Terms of use, billing & refunds

Accounts

• Give a real email address you can read, and keep your password private. You are responsible for what happens on your account.
• One person per account. Usernames are public on leaderboards: no offensive names, impersonation or personal details of others.
• Under 13? Please use the app only with a parent or guardian's permission and involvement (see children).
• You can delete your account at any time in Settings. Deletion is permanent and removes purchases tied to the account.

1. Free course

The HSK 1 course, exam, journey and rewards are free. A free account is needed to save progress.

2. HSK 2 lifetime unlock ($9.99)

A one-time payment of $9.99 USD unlocks the HSK 2 course and the HSK 2 Mock Exam on the account you are signed in with, for as long as the app runs. It is not a subscription and is never charged again. Access is personal and cannot be transferred.

3. Supporter subscriptions (recurring billing)

Gold ($7 USD per month) and Diamond ($29.99 USD per month) are monthly subscriptions billed by PayPal. By subscribing you authorise PayPal to charge the same amount every month, starting on the day you subscribe, until you cancel. Prices may change only with notice before your next billing date.

• Cancel any time in PayPal (Settings → Payments → Automatic payments). You keep your perks until the end of the month you already paid for; there are no partial-month refunds.
• If a payment fails, PayPal may retry it; perks pause if the subscription is suspended.
• When a membership ends, profile frames, badges, bonus lessons, the Supporter mock exam, the Library and HSK 2 access through the subscription stop. The Diamond Duck stays in your pond.
• Diamond Library codes are for your personal use. Products you got from Laura's store with the code stay yours.

4. Refunds

If the HSK 2 unlock isn't right for you, ask for a full refund within 14 days of purchase by contacting Laura (via chineseteacherlaura.com or kennedyusaf@gmail.com) with your username. A refunded purchase removes HSK 2 access. Monthly Supporter payments are not refunded once the month has started, except where the law requires it or something went wrong on our side (for example a duplicate charge). Opening a PayPal dispute or chargeback pauses access while it is reviewed.

5. Payments & privacy

All payments are processed by PayPal and go to Chinese Teacher Laura's PayPal account (zkennedydev808@gmail.com). We never see or store your card or bank details; we store only the PayPal order / subscription ID, the amount and its status so we can unlock your content. Details are in the privacy policy.

6. Red beans, ducks & rewards

Red beans, ducks, accessories, stamps and leaderboard prizes are earned by studying. They have no cash value, can't be bought, sold or exchanged for money, and stay inside the app. We may correct balances that came from bugs or cheating, and we can change the rewards catalogue.

7. Acceptable use

Please don't:

• cheat on exams or leaderboards (bots, scripts, multiple accounts, sharing exam answers), or abuse redeem codes;
• try to break, overload, scrape or get around the security of the app, or access other people's accounts;
• copy or resell the lessons, exams, art or Laura's materials;
• use a username or profile that is offensive, misleading or breaks the law.

We may reset scores, remove rewards, or suspend or close accounts that break these rules.

8. Content & intellectual property

The course, exams, illustrations, the Laura character, duck art and app design belong to Chinese Teacher Laura (or are used with permission). You get a personal, non-commercial licence to use them for your own learning while you have an account. Your own data stays yours: you can export it at any time.

9. Certificates & disclaimer

Our HSK 1 and HSK 2 exams and certificates are practice tests modelled on the HSK levels. They are not official HSK results, and the app is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chinese Testing International or the Center for Language Education and Cooperation. To get an official HSK certificate, book the real exam at a test centre.

The app is provided “as is”. We work hard to keep it accurate and online, but we can't promise it will always be available, error-free or that you will pass any exam. Speech and tone scoring are learning aids and can be wrong.

10. Liability

As far as the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability to you is limited to what you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. Nothing here limits rights you have as a consumer that can't be limited by contract.

11. Changes to the app and these terms

We may improve, change or discontinue features. If we ever close the app, we will tell active learners in advance and offer a data export. We may update these terms; the date at the top shows the latest version, and for important changes we tell you in the app or by email before they apply. Price changes for subscriptions follow section 3.

12. Contact

Questions, refunds or account help: write to kennedyusaf@gmail.com, ask Laura during the daily live, or visit chineseteacherlaura.com. See also the help page.