Slate

Terms and conditions

The agreement for using Slate while it is in its invite-only beta.

Last updated 15 September 2026

The short version: Slate is pre-release software, offered free and as-is while it is tested. Your notes stay yours, and they live on your own devices, so keep backups. Be decent with the service. You must be 18 or older.
1. The agreement 2. Eligibility 3. The beta 4. Your account 5. Your content 6. Feedback 7. Acceptable use 8. The software 9. Third-party services 10. Fees 11. Ending 12. No warranty 13. Liability 14. Indemnity 15. Governing law 16. General

1. The agreement

These terms are an agreement between you and Adam Davis, an individual developer in Florida, United States (“I”, “me”), who builds and runs Slate. They cover the Slate apps for Mac and the web, Slate accounts and sync, the Slate Clipper, the plugin catalogue, the website at slatenotes.app, and the early-access program (together, “Slate”). By submitting the early-access form, creating an account, or using Slate, you agree to these terms and to the privacy policy. If you don't agree, don't use Slate.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding agreement. You may use Slate only where the law allows it.

3. The beta

4. Your account

Give an accurate email address. Keep your account password and your vault password safe; you are responsible for activity under your account. Synced notes are encrypted with a key only your vault password can open, so if you lose your vault password, I cannot recover your synced data. Copies on your devices are unaffected. Tell me promptly at privacy@slatenotes.app if you think your account has been compromised.

5. Your content

Your notes and files are yours. I claim no ownership of them. You give me only the permission needed to store and transmit your encrypted data so sync works, and it ends when you delete that data or your account. Synced content is end-to-end encrypted, and I cannot read it. You are responsible for what you store and for having the right to store it.

If you publish a plugin to the catalogue, you give me a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, review, list and distribute it to Slate users, and you confirm you have the right to do so.

6. Feedback

Feedback is the point of the beta, and it is welcome. If you send ideas, suggestions or bug reports, I may use them to improve Slate, without owing you payment or credit. I won't publish your name alongside feedback without asking.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

8. The software

During the beta, I grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use Slate for your own notes. Slate includes open-source components, which remain under their own licenses; see the notices that ship with the app. Names, logos and the Slate brand are not licensed to you.

9. Third-party services

Some features connect to services I don't run, such as AI providers you choose, weather and rate services, music sources, and plugins by other authors. Your use of those is governed by their terms, and I'm not responsible for them. Usage you incur with an AI provider, such as API charges, is between you and that provider.

10. Fees

The beta is free. If paid plans are introduced later, you will be told in advance, and you won't be charged for anything you haven't agreed to buy.

11. Ending

You can stop using Slate at any time. To delete your account and synced data, email privacy@slatenotes.app. I may suspend or end your access if you break these terms, if it's needed to protect the service or other users, or when the beta ends. Where reasonable, I'll give notice and time to export first. Your local notes are unaffected either way: they are files on your device. Sections 5 (plugin license), 6, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 survive the end of this agreement.

12. No warranty

Slate is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of data loss. To the fullest extent the law allows, all such warranties are disclaimed.

13. Liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, I will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost data, profits or goodwill, arising from or related to Slate, even if advised of the possibility. My total liability for any claim relating to Slate is limited to the greater of the amount you paid me for Slate in the twelve months before the claim, or fifty US dollars (US$50).

Some places don't allow these exclusions or limits, so some may not apply to you. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law.

14. Indemnity

If you use Slate in breach of these terms or the law, and that leads to a claim against me by someone else, you agree to cover the reasonable costs of that claim, to the extent the law allows.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida and applicable US federal law, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Florida, and both parties consent to their jurisdiction. If you live in a country whose consumer laws give you the right to bring claims in your local courts, or under your local law, this section doesn't take that right away.

16. General

Contact

Adam Davis · Florida, United States · privacy@slatenotes.app