Sauna Score — Terms of Service

Last updated: May 30, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Sauna Score mobile application ("the Service") you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). The Service is provided by Gaialab ("Gaialab", "Company", "we", "us", or "our"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

These Terms incorporate by reference the Privacy Policy and any Apple App Store standard end-user license agreement that applies to your installation.

2. Description of Service

Sauna Score is the attribution layer for a regular sauna and cold-immersion practice. The Service reads from Apple Health and works with any compatible wearable that writes biometric data into it — including Apple Watch, Garmin, Oura, and Whoop. No additional device is required beyond an iPhone. The Service offers:

• A weekly attribution analysis comparing your HRV, resting heart rate, and sleep on weeks you hit your protocol cadence against weeks you did not — the adherence-stratified design used by the cohort studies the protocols are derived from.
• A headline Sauna Score and component scores (adherence, response, sleep score) computed from your Apple Health data, each rendered with an explicit confidence band that indicates whether the underlying signal is detectable, below threshold, or insufficient.
• A daily readiness signal ("Go hot", "Go gentle", "Skip") derived from your recent HRV, resting heart rate, sleep, and accumulated heat load.
• A protocol catalog (Laukkanen baseline, Søberg contrast, Japanese totonou, Beginner ramp-up) with research citations and a cadence target the Service holds you to.
• A post-session journal for duration, temperature, mood, confounder tags, and notes.
• An end-of-session alarm scheduled through iOS, delivered with Time-Sensitive priority so it breaks through Focus modes and rings when the phone is locked.
• Optional write-back of each session to Apple Health as a Preparation & Recovery workout and a Mindful Session.

3. Subscriptions and Billing

3.1 Free tier

The timer, journal, protocol catalog, and Apple Health write-through are available at no cost for as long as the Service is offered.

3.2 Sauna Score Plus

Paid premium features ("Sauna Score Plus") unlock additional analysis — the headline Sauna Score, the Response score, the Sleep Score, the Readiness chip, and protocol-aware interpretation — on a recurring subscription basis. Indicative pricing is $7.99 / month or $29.99 / year. Final pricing in your local currency is shown by Apple at the point of purchase.

3.3 Billing through Apple

All purchases are processed by Apple via In-App Purchase. Your payment, billing details, and refund eligibility are governed by Apple's terms; we do not see or store your payment method.

3.4 Automatic renewal

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle at the then-current price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date through your Apple ID subscription settings.

3.5 Price changes

We may change subscription pricing. Apple will surface any change to you in accordance with App Store policy, and you may cancel before the change takes effect.

3.6 Free trial

If we offer a free trial, the subscription will begin and you will be charged at the end of the trial unless you cancel before it expires.

3.7 Refunds

Refunds are handled by Apple under Apple's refund policy. Where required by local law, additional refund rights apply.

4. Account Responsibilities

The current release of the Service operates without an account. Your data is local to your device. You are responsible for safeguarding the device itself and any Apple ID associated with subscription purchases.

If future releases introduce account-based features (for example, Sign in with Apple or cloud sync), the following will apply:

• Provide accurate and current information at sign-up.
• Keep your credentials confidential and notify us of any suspected unauthorized access.
• You are responsible for activity that occurs under your account.

4.1 Prohibited activity

You agree not to:

• Use the Service in a way that violates law.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code, except where such activity is expressly permitted by law.
• Attempt to access systems, accounts, or data that are not yours.
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or any third party's use of it.
• Use automated means to access the Service in a manner intended to scrape or load-test it.

5. Content and Notes

The Service allows you to record session notes and a small set of journal entries. You retain all rights to the content you write. You are responsible for ensuring your content is lawful and does not infringe the rights of any third party.

We do not host community features in the current release. Your notes are not visible to other users and are not published anywhere outside your device unless you choose to share them by your own means (for example, by exporting a session).

6. License to Use the Service

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the Service on Apple devices you own or control, solely for your personal, non-commercial use, subject to these Terms and the Apple App Store license.

7. Health and Safety — Important

The Service is informational only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Sauna practice and cold immersion carry real physiological risk including, but not limited to, heat illness, dehydration, cardiac stress, fainting, slips, and burns. You are solely responsible for your safety, your hydration, your medical fitness to undertake the practice, and your judgment in each session.

Specifically:

• The Service's scores, readiness signal, and protocol cadence suggestions are interpretive aids, not medical recommendations.
• The end-of-session alarm uses your phone's audio. If the phone is muted, in a different room, or has notifications disabled, the alarm may not reach you. Do not rely on the alarm as your only safety mechanism.
• Apple Watch and other wearable devices are not rated for sauna ambient temperatures. The Service does not support running wearable companions inside the cabin. Do not place wearables in the cabin.
• If you have a cardiovascular condition, are pregnant, have low blood pressure, take medications that affect thermoregulation, or are otherwise advised against heat exposure, consult a qualified physician before using sauna practice.

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranty of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise. To the maximum extent permitted by law we disclaim all warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, and continuous availability.

8. Intellectual Property

8.1 Our content

The Service, including its name, logo, software, interface, content, protocol descriptions, copy, and design, is owned by us or our licensors and protected by intellectual property law. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership.

8.2 Trademarks

"Sauna Score" and our logo are trademarks of Gaialab. You may not use them without our prior written permission.

8.3 Third-party content

The Service references research literature, cultural practices, and named protocols (Laukkanen, Søberg, Japanese totonou, and others). Citations are provided where applicable. Trademarks of third parties remain the property of their respective owners.

8.4 Copyright complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice to hello@gaialab.io including: a description of the work; identification of the allegedly infringing material; your contact information; a good-faith statement that the use is not authorized; and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act.

9. Third-Party Services

The Service relies on:

• Apple platforms — Apple Health (HealthKit), the App Store, In-App Purchase, and Apple Push Notification service.
• Google Firebase — Firebase Analytics for product-usage understanding and Firebase App Distribution for beta builds. The scope of data sent is described in the Privacy Policy.

We are not responsible for the availability, content, or practices of these third-party services. Your use of them is governed by their respective terms and privacy policies.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we and our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, licensors, and service providers will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, loss of data, loss of goodwill, business interruption, personal injury, or property damage, however caused, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

Without limiting the foregoing, we are not liable for:

• Misinterpretation of the Service's scores or readiness signals.
• Failure of the end-of-session alarm to reach you for any reason.
• Inaccuracies in Apple Health data or sleep-stage classification.
• Decisions you make about your practice, your health, or your medical care.

Our aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (i) the amount you paid to us for the Service in the twelve months immediately preceding the event giving rise to liability, or (ii) USD $50.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of liability for incidental or consequential damages. In such jurisdictions our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

11. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Gaialab and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any rights of a third party; or (d) content you submit through the Service.

12. Termination

12.1 By you

You may stop using the Service at any time by uninstalling the app. To cancel a Sauna Score Plus subscription, use your Apple ID subscription settings.

12.2 By us

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or if continued provision of the Service to you would be commercially unreasonable.

12.3 Effect of termination

Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including without limitation §7 (Health and Safety), §8 (Intellectual Property), §10 (Limitation of Liability), §11 (Indemnification), and §13 (Governing Law and Dispute Resolution)) will survive.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

13.1 Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Jurisdiction — e.g., "the State of California, United States"], excluding its conflict-of-laws rules, and without regard to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

13.2 Dispute resolution

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be finally settled by [binding arbitration in (forum) under the rules of (administering body)], except that either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in court for intellectual property or confidentiality matters. Each party retains the right to bring an action in small-claims court for qualifying disputes.

13.3 Class action waiver

Disputes will be brought on an individual basis only. You waive any right to participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative action.

These dispute-resolution provisions do not apply where prohibited by your local law.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this document reflects the most recent revision. For material changes we will give reasonable notice — for example, an in-app notice — before they take effect. Continuing to use the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept them, stop using the Service.

15. Miscellaneous

15.1 Entire agreement

These Terms together with the Privacy Policy and any Apple App Store license that applies to your installation constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to the Service.

15.2 Waiver and severability

Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later. If a provision is held unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.

15.3 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms freely, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets.

15.4 Apple-specific terms

You acknowledge that these Terms are between you and us only, and not with Apple, Inc. Apple is not responsible for the Service or its content. To the extent of any conflict between these Terms and the Apple-imposed terms applicable to App Store applications, the Apple terms will control as to the conflict only.

15.5 Language

The English version of these Terms controls. Translations are provided for convenience.

16. Contact

Service: Sauna Score Operator: Gaialab Email: hello@gaialab.io Website: https://saunascore.com