Terms of Service

Last updated: 3 October 2026

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") set out the agreement between you and Sticky Keys for your use of the website at https://stickykeys.music and the Sticky Keys software and services (together, the "Service"). Please read them carefully. We have tried to write them in plain, readable English.

1. Introduction and acceptance

By downloading, installing, accessing or using the Service, or by purchasing a plan or licence, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

These Terms work together with three other documents, which form part of your agreement with us:

Where these Terms and any of those documents overlap, please read them together. If there is a direct conflict on a licensing point, the EULA governs; on a refund point, the Refund Policy governs; and on a privacy point, the Privacy Policy governs.

2. Who we are

The Service is provided by Joubert Bekker, an individual founder trading as "Kafka's Kaleidoscope" as a sole proprietor in South Africa (referred to in these Terms as "we", "us", "our" or "the provider").

The Service is now called Sticky Keys. "Kafka's Kaleidoscope" remains the registered trading name. Both names refer to the same provider and the same Service, and these Terms cover both.

Our business and postal address is 13 Pioneer Rd, Irene Security Estate, Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa. You can reach us, and our Information Officer for POPIA purposes, at [email protected].

3. Eligibility

You may use the Service if you are able to enter into a legally binding agreement with us. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organisation, such as a school, you confirm that you are authorised to accept these Terms for that organisation.

The Service is intended for a general audience, including music students. Where the software is used by minors, for example in a school setting, the institution or a parent or guardian is responsible for obtaining any necessary consent and for supervising the minor's use of the Service.

4. The service

Sticky Keys is a native desktop application for Windows and macOS that gives pianists real-time harmonic feedback. It visualises the key centre, the notes that are inside and outside of the scale, a circle of fifths, an achievement grid and a golden orb. It also includes a Teaching Mode for tracking multiple students and a Learning Library of guided lessons. The interface is available in 25 languages.

To use the Service you need a MIDI keyboard connected by USB or MIDI cable. The Service does not include any hardware. The software is delivered as a downloadable application, and your licence is activated online.

The Service is largely local-first: your practice data, student profiles and settings are stored locally on your own device and are not uploaded to us, except for the licence and entitlement checks described in the EULA and Privacy Policy.

Institution licences are the one exception. Where a school or studio enrols students in a class, the class roster (each student's name as entered by the school, and the device they activate on) and their attendance dates are stored on our servers so a teacher can see their own class across devices. Each device activated on an institution seat also sends a daily practice summary for the teacher to see, whether or not it has joined a class: minutes practised, how many lessons were set, attempted, passed and completed, how many different pieces were tried, accuracy and timing scores, and practice streak. It is kept for 120 days, and deleted sooner if the device is removed from the licence or the school's data is erased. Recordings and what was played are still never uploaded, and nothing of this kind is sent for an individual licence. See sections 3, 5 and 9 of our Privacy Policy.

We may issue updates to the Service, and we may modify, add or discontinue features from time to time.

5. Accounts, licence keys and activation

When you purchase a plan or licence, we deliver a licence to the email address you provide, and your licence is activated online. Licence verification uses a signed licence file that is checked online from time to time and validated offline with an offline grace period.

An individual licence may be activated on up to 2 devices. For institution licences, one seat may be activated per student device, up to the number of seats purchased. Full details of your licence, including the activation and seat rules, are set out in the EULA.

You are responsible for keeping your licence token and any admin token confidential, and for all activity that takes place under your licence. Please tell us promptly if you believe your licence has been shared or used beyond its limits.

6. Free trial

A free trial version of the software is available to download and evaluate before you buy. We encourage you to use the free trial to make sure the Service meets your needs, including that it works with your MIDI keyboard and computer, before purchasing a paid plan or licence.

7. Plans, pricing and billing

We offer the following plans. Prices are in United States Dollars (US$).

For the monthly and yearly subscriptions, by subscribing you authorise us and our payment processor to charge the applicable fee at the start of each billing period until you cancel. Institution licences are billed as set out in your invoice or written agreement.

8. Payments through PayPal

Payments are processed by PayPal, including debit and credit card payments made through PayPal guest checkout. When you pay, you also agree to PayPal's own terms for that transaction.

Sticky Keys never stores or processes card numbers. All card data is handled solely by PayPal. We receive purchase and transaction identifiers from PayPal so that we can verify your entitlement and deliver your licence.

9. Price changes

We may change our prices from time to time. Any price change to a subscription will apply from your next renewal, and we will give you reasonable notice before it takes effect so that you can decide whether to continue or cancel. A price change will not affect a lifetime licence you have already purchased. If you do not agree to a new subscription price, you may cancel before it takes effect.

10. Cancelling a subscription

You may cancel a monthly or yearly subscription at any time. Cancelling stops future renewals. By itself, cancelling does not refund the current period, except as set out in the Refund Policy. When your paid period ends, your subscription will not renew and your access under that subscription will stop.

11. Refunds

Refunds are governed by our Refund Policy. In summary, for individual purchases (monthly, yearly or lifetime) you may request a full refund within 14 days of purchase if you are not satisfied, by emailing [email protected] with your PayPal transaction ID. Approved refunds are issued to your original PayPal payment method, and the associated licence is deactivated once a refund is made — the activation code and download link stop working, and activated devices lose access the next time the app contacts our servers. Institution and education seat licences are refunded per the invoice or written agreement. Please see the Refund Policy for the full terms, and see section 20 below regarding your statutory rights.

12. Acceptable use and prohibited conduct

You agree to use the Service lawfully and only as permitted by these Terms and the EULA. In particular, you must not:

13. Intellectual property and your licence

A purchase grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the software, as described in the EULA. The licence does not transfer ownership. We retain all intellectual property rights in the Service, including the software, its content and its branding.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell or lease any part of the Service except as expressly permitted by these Terms or the EULA, or as allowed by law.

14. Third-party services

The Service relies on trusted third parties to operate:

These providers have their own terms and privacy practices, and your use of the Service may be subject to them for the parts of the Service they support. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of these third parties, but we choose our operators with care and, as explained in the Privacy Policy, they process personal information on our behalf under appropriate safeguards.

15. Disclaimer of warranties

We work hard to provide a reliable and useful Service. Even so, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind that are not required by law. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from delays, or that it will meet every requirement or be compatible with every device or MIDI keyboard. This is one reason we offer a free trial, so that you can evaluate the Service before you buy.

Nothing in this section limits or excludes any warranty or right that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded, including your rights under the Consumer Protection Act (see section 20).

16. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for any loss of data, profits, revenue or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with your use of, or inability to use, the Service.

To the extent our liability may lawfully be limited, our total liability to you for any claim relating to the Service will not exceed the amount you paid to us for the Service in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including any liability that cannot be excluded under the Consumer Protection Act. Your statutory rights are preserved (see section 20).

17. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify us against reasonable claims, losses and costs that arise directly from your breach of these Terms or the EULA, or from your unlawful or unauthorised use of the Service. This indemnity does not apply to the extent a loss is caused by our own breach, negligence or unlawful conduct, and it does not affect any of your rights that cannot lawfully be limited.

18. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, in whole or in part, if you materially breach these Terms or the EULA, if we reasonably need to do so to protect the Service or other users, or if required by law. Where it is reasonable and lawful to do so, we will give you notice and, where appropriate, an opportunity to put things right.

You may stop using the Service at any time, and you may cancel a subscription as described in section 10. If your licence ends, you must stop using the software. Any terms that by their nature should survive termination, such as intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability and governing law, will continue to apply.

19. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes to the Service, our operators, or the law. When we make a material change, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, give you notice. Your continued use of the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree to a change, you should stop using the Service.

20. Governing law and your statutory rights

These Terms, and the Privacy Policy, Refund Policy and EULA, are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA) apply where relevant. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any statutory consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded. The 14-day satisfaction refund offered under the Refund Policy is provided in addition to, and does not limit, your rights under the CPA. Note that ECTA's cooling-off right generally does not apply to digital content that has been downloaded with your consent, but this does not affect your other statutory rights.

Disputes are subject to the courts of South Africa, without limiting any statutory right you may have to bring a matter before a particular forum.

21. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms or the Service, please contact us: