Quick answer
An end user license agreement (EULA) is the contract that licenses your software to a user instead of selling it, and sets the limits: no copying, reverse engineering or resale, plus updates, termination and liability. Playxoft's free EULA generator asks what you distribute, such as an app, desktop software or a game, and builds a matching agreement as HTML, Markdown or plain text. On the App Store, Apple applies its standard EULA unless you supply your own. It is a template, not legal advice.
- Apps, desktop software and games
- License grant and restrictions
- Apple minimum terms section
- Steam section
- Virtual items and anti-cheat
- HTML, Markdown and text
How to use the EULA Generator
- 1In Product, choose what you distribute (a mobile app, desktop software or a game) and where: the App Store, Google Play or Steam.
- 2In Publisher, add your company name, postal address, phone number and email. Apple's minimum terms require all four for App Store apps.
- 3In Features, turn on payments, virtual currency, loot boxes, multiplayer and anti-cheat if your product has them.
- 4In Rules, set the governing law, where disputes are heard and your liability cap.
- 5Copy or download the EULA and show it at install or first launch. For the App Store, paste the plain-text version into App Store Connect.
What is an EULA?
An EULA licenses software; it does not sell it. The user gets permission to install and use a copy on your terms, while you keep ownership of the code. That is what lets you forbid copying, reverse engineering and redistribution, end the license when someone breaks the rules, and ship updates that change features.
A typical EULA includes:
- License grant: personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable, on devices the user owns or controls.
- Restrictions: no copying, modifying, reverse engineering, renting or reselling, except where the law allows it.
- Ownership: you keep every right you do not expressly grant.
- Updates and support: whether you provide them, and that updates may install automatically.
- Third-party components: open-source and SDK licenses that also apply.
- Termination: the license ends if the user breaks the terms, and the user must delete the software.
- Warranty disclaimer and limitation of liability, as far as the law allows.
- Export controls and governing law.
EULA vs terms of service: which do I need?
| EULA | Terms of service | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | The software installed on a device | An online service, account or website |
| Core idea | A license to use a copy | Rules for using the service |
| Typical products | Desktop software, mobile apps, games, SDKs | SaaS, websites, online platforms |
| Key clauses | License grant, no reverse engineering, no resale | Accounts, acceptable use, payments, user content |
| Accepted | At install or first launch | At sign-up or checkout |
Many products need both. A mobile game with online play typically has an EULA for the app and terms for its online accounts, chat and store; you can combine them in one document or link two. Create the service terms with the terms and conditions generator, and cover the data you collect with a privacy policy.
Do I need my own EULA on the App Store?
Not necessarily. Apple provides a standard EULA that applies in every country and region: if you do not provide a custom one, the standard EULA applies to your app and no license link appears on your product page. You can enter a custom EULA in App Store Connect, as plain text only: HTML tags are stripped and only line breaks are kept (Apple).
A custom EULA must include Apple's minimum terms, among them:
- The EULA is between you and the user only, not Apple.
- Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support.
- You, not Apple, are responsible for warranties, product claims and intellectual property claims; if the app fails a warranty, the user may notify Apple for a refund of the purchase price.
- The user confirms they are not in an embargoed country or on a restricted-parties list.
- Your name, postal address, phone number and email for questions, complaints and claims, and the user's duty to follow third-party terms.
- Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries who may enforce the EULA.
When you choose the App Store, the generator adds an Apple App Store section that covers each of these in its own words; choose Steam and it adds a note that the Steam Subscriber Agreement also applies.
Apps with auto-renewable subscriptions must also link their terms of use and privacy policy in the app and in App Store metadata (Apple).
What can't an EULA forbid?
Not every restriction holds everywhere. In the EU, the Software Directive lets a lawful user make a backup copy, observe and test how a program works and, in limited cases, decompile it for interoperability, and any contract term that forbids those is void (Directive 2009/24/EC). The Court of Justice also held in UsedSoft v Oracle that selling a downloaded copy with a perpetual license can exhaust your right to stop its resale (C-128/11). Consumer law limits warranty disclaimers and liability caps just as it limits terms and conditions.
Word restrictions "except as permitted by applicable law" so the rest of the clause survives where one part does not. The generator gives you a well-structured agreement to start from; it is a template, not legal advice, so have a lawyer review it before you license software to businesses or ship it at scale.
What should a game EULA include?
Games need a few clauses ordinary software does not:
- Virtual currency and items are licensed, not owned, have no real-world value and cannot be exchanged for money.
- Cheating, bots and exploits end the license. Say what detection you run, and disclose the data it collects in your game privacy policy.
- Mods and user content: what players may create and share, and the license they give you.
- Online features may change or shut down; say how much notice you will give.
- Loot boxes: where the odds are published. The App Store and Google Play both require the odds to be shown before purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Last updated by the Playxoft engineering team.