GENERAL INFORMATION · JULY 2026
Start with a fair question, not a sales pitch
Plenty of small apps ship with documents the team prepared themselves. A careful builder who has mapped the app’s real data flows, matched the app-store disclosures, and written in plain language can produce a Privacy Policy and Terms of Use that hold up for a simple product. If that describes you, the useful next step may be another read-through, not a lawyer.
So the first question is not “who can I pay,” but “where does my app actually sit?”
When self-prepared documents are usually enough
A self-prepared set is often reasonable when all of these are true:
- The app collects little, and what it collects is ordinary — an account, basic diagnostics, maybe one analytics tool.
- Nothing sensitive is involved: no children’s data, no health or financial data, no precise location, no biometric data.
- There are no payments, subscriptions, or in-app purchases beyond the app store’s own billing.
- The data map is short enough that the team can name every SDK and where each one sends data.
- The documents were written for this app, not copied from another company’s policy.
If you can read your own Privacy Policy and answer, for every line, “yes, that is what the app does,” you are in decent shape. Two of the notes here help you check that directly: mapping what a privacy policy actually needs to explain, and keeping the policy and the app-store labels telling the same story. If you would rather work through it as a list, the 12-point read-through is free and takes about an hour.
When a focused review starts to earn its cost
A written legal review becomes worth considering when the app moves past the simple case. Common triggers:
- The app touches sensitive or regulated data — children or minors, health, financial, precise location, or biometric information.
- There are payments, subscriptions, trials, or renewals to describe accurately.
- Several third-party SDKs or an AI provider receive user data, and the sharing story is no longer obvious.
- The documents were adapted from a generator or from another app, and no one has checked them against what this app really does.
- An app store returned a privacy question or a rejection, or a change is planned that alters data practices.
- The user base is growing, or an investor, partner, or enterprise customer has started asking about the documents.
None of these means something is wrong. They mean the gap between “what the documents say” and “what the app does” now costs more to get wrong — and a second set of eyes, in writing, is worth the price.
What a Focused Review is — and is not
App Counsel Studio offers one contained service, the Focused Review: a $275 flat fee written review of your app’s existing, final-form Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, for one app, under Tennessee law.
You provide both documents in final form. You receive written issue spots and considerations for those two documents — the places where the language and the product may not line up, and the questions worth resolving before launch. That is the whole service. If you want to see the shape of the written work before deciding, there is an illustrative example.
To keep it honest, here is what it is not:
- It is not drafting. The review does not write your documents or rewrite them for you.
- It is not revisions, redlines, or a compliance certification.
- It is not open-ended advice, and it is not a sales call.
- It does not cover more than the two documents for the one app you submit.
If what you actually need is someone to write the documents, or to advise a company outside Tennessee, this focused service is not the fit — and it is better to know that up front.
How the private path works
The intake is built to share as little as possible, as late as possible:
- Names first. A short private application: confirm both documents are ready, then give proposed-client and contact identity only. No app description, no files, no payment at this stage.
- Scope and engagement, only after acceptance. If the matter is accepted, you receive the attorney’s identity, the exact scope, a written engagement, and a delivery window before any documents or payment are requested.
- One quiet workspace. Messages, documents, the payment record, matter status, and the written work product stay together in one place, rather than scattered across email.
Intake is limited and opens in quarterly windows.
The useful last check
Before you decide either way, read your own two documents once more and ask: could a careful user, and a careful app reviewer, read these and understand what actually happens to a person’s information? If the answer depends on something only your team knows, the documents are not finished yet — with or without a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a lawyer to review my app’s Privacy Policy and Terms before launch?
Not always. A simple app that collects little, involves no sensitive or regulated data, and has documents written for that specific product can often be prepared and checked by the team itself. A written legal review is worth considering when the app touches sensitive data, handles payments or subscriptions, shares data with several SDKs or an AI provider, reused documents from a generator or another app, or has drawn an app-store privacy question. This is general information, not legal advice.
What does the Focused Review actually check?
It is a written review of your app’s existing, final-form Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for one app, under Tennessee law. You receive written issue spots and considerations — the places where the documents and the product may not line up, and the questions worth resolving. It does not include drafting, revisions, a compliance certification, or open-ended advice.
How much does an app Privacy Policy and Terms of Use review cost?
The Focused Review is a flat $275 for one app and both documents. Scope, a written engagement, and a delivery window are provided before any documents or payment are requested.
Will you write or fix my documents for me?
No. The Focused Review does not draft or rewrite documents. You provide both documents in final form, and you receive written issue spots and considerations for them. If you need documents drafted, this focused service is not the fit.
Does applying create an attorney-client relationship?
No. Applying does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Focused Review is a limited legal service provided only under a written engagement, entered after a matter is accepted.
What information do I share, and when?
As little as possible, as late as possible. The first step asks only that you confirm both documents are ready and provide proposed-client and contact identity — no app description, files, or payment. Scope and a written engagement come only after acceptance, before any documents or payment are requested.
Have both documents in final form? Begin the private Focused Review →
Reading this page does not make your documents compliant, correct, or approved.