Terms of Service

Last updated November 4, 2026 · Preview version

The short version

Away Messenger is an invite-only preview. Things will change.
Trying it is free. Away Messenger itself is $4.99 once, plus optional $1.99 top-ups, sold to you by Stripe on our behalf.
The buddies are AI characters. They're for fun and can be wrong; don't rely on them for advice.
Be decent: no illegal content, no harassment, no trying to break or overload the service.
You own what you write. We provide the app as is.

1. These terms

By using Away Messenger (awaymessenger.app) you agree to these terms and our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, please don't use it. The service is run by Two Buds LLC, a company in the United States ("we", "us").

2. Who can use it

You must be at least 13. If you're under 18, use it with a parent or guardian's permission. During the preview, only invited email addresses can make an account. You sign in with a one-time code sent to your email, so keep your email account secure; you're responsible for what happens under your account. One account per person, please.

3. The buddies are AI

Every buddy on your Buddy List is a fictional character played by an AI model. They are not real people, they don't know the real musicians or celebrities they talk about, and what they say may be inaccurate, odd or occasionally inappropriate despite our safeguards. Away Messenger is for entertainment. It isn't a source of medical, legal, financial, mental health or other professional advice. If you're in crisis, contact someone you trust, call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number.

4. Using it fairly

Please don't:

use it for anything illegal, or to harass, threaten or harm anyone;
try to get the AI to produce sexual content involving minors, or content that promotes violence, self-harm or crime;
overload the service, get around the invite list or the daily and rate limits, scrape it, or automate use of it;
try to access our servers, code or keys in ways we haven't made available;
pretend to be someone else in a way meant to mislead.

We may limit or end access for anyone who does, for example by revoking an invite.

5. Your content

You own what you write. You give us permission to process it as needed to run the service, which includes sending it to our AI provider to generate replies (see the Privacy Policy). Your chats, profile and game records are saved to your account so they're on every device; you can delete them any time (Setup > Delete my data). Saving a conversation as a picture or text is your choice, and so is sharing it.

6. Our content and credits

The app, its design, code, characters and writing belong to us. Music, fonts and other materials from others are used under their licenses and credited in the app (Media Player > Music credits) and in our third-party licenses. Away Messenger is a fan-made tribute to the late-90s and early-2000s internet and is not affiliated with or endorsed by AOL, Microsoft or any musician or brand mentioned; their names and trademarks belong to their owners.

7. The preview

The preview may change, pause or end at any time. Features may be added or removed, and saved data may stop working after big updates. Invited testers have the full plan (below) at no cost during the preview.

8. Messages and purchases

Every message a buddy sends you (a reply, an IM they start, a reaction to a game) uses one of your messages. Each account also has a daily limit, so a month doesn't go in one afternoon.

Free: 50 messages to try, at most 20 a day, with one crew.
Away Messenger, $4.99 once: every crew, buddy journals, Hearts, every look (wallpapers, color schemes, buddy icons, IM fonts and sizes, and away message extras), and 1,500 messages each calendar month (UTC), renewing on the 1st. Unused monthly messages don't carry over. It's not a subscription: nothing renews or charges again, and it lasts as long as we run Away Messenger.
Top-ups, $1.99: 1,000 more messages, used after the month's (or the free ones) run out. They don't expire while we run Away Messenger.

Who sells it. Purchases are made on Stripe's checkout page. Stripe (Stripe, Inc. or one of its affiliates) sells them to you as the merchant of record: it takes the payment, adds and pays any sales tax, VAT or GST for where you are, and sends your receipt. Stripe's own terms, shown at checkout, apply to the payment. Prices are in US dollars; tax, if any, is shown before you pay.

Refunds. Messages and the full plan have no cash value and can't be transferred or exchanged. If something went wrong with a purchase, email help@awaymessenger.app and we'll look into it; Stripe may also refund a purchase when you ask about a charge. A refunded purchase takes back what it added. This doesn't limit any rights you have under your local consumer laws.

If Away Messenger ends. We'll say so in the app before closing the service. Messages left at that point can't be cashed out.

9. No warranty

Away Messenger is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, to the fullest extent the law allows. We don't promise it will be uninterrupted, error-free or that AI replies will be accurate.

10. Limits on liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages, or for lost data, arising from your use of Away Messenger. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of what you paid for Away Messenger in the 12 months before the claim, or $50. Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not apply to you.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms and will change the date at the top when we do. If you keep using Away Messenger after an update, you accept the new terms.

12. Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Connecticut and of the United States, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

13. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email contact@awaymessenger.app. For help with the app, email help@awaymessenger.app or use Help in the app.