FamilyDefender

Draft for legal review. This document will be reviewed by a US lawyer before public launch.

Terms of Use

Last updated: 2026-10-27 · Version 2026-10-27.2

Draft for legal review. This is a working draft. It will be reviewed by a US lawyer before public launch.

Summary

  • FamilyDefender helps spot scam phone calls. It warns and, in a few clearly listed cases, ends a call. It cannot catch every scam and may sometimes warn about, delay or end a legitimate call.
  • Two kinds of people use it: a guardian (usually an adult child who sets it up and pays) and a protected person (the adult whose calls are checked). Each person accepts these terms in their own app.
  • Calls are checked automatically. No person listens. Nothing is recorded. A short summary of risky calls is kept for 90 days.
  • FamilyDefender is not an emergency service. Keep a way to reach 911 directly.
  • When protection ends, the protected person must remove call forwarding on their phone. The app shows how and asks to confirm it.

1. Who we are and these terms

FamilyDefender ("we", "us") provides the FamilyDefender app and service (the "Service"). By creating an account, ticking «I agree» or using the Service you accept these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. The protected person also accepts the Call Screening Consent. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. The operator's legal name and address will be published here before public launch.

2. Eligibility

You must be 18 or older and live in the United States. The Service is not for children. Each protected person must be an adult who decides for themselves to use the Service and gives their own consent in their own app. A guardian cannot consent on behalf of a protected person. If you act for someone under a power of attorney or court-appointed guardianship, you confirm that your authority is valid and covers this Service.

3. How the Service works

  • The protected person turns on call forwarding with their mobile carrier by dialing a code shown in the app (the app never dials it). Calls from unknown numbers then go to a phone number we assign to them. Normal carrier charges for forwarding, if any, are the user's responsibility.
  • Before any conversation, the caller hears that the call is checked automatically to help prevent fraud. If the managing guardian turns on «Ask who's calling first», an automated assistant also asks who is calling and why, and automated calls (robots) are not put through; their message is summarized.
  • The call is then delivered to the protected person in the FamilyDefender app. During the call both sides are transcribed and analyzed in real time by automated systems, including AI models, to look for signs of a scam.
  • Depending on the risk level, the protected person may hear a short tone or a one-sentence warning, and guardians may receive alerts and can end the call.
  • In a closed list of cases shown in the app (a demand to pay with gift cards, card codes or a crypto ATM; reading out card or account digits after the caller asked for them; a caller posing as police, a court or a government office who demands money and secrecy; a caller claiming to be a relative whom a guardian says they don't recognize; a red warning nobody answered for 2 minutes) the Service may end the call automatically and tell the protected person why. A managing guardian can switch some of these off; then the same sign stays a warning. The caller can always call back and is screened again. We do not add new reasons to end a call without updating these terms.
  • Numbers on the protected person's trusted list, and their guardians' numbers, ring through directly without screening.

4. No guarantee

The Service helps spot scams and warns; it does not prevent all fraud. Automated analysis can be wrong. We do not guarantee that every scam call will be detected, that every alert will arrive in time, or that legitimate callers (for example a doctor, a bank or a government office) will never be warned about, delayed or cut off. Calls can also be delayed or dropped by carrier, network, device or internet problems. Neither we nor a guardian have a duty to watch calls in real time, and no one is liable for not acting on an alert. The Service is not financial or legal advice. You remain responsible for your own decisions, including any payment or information you give to a caller. If our systems are unavailable, calls are delivered without screening where possible.

5. Not an emergency service

FamilyDefender does not place, screen, route or end calls to 911 or other emergency numbers. Outgoing calls made by the protected person are not affected. Call forwarding, outages or a phone without internet may stop a callback from emergency services from reaching the protected person in the usual way. Keep another way to reach 911.

6. Roles and permissions

  • The owner creates the family and invites members. The payer holds the subscription. A guardian receives alerts and summaries about risky calls of the people they protect; a managing guardian can also change protection settings.
  • The protected person owns their call information. They see every guardian, accept each one themselves, and can remove an ordinary guardian at any time. A guardian has no authority over the protected person beyond what they accept in the app. When a managing guardian exists, turning protection off takes effect after a short delay described in the app, so the family is informed.
  • Guardians see only summaries of risky calls (who the caller said they were, on whose behalf, the purpose, the risk level and what the Service did). Guardians never hear the call and never get a transcript.

7. Your responsibilities

You agree to:

  • give accurate information, keep your phone and account secure, and use the Service only to protect yourself or a family member who agreed to it;
  • not use the Service to monitor someone without their knowledge and consent, to listen to calls that are not your own, or for any unlawful purpose;
  • follow the setup steps and keep the app installed, signed in and allowed to use the microphone and notifications, or protection may not work.

8. Callers who are not users

Everyone who calls a protected person through the Service is told by the assistant at the start of the call, before any conversation, that the call is screened by an automated assistant and analyzed for fraud protection. They can hang up at that point. The protected person agrees that their incoming forwarded calls are screened and analyzed this way. We keep no audio or transcript of any caller.

9. Subscription and payment

  • The Service is an auto-renewing subscription bought in Apple's App Store (for example, 3 months or 1 year). The price and period are shown before purchase.
  • Payment is charged to your Apple ID. The subscription renews automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period in your Apple ID settings. Refunds are handled by Apple under its policies.
  • One subscription covers the number of people stated on the plan. Deleting the app or your account does not cancel an App Store subscription — cancel it in your Apple ID settings.
  • Your use of the app is also subject to Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement. Apple is not a party to these terms, is not responsible for the Service and has no obligation to support it; Apple is a third-party beneficiary of these terms.

10. When protection ends — call forwarding

Protection ends when the subscription ends, when the protected person turns it off, or when an account is deleted. Cancelling, uninstalling the app or deleting an account does not turn off call forwarding at the carrier. The protected person must remove it with the disable code shown in the app (for many carriers ##004# or ##21#; Verizon *73) and confirm in the app that forwarding is off. A guardian who deletes their account confirms they will help with this. If forwarding stays on, calls from unknown numbers may not reach the protected person, and we are not responsible for calls missed because of it. After the subscription ends, calls are still delivered without screening for 24 hours, and we keep the assigned number for 30 days so forgotten forwarding still reaches us, while reminding you to remove it.

11. Changes to the Service and these terms

We may update these terms. If a change is material, we will tell you in the app at least 30 days before it takes effect where possible and ask you to accept it again before you continue. Changes to the dispute section never apply to a dispute we already know about. The date at the top shows the current version.

12. Termination

You can delete your account in the app at any time. We may suspend or end access if you break these terms, misuse the Service or if required by law. Sections 4, 5, 10, 13 and 14 survive termination.

13. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or for losses caused by fraud committed by third parties, missed, delayed or ended calls, or carrier or device problems. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of the amount you paid for the Service in the 12 months before the claim or US$100. Some states do not allow these limits, so they may not fully apply to you.

14. Disputes

These terms are governed by US federal law and the laws of the state named here before public launch, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Before filing a claim, contact us so we can try to resolve it informally within 60 days. Any remaining dispute will be resolved by individual binding arbitration under the consumer rules of the American Arbitration Association; either side may instead bring an individual claim in small-claims court. You waive the right to a jury trial and to take part in a class action. You may opt out of arbitration by emailing us within 30 days after you first accept these terms.

15. Contact

support@familydefender.app