Legal

Terms of Use & Disclaimer

Last updated: May 16, 2026 · Applies to: Horizon Market Compass (iOS, macOS)

Universal Shield — Summary: Horizon Market Compass provides financial information for educational and analytical purposes only. Nothing in this app or on this website constitutes financial advice, an investment recommendation, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Use of this app is at your own risk.

1. Scope

These Terms of Use and Disclaimer apply to all users of Horizon Market Compass, published on the Apple App Store by MARS Studio. By downloading and using the app, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to these terms.

2. Not Financial Advice

Horizon Market Compass is an informational and analytical tool. All content, data, scores, valuations, and projections within the app are provided for educational purposes only. Specifically:

No content in this app constitutes financial, investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice.
No content should be relied upon as the sole basis for any investment decision.
MARS Studio is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, or financial institution in any jurisdiction.
You should consult a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.

3. Model Limitations

The Global Valuation Engine uses market-specific mathematical models (including Discounted Cash Flow, Gordon Growth Model, and Hybrid Book-Value approaches) to produce fair value estimates. You acknowledge that:

Valuation models are based on assumptions about future growth rates, discount rates, and market conditions — all of which are uncertain.
Computed fair values are estimates, not predictions. Actual market prices may differ materially from model outputs.
The Sentinel Dividend Safety Score (scored 0-100, graded A-F) is a proprietary algorithmic analysis based on publicly available financial data. It is not a guarantee of future dividend payments.
Bull/Bear sensitivity ranges indicate a plausible range of values, not bounds on actual outcomes.

4. Vastu Framework

The Vastu Health Score and elemental portfolio mapping (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Space) are wellness frameworks inspired by Vastu Shastra, an ancient Indian architectural philosophy. You acknowledge that:

The Vastu Health Score is a conceptual framework for portfolio self-reflection. It is not a financial metric, risk measure, or investment signal.
A high Vastu score does not imply that a portfolio is profitable, safe, or well-diversified in a financial sense.
Elemental classifications of stocks and sectors are indicative and subjective, and should not be treated as precise categorisations.
"Theoretical Balance Achieved" and similar in-app messages refer to the framework's conceptual target only — not to financial outcomes.
The Vastu Health Score is a metaphor for portfolio balance; it does not endorse Vastu Shastra as a financial-prediction system and is not derived from astrological computation. Horizon Market Compass is not a religious, spiritual, or astrological-advisory product.

5. No Guarantees of Results

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Specifically:

Dividend history shown in the app does not guarantee future dividend payments. Companies may reduce, suspend, or eliminate dividends at any time.
Yield-on-Cost figures reflect historical purchase price and current dividend rates — they do not predict future income.
Price alerts and watchlist notifications are informational only and do not constitute trading recommendations.
Market conditions, geopolitical events, regulatory changes, and company-specific factors can significantly impact investment outcomes.

6. Subscriptions

Premium is an auto-renewable subscription. Premium unlocks unlimited holdings (Free tier is capped at 5), unlimited watchlist groups (Free is 1), all eight supported markets, badges and share cards, macOS access, the Apple Watch companion, the full Compounder Score breakdown, the Sentinel Dividend Safety Score, the Tax Report v2 with seven-jurisdiction support, Cloud Alerts, Price Movement Alerts, AI Explain & Portfolio Q&A, and every analytics feature in the app.

Pricing. Premium is billed at $39.99 USD per year for subscribers in the United States. Apple applies its standard regional pricing matrix in other countries; the current local price is shown on the in-app paywall before purchase and on your iOS or macOS subscription confirmation screen.

Free trial (where offered). Where Apple's App Store displays a free trial offer for Premium, new subscribers receive the trial period at no cost. If you do not cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the free trial, your Apple ID will be charged the then-current Premium price at the end of the trial. The trial offer is available once per Apple ID and may not stack with other promotional offers.

Auto-renewal. Your Premium subscription will automatically renew at the then-current annual price unless auto-renewal is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your Apple ID account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period.

Managing or cancelling. You can manage your subscription, view renewal date, or cancel auto-renewal at any time after purchase by going to iOS Settings › [Your Name] › Subscriptions › Horizon Market Compass (or System Settings › Apple ID › Media & Purchases › Subscriptions on macOS). Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period; you keep Premium access until that date and are not refunded for the remainder of the period unless required by Apple's standard refund policy.

Restore purchases. If you reinstall the app or switch to a new device, open Settings › Restore Purchases in Horizon Market Compass to re-link your Premium subscription. This uses your Apple ID and requires no additional account.

Legacy v1.x purchasers. Users who purchased Horizon Market Compass v1.x at the one-time $39.99 price are automatically upgraded to a permanent Legacy Premium tier at no additional charge on first launch of v2.0 or later. No action is required.

Refunds. All payments are processed by Apple. MARS Studio cannot directly issue refunds. Refund requests are subject to Apple's standard refund policy — please contact Apple Support via reportaproblem.apple.com.

7. AI-Generated Content

From version 1.3 onwards, Horizon Market Compass includes an AI Market Briefing feature. You acknowledge that:

AI Market Briefings, the Stock Explain sheet, and Portfolio Q&A are generated by an automated system using a Gemini family AI model (with Apple Intelligence as an on-device fallback) and publicly available market data. We may update the underlying model without notice.
AI-generated content may contain errors, omissions, or outdated information. It should not be treated as a primary source of market intelligence.
No personal data, portfolio holdings, or device identifiers are used to generate AI briefings. All personalisation (Vastu element highlighting) occurs entirely on-device.
AI Market Briefings are explicitly labelled within the app and are distinct from the Sentinel Dividend Safety Score.

8. Third-Party Data

Horizon Market Compass fetches market data from the following third-party sources. MARS Studio is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of data provided by these services:

Yahoo Finance — stock quotes, dividend data, historical prices, and company information
Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) — fallback data source for quotes and fundamentals
Twelve Data — fallback data source for US stock quotes
Finnhub — technical indicators, analyst ratings, price targets, and dividend data for US stocks
Frankfurter API — currency exchange rates
SEC EDGAR — publicly available 13F institutional investor filings for the Guru Portfolios feature
NSE India — public market sentiment and FII/DII data for Indian market users
WealthAdvisor — Japanese mutual fund NAV and distribution data
Morningstar / Seeking Alpha — analyst ratings and stock intelligence data
BSE India — corporate-actions (dividend) data for Indian holdings (v2.5+)
Nasdaq / NEOS / Goldman Sachs / JPMorgan — issuer-direct distribution data for covered-call and dividend ETFs (v2.5+)
Google Gemini (v2.4+) — AI Explain, Portfolio Q&A, and AI Market Briefing generation. Bring-your-own-key when used directly from your device; Apple Intelligence on-device fallback available on supported hardware

9. ETF Distribution Classification & Tax Intelligence

From v2.5 onwards, Horizon Market Compass surfaces distribution composition and tax classification for covered-call ETFs and select dividend ETFs (NEOS Yield Series, JPMorgan equity-premium income family, Goldman Sachs, traditional dividend ETFs, etc.). The app pulls per-distribution data from issuer-direct Section 19(a)-1 notices and Nasdaq dividend feeds where available, and may approximate splits into qualified, ordinary, return-of-capital, and Section 1256 components for funds without explicit notices. You acknowledge that:

Section 19(a)-1 notices are preliminary mid-year estimates issued by the fund. Final tax classifications are determined at year-end on Form 1099-DIV (Boxes 1a, 1b, 2a, 3, etc.) and on your broker-issued consolidated tax statement.
For funds without explicit Section 19(a)-1 coverage, classifications reflect typical splits observed in prior tax years and may not match the actual final breakdown for any given year.
Tax-advantaged-fraction scoring inside the Compounder Score (ETF path) is an indicative quality signal, not a tax-filing computation.
Yield-on-Cost figures, dividend CAGR projections, and after-tax income forecasts reflect historical data and assumed treaty / withholding rates. They do not constitute tax advice and are not a substitute for guidance from a qualified tax professional in your jurisdiction.
Funds may revise distribution classifications during or after the tax year. The app's data sources are refreshed periodically but may lag actual notices.
Always reconcile against your broker's year-end Form 1099-DIV and 1099-B before filing taxes.

10. Regional Notice

This app is available globally. Local laws and regulations regarding financial information and investment services vary by country. It is your responsibility to ensure that use of this app complies with the laws of your jurisdiction.

      If you are located in India, Japan, Hong Kong, China, or the United States, please be aware that this app does not constitute regulated investment advice under the laws of those jurisdictions (SEBI IA Regulations, Japan FIEA, Hong Kong SFO, China Securities Law, or the US Investment Advisers Act 1940). Horizon Market Compass is a data display and analytical tool only.
    

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, MARS Studio, its founders, developers, and affiliates shall not be liable for any loss or damage — including direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential loss — arising from your use of or reliance on Horizon Market Compass or any data, score, valuation, or analysis it provides.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the app after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

13. Contact

Questions about these terms? Contact us at hmc-privacy@marsstudio.app or write to us at MARS Studio, marsstudio.app.