Last updated: September 9, 2026
Cathode is a display toy. It fills the screen of your iPhone or iPad with animated visual effects — falling glyphs, starfields, particle systems, plasma fields and so on — that are drawn live on the device while you watch. There is nothing else to it. It stores no information about you, connects to no server, and has no account.
Everything Cathode shows is generated by the app itself. Nothing on screen is real data, a real system, or a real connection, and none of it should be presented to anyone as though it were. The console text, network traces, radar contacts and readouts are decorative fiction.
Cathode is not a diagnostic, monitoring, measurement, security, or communications tool, and it does not do anything to your device beyond drawing on the screen. Do not use it, or any screenshot or recording of it, to suggest that a system has been accessed, monitored, compromised, or repaired.
Some effects flicker, strobe, or change brightness rapidly. If you have photosensitive epilepsy or are sensitive to flashing imagery, use the Speed and Glow controls to slow and soften the effects, or do not use the app. Stop immediately if you feel unwell.
Effects also keep the display awake and can raise it to full brightness. Running one for a long time will use noticeably more battery and can make the device warm. Both behaviours are switches you control in Settings.
Cathode is free to download. The Digital Rain effect is free forever, at full quality, with every colour and motion setting available and no time limit, no watermark, and no advertising.
Cathode Unlimited is a single one-time purchase that unlocks the other nineteen effects and raises the saved-preset limit. It is not a subscription. It does not renew, and you will not be charged again. The price shown in the app is whatever your App Store region charges; it is read live from the App Store and is never stored in the app.
Purchases are handled entirely by Apple. We never see your payment details. Cathode Unlimited is tied to your Apple Account, is shareable through Family Sharing, and can be restored on your other devices with Restore Purchase. Refunds are handled by Apple, not by us. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com under the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions.
Cathode runs entirely on your device. Do not redistribute the app or extract and resell its assets.
Cathode is provided as is, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss, injury, or damage arising from your use of Cathode.
Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, and nothing here affects statutory consumer rights you may have.
We may update these terms when the app changes. The current version is always available inside the app and on our website. Continuing to use Cathode after an update means you accept the revised terms.
Questions about these terms: yzd3008@icloud.com