Terms of Use
Last updated: May 17, 2026
By buying or using Fieldnotes, you’re agreeing to these terms. They’re written to be readable. If you don’t agree with them, please request a refund and stop using the app.
What you’re buying
You’re buying a perpetual, non-transferable license to install and run Fieldnotes on Macs you personally own. “Personally” means one human — across however many of your own Macs you want, including a desktop and a laptop, but not shared with other people. If you need licenses for a team, email hi@fieldnotes.fm.
You own the audio, transcripts, and any other content you create with Fieldnotes. We don’t claim any rights to your meetings, your words, or your notes. Those files live on your machine and they’re yours.
What you can do
- Install and run Fieldnotes on your personal Macs
- Use it to record any audio you have the legal right to record
- Export your data, share it, modify it, delete it — it’s yours
- Use Fieldnotes for personal or commercial work
What you can’t do
- Resell, sublicense, rent, or redistribute the app or the bundled AI models
- Reverse-engineer the app to extract the bundled models for use outside Fieldnotes
- Use Fieldnotes to record people without their consent where consent is legally required
You’re responsible for what you record
Recording laws vary. Some places require consent from every party to a conversation; some only require yours; some require none. We don’t know where you are or who you’re recording, and we can’t check for you. Knowing and following the law in your jurisdiction is on you.
Refunds
We offer a 30-day, no-questions-asked refund. See the refund policy for details.
Honest disclaimers
Fieldnotes is provided “as is.” The on-device transcription and speaker diarization are state of the art for what runs locally, but they’re not perfect — expect mistakes with accents, technical jargon, or overlapping speech. Don’t treat the output as the sole record for anything critical (legal proceedings, medical records, contracts). Verify important content against the original audio.
We can’t guarantee that Fieldnotes will be bug-free, that it will run on every future version of macOS, or that the bundled models will produce any particular transcript quality on any particular audio.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Fieldnotes and its maker are not liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising from your use of the app. Total liability is limited to the amount you paid for the app ($14.99).
Updates to the app
We may release updates that add features, fix bugs, or change how the app works. These updates are part of the license you bought. We may also discontinue Fieldnotes in the future — if that happens, the version you’ve already installed continues to work, because nothing depends on our servers.
Updates to these terms
If we change these terms in a meaningful way, we’ll update this page and re-date it. Continued use of Fieldnotes after a change means you accept the updated terms.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Kansas, United States. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Johnson County, Kansas.