These are the terms for buying and using Told. They are written to be read, and they cover the whole world. If the law where you live gives you rights these terms don't mention, you have them anyway, and nothing here takes them away.
The Life Story: six guided conversations with one storyteller, run by the Told app on their phone; the story built from those conversations in the storyteller's own words, with the recording behind every quote and every fact; a private story page for the family, hosted for five years; every recording and transcript, in full, as a download that works without Told; one hardcover book, delivered; and the print-ready file so you can have more copies printed anywhere. The price is US$249 for one storyteller, paid once. Extra copies are priced when you order them.
The conversations are usually twenty to thirty minutes, about a week apart. Those are a pace, not a limit: the app never cuts a storyteller off, and the next conversation can start whenever they are ready. Six conversations is what the package includes. A life does not fit in six conversations and we don't claim it does; what you get is a portrait, in the chapters the storyteller chose, with the chapters left open listed at the back of the book.
A conversation counts as one of the six once they have talked for about its usual length, twenty-five minutes by default. If they stop early, nothing is lost and nothing is used up: that sitting is kept, the next one picks up where they left off, and short sittings add together until they make a full conversation. A long sitting counts as one conversation, not more.
An iPhone on iOS 17 or later (iPhone XR, XS or newer), an internet connection, and a little free space on the phone. Android support is planned and not yet available. The conversations are in English; names, places and words from other languages are kept as said. If these don't fit your situation, tell us before you pay and we will say honestly whether Told can work for you.
You start by telling us who the story is for. Nothing is charged until you decide to go ahead. When you do, you pay the full price through our payment provider, and the record is set up. First-edition places are limited and go in the order they are reserved.
You read the finished story before we print anything. If, having read it, you cannot say "that's them", tell us before we print and we refund the full price. You keep every recording and every transcript; access to the hosted story page ends on refund, and the book is not printed. That's the whole condition. There is no form and no argument.
Once you have approved the story and we have printed the book, the guarantee has done its job and the sale is final, except where the book arrives damaged or faulty, in which case we replace it, and except for any rights the consumer law where you live gives you.
The storyteller must agree to be recorded. The app records their consent in their own voice at the start, and they can withdraw it at any time. By setting up a record you confirm that the storyteller knows what Told is and has agreed to take part, or that you are their parent or guardian. The storyteller decides who may hear the recordings, can change that from their phone, can leave anything out, can stop, and can delete everything. The family manages the story within what the storyteller has allowed, not beyond it. The storyteller also chooses what happens to the recordings after their death, and we follow that instruction.
If the storyteller cannot continue partway through, everything recorded so far is kept within what they allowed, we build the story from what exists, and the book can still be printed. The guarantee applies in the same way.
The recordings, the transcripts and the story belong to the storyteller and, within what the storyteller allows, the family. Photos you add remain yours. You give us permission to store, process, transcribe and print this material for the purpose of providing the service, and for nothing else. We own the Told software, the interview method and the design of the book, and you may use the print-ready file to print as many copies as you like for the family.
We build the story from the storyteller's actual words. Connecting sentences are short and plain. Every quote and every factual sentence in the story points to the recording it came from, and anything we can't tie to the recording is flagged for a person to check before printing. We never create a synthetic version of the storyteller's voice and never generate words in their name. Names, dates and relationships are checked against the recordings by you, and a person reads every story before it is printed. Our privacy page says what we collect and who else touches it.
The family story page is included for five years from delivery. After that you can continue it for a small yearly fee, or simply keep your copies. You can download the complete archive at any time. If we ever stopped hosting, we would tell you in advance and give you your full download; the download is the part we can promise unconditionally, and it works without us.
You may add photos and captions to the story. You confirm you have the right to use them. Captions are printed as the family's words and are marked as such, so the storyteller's words stay theirs.
Told is for recording a person's own story with their agreement. Don't use it to record someone without their knowledge, to record material that is unlawful where you or the storyteller live, or to reproduce someone else's copyrighted work. We can decline or close a record that is used that way, and refund any amount the law requires.
The book is printed after you approve the story and delivered to the address you give us. Delivery times depend on where you are; we will tell you the expected time when you approve. Customs duties and taxes on delivery, where they apply, are yours.
We keep every recording in full, backed up, and we practise restoring them. If we lose a recording, which is the thing we work hardest to prevent, we will tell you and refund the full price, and you keep everything that survives. Beyond refunding what you paid and replacing a faulty book, our liability to you is limited to the extent the law allows; nothing in these terms limits liability that the law says cannot be limited.
We may update these terms; if a change affects a record already in progress we will email the family account before it takes effect, and the terms in force when you paid apply to that record unless you agree otherwise. These terms are governed by the law of the country in which the Told operating company is registered, which is shown on your receipt, without affecting your consumer rights where you live. Questions and complaints go to hello@told.media, where a person will answer.