1. Who we are and what these Terms cover
These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and KonnectXR, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company doing business as Kaperi Labs ("KXR," "we," "us," or "our"), governing your access to and use of the Sotto research software and related websites, applications, and services (collectively, the "Service").
The Service includes the Sotto desktop application (Windows and macOS) on any of its plans, any single-tenant cloud instance of Sotto we make available (for example through the AWS Marketplace or Azure Marketplace, governed by a separate Cloud VM EULA), and the website at sottolab.com (the "Site").
Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy and, for the installed software, our End User License Agreement ("EULA"). If any conflict exists between the EULA and these Terms with respect to the licensed software, the EULA controls for that software.
By activating a license, downloading, installing, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
2. Eligibility and age requirement
The Service is intended for researchers who are at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, if higher). By using the Service, you represent that you meet this requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.
The Service is not directed to children and is not intended for anyone under 18. If we learn that a person under 18 has activated a license or used the Service, including by using a parent's payment method without authorization, we may terminate that access and cancel the license. Contact support@sottolab.com in that situation and we will take reasonable steps, including deactivation consistent with Section 7.
3. The Service: what Sotto does
Sotto is a privacy-first research assistant for the human-subjects research workflow, including qualitative analysis, audio interview transcription, literature management and citation, quantitative analysis, reflective memos, and AI-assisted writing grounded in your own materials. Features and plans may change over time.
Plans. Sotto is offered in four plans: Sotto Stacks, Sotto Scope, Sotto Sense, and Sotto Solo. Each plan includes everything in the plans below it. Sotto Stacks is free; the other three are paid subscriptions. What each plan includes is described in the Service and at sottolab.com, and the license terms for each are in the EULA. Some features additionally require that your computer pass Sotto's hardware check, described in Section 5.
Local-first design. By design, your research data (documents, interview audio, transcripts, participant information, coding, and analysis) are stored and processed within your own environment. KXR does not receive or store your research data in ordinary use of the installed application. See the Privacy Policy and Section 5.
4. Licenses, plans, and license keys
Access to the Service is enabled by a license key rather than a username-and-password account. Every plan requires a license key, including the free Sotto Stacks plan, whose key is issued at no cost. You agree to (a) provide accurate information at purchase, (b) keep your license key confidential, and (c) not share, resell, sublicense, or transfer it except as expressly permitted. License keys are for the installations and plan you obtained. We may verify license status, including through periodic online validation, and may suspend or disable a license used in violation of these Terms or the EULA.
5. AI features and third-party processing
Sotto performs most AI processing locally on your device using a locally installed model (via Ollama). Certain optional features can send content to third-party AI providers only when you choose to use them:
- Anthropic (Claude): literature and gap search and writing assistance.
These calls use API credentials maintained by KXR, so you do not need your own accounts or keys. Before any transmission, Sotto shows you the exact content to be sent for your review and approval, and records it in a local audit log. You control whether these features are enabled and what is sent, and you are responsible for reviewing each payload. See Section 6 for your responsibilities regarding participant data.
Locally run models. Some features run third-party models (such as Llama, Mistral, or Gemma) locally on your device. Sotto does not distribute or bundle these models; when you choose to use one, Sotto downloads it to your device from the model runtime's own library rather than from KXR, and your use is subject to that model's own license and acceptable-use policies (for example, Meta's community license for Llama models, or the license Google publishes for the Gemma model you choose), which you are responsible for following.
The hardware condition. Features that run an AI language model on your own computer are available only in the Sotto Sense and Sotto Solo plans, and only when Sotto's hardware check reports that your computer is able to run one. Sotto runs that check during setup, which is free and requires no license key, so you can run it before purchasing anything, and you can run it again at any time from Settings. If your computer does not meet the requirement, those features are unavailable to you regardless of which plan you purchased, and purchasing a higher plan does not change that. The current requirement is published at sottolab.com. The optional cloud features described above do not depend on this check, and neither does audio transcription. Sotto Stacks and Sotto Scope do not require a local AI language model at all.
AI output can be inaccurate, incomplete, or unsuitable. See Section 9.
6. Your research data and human-subjects responsibilities
You are solely responsible for the data you collect, upload, and process, including interview recordings, transcripts, participant identities, survey data, and any special categories of data (such as health-related information).
You represent that, for all such data, you have (a) obtained all necessary consents and permissions from research participants; (b) complied with all applicable laws and with the requirements of any Institutional Review Board (IRB), ethics committee, funder, or institution; and (c) the right to process and, where applicable, submit that data to the optional AI features in Section 5.
KXR does not act as your IRB, provide ethics or compliance approval, or review your research for regulatory compliance. Sotto's features (including any IRB-related or de-identification tools) are aids, not a substitute for your own obligations and professional judgment.
7. Purchases, billing, and cancellation
Sotto Stacks is free, does not expire, and requires no payment card. Sotto Scope, Sotto Sense, and Sotto Solo are offered as subscriptions. Sotto Scope and Sotto Sense are billed monthly. Sotto Solo is billed monthly or annually. The current fee for each plan and billing period is disclosed at checkout and at sottolab.com.
Payments and license fulfillment are handled by Lemon Squeezy; you provide payment details directly to them, and we receive order and license information needed to provision and support your license. A subscription auto-renews at the then-current price for your plan and billing period unless you cancel before renewal; cancellation stops future renewals and takes effect at the end of the current paid period.
When a paid subscription ends, whether by cancellation, non-renewal, or failed payment, your license reverts to the free Sotto Stacks plan. Work you created on the higher plan remains on your machine, readable in the Service and exportable; nothing is deleted (see the EULA).
If your device is offline, Sotto continues to operate for a 7-day offline grace period before it must reconnect to re-validate (see the EULA). Prices exclude applicable taxes, which the commerce provider handles. Except where required by law or stated at purchase, fees already paid are non-refundable.
8. Acceptable use
You agree not to: (a) use the Service in violation of any law or third-party right; (b) reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code except as permitted by law or the EULA; (c) circumvent license, plan, security, or usage controls; (d) resell, sublicense, or provide the Service to third parties except as expressly permitted; (e) use the Service to process data you have no right to process; (f) upload malware or interfere with the Service's operation; or (g) use the Service to develop a competing product. Additional software-specific restrictions appear in the EULA.
9. AI output disclaimer
Features that generate text, summaries, codes, themes, statistics, citations, or other output use automated systems that can produce inaccurate, incomplete, biased, or misleading results, including misattributed quotes and invented citations. You must independently review and verify all output before relying on it. Sotto is a research aid and does not provide professional, legal, medical, statistical, or academic advice, and does not guarantee the accuracy, originality, or fitness of any output. You are responsible for the integrity of your research and for meeting the standards of your institution, discipline, and publishers.
10. Intellectual property
As between you and KXR, we and our licensors own all rights in the Service, including the Sotto software, models we provide, trademarks, and the Site. These Terms grant only a limited right to use the Service as described here and in the EULA. You retain all rights in your research data and the content you create, and are responsible for any output you choose to use, publish, or submit.
11. Third-party services
The Service integrates or relies on third-party services (AI providers, the payment provider, cloud hosting, and analytics), which may be subject to their own terms. We are not responsible for third-party services. A current sub-processor list appears in, or is linked from, the Privacy Policy.
12. Disclaimers of warranties
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT OUTPUT WILL BE ACCURATE. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain disclaimers, so some of the above may not apply to you.
13. Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, KXR AND ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA, RESEARCH, PROFITS, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM.
14. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless KXR and its members, managers, and employees from any claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your data, your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right, including any claim by or relating to a research participant.
15. Term, suspension, and termination
We may suspend or terminate your access or license if you materially breach these Terms or the EULA, or as needed to protect the Service or comply with law. You may stop using the Service at any time. Provisions that by their nature should survive (including Sections 6, 9-14, and 16-18) survive termination. On termination, your locally stored research data remains under your control; you are responsible for exporting or deleting it. Where a paid subscription simply ends rather than being terminated for breach, Section 7 applies instead and your license reverts to the free plan.
16. Changes to the Service and these Terms
We may modify the Service or these Terms. If we make material changes to these Terms, we will provide reasonable notice (for example, by posting updated Terms with a new effective date or notifying you in-product or by email). Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.
17. Governing law and dispute resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.
17.1 Informal resolution. Before starting an arbitration, you and KXR agree to try to resolve any dispute informally for at least 30 days after written notice of the dispute is given to the other party.
17.2 Binding arbitration. Except as stated in this Section, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that is not resolved informally will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, before a single arbitrator. The arbitration will take place in Sherburne County, Minnesota, or by videoconference, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
17.3 Small claims and injunctive relief. Either party may instead bring an individual claim in small-claims court if it qualifies. Either party may also seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property or confidential information.
17.4 Class-action waiver. To the fullest extent permitted by law, disputes will be resolved only on an individual basis. You and KXR waive any right to bring or participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative action, and the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any class or representative proceeding.
17.5 Thirty-day opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement and the class-action waiver by sending written notice to support@sottolab.com within 30 days after you first accept these Terms, stating your name and your intent to opt out. If you opt out, disputes will be resolved in the courts identified in Section 17.6.
17.6 Courts and venue. For any dispute not subject to arbitration (including if the arbitration agreement does not apply to you or you opt out), the exclusive venue is the state and federal courts located in Sherburne County, Minnesota, and each party consents to their jurisdiction.
17.7 Application and savings clause. This Section applies only to the extent permitted by applicable law. Where mandatory local consumer-protection law (for example, in the EU or UK, or in certain US states) does not permit binding arbitration or a class-action waiver for consumers, those provisions do not apply to you to that extent, and the remainder of this Section stays in effect.
18. General
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and EULA, are the entire agreement between you and KXR regarding the Service. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
19. Contact
KonnectXR, LLC, dba Kaperi Labs
support@sottolab.com (support), contact@sottolab.com (general), www.sottolab.com
See also the End User License Agreement and the Privacy Policy.