Legal
Terms of use
By downloading or using Fathom (the “App”), you agree to these terms. The App is published by Ewan Croft, an individual developer based in the United Kingdom (“the developer”), contactable at contact@ewancroft.uk.
1. Licence
Fathom is free and open-source software licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0). Your rights to use, study, modify and redistribute the App come from that licence. Nothing in these terms restricts the freedoms the AGPL-3.0 grants you; where these terms and the AGPL-3.0 conflict, the AGPL-3.0 prevails.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 13 years old to use Fathom. If you are under 18, you should have your parent or guardian's permission.
3. What Fathom is, and is not
Fathom is a read-only client. It does not host content, operate a social network, provide user accounts or write to your repository. You bring your own AT Protocol identity and your own Personal Data Server (PDS). The developer operates no accounts for the App and charges nothing for it.
Fathom is not affiliated with teal.fm, Bluesky or any PDS operator. Those services are governed by their own terms.
4. Acceptable use
You may use Fathom under the AGPL-3.0. You must not use it to break the law, to interfere with another person's service, or to access records you are not permitted to access. The records Fathom reads are public, but the person who wrote them still has rights in them.
5. The decentralised network
Fathom reads from a decentralised network. The developer has no control over content published by other people, the availability of PDSs, identity directories or other network infrastructure, or the accuracy of records written by other clients. You may encounter content you find objectionable; the developer is not responsible for it.
6. “As is” basis and liability
Fathom is provided free of charge, “as is” and “as available”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability, satisfactory quality or fitness for a particular purpose, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
To that same extent, the developer is not liable for data loss, service interruptions, lost profits, or any indirect or consequential loss, or for problems arising from your PDS, the AT Protocol network or any third-party service.
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes the developer's liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. If you are a consumer, you have statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other UK consumer law that these terms do not affect. Nothing here requires you to accept a limitation broader than the AGPL-3.0's own disclaimer in sections 15 to 17 of that licence.
7. Availability and changes
Fathom is distributed through GitHub Releases, AltStore Classic and a self-hosted F-Droid repository. AltStore Classic re-signs the IPA with your own Apple ID; it is not an App Store download. F-Droid installs the APK signed by the Fathom release key. Those distribution services are governed by their own terms, and the developer may stop publishing at any time.
Fathom is under active development. Features, behaviour and performance may change, break or be removed without notice. The developer may discontinue distribution or updates at any time. Because Fathom is AGPL-3.0 software, you keep the copy you have and the right to fork it.
8. Support
Support is offered on a best-effort basis through the GitHub issue tracker. No service level is promised.
9. Termination
You may stop using Fathom at any time by disconnecting and uninstalling it. Sections 4, 5, 6 and 10 survive termination.
10. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the United Kingdom, you may bring proceedings in your own jurisdiction and you keep the protection of any mandatory consumer law that applies where you live.
11. Changes to these terms
These terms may be updated to reflect new features or legal requirements. The effective date at the top always reflects the current version, and the full history is in the public Git repository. Material changes will be surfaced in the app or in the release notes. If you do not agree to a change, stop using the App.
12. Contact
Questions about these terms: contact@ewancroft.uk, or open an issue on the Fathom repository.