Rectoly — Terms of Use

Last updated August 26, 2026

These Terms of Use govern your use of Rectoly (the "App"), developed by Hawk Eye ("we," "us"). By downloading or using the App, you agree to these Terms and to Apple's Standard End User License Agreement, which also applies except where these Terms provide otherwise.

License

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use Rectoly on Apple devices you own or control, for your personal, non-commercial use, subject to Apple's App Store Terms of Service and these Terms.

Independence and trademarks

Rectoly is an independent, third-party client. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or otherwise associated with Elsevier B.V., Mendeley Ltd., the Corporation for Digital Scholarship, or Zotero. "Mendeley" is a trademark of Elsevier B.V. and its affiliates; "Zotero" is a trademark of the Corporation for Digital Scholarship. Those names are used only to describe what Rectoly is compatible with, in the form "Rectoly for Mendeley" and "Rectoly for Zotero."

Rectoly connects to those services through their publicly documented APIs and under their respective developer terms. Your use of Mendeley or Zotero themselves is governed by their own terms and privacy policies, not by these Terms. Access to those APIs is outside our control: if a provider changes, limits, or withdraws its API, some or all sync features may stop working, and we are not liable for that.

Your account and content

Rectoly connects to your own Mendeley or Zotero account to read and sync your reference library. You are responsible for the accuracy and legality of the documents you import and annotate. We do not claim ownership of your documents, highlights, underlines, sticky notes, or handwriting — they remain yours.

Data, backups, and your responsibility

Rectoly is an app for reading and annotating the references you keep in Mendeley or Zotero. It is not a storage, archival, or backup service, and it does not guarantee that any document, annotation, or setting will be preserved, synced, or recoverable.

• You are solely responsible for maintaining your own backups of any data that matters to you — through the official desktop application, your Mendeley or Zotero account, iCloud, or external storage — before and while you use Rectoly.
• Data may be lost or corrupted for reasons that include, without limitation: device loss, damage, or reset; deleting the App; operating-system or App updates; failed, partial, or conflicting syncs; changes, outages, or rate limits on the Mendeley or Zotero side; iCloud or network failures; and defects in the App itself.
• Sync resolves conflicts automatically where it can. Where a conflict cannot be resolved, an edit made on one device may be overwritten by another. Verify anything critical against your authoritative copy.
• Deleting the App, or signing out, may remove locally stored documents, annotations, and handwriting from your device.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we accept no liability whatsoever for the loss, corruption, or unavailability of data, or for any delay to or disruption of research or other activity, arising from your use of the App.

Subscriptions and free trial

Rectoly may offer a free trial period followed by an auto-renewing subscription, billed through your Apple ID.

• Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase.
• Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
• Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, at the price you agreed to.
• You can manage or cancel a subscription any time in your Apple ID account settings; cancelling does not refund the current period.
• Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited if you purchase a subscription during the trial period.

Acceptable use

You agree not to use Rectoly to infringe copyright, distribute malware, or violate applicable law. We may suspend access to sync features if we detect abuse of the Mendeley or Zotero integration or attempts to circumvent purchase requirements.

Disclaimer of warranty

Rectoly is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee the App will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, that it will remain compatible with any third-party service, or that any data will be preserved or accurately synced.

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hawk Eye is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, nor for any loss or corruption of data, loss of annotations or documents, delay to or interruption of research, academic, or professional activity, or loss of profits or opportunity, arising from or related to your use of, or inability to use, the App — even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Where liability cannot be excluded, our total aggregate liability is limited to the amount you actually paid for the App in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation of certain damages, so parts of the two sections above may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including liability for willful misconduct or gross negligence, or rights you have under mandatory consumer-protection law.

Changes to the App or these Terms

We may update the App and these Terms from time to time. Continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to sync-related features if you violate these Terms. You may stop using the App and delete it at any time. Export or back up anything you want to keep before you do.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Japan, unless applicable consumer-protection law requires otherwise.

Contact

Questions about these Terms: rectoly.app@gmail.com