Terms of Use

Pearla Camera App & Website

Effective Date: 20 Feb 2024 | Last Updated: 15 Mar 2026

1. Introduction and Acceptance

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you (“you”, “your”, or “user”) and House of Mars, a company registered in England and Wales, with its registered address at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom (“we”, “us”, “our”, or “House of Mars”).

These Terms govern your access to and use of the Pearla camera application (the “App”) and the Pearla website at https://pearla.houseofmars.io (the “Website”). Together, the App and Website are referred to as the “Services”.

Pearla is a professional camera application designed for professional photographers, cinematographers, and serious photography enthusiasts. The Website provides information, educational resources, and supplementary downloads related to the App.

By creating an account, downloading, installing, or using the App, or by accessing the Website, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Services.

These Terms should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data.

2. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time for one or more of the following reasons:

(a) changes to the Services, including the introduction, modification, or removal of features or functionality;

(b) changes in applicable law, regulation, or regulatory guidance;

(d) operational or business changes that affect how we provide the Services.

When we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated Terms on our Website and/or within the App, and by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this document.

Your continued use of the Services after such changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you should stop using the Services and delete your account.

We encourage you to review these Terms periodically to stay informed of any updates.

3. Eligibility

The Services are available to individuals worldwide. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that:

(a) you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement in your jurisdiction;

(b) you will comply with these Terms and all applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations;

(c) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country; and

(d) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

Pearla is a professional-grade application designed for and marketed to adult photographers, cinematographers, and serious enthusiasts. While we do not impose a specific minimum age requirement, the App is not directed at, designed for, or marketed to children. For further information on how we address children’s privacy, please refer to Section 7 of our Privacy Policy.

4. Account Registration and Security

4.1 Account Creation

To use the App, you must create an account using Sign in with Apple. By creating an account, you agree to provide accurate and complete information as required by the registration process.

4.2 Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to:

(a) keep your account credentials confidential and not share them with any third party;

(b) notify us immediately at support@houseofmars.io if you become aware of any unauthorised access to or use of your account; and

We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain the security of your account.

4.3 Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time from within the App. Upon deletion, your account data will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Deletion of your account will result in the loss of access to all subscription benefits, shared content, and any data associated with your account.

5. Licence and App Usage

5.1 Licence Grant

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable licence to download, install, and use the App on Apple-branded devices that you own or control, solely for your personal or professional use and as permitted by the Apple App Store Usage Rules.

The App is licensed, not sold, to you. This licence does not grant you any ownership interest in the App or any of its components.

5.2 Licence Restrictions

Except as expressly permitted by these Terms or as required by applicable law (including, where applicable, the rights granted under Sections 50A, 50B, and 50C of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988), you shall not:

(a) copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, or publicly perform the App or any part thereof;

(b) modify, adapt, translate, or create derivative works based on the App;

(c) reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, decode, or otherwise attempt to derive, discover, reconstruct, extract, copy, replicate, or infer the source code, object code, algorithms, data structures, models, presets, profiles, workflows, underlying logic, or know-how embodied in the App or any part of it, including but not limited to our proprietary image processing pipeline, colour calibration profiles, film emulation profiles, and colour management tools;

(d) rent, lease, lend, sell, sublicence, assign, or otherwise transfer your rights in the App to any third party;

(e) remove, alter, or obscure any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices contained in or on the App;

(f) use the App for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws or regulations;

(g) use the App to infringe the intellectual property rights or other rights of any third party;

(h) use any automated means, including bots, scrapers, or crawlers, to access or interact with the App, or to extract data or content from the App at scale;

(i) attempt to gain unauthorised access to the App, its servers, or any systems or networks connected to the App;

(j) circumvent, disable, or interfere with any technological protection measures, access controls, digital rights management, subscription verification, or other security features in or relating to the App;

(k) use the App in any manner that could disable, damage, overburden, or impair our servers or networks;

(l) redistribute, resell, or commercially exploit any of our proprietary content, including image processing algorithms, colour calibration profiles, film emulation profiles, or presets provided by House of Mars, except as expressly permitted in writing;

(m) use the App, its outputs, or any proprietary assets, presets, profiles, or technologies contained within it to develop, create, validate, train, improve, or contribute to any competing product or service, or to replicate or emulate any part of the Services; or

(n) conduct automated performance testing, systematic extraction, or technical probing of the App for the purpose of competitive analysis, replication, or misuse of proprietary information, or disclose the results of any such activity. For the avoidance of doubt, this restriction does not apply to ordinary product reviews, commentary, editorial purposes, or personal evaluation of the App for your own use.

5.3 Updates

We may from time to time release updates, patches, or new versions of the App. Such updates may be required for you to continue using the App and may be downloaded and installed automatically or may require your action. You agree that we may deliver updates to the App without additional notice or consent, subject to your device settings. Updated versions of the App are governed by these Terms unless a separate agreement is provided.

6. Subscriptions and Payments

6.1 Subscription Plans

Access to the App and its features requires an active subscription. We offer the following subscription plans:

Monthly subscription;
Quarterly subscription; and
Annual subscription.

Details of current pricing for each plan are displayed in the App and on the Apple App Store prior to purchase. All prices are inclusive of applicable taxes unless otherwise stated.

6.2 Free Trial

We may offer a free trial period for certain subscription plans (currently a 3-day free trial is available with the annual subscription plan). During the free trial, you will have access to the subscription features at no charge. At the end of the free trial period, your subscription will automatically convert to a paid subscription and you will be charged at the applicable rate unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the trial period.

You are responsible for monitoring your trial period and cancelling before it expires if you do not wish to be charged. Instructions for cancellation are provided in Section 6.4 below.

6.3 Billing and Renewal

All subscriptions are managed and processed through the Apple App Store. By subscribing, you authorise Apple to charge your chosen payment method at the applicable rate for your selected plan.

Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period (monthly, quarterly, or annually, as applicable) unless you cancel before the renewal date. The renewal charge will be applied to your payment method within 24 hours prior to the end of the current billing period, in accordance with Apple’s billing practices.

6.4 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your Apple ID account settings or through the App Store. Cancellation will take effect at the end of the current billing period. You will retain access to subscription features until the end of the period for which you have already paid.

We do not offer partial refunds for unused portions of a subscription period, except where required by applicable law. For information about your statutory cancellation rights, see Section 6.6 below.

6.5 Refunds

Refunds for App Store purchases are handled by Apple in accordance with Apple’s refund policies. To request a refund, please contact Apple directly through the App Store or at https://reportaproblem.apple.com. House of Mars does not directly process payments or refunds for App Store subscriptions.

6.6 Your Statutory Rights and Cancellation

Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, or any other applicable consumer protection legislation, including any rights that may arise under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 as its provisions come into force.

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, you may have a right to cancel a distance contract within 14 days of entering into it. However, where digital content or subscription access is supplied immediately and you have given your express consent and acknowledged that your right to cancel will be lost once performance begins (as part of the App Store purchase flow), your cancellation right may be limited or lost to the extent permitted by law.

Where applicable, we will comply with any pre-contract information, reminder notice, and cooling-off requirements imposed by applicable law.

For the avoidance of doubt, where any provision of these Terms conflicts with your mandatory statutory rights as a consumer, your statutory rights shall prevail.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Our Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in and to the Services, including but not limited to the App, the Website, and all content, features, functionality, software, code, algorithms, designs, graphics, text, trademarks, trade names, logos, and other materials (collectively, “Our Content”), are owned by or licensed to House of Mars and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws of the United Kingdom and international jurisdictions.

Without limiting the foregoing, the following are proprietary to House of Mars and are expressly protected under these Terms:

(a) our proprietary image processing pipeline and associated algorithms;

(b) colour calibration profiles;

(d) colour management tools and technologies; and

(e) any presets, profiles, or creative assets provided by House of Mars within the App.

You acknowledge that these materials represent substantial investment in research, development, and creative effort, and that unauthorised use, reproduction, or distribution of these materials may cause irreparable harm to House of Mars.

7.2 Trademarks

“Pearla”, “House of Mars”, and any associated logos, product names, and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of House of Mars. You may not use these marks without our prior written permission. All other trademarks, product names, and company names or logos mentioned in the Services are the property of their respective owners.

7.3 Feedback

If you provide us with any feedback, suggestions, ideas, or recommendations regarding the Services (“Feedback”), you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, distribute, and otherwise exploit such Feedback for any purpose, without any obligation of compensation or attribution to you.

8. User Content

8.1 Your Photos and Videos

Photos and videos you capture using the App are stored locally on your device. We do not access, collect, upload, or store your photos or videos on our servers. You retain full ownership of and all rights in any photos or videos you create using the App.

8.2 Shared Content

The App includes, or may in the future include, features that allow you to create and share certain content with other users, such as presets, colour profiles, and other creative configurations (“User Content”). This Section 8 applies if and when such sharing features are available.

You retain ownership of any User Content you create. However, by sharing User Content through the App, you grant House of Mars a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable licence to host, store, reproduce, modify (solely for technical purposes such as formatting or optimisation), display, and distribute your User Content solely for the purpose of operating, maintaining, and improving the sharing features of the Services and making your User Content available to other users as intended by you.

This licence continues for as long as your User Content remains available through the Services and for a reasonable period thereafter to allow for the removal of cached or archived copies. You may withdraw your User Content from the sharing features at any time, at which point we will take reasonable steps to remove it, although cached or archived copies may persist for a limited period.

8.3 Responsibility for User Content

You are solely responsible for any User Content you create and share through the App. By sharing User Content, you represent and warrant that:

(a) you own or have the necessary rights and licences to share such User Content;

(b) your User Content does not infringe the intellectual property rights or other rights of any third party;

(c) your User Content does not contain any material that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, harmful, or otherwise objectionable; and

(d) your User Content complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

8.4 Our Rights Regarding User Content

We do not monitor or pre-screen User Content as a matter of course. However, we reserve the right (but have no obligation) to review, remove, or disable access to any User Content at any time and without prior notice if we reasonably believe that it violates these Terms, infringes any third party’s rights, or is otherwise objectionable. We are not responsible or liable for any User Content shared by users of the Services.

9. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Services to:

(a) violate any applicable law, regulation, or legal obligation;

(b) infringe the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or other rights of any third party;

(c) upload, share, or distribute any content that is unlawful, defamatory, threatening, abusive, harassing, obscene, or otherwise objectionable;

(d) transmit any viruses, malware, or other harmful code;

(e) interfere with or disrupt the integrity, security, or performance of the Services or any related systems;

(f) circumvent, disable, or interfere with any technological protection measures, access controls, or subscription restrictions within the App (this is also a breach of your licence under Section 5.2);

(g) access or use another user’s account without their permission;

(h) collect, harvest, or aggregate personal data of other users without their explicit consent;

(i) redistribute, resell, or commercially exploit any of our proprietary content, including image processing algorithms, colour calibration profiles, film emulation profiles, or presets provided by House of Mars, except as expressly permitted in writing; or

(j) engage in any conduct that restricts or inhibits any other user from using or enjoying the Services.

We reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate action against any user who violates these provisions, including removing content, suspending or terminating accounts in accordance with Section 13, and reporting violations to law enforcement authorities where appropriate.

10. Beta Features and Early Access

10.1 Availability

We may from time to time offer access to features, tools, or functionality that are in a pre-release, beta, experimental, or early access stage (“Beta Features”). Beta Features may be made available to all users or to a selected group of users, at our discretion.

10.2 Nature of Beta Features

Beta Features are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. They may be incomplete, may contain errors or bugs, and may be unstable or unreliable. You should not rely on Beta Features for critical or production workflows.

10.3 Changes and Discontinuation

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any Beta Feature at any time, without prior notice. Beta Features may never be released in a final or commercial version, and we are under no obligation to make any Beta Feature generally available.

10.4 Feedback on Beta Features

We welcome and encourage feedback on Beta Features. Any feedback you provide regarding Beta Features is governed by Section 7.3 (Feedback) of these Terms.

10.5 Liability for Beta Features

Our liability in respect of Beta Features is governed by the general limitation of liability provisions in Section 11. Given the experimental nature of Beta Features, you acknowledge that they carry a higher risk of errors, instability, or unexpected behaviour than production features. Your statutory rights are not affected.

11. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

11.1 Service Availability

We endeavour to ensure that the Services are available and functioning properly at all times. However, we do not guarantee that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components. The Services may be subject to periods of unavailability due to maintenance, updates, server failures, or other factors beyond our reasonable control.

11.2 Statutory Rights and Consumer Protections

Nothing in these Terms excludes, limits, or restricts any rights or remedies that you have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or any other applicable consumer protection legislation that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. In particular:

(a) where the App does not conform to the contract as described in Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you may be entitled to a repair, replacement, price reduction, or refund as provided by applicable law;

(b) we have a legal duty to supply the App and any digital content in conformity with the contract; and

11.3 Limitation of Liability

Subject to Section 11.2, and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

(a) where we are liable to you in connection with the Services, our liability is limited to losses that are a reasonably foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms or our failure to use reasonable care and skill. Loss is foreseeable if it was an obvious consequence of our breach, or if it was contemplated by both parties at the time the contract was entered into;

(b) we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential losses, including but not limited to loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of opportunity, loss of data, loss of goodwill, or business interruption, arising out of or in connection with your use of or inability to use the Services; and

(c) our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Services shall not exceed the greater of: (i) the total amount you have paid to us (or to Apple on our behalf) for the Services in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim; or (ii) £50.

11.4 Your Responsibility for Use of the App

The App is a creative and technical tool. You remain responsible for how you use the App and for any creative, editorial, artistic, or commercial decisions you make using its outputs. This Section 11.4 does not limit our liability beyond what is permitted under Sections 11.2, and 11.3.

12. Your Liability to Us

If you breach these Terms in a way that causes us direct loss — for example, by infringing our intellectual property rights, sharing User Content that infringes a third party’s rights, or using the Services in a way that is unlawful or deliberately harmful — you may be liable to reimburse us for the direct losses and reasonable costs (including reasonable legal fees) that we incur as a result of that breach.

This does not apply to the extent that the loss arises from our own negligence, fault, or breach of these Terms.

13. Suspension and Termination

13.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your use of the Services at any time by cancelling your subscription (see Section 6.4) and deleting your account through the App. Uninstalling the App from your device does not automatically cancel your subscription or delete your account.

13.2 Suspension or Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services, in whole or in part, if:

(a) you materially breach these Terms and, where the breach is capable of remedy, fail to remedy it within a reasonable period after we notify you;

(b) you use the Services in a way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or that we reasonably believe poses a security or operational risk to the Services or to other users;

(c) you engage in conduct that we reasonably determine constitutes abuse, harassment, or a threat to other users, to House of Mars, or to the integrity of the Services;

(d) your App Store entitlement lapses, is revoked, or your subscription payment is declined or disputed through the App Store, and the situation is not resolved within the timeframes set by Apple;

(e) you breach the Apple App Store Terms of Service or any other applicable third-party platform rules in connection with your use of the App;

(f) we are required to do so by law, regulation, or a binding order from a court or law enforcement authority; or

(g) we permanently discontinue the Services or substantially all of the App’s functionality, in which case we will give you reasonable advance notice where practicable.

Where the circumstances permit, we will give you prior notice and a reasonable opportunity to remedy any breach before suspending or terminating your access. However, we may take immediate action without notice where we reasonably believe it is necessary to protect the safety, security, or integrity of the Services, other users, or ourselves.

13.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination of your account:

(a) your licence to use the App will cease;

(b) you should uninstall and delete all copies of the App from your devices;

(c) any User Content you have shared through the App may be removed, although cached or archived copies may persist for a limited period;

(d) we will handle your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy; and

(e) any provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall continue in full force and effect, including without limitation Sections 7 (Intellectual Property), 8.2 (Shared Content licence), 11 (Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability), 12 (Your Liability to Us), and 16 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction).

13.4 Prepaid Subscription Periods

If we terminate your access to the Services for reasons other than your breach of these Terms, and you have already paid for a subscription period that has not yet expired, we will use reasonable efforts to arrange a pro rata refund for the unused portion of that period, subject to the refund processes available through the Apple App Store.

14. Apple App Store — Additional Terms

You acknowledge and agree that:

(a) these Terms are between you and House of Mars only, and not with Apple Inc. (“Apple”). House of Mars, not Apple, is solely responsible for the App and its content;

(b) Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to the App;

(c) in the event of any failure of the App to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any) for the App to you. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App, and any other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, or expenses attributable to any failure to conform to any warranty will be House of Mars’s sole responsibility;

(d) House of Mars, not Apple, is responsible for addressing any claims by you or any third party relating to the App or your possession and/or use of the App, including but not limited to: (i) product liability claims; (ii) any claim that the App fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement; and (iii) claims arising under consumer protection, privacy, or similar legislation;

(e) in the event of any third-party claim that the App, or your possession and use of the App, infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, House of Mars, not Apple, will be solely responsible for the investigation, defence, settlement, and discharge of any such intellectual property infringement claim;

(f) Apple, and Apple’s subsidiaries, are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and upon your acceptance of these Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof; and

(g) you must also comply with all applicable third-party terms of agreement when using the App, including your wireless data service agreement.

If there is any conflict between these Terms and any mandatory App Store requirements applicable to your use of the App, those mandatory requirements will prevail to the extent of the conflict.

15. Privacy and Data Protection

Your privacy is important to us. Our collection, use, and handling of your personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms by reference. By using the Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy.

For any privacy-related enquiries or to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us at support@houseofmars.io.

16. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

16.1 Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

16.2 Jurisdiction

The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).

16.3 Consumer Rights Preserved

If you are a consumer, nothing in this Section 16 shall deprive you of the protection afforded by the mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which you are habitually resident, or of your right to bring proceedings in the courts of the country in which you are domiciled, where such rights are granted by applicable law, including under Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (as it applies) or equivalent legislation.

17. General Provisions

17.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms or policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and House of Mars with respect to the Services, and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, understandings, negotiations, or communications, whether oral or written, relating to the subject matter of these Terms.

17.2 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

17.3 Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. A waiver of any provision shall only be effective if made in writing and signed by an authorised representative of House of Mars.

17.4 Assignment

You may not assign, transfer, or delegate any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign, transfer, or subcontract our rights and obligations under these Terms, in whole or in part, to any third party, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganisation, or sale of assets, provided that doing so does not materially reduce your rights under these Terms or applicable law.

17.5 No Third-Party Rights

Except as expressly provided in Section 14 (Apple App Store — Additional Terms), a person who is not a party to these Terms shall not have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of these Terms.

17.6 Notices

Any notice required or permitted under these Terms shall be in writing and shall be deemed given when delivered by email to the relevant party. Notices to House of Mars should be sent to support@houseofmars.io. Notices to you will be sent to the email address associated with your account.

17.7 Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of their obligations under these Terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond the reasonable control of that party, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, pandemics, government actions, war, terrorism, civil unrest, power failures, internet or telecommunications failures, or third-party service disruptions.

17.8 Language

These Terms are drafted in English. If these Terms are translated into any other language, the English language version shall prevail in the event of any conflict or inconsistency.

18. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding these Terms or the Services, please contact us at:

House of Mars 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom Email: support@houseofmars.io