STELA.OS
Legal

Terms of Service

Beta version. Effective date: October 26, 2026. Last updated: October 26, 2026.

These Terms are an agreement between you and STELA.OS (“Stela”, “we”, “us”), based in Austin, Texas, USA. They cover your use of the Stela web app and website. By creating an account or using Stela, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree, please don’t use Stela.

Stela is in beta. That means it’s new, it’s changing quickly, and these Terms are a beta version too. We’ll keep them up to date as Stela grows.

1. What Stela is

Stela is a web app that helps independent producers run their projects: tasks, calendars, scripts, documents, budgets and receipts, funding and incentives, cast and crew, locations, festivals, distribution and contacts. It runs in your web browser on any device.

2. Who can use it

  • You must be at least 18 years old to have an account. Stela is not directed at children under 13.
  • You must use a real email address that you control.
  • One account is for one person. Please don’t share your sign-in.
  • If you use Stela for a company, you confirm that you’re allowed to accept these Terms for it.

3. Your password and recovery key

Stela uses zero-knowledge encryption. Your content is encrypted on your device before it’s sent to us, and the keys that unlock it are protected by your password and by your recovery key. We never receive either one.

This means:

  • We can’t read your content, and we can’t reset your password for you.
  • When you sign up, you get a recovery key. Keep it somewhere safe and separate from your password.
  • If you forget your password and lose your recovery key, your data can’t be recovered by anyone, including us.
  • You’re responsible for keeping your password, recovery key and devices secure. If you think someone else has got into your account, email us at contact@stelaos.app.

4. Your content belongs to you

“Your content” means everything you put into Stela: projects, budgets, contacts, scripts, documents, notes, receipts, logos, photos and other branding.

  • You own your content. We claim no ownership of it.
  • You give us a limited permission to store, copy, send and back up your content, in its encrypted form only, so we can run the service and show it back to you. This permission ends when you delete the content or your account, apart from backup copies that expire as described in our Privacy Policy.
  • We don’t use your content for advertising, to train software, or for any other purpose. Because it’s encrypted, we couldn’t if we wanted to.
  • You confirm that you have the right to upload your content, including scripts, artwork, logos and documents that belong to other people.

5. Information about other people

You may store details about other people in Stela, such as the names, roles, emails and phone numbers of cast, crew, guests, investors and other contacts, and release or consent records. That information is yours to look after: you’re responsible for having a lawful reason to keep it, for getting any permissions you need, and for how you use it. Take extra care with sensitive details, such as anything about a minor or someone’s health. We can’t see this information, so we can’t check it or answer questions about it. If someone asks us about their information, we’ll point them to you.

6. Exports, downloads and sharing

Stela builds PDF exports and downloads on your device. Exports and downloaded files are ordinary, unencrypted files. You choose what goes in them and who you send them to. Once a file leaves Stela, it’s no longer protected by our encryption and you’re responsible for it, so please check what you’ve included, especially budgets and contact details, before you share.

When you share a project with another Stela member, they can see the tabs you choose, and open and download the files in them, for as long as they have access. If you give someone Can edit, they can also change those tabs (not files). Their changes become part of your project when your device applies them, and you can undo them from the project’s Share page. You decide who can edit and can switch them back to Can view at any time. We don’t check or approve anyone’s changes. You’re responsible for what you share and with whom. Revoking access stops future access but can’t take back what someone has already seen, copied or downloaded. If someone shares a project with you, treat it as theirs: use it only as they intend, edit it only if they’ve given you Can edit, and don’t pass it on without their permission.

7. Funding, incentive and grant information is not advice

Stela shows general information about film incentives, tax credits, grants and funding programs, and estimates based on numbers you enter. This information:

  • is general information, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice;
  • may be incomplete or out of date, because programs change their rules, deadlines and amounts; and
  • doesn’t guarantee that you qualify for or will receive anything.

The same goes for the production and legal templates in Stela: they’re starting points, not legal advice. Always confirm the details with the program itself and with your own attorney, accountant or financial adviser before you rely on them.

8. Acceptable use

Please don’t use Stela to:

  • break the law, or infringe anyone’s copyright, trademark, privacy or other rights;
  • store or share content that exploits children, or that you know to be illegal;
  • try to get into other people’s accounts or data, or get around our security or limits;
  • disrupt, overload or attack the service (including with bots or automated sign-ups);
  • copy, resell or reverse-engineer the service, except where the law allows; or
  • send spam or malware.

Because your content is encrypted, we generally can’t see what you store. We may still act on reports, on what we can see (such as usage patterns), or where the law requires it.

9. The free beta, plans and limits

Stela is free during the beta. We don’t take payments today and we don’t ask for a card.

  • Free accounts can have 2 active projects (the demo project doesn’t count) and make 1 PDF export per project each calendar month. Free exports carry a small “Prepared with STELA.OS” footer.
  • Beta Pass accounts, from a beta invite link, get every feature and up to 3 projects, free for 3 months from the day they join.
  • Storage: a single document can be up to 25 MB and a script up to 15 MB, with up to 500 MB of file storage per account. The app shows your current usage.

We plan to offer paid plans. Paid plans and their billing terms will be added to these Terms before any paid plan launches, and we’ll give you notice before then. No one will be charged without first choosing a paid plan. If a change to plans or limits would affect content you already store, we’ll give you reasonable notice first, and you’ll always be able to view and export your own content.

10. Changes to the service

Stela is a beta and still changing. We may add, change or remove features, and some features may be labelled beta. We’ll try to tell you ahead of time about changes that significantly reduce what you can do. The app may update itself when you reopen it.

11. Our software and name

The Stela software, design, name and logo belong to us or our licensors. These Terms don’t give you any rights to them except to use the service. If you send us feedback or ideas, we may use them without owing you anything.

12. Ending your account

  • You can delete your account at any time in Settings. Deleting your account permanently deletes all of your data from our live systems: your projects, contacts, scripts, documents, receipts and branding. This can’t be undone, so export anything you want to keep first.
  • We may suspend or close your account if you seriously or repeatedly break these Terms, if the law requires it, or if your account puts the service or other people at risk. Where reasonable, we’ll warn you first and give you a chance to export your content.
  • Sections 4 (the part about backups), 7, 11 and 13 to 17 continue to apply after your account ends.

13. No warranties

We work hard to keep Stela reliable and secure, but it’s a beta and it’s provided “as is” and “as available.” To the extent the law allows, we make no warranties of any kind, express or implied, including that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free or fit for a particular purpose.

Keep your own copies of anything important, such as scripts, contracts and budgets. Settings has an “Export everything” option for this.

14. Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows:

  • we aren’t liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, data, financing or business opportunities;
  • we aren’t liable for data that can’t be recovered because a password and recovery key were both lost; and
  • our total liability for any claim relating to Stela is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or US $100.

Some places don’t allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you.

15. Indemnity

If someone brings a claim against us because of your content, your exports, or your breach of these Terms or the law, you agree to cover our reasonable losses and costs, including reasonable legal fees.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be heard in the state or federal courts located in Travis County, Texas, and you and we agree to their jurisdiction. Before filing a claim, please email us at contact@stelaos.app so we can try to sort it out informally.

17. General

  • We may update these Terms. If a change is material, we’ll tell you in the app or by email at least 30 days before it takes effect when practical. If you keep using Stela after that, the new Terms apply.
  • If any part of these Terms can’t be enforced, the rest still applies.
  • If we don’t enforce a term straight away, we haven’t waived it.
  • You can’t transfer these Terms to anyone else without our consent. We may transfer them as part of a merger, acquisition or sale of the business.
  • These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the whole agreement between you and us about Stela.

18. Contact

STELA.OS, Austin, Texas, USA
Email: contact@stelaos.app

Questions about this page? Email contact@stelaos.app.

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