Terms of Use

1. Accepting these Terms

By installing, accessing or using Ruta, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use Ruta. If you are below the age at which you can enter a binding agreement in your country, a parent or legal guardian must review and accept these Terms for you.

Store, operating-system and payment-provider terms may also apply. Where those terms control billing, refunds, device usage or distribution, they apply in addition to these Terms. If you obtained Ruta from the Apple App Store, Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement also applies to your use of Ruta on Apple devices. If you obtained Ruta from Google Play, the Google Play Terms of Service also apply to your purchase and download of Ruta.

2. Your licence to use Ruta

Ruta is licensed, not sold. While your access is active, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable licence to use the supported version of Ruta on devices you own or control, subject to the rules of the relevant store or distribution channel.

You may use Ruta for personal stitching and for creating or working with designs that you are legally allowed to use. Commercial use of your own original designs is allowed. This licence does not give you rights to another designer’s pattern or to Ruta’s software, branding or internal technology.

3. Free use and free trials

Free use where Ruta Pro is sold. In versions of Ruta that sell Ruta Pro, the sample charts supplied with the app can be used in full without a purchase. You can also import up to three of your own patterns, and each of them can be looked at when its import finishes. The free imports are counted on the device. Working with your own patterns afterwards, including stitching, marking progress, editing and synchronisation, needs Ruta Pro. Your library, project details, deletion of projects and the purchase and restore screens stay available.

Store free trial. A monthly or yearly Ruta Pro subscription bought through the App Store or Google Play may start with a free trial for eligible customers. The length of the trial is shown before you confirm. Apple or Google decides who is eligible, usually once per Apple Account or Google account for the subscription. When the trial ends, the subscription is charged and then renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the trial. If you buy another Ruta Pro plan during a free trial, any unused part of the trial is forfeited where the store says so.

Ruta’s seven-day trial. In versions of Ruta that do not sell Ruta Pro, Ruta may give its own seven-day trial. The trial begins when Ruta first activates trial access on an eligible device and runs for seven consecutive 24-hour periods. Closing the app, going offline, reinstalling Ruta, changing an email address, changing accounts or deleting an account does not pause, extend or restart the trial.

The trial is generally limited to one use per eligible device and may also be limited by account or store history. Attempts to bypass or reset trial eligibility may result in access being refused or suspended.

No payment method is required to start Ruta’s own seven-day trial. It does not automatically enrol you in a paid plan and no charge is made at the end of the seven days. A seven-day trial already started in an earlier version continues until it ends. Continuing after the trial requires a separate purchase, where paid plans are offered, or a valid promotional, tester, lifetime or operator-granted entitlement.

4. What happens when access ends

When a trial, subscription, promotional grant or other Pro entitlement expires, the features that need Ruta Pro become unavailable immediately. You cannot open, view, mark, edit, export from, or continue stitching with your own projects in Ruta, including projects that were already imported while access was active. Account, support and legal screens remain available, together with purchase and restore screens in versions of Ruta that offer paid plans. In those versions, the free use described in section 3 also remains available, including any of your three free imports not yet used.

Activating any valid paid or granted entitlement, including promotional, tester, lifetime or operator-granted access, can unlock existing project data that still exists. The end of access alone does not place projects on an automatic deletion schedule. Reactivating access does not guarantee recovery of data that has separately been deleted, lost, corrupted or removed from the device.

Ruta may require an internet connection from time to time to verify access. Limited offline use may be available for a verification period shown in the app. After that period, you must connect to the internet before project functionality can continue.

5. Project data after access ends

Ruta does not automatically delete project data merely because a trial, subscription, promotional grant, tester grant, lifetime entitlement or other access period ends. The projects remain locked and cannot be used without active access.

If you later activate any valid paid or granted access, projects imported or created earlier, including during the trial, can become available again as long as their data still exists and remains compatible with the supported version of Ruta.

This is not a promise of permanent storage or recovery. Project data may still be removed or lost if you delete a project, uninstall Ruta, clear app data, delete local files, reset or lose the device, use an operating-system cleanup feature, or experience storage failure or corruption. Keep your original pattern files and any backups or exported Ruta projects available to you.

6. Paid plans, renewals and cancellation

Paid plans are not offered in every version of Ruta. In a pre-release or testing version without paid plans, access after the trial is available only through a promotional, tester or operator-granted entitlement. Where plans are offered, available plans, prices, currencies, billing periods and included features are shown before purchase. Depending on the plan and store, paid access may be a recurring subscription, a fixed-term purchase, a lifetime licence, or another product clearly described at checkout.

Ruta Pro in the App Store. On iPhone and iPad, Ruta Pro is sold through Apple’s in-app purchase as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. A subscription renews automatically for the same period unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your Apple Account is charged for the renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends. You can manage or cancel a subscription in your Apple Account settings. Purchases can be restored on another device signed in to the same Apple Account with Restore purchases in Ruta.

Ruta Pro on Google Play. On Android, Ruta Pro is sold through Google Play’s billing system as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to the payment method in your Google account when you confirm the purchase. A subscription renews automatically for the same period unless you cancel it before the next renewal date. You can manage or cancel a subscription in Google Play under Payments and subscriptions. Purchases can be restored on another Android device signed in to the same Google account with Restore purchases in Ruta.

Buying without a Ruta account. If you buy Ruta Pro while using Ruta without an account, the purchase is linked to that device’s technical session and to your Apple Account or Google account. When you then create a Ruta account or sign in on that device, Ruta moves the purchase to the account so that it also applies on your other signed-in devices. If it does not appear, use Restore purchases while signed in.

A lifetime licence or lifetime grant has no recurring subscription fee and no preset expiry date. It applies only to the Ruta product, supported platforms and included features identified when it is purchased or granted. It does not automatically include a separately sold future product, platform or service unless the offer expressly says so. Restoration may require the same store account, Ruta account or other method stated when the access is issued.

If you choose an auto-renewing subscription, the store or payment provider charges you for each billing period until you cancel. Cancel through the same store or provider that processed the purchase. Deleting Ruta, deleting your Ruta account, signing out or stopping use does not by itself cancel an auto-renewing subscription.

Unless the store or applicable law provides otherwise, cancellation stops future renewal and access continues until the end of the already-paid billing period. Refund requests, charge disputes, taxes and payment-method issues are handled under the rules of the store or payment provider and any mandatory law that applies to you. For purchases made through the App Store, refunds are requested from Apple; Ruta cannot issue them itself. For purchases made through Google Play, refunds follow Google Play’s refund policies; you can request one from Google Play or write to us.

Price changes and material plan changes will be communicated as required by the store and applicable law. Promotional and tester access has no cash value, cannot be transferred, and expires on the date or condition stated when it is granted.

7. Guest use, accounts and security

Ruta may allow you to start without creating a visible account and offers account sign-in for synchronising your projects between your devices, restoring purchases, managing access and other account-based features. You are responsible for keeping account credentials secure and for activity carried out through your account.

Tell us promptly at support@rutastitch.com if you believe an account or entitlement has been used without permission. We may require reasonable verification before changing account access or restoring a purchase.

You can request account deletion in Ruta or through our account-deletion page. Account deletion does not automatically cancel a store subscription. It removes the synchronised copies of your projects held by Ruta. Local project files may remain on the device until you remove them, uninstall or clear the app, delete the relevant local storage, or they are lost through device or storage failure. Server-held account data and any limited retention are handled as described in the Privacy Policy.

8. Your patterns, projects and intellectual property

You retain any rights you already have in your original designs, project notes, photos and other material. Importing, converting, editing or saving a pattern in Ruta does not transfer ownership to Ruta and does not change the copyright or licence status of the original pattern.

You must have the right to use every file or design you import. Ruta does not grant permission to copy, distribute, sell, publish or share a third-party pattern. Changing colours, symbols, layout or file format does not by itself make a third-party design yours or remove the designer’s rights.

You grant Ruta only the limited permission necessary to process your material for the features you choose, provide support you request, secure the service and comply with law. We do not claim a general licence to sell or publish your patterns.

Sending a file to support does not give Ruta permission to publish it, sell it, add it to a permanent compatibility corpus, or use it to train an artificial-intelligence model. We will ask for separate, express permission before any such use. We may retain support material only as described in the applicable Privacy Policy or as required by law.

9. Automated import and calculation limits

Ruta uses automated methods to interpret supported cross-stitch files. Results can be incomplete or incorrect because pattern formats, fonts, symbols, layers, scans and designer layouts vary. Ruta does not guarantee that every placement, symbol, thread, colour, stitch type, strand count, blend, backstitch line, bead, knot or instruction will be recognised correctly.

Ruta is designed to transfer chart geometry and stitching data where possible. It does not promise to interpret every written instruction, diagram note or designer-specific explanation. Keep the original pattern and compare the imported project with it before relying on the conversion.

Thread-usage estimates, fabric calculations, colour conversions, substitute-thread suggestions, stitch counts and similar outputs are estimates based on the available data and settings. Allow for waste, personal technique and source inaccuracies when purchasing materials or planning a project.

10. Local storage and backups

When you use Ruta without an account, project data exists only on the device or in the local folder where it was saved. While you are signed in to a Ruta account, Ruta synchronises your project library with private Ruta storage so that your projects and progress are available on your other signed-in devices. Projects already on the device when you sign in are added to your account. The Privacy Policy describes what a synchronised project contains.

Synchronisation is a convenience, not a guaranteed backup. It needs an internet connection and a signed-in account, can be delayed or interrupted, and reproduces deletions and changes on your other devices. A subscription or purchase receipt is not a backup of your projects.

You are responsible for keeping original pattern files and any backups or exported Ruta projects that the app allows you to create. Uninstalling Ruta, clearing app data, deleting files, storage failure, operating-system cleanup, device loss or damage can permanently remove local projects and progress, and deleting a project removes it from your devices. The stored synchronised files are removed when you delete your account. Ruta is not an archival or guaranteed backup service.

11. Acceptable use

Do not use Ruta to infringe intellectual-property or privacy rights, distribute unlawful material, introduce malicious code, interfere with the app or website, access private systems without permission, abuse support, bypass access controls, falsify purchase status, reset trial eligibility, or use automated tools to overload or scrape the service.

If you take part in the weekly leaderboard with a name or photo from your profile, do not use a name or photo that is offensive, impersonates someone or contains contact details. Ruta may replace such a name with a generated one, remove such a photo or take the entry off the board.

Do not copy, redistribute, sublicense, reverse engineer, decompile or attempt to extract Ruta’s source code or protected internal assets, except where applicable law expressly allows that activity despite this restriction or where an open-source licence permits it.

12. Ruta materials and feedback

Ruta’s software, interface, website, branding, documentation and original content belong to the developer operating Ruta or the relevant licensors. Open-source and third-party components remain subject to their own licences and notices.

If you voluntarily send ideas or suggestions, you allow us to use them to improve Ruta without payment or obligation. This feedback permission does not apply to your pattern files, private project content or material sent only for support.

13. Updates, pre-release builds and availability

Ruta may add, change or remove features as the product develops. We will not knowingly misdescribe the functionality included in a paid plan, and any mandatory consumer rights remain unaffected. Features marked beta, alpha, preview, experimental or coming soon may be incomplete, change substantially or stop being offered.

Pre-release builds may contain errors and should not be your only copy of important project data. We may suspend the app, website or a feature for maintenance, security, legal compliance or technical reasons. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability or support for every file, device, operating-system version or store.

14. Suspension and termination

We may restrict or terminate access when reasonably necessary because of a material breach of these Terms, fraud, payment reversal, trial circumvention, security risk, unlawful activity, abuse of the service, or a legal or store requirement. Where practical and lawful, we will provide notice and a reasonable way to contact support.

If Ruta permanently discontinues a paid service before the end of a period you have already paid for, we will provide the remedy required by the applicable store rules and mandatory consumer law. Termination does not transfer ownership of your patterns to Ruta.

15. Stores and third-party services

Ruta may rely on app stores, payment services, authentication providers, hosting services and other third parties. Their terms and privacy practices apply to their services. Ruta is not responsible for a third-party service outside our control, but this does not limit any responsibility that applicable law does not allow us to exclude.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and other distribution providers are not responsible for Ruta’s support or content except to the extent their own terms expressly say otherwise. References to third-party brands do not imply sponsorship or endorsement.

16. Consumer rights and warranties

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits a warranty, remedy or consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded. Where permitted by law, Ruta is provided on an “as available” basis. We do not promise that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, compatible with every pattern, or suitable for every particular purpose.

You may have additional rights in your country concerning digital content, subscriptions, cancellation, conformity, refunds or remedies. Those mandatory rights apply even if a provision of these Terms says something different.

17. Responsibility for loss

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Ruta is not responsible for indirect or unforeseeable loss, loss caused by third-party files or services, or loss that could reasonably have been avoided by keeping the original pattern and a separate backup. Nothing in these Terms excludes responsibility for fraud, deliberate misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded.

18. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms when Ruta, our business model, store requirements or the law changes. The effective date above identifies the current version. For material changes, we will provide notice in the app, on the website, by email, or through the relevant store when reasonably required.

Changes apply prospectively from their stated effective date. They do not remove mandatory rights or retroactively reduce access already paid for, except where a change is required by law, security or a store rule.

19. Applicable law and disputes

Mandatory consumer protections and courts available to you under the law of your country remain unaffected.

These Terms do not select a particular governing law or require disputes to be brought exclusively in a particular court. Applicable law and jurisdiction are determined under the applicable legal rules. Separate app-store and payment-provider terms apply to your dealings with those providers.

Before starting formal proceedings, please contact us so we can try to resolve the issue. This does not restrict your right to contact a consumer authority, payment provider, app store or court.

20. Contact

Questions about these Terms, permissions or support can be sent to support@rutastitch.com. Ruta Stitch is an independent software project operated by Olesia Artymchuk, an individual developer. Verified developer or seller information may also be shown in the relevant app-store listing, distribution page or purchase receipt.