Cord legal

Terms of Service

These Terms govern your use of Cord, the Cord website, software updates, and related services provided by Merge Labs Ltd.

Effective and last updated: August 22, 2026

Important recording notice: Cord does not announce recording to the other participant. Recording and using a call may require every participant's prior consent. You are responsible for determining and obeying the laws and duties that apply to each call.

1. Agreement and provider

Cord is provided by Merge Labs Ltd ("Merge," "we," "us," or "our"). These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and Merge governing the Cord application, cordmac.app website, downloads, updates, support, and related features (collectively, the "Service").

By downloading, installing, accessing, purchasing, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service. If you use Cord for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and "you" includes it.

2. Eligibility

You must be legally capable of entering this agreement. If you are under the age of legal majority where you live, you may use Cord only with the authorization and supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms. The Service is not directed to children under 13, who may not use it.

3. What Cord does

Cord detects and records calls that are routed through the Phone app on a compatible Mac. Depending on your settings, it can start recording automatically, retain audio temporarily for an in-app save decision, identify a caller from the visible call card and Contacts, store and organize recordings locally, and back up finalized recording packages to your own iCloud account.

Cord depends on compatible Apple hardware, macOS and iPhone versions, Phone app behavior, Calls on Other Devices, permissions, audio routing, Contacts, iCloud, and other Apple services. Features can be unavailable, delayed, or changed by system updates, permissions, device settings, network conditions, or Apple's policies.

4. Your recording and privacy obligations

Laws governing call recording, interception, eavesdropping, wiretapping, surveillance, confidentiality, personal data, employment monitoring, and use of recordings vary by place, participant, context, and intended use. Some require the prior consent of every participant even if others require only one participant's consent. The absence of an audible announcement does not mean recording is lawful.

Before recording, retaining, transcribing, exporting, disclosing, or otherwise using a call, you agree that you will:

determine which laws, professional duties, contracts, policies, and court rules apply to you, every participant, and every relevant location;
provide all notices and obtain all consents or other lawful authority before recording begins;
respect withdrawal of consent and applicable access, deletion, confidentiality, and data-protection rights;
use, secure, retain, share, and delete recordings only as lawfully permitted; and
not rely on Cord as legal advice or as proof that any recording or use is lawful or admissible.

You are the person who controls the call content and recording decisions. Merge does not monitor your compliance and does not receive your recordings in the current Service. If you are uncertain whether you may record, do not record until you obtain advice from a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction.

5. License

Direct-download version

Subject to these Terms, Merge grants you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, and non-transferable license to install and use Cord on devices you own or control for your lawful personal or internal business purposes.

Mac App Store version

Apps obtained through Apple's App Store are licensed, not sold. Your license to the App Store version is governed by Apple's Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement ("Apple Standard EULA"), unless a custom EULA is presented in the App Store. These Terms supplement, and do not replace, the Apple Standard EULA. If they conflict on the license to the App Store copy, the Apple Standard EULA controls.

Apple is not responsible for maintaining or supporting Cord. To the extent the Apple Standard EULA provides rights or remedies involving Apple, those provisions remain in effect. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of the Apple-related provisions of these Terms and may enforce them.

6. License restrictions and acceptable use

Except where applicable law expressly allows it, you may not:

copy, sell, rent, lease, sublicense, distribute, or make the Service available as a hosted or shared service;
reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, defeat technical protections, or attempt to derive source code, except to the limited extent a prohibition is unenforceable or an open-source license permits it;
modify Cord or use our names, branding, or assets to create a confusing or unauthorized derivative product;
interfere with, probe, overload, bypass, or gain unauthorized access to the Service or related infrastructure;
use Cord to harass, stalk, threaten, defraud, blackmail, discriminate against, or violate the privacy, confidentiality, intellectual-property, or other rights of any person;
record a call you are not authorized to join or use malware, deceptive routing, or another method to capture communications without lawful authority; or
use the Service in violation of law, sanctions, export controls, platform rules, or these Terms.

7. Your recordings and other content

As between you and Merge, you retain any rights you have in your recordings, notes, tags, and other content. These Terms do not give Merge ownership of that content. Cord processes it locally at your direction, and optional iCloud Backup copies finalized packages to your Apple account. You grant Merge only the limited permission necessary for Cord to perform actions you request on your device.

You represent that you have all rights, permissions, notices, and legal bases required to create and process your content. You are responsible for its accuracy, legality, security, retention, export, backup, and disclosure. Deleting Cord, disabling iCloud Backup, or deleting a recording in one location may not delete device backups, iCloud copies, exports, or copies held by recipients.

8. Privacy, permissions, and analytics

Cord's data practices are described in our Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy explains how Cord handles information. Where consent is legally required, Cord will ask for it separately. Cord requires certain macOS permissions for Screen & System Audio, Microphone, Contacts, and Notifications. You control these permissions in System Settings, but disabling them may prevent features from working.

Cord sends limited anonymous product analytics that exclude call content and identity data. We process technical and product-interaction information to operate, protect, support, and improve the Service as described in the Privacy Policy.

9. iCloud and other third-party services

If you enable iCloud Backup, Apple stores the recording packages in your iCloud account under Apple's terms and privacy policy. The App Store, macOS, iPhone, Phone, Contacts, iCloud, and any links or share destinations are third-party products or services. Their availability and processing are governed by their providers' terms. Merge is not responsible for third-party services, account security, outages, changes, or acts and omissions.

Cord and Merge are independent of Apple Inc. References to Apple products and use of Apple platform services do not imply sponsorship, endorsement, partnership, or agency beyond the applicable developer, distribution, and service relationships.

10. Paid features, subscriptions, and refunds

Cord may offer paid features or auto-renewing subscriptions in the future. The plan, price, billing period, included features, trial terms, and renewal disclosures shown at purchase are part of these Terms. App Store purchases are billed and managed by Apple under your Apple account and Apple's payment terms. Merge does not receive your payment-card details.

You can manage or cancel an App Store subscription through your Apple account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period unless applicable law or the purchase terms say otherwise. Payments are non-refundable except where required by law or Apple's policies. We may change future prices or plans with the notice required by the store and applicable law; a change will not retroactively alter a period already paid for.

11. Updates, changes, and service availability

We may provide fixes, security changes, feature changes, or compatibility updates. Direct-download builds may check Cord's update service for updates; App Store builds obtain updates through Apple. Some updates may be required for continued safe or compatible use.

We may add, change, suspend, or discontinue a feature or the Service. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability, compatibility with future Apple software or hardware, perfect call detection, complete audio, accurate caller identification, successful backup or restore, or that a recording will be legally admissible.

12. Safety and backups

Cord is not designed for emergency calls, life-safety use, regulated evidence preservation, or as the only record of critical information. Do not rely on it where a missed, incomplete, corrupted, or unavailable recording could cause serious harm. Verify important recordings promptly and maintain lawful independent backups.

13. Ownership

The Service, including its software, design, branding, website, and documentation, is owned by Merge and its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property law. Except for the limited license above, no right or license is granted to you. Third-party and open-source components remain subject to their applicable licenses.

14. Feedback

Feedback is voluntary. You grant Merge a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, and incorporate feedback without restriction or payment.

15. Suspension and termination

You may stop using Cord at any time. These Terms and your license terminate automatically if you materially breach them. We may suspend access to network or paid features where reasonably necessary to address a breach, security risk, fraud, legal requirement, or platform restriction. Where appropriate, we will give notice and a reasonable opportunity to cure.

On termination, you must stop using and delete copies of Cord for which the license ended. Provisions that by their nature should survive—including ownership, recording responsibility, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnity, governing law, and dispute terms—will survive. Termination does not automatically delete local, iCloud, backup, or exported recordings.

16. Disclaimer of warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITH ALL FAULTS. MERGE AND ITS LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

We do not warrant that Cord will detect or record every call, capture both parties, identify a caller correctly, preserve a recording, remain compatible with Apple services, or satisfy any legal notice, consent, evidence, or recordkeeping requirement. Nothing in these Terms excludes a warranty or consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

17. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MERGE AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND LICENSORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, RECORDINGS, GOODWILL, BUSINESS, OR OPPORTUNITY, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED THAT SUCH DAMAGE IS POSSIBLE.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Merge's total aggregate liability arising from or related to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid Merge or through the App Store for Cord during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim or (b) US$50. These exclusions and limits apply regardless of the legal theory and even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose.

The limits do not apply where prohibited by law, including liability that cannot be limited for fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, death or personal injury, or mandatory consumer rights. Some jurisdictions do not permit certain exclusions, so part of this section may not apply to you.

18. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Merge and its affiliates, officers, employees, and agents from third-party claims, damages, judgments, penalties, and reasonable costs (including legal fees) arising from your unlawful recording or use of a communication, your content, your material breach of these Terms, or your violation of another person's rights. This duty does not apply to the extent a claim was caused by Merge, and it does not reduce any non-waivable consumer protection.

19. Export and sanctions compliance

You may not use, export, or re-export Cord except as authorized by United States law, Israeli law, and the laws of the jurisdiction where you obtained it. You represent that you are not prohibited from receiving the Service under applicable sanctions or export-control rules and will not use it for a prohibited end use.

20. Governing law and disputes

Before filing a claim, please contact us and give us a reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue informally. Except where mandatory law provides otherwise, these Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Israel, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and the competent courts of Tel Aviv, Israel will have exclusive jurisdiction.

21. Changes to these Terms

We may revise these Terms to reflect changes to Cord, law, providers, or risk. We will post the revised Terms and update the effective date. Changes apply prospectively. If you do not agree to revised Terms, stop using the Service before they take effect.

22. General

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Apple Standard EULA where applicable, and any purchase-specific terms are the entire agreement about the Service. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the rest will remain effective. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; Merge may assign them in connection with a reorganization, merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to applicable law. Neither party is liable for delay caused by events beyond reasonable control.

23. Contact

Merge Labs Ltd
Email: contact@activeday.app