Terms of Use & License
Last updated: 3 July 2026
We wrote these in plain English on purpose. They are the actual, binding terms — there is no second, scarier document hiding behind them.
1. Who you're dealing with
Calyston is video management software made by an independent developer. Purchases are processed by Paddle, our merchant of record — Paddle handles the checkout, payment, VAT, and invoices under their own buyer terms. The software license itself comes from us, under the terms on this page.
2. Your license
Each tier grants you the right to run Calyston as follows:
- Community (free) — personal, non-commercial use, up to 4 cameras. "Non-commercial" means homes and personal property. If a business relies on it, that's what the paid tiers are for.
- Pro (yearly) — commercial use allowed, up to 16 cameras, all features, updates included while the subscription is active.
- Pro Forever (one-time) — a perpetual license: all Pro features, up to 16 cameras, forever. Includes updates for your current major version plus at least 3 future major releases; after that, further updates are an optional yearly add-on — or simply keep using the version you have, at no further cost. Pro Forever is a launch offer sold only during Calyston's first year; retiring it from sale never affects licenses already purchased.
- Founder Edition (one-time, limited) — a perpetual license with all Pro features, up to 32 cameras, and updates for every future version, forever.
One license activates one machine at a time. Moving to a new machine is free and unlimited — release the old activation and activate the new one. Sharing one key across several machines at once isn't allowed; for multiple sites, buy a license per machine (bundles available — ask us). A free 14-day Pro trial is available once per installation, no payment details required.
3. What we promise about expiry and going offline
Your system is never held hostage. Calyston runs fully offline. A perpetual license (Pro Forever, Founder) is never remotely disabled — not by expiry, not by us going out of business, not by anything. If a Pro subscription lapses, you get a 30-day grace period, after which Calyston falls back to Community features on its own — recordings, settings, and accounts all stay intact. Nothing is ever deleted because of licensing.
4. Updates
We ship roughly one major version per year, plus fixes in between. What updates you receive is defined by your tier (section 2). Installing updates is always your choice — nothing updates itself without you asking.
5. Your responsibilities
- Camera surveillance is regulated. You are responsible for using Calyston lawfully where you live — filming only where you're allowed to, posting signage where required, and respecting others' privacy. Calyston is a tool; how it's pointed is on you.
- Don't redistribute, resell, or rent the software or your license key, and don't tamper with or circumvent the license mechanism.
- Keep your admin credentials and license key to yourself.
6. What Calyston is not
Calyston is not a certified life-safety or alarm system. Don't rely on it as your only line of defense for anything where a missed event could harm people or property — no software-only system, ours included, should be used that way.
7. Warranty and liability
Calyston is provided "as is". We work hard to make it reliable — but we can't lawfully promise software is perfect, so we don't. To the extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim is capped at the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. Nothing in these terms limits rights that consumer law gives you and that can't be waived — including your 30-day money-back guarantee.
8. Support
Support is the developer answering you directly — on Discord or by email — for every tier, free included. We answer everything; we just don't promise a contractual response time.
9. Changes
If we change these terms, the date at the top changes and material changes get announced in the release notes and on Discord. Changes never take away what a perpetual license already granted you.
10. Governing law
These terms are governed by European Union law and, where national law applies, by the law of the EU member state in which Calyston is established. If you're a consumer, mandatory consumer protections of your home country still apply.
Questions?
Ask us directly — a real human reads every message.