. Output of automated systems

Gistlist relies on automated speech recognition and large-language- model providers, whether local or cloud, to produce transcripts, summaries, and other outputs.

You acknowledge that:

• Transcripts may misattribute speakers, mishear words, or omit content.
• Summaries and other generated outputs may contain errors, omissions, or fabricated content ("hallucinations").
• These outputs are provided for convenience and general information only. They are not legal, medical, financial, accounting, or other professional advice and should not be relied on as such.
• You are responsible for reviewing outputs before using or distributing them, especially in any context where accuracy matters.

7. Acceptable use

You will not, and will not let anyone else:

• Use Gistlist to record any person or conversation without obtaining all consents required by law.
• Use Gistlist to violate the terms of any third-party service, including by sending content through your own API key in ways that vendor's terms forbid.
• Use the Software in any manner not permitted by the FSL, including any "Competing Use" as defined in the FSL.
• Interfere with, attempt to gain unauthorized access to, or disrupt any Gistlist service or the systems of any third-party provider.
• Use Gistlist for any unlawful purpose.

8. Updates

We may release updates to the Software. The desktop app's auto-update behavior is described in the Privacy Policy and is configurable in Settings → Updates. You may decline updates, though declining indefinitely may leave you on a build that we no longer support.

9. Free of charge

Gistlist is provided to you free of charge. We may introduce paid features or plans in the future; if we do, we will give you advance notice and you will not be retroactively charged for use that occurred before any pricing change took effect.

10. Disclaimers

THE SOFTWARE AND THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GISTLIST DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, QUALITY, ACCURACY, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. GISTLIST DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE OR THE SERVICES WILL BE ERROR-FREE, UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY DEFECT WILL BE CORRECTED.

YOU USE GISTLIST AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DATA, FOR YOUR API KEYS, FOR YOUR COMPLIANCE WITH RECORDING-CONSENT LAW, AND FOR ANY DECISION YOU MAKE BASED ON OUTPUT THE SOFTWARE PRODUCES.

11. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GISTLIST WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, BUSINESS, OR GOODWILL, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY AND EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Because Gistlist is provided free of charge, our total liability to you is capped as follows.

GISTLIST'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF GISTLIST WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50.00) OR (B) THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID TO GISTLIST IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY.

These limitations are an essential basis of the bargain between you and Gistlist and apply even if any limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages; in those jurisdictions our liability is limited to the smallest extent permitted by law.

12. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Gistlist, LLC and its officers, members, employees, and contractors from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, fine, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use of Gistlist;
• Your violation of these terms or any law;
• Your violation of the terms of any third-party service used through Gistlist;
• Your recording of any person or conversation in violation of applicable law; and
• Your infringement of any third party's rights.

To the extent permitted by law, you will not be required to indemnify us for any portion of a claim that arises from our gross negligence, willful misconduct, or breach of these terms.

We will give you prompt notice of any claim for which we seek indemnification, and we will reasonably cooperate with you in the defense. You may control the defense and settlement, provided that any settlement that imposes any liability or obligation on Gistlist requires our prior written consent.

13. Termination

You may stop using Gistlist at any time. Uninstalling the app is enough; deletion of your local data is your responsibility.

We may discontinue Gistlist, or modify or stop offering any part of it, at any time and for any reason. Sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 will survive termination, together with any other provisions that by their nature should survive.

14. Feedback

If you send us ideas, suggestions, or feedback about Gistlist, we may use them without restriction or obligation to you.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

16. Dispute resolution

Read this section carefully. It requires you to resolve most disputes with Gistlist by individual binding arbitration rather than in court, and it includes a class-action waiver. You may opt out within 30 days of first using Gistlist (see Section 16.3).

16.1 Informal resolution

Before starting an arbitration or court proceeding, you and Gistlist agree to try in good faith to resolve any dispute by informal negotiation for at least 30 days after written notice of the dispute. To send Gistlist that notice, email support@gistlist.co describing the dispute and the relief you seek.

16.2 Binding arbitration

If the dispute is not resolved within the informal-resolution period, you and Gistlist agree to resolve it by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules, as in effect at the time the arbitration is commenced.

• The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator.
• The seat of the arbitration is Deschutes County, Oregon.
• The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this arbitration agreement.
• The arbitrator decides all issues of arbitrability, validity, scope, and enforceability of this section.
• The arbitrator may award any individual relief or any individual remedy that a court could award under the law.

16.3 30-day opt-out

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement. To opt out, email support@gistlist.co within 30 days of the date you first use Gistlist, including in the email your name and a clear statement that you are opting out of the arbitration agreement in the Gistlist Terms of Service. If you opt out, the rest of these terms (including the governing-law provision) still apply, but you and Gistlist will resolve disputes in court rather than in arbitration.

16.4 Small-claims carve-out

Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court instead of arbitration, as long as the claim qualifies under the small-claims court's jurisdictional limits.

16.5 Class-action waiver

To the extent permitted by law: YOU AND GISTLIST AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, MASS, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any form of class, collective, or representative proceeding. If this class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim or remedy, only that claim or remedy will be brought in court, and the rest of this Section 16 will continue to apply.

16.6 Injunctive-relief carve-out

Either party may seek temporary or permanent injunctive relief or other equitable remedies in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual-property rights or confidential information.

16.7 Confidentiality

To the extent permitted by law, the arbitration proceeding and all related filings, evidence, and awards will be kept confidential, and may be disclosed only as needed to enforce an award or as otherwise required by law.

17. Notices

We will give you notices through the app or by posting on the website. If you have previously given us an email address (for example, in a support request), we may also notify you there, but we are not committing to do so. You may give us notice by emailing support@gistlist.co.

18. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we will post the new version with a new effective date. Your continued use of Gistlist on or after the new effective date is your acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not agree, stop using Gistlist before the new effective date.

19. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement. These terms, together with the Privacy Policy and the Software's LICENSE file, are the entire agreement between you and Gistlist regarding the Services.
• Severability. If any provision of these terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.
• Assignment. You may not assign these terms without our written consent. We may assign these terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all of our assets.
• Force majeure. Neither party is liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
• Headings. Headings are for reference only and do not affect interpretation.

20. Contact

For questions about these terms, email support@gistlist.co.