PolycastTerms of use
Last updated 18 October 2026
These terms are between you and Finlay Panting, the independent developer in Salzburg, Austria who makes Polycast. By using Polycast you agree to them. Apple's standard licence agreement for apps also applies; where the two differ, these terms apply.
What Polycast is
Polycast helps you learn a language by listening to real podcasts with subtitles, translations and a spoken guide. Episodes come from each show's own public feed. Polycast doesn't own the shows and isn't connected to the people who make them, unless it says so.
Your account
You need an account to use Polycast. Keep access to the email or Apple account you sign in with, and tell Polycast if you think someone else is using your account. You must be at least 14 to use Polycast. You can delete your account in the app at any time.
Free and Plus
- Free: every episode that's already been prepared, with subtitles, plus the guide on one episode a week. Early accounts may also get one free episode of their own choosing to prepare.
- Plus: the guide on every episode, your whole word bank with spaced reviews, and up to 5 hours of new episodes a month. €4.99 a month or €49 a year, or the equivalent shown in the App Store in your country.
Plus is bought through the App Store and renews automatically at the end of each period unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it ends. You can manage or cancel it in your iPhone's Settings under your Apple Account, then Subscriptions. Payment, refunds and any consumer rights to withdraw from the purchase are handled by Apple under its terms. Unused hours don't carry over to the next month.
If prices or what's included change, you'll be told in the app before it affects you, and you can cancel before it does.
Using your own API keys
If you choose to prepare episodes with your own ElevenLabs and Google keys, those companies charge you directly under your own agreements with them. Polycast shows estimates where it can, but you're responsible for what's spent on your keys. Episodes you prepare join the shared library, so other learners can listen to them too.
Fair use
Please use Polycast for your own learning. Don't:
- copy, re-publish or sell episodes, transcripts, translations or lessons from Polycast;
- use scripts or bots to access the service, or try to get around allowances, limits or security;
- use Polycast to break the law or anyone else's rights.
If someone does, Polycast may limit or close their account. Unless it's urgent or serious, you'll be told first and given a chance to explain.
The podcasts
Shows belong to their creators. Audio streams from their own feeds, with their adverts left in, and Polycast never re-hosts it. Creators can ask for their show to be removed on the creators page.
Translations and the guide
Transcripts, translations, lessons and the guide's voice are made with AI. They're checked for quality, but they will sometimes be wrong. Please don't rely on them for anything where an error really matters, such as medical, legal or safety information.
Availability and changes
Polycast is a young app made by one person. It will change as it grows, features may come and go, and it may sometimes be unavailable. If Polycast ever closes for good, you'll be told at least 30 days ahead.
Liability
Nothing in these terms limits your rights as a consumer under the law where you live, or liability for harm caused on purpose or through gross negligence, or for injury to life, body or health. Beyond that, and as far as the law allows, Polycast is provided as it is, and liability for slight negligence is limited to breaches of essential obligations and to damage that was foreseeable.
Changes to these terms
If these terms change in a way that matters, the app will tell you at least 30 days before. If you don't agree, you can stop using Polycast and delete your account.
Law
Austrian law applies, but if you're a consumer you also keep the protection of the law of the country you live in. You can take a dispute to the courts where you live or in Salzburg.