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Terms of Service

Last updated: April 11, 2026

Agreement

By downloading or using Porchlight, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the app. Porchlight is developed and maintained by Ben Payne ("the developer").

License

Porchlight is sold as a one-time purchase. Buying it gives you a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to install and use the app on Mac computers that you own or control.

You may not redistribute, sell, rent, sublicense, or reverse-engineer the app. You may not use the app for any unlawful purpose.

License activation

Activating Porchlight requires a one-time internet connection to validate your license key. During activation, your key is sent to the Porchlight license server at porchlight.benpayne.dev for verification.

After activation, the app works entirely offline. Your license key is stored locally on your Mac and is not transmitted again. To transfer your license to another Mac, use Settings → Revoke License to remove it from your current machine before activating on a new one.

Intellectual property

Porchlight and its design are the property of Ben Payne. All original code and design are copyright Ben Payne.

The app includes a curated collection of quotes from various authors, displayed with attribution. These quotes are included for personal, non-commercial display on your own device.

Icon assets are from Lucide, used under the ISC license.

What the app does

Porchlight modifies your Mac's lock screen message. To keep your message current, the app installs a lightweight background service during initial setup. This requires one-time administrator access.

The following components are installed on your system:

  • A LaunchDaemon at /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.porchlight.greeting.plist
  • A shell script at /usr/local/bin/porchlight-greeting.sh
  • Config files in /usr/local/share/porchlight/

This service runs automatically at login and on a periodic schedule to apply your chosen message. It persists across reboots and continues to run even when the Porchlight app is closed. If the app is deleted without first removing the service, the daemon will remain installed and active on your system.

By using Porchlight, you authorise the installation of this service and acknowledge that it will modify a system preference on your behalf. You are responsible for the content of any message you configure.

Payment and refunds

Porchlight is a one-time purchase with no subscription, distributed as a direct download. Payment is processed by a third-party payment provider. All sales are final. Refunds are not offered except where required by applicable law.

If you have a problem with the app, please reach out before requesting a refund - I'll do my best to help.

Updates

Updates to the app may be provided from time to time at no additional cost. There is no automatic update mechanism - new versions are distributed as downloads that you install manually. Updates are not guaranteed. There is no promise that the app will be maintained indefinitely or will continue to function with future versions of macOS.

Disclaimer of warranties

Porchlight is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the developer makes no warranties - including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The app may not work correctly on all systems or with all versions of macOS.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the developer shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of Porchlight. In no event shall total liability exceed the amount you paid for the app.

Termination

Your license to use Porchlight may be terminated if you materially violate these terms. Upon termination, you must stop using the app and remove it from all your devices, including the system service components described above.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of the United States.

Uninstalling Porchlight

Dragging Porchlight to the Trash removes the app itself, but the system service it installed will remain. To fully remove everything:

  1. Before deleting the app, open it and go to Settings → Revoke License. This clears the app's state and removes your license key.
  2. Move Porchlight.app from your Applications folder to the Trash.
  3. Manually remove the remaining system files (requires administrator access):
    • /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.porchlight.greeting.plist
    • /usr/local/bin/porchlight-greeting.sh
    • /usr/local/share/porchlight/
    • ~/Library/Application Support/com.porchlight.app/

To clear the lock screen message itself, run the following in Terminal: 

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText

Changes to these terms

These terms may be updated occasionally. The date at the top of this page reflects when the terms were last changed. Continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Reach out via GitHub.