Terms of Service

1. The service

TheLernen is a web app for learning languages: flashcards with spaced repetition, quizzes, graded stories, grammar and topic pages, AI explanations and conversations, and pronunciation practice. It runs in a current web browser with JavaScript and an internet connection; speaking exercises additionally need a microphone and a browser with speech recognition (for example Chrome, Edge or Safari).

2. Who can use TheLernen

You must be at least 13 years old. If you are under 16 — the age of digital consent in Germany, Poland and several other EU countries — you may use TheLernen only with the agreement of a parent or guardian, who accepts these Terms on your behalf. You can learn without an account; an account (email or Google sign-in) keeps your progress across devices.

3. Your account

• Keep your login details to yourself; you are responsible for activity on your account.
• Without an account, your progress is tied to this browser. If you clear its storage, you may lose access to it.
• You can delete your account at any time under Profile → Settings → "Delete my account". This deletes your progress; it does not cancel a running subscription — cancel it first (section 6).

4. Free plan and PRO

TheLernen is free to use with daily limits. PRO removes them.

• Free: 30 new words per day (reviewing words you have already studied is not limited), 5 AI explanations per day, AI features within a daily fair-use limit, a short demo of the AI voice conversation, and ads on public pages. No card required. Your own cards show exactly what you write.
• PRO: unlimited new words, unlimited AI explanations, unlimited AI voice conversations with Erni the fox, no ads, and PRO-only cosmetic items. PRO also adds AI help to your own cards: filling in the translation, plus examples and an explanation while you study.
• Fair use: PRO is for one person's own learning. Automated, shared or abusive use is not covered (section 10).

5. Plans and prices

PRO is available as:

• Monthly: €5 per month, renews every month until cancelled.
• Annual: €49 per year, renews every year until cancelled.
• Lifetime: €129 once, no renewals. "Lifetime" means for as long as TheLernen offers PRO — not for your lifetime. If we ever close the service, we will announce it in advance on the site and by email.
• Prices include VAT where it applies. The final price — including your local VAT and any regional discount — is shown at checkout before you pay.
• Price changes apply to new purchases. A running subscription keeps the price it started with.

6. Renewal and cancellation

• Monthly and annual plans renew automatically until you cancel.
• Cancel at any time in Profile → PRO card → "Manage subscription" (this opens the Lemon Squeezy customer portal), or through the link in your payment emails. PRO stays active until the end of the period you have paid for; after that, your account returns to the free plan and keeps all progress.
• If a renewal payment fails, Lemon Squeezy retries it. If it keeps failing, the subscription ends and the account returns to the free plan.

7. Payments

All payments are processed by Lemon Squeezy LLC, which sells PRO as Merchant of Record: it charges you, issues the receipt and invoice, and handles VAT. Lemon Squeezy's Buyer Terms apply to the purchase itself. Your card details are handled by Lemon Squeezy and its payment processors and never reach us. The charge may appear on your statement as "LEMONSQUEEZY*THELERNEN" or similar.

8. 14-day right of withdrawal and refunds

• You can withdraw from any PRO purchase within 14 days of your first payment for that plan, without giving a reason: write to support@thelernen.org from the email you paid with. We refund the full amount through Lemon Squeezy, normally within 14 days of your message.
• After 14 days, and for renewal payments, refunds are at our discretion — we refund in particular when a technical fault on our side kept you from using PRO.
• These rules do not limit your statutory consumer rights.

9. Virtual items

Lerns, berries, shop items, streak freezes and other rewards are earned in the app. They have no monetary value, cannot be bought with money, exchanged or paid out, and are lost if you delete your account. We may correct balances that result from errors or abuse.

10. Acceptable use

You must not:

• try to bypass security, access other people's data or exploit errors;
• use bots, scrapers or other automation to copy dictionaries, texts or other content, or to send AI requests in bulk;
• choose a nickname, avatar or feedback post that is offensive, illegal, misleading or impersonates someone else.

11. Your content

Your nickname, avatar, decks, cards and feedback posts remain yours. You allow us to store them and show them where the app shows them (for example the leaderboard, friend lists or the feedback board). Your decks and cards are visible only to you. Import or add only material you are allowed to use for your own learning — for example, decks you made yourself or decks whose authors allow personal use. We may remove content that breaks section 10, and content that a rights holder credibly reports as infringing their rights.

12. AI features and guides

Explanations, examples, feedback and conversations are generated by AI (Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude) and can be wrong — check important points. Do not enter personal or sensitive information into AI features. Our guides about living abroad (registration, documents, insurance, etc.) are general information, not legal or tax advice; rules change, so confirm the details with the responsible authority.

13. Intellectual property

The software, design, mascot, illustrations, dictionaries, stories and other content of TheLernen are protected. You may use them for your own learning, including exporting your cards (for example to Anki). Copying, scraping or republishing them, or building a competing product from them, requires our written permission. Review intervals are based on the SM-2 algorithm: Algorithm SM-2, (C) Copyright SuperMemo World, 1991 (supermemo.com, supermemo.eu). Anki is a trademark of Ankitects Pty Ltd; TheLernen is not affiliated with Anki and mentions it only to describe file compatibility.

14. Availability and changes

We keep improving TheLernen and may change, add or remove features. We aim for the service to be available at all times but cannot guarantee it. If we change these Terms, we update the date above; for significant changes that affect paying users, we notify you in advance and you can cancel before they take effect.

15. Suspension

We may suspend or close accounts that break these Terms. If we close an account with a paid PRO period without any breach on your side, we refund the unused part.

16. Liability

TheLernen is provided as it is. We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence and for harm to life, body or health, and otherwise as mandatory law provides. Nothing in these Terms limits your statutory rights as a consumer.

17. Complaints

If something does not work as described, write to support@thelernen.org with a short description and, if possible, the date and a screenshot. We answer complaints within 14 days.

18. Applicable law and disputes

These Terms are governed by Polish law. If you are a consumer, you also keep the protection of the mandatory consumer law of the country where you live, and you can bring proceedings in its courts. You can also turn to a consumer advice or dispute resolution body in your country.

19. Contact

support@thelernen.org. Operator details: thelernen.org/impressum.