Terms of Use
Last updated: September 19, 2026
Exist is made by Firstmover LLC ("we", "us"), a limited liability company. These terms are the agreement between you and us for using the Exist app. By using Exist you agree to them. If anything here is unclear, email jake@useexist.com and we will answer.
The short version
Exist helps you use your phone less. It costs $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year after a 7-day free trial, and you can cancel any time before the trial ends. It is a tool, not a guarantee, and it is not medical advice. Be decent with it and we will be decent with you.
Who can use Exist:
You must be at least 13 years old. If you are under the age of majority where you live, a parent or guardian has to agree to these terms on your behalf.
Your account
Some parts of Exist need an account. Give us an accurate email address, keep your sign-in details to yourself, and tell us if you think someone else has got into your account. An account is for one person. You are responsible for what happens under yours.
You can delete your account at any time from inside the app: Settings, then Delete Account, then Delete Forever. That removes your account, your streak history and your subscription record from our systems, and it cannot be undone. Deleting the app on its own does not delete your account, and it does not cancel a subscription.
The free trial
New subscriptions start with a 7-day free trial. You choose a plan and provide a payment method up front, but nothing is charged during the trial.
When the 7 days end, the subscription begins automatically and your payment method is charged at the plan price, unless you cancel before then. Cancel at any point during the trial and you are charged nothing.
One trial per person. Apple determines trial eligibility per Apple Account, so a second subscription on the same Apple Account may not include another free trial.
Subscriptions and payment
Exist is sold as an auto-renewing subscription:
Monthly — $9.99 per month
Yearly — $59.99 per year
Prices are in US dollars. In other countries Apple charges the local equivalent it sets, which may differ.
If you subscribe inside the app, Apple takes the payment and charges it to your Apple Account. In the United States, you may also subscribe on our website, where Stripe takes the payment. We never see your card details either way.
Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each period unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before that period ends. Your Apple Account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the period ends.
To cancel, open Settings on your iPhone, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, then Exist, then Cancel. You keep access until the end of the period you have already paid for. We cannot cancel an App Store subscription for you — only Apple and you can. If you subscribed through our website, cancel by emailing jake@useexist.com and we will cancel it and confirm by reply.
If you hold a lifetime grant from us, it gives you access for as long as Exist exists, and none of the renewal terms above apply to it.
Refunds
Purchases made through the App Store are refunded by Apple, not by us. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. We have no power to issue or refuse an App Store refund.
If you paid on our website through Stripe, email jake@useexist.com and we will deal with it directly.
Screen Time permission
Exist uses Apple's Screen Time frameworks — Family Controls, Device Activity and Managed Settings — to apply the limits, schedules and blocks that you set. The app will ask your permission for this, and without it Exist cannot do the thing it exists to do.
We only ever apply the settings you choose. We do not receive your usage totals or limits, and we cannot see what you do inside another app. When a limit stops you opening an app, we record the app's name anonymously so we can tell which apps people need the most help with — it is never linked to your account, email or name. The privacy policy explains this in full.
What Exist is, and what it is not
Exist is a self-control tool. It puts friction between you and your phone because you asked it to. It is not a guarantee that you will use your phone less, and it is not designed to be unbreakable — there is an emergency unlock, and iOS gives you ways around any blocking app.
Exist is not medical or psychological advice, and it is not treatment for any condition. If your phone use is causing you real harm, please speak to a professional.
Do not rely on Exist to block anything where a failure would be dangerous or costly. iOS can delay or skip the background events Exist depends on, and blocks can be late or missed. It is a habit tool, not a safety system.
Fair use
Do not reverse engineer, decompile or tamper with the app. Do not resell or redistribute it, share your account, or use it to break the law. Do not attack our servers or try to reach data that is not yours. We may suspend or close an account that does any of this.
Our content
Exist, its name, its artwork, its writing and its code belong to us. The daily quotes and the writing inside the app are ours to publish. You get a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the app while your subscription or trial is active. Nothing here transfers ownership of anything to you.
Anything you send us — feature requests, bug reports, diagnostic reports — we may use to improve Exist without owing you anything for it.
Changes
We will keep improving Exist, which means features may change, be added, or be removed. If we change these terms we will update the date at the top, and if the change is significant we will tell you in the app. Continuing to use Exist after a change means you accept it.
Ending it
You can stop using Exist at any time by cancelling and deleting your account. We may suspend or end your access if you break these terms, or if we stop offering the service. If we shut Exist down entirely, we will give you reasonable notice and refund any unused portion of a period you have already paid for.
No warranties
Exist is provided "as is". We do not promise it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that it will work on every device or in every version of iOS. To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose.
Limit of liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, Firstmover LLC is not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages, lost profits, lost data, or anything arising from a block that did not fire or a limit that did not hold. Our total liability to you for any claim is capped at the amount you paid us in the twelve months before it arose.
Some places do not allow these limits, in which case they apply to you only as far as the law allows.
Apple
Apple is not a party to these terms and is not responsible for Exist or its content. Apple has no obligation to provide any support or maintenance for Exist. If Exist fails to conform to any warranty, you may tell Apple and Apple will refund the purchase price; beyond that, Apple has no other warranty obligation at all. Apple is not responsible for any claim you have relating to Exist, including product liability claims, any claim that Exist fails to meet a legal requirement, or any claim under consumer protection or privacy law.
Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms, and may enforce them against you.
You confirm you are not in a country subject to a US Government embargo and are not on any US Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
Contact