Legal
Terms of service
Effective date: TODO. set on legal review
Not reviewed by a lawyer yet TODO
This page is drafted from a code-derived data map (LEGAL-DISCLOSURE-MAP.md),
not from a template — but generated and drafted legal prose is fluent and can still be
wrong about what actually happens. Every section below with a TODO
marker needs a qualified lawyer's review before this page governs anything. Do not treat it
as final.
1. Acceptance and eligibility
By installing or using alcoia you agree to these terms. You must be at least 16 to use alcoia directly. Institutional deployment to users younger than that requires a separate agreement TODO.
2. Two different things this covers
The browser extension client is licensed to you under AGPL-3.0. that licence, not these terms, governs the software itself, including your right to run, study, modify and redistribute it. These terms instead govern the hosted service: the backend that generates questions, explanations and signs receipts, and your account if you have one. Conflating the two is a common drafting error and we're naming it so it doesn't happen here.
3. Licence grant and restrictions
Subject to these terms, you may use the hosted service for personal or institutional reading assistance. You may not use it to build a competing service, to circumvent rate limits or metering, or to monitor another person's reading without their knowledge or consent. see section 6.
4. Account terms
An account is required only for paid features and AI assists beyond the free monthly allowance. You're responsible for activity under your account and for keeping your credentials secure.
5. Acceptable use
No reverse engineering the hosted service beyond what AGPL-3.0 already permits for the client; no abusive request volume; no attempting to extract another user's data.
6. No covert monitoring. a contractual term, not just a design promise
You may not use alcoia to monitor another person's reading without their knowledge and action. There is no covert mode in the product, and using alcoia to attempt to build one . for example, by installing it on a device without the reader's knowledge. is a breach of these terms.
7. AI output disclaimer
Questions, explanations and summaries are generated by a language model and may be wrong. They must not be relied on as fact, as academic advice, or as a substitute for reading the source. This matters more than usual here: alcoia is used in an educational context, and an incorrect "correct answer" on a question card is a foreseeable harm we want you to be alert to.
8. The receipt
A signed reading receipt indicates only that the receipt file is unaltered since alcoia issued it. It is not proof that a reading occurred. the figures inside come from the reader's own browser. Any institution accepting a receipt as evidence of anything must be told, in these terms and in writing, what a receipt does not prove. We disclaim liability for any academic, employment or other decision made on the basis of a receipt.
9. Third-party content
alcoia operates on pages it does not control, author or endorse. We are not responsible for the content of pages you read with it.
10. Intellectual property
You retain ownership of content you create in alcoia (notes, highlights). The hosted service, its branding and its non-AGPL-licensed components remain our property or that of our licensors.
11. Warranty disclaimer and limitation of liability TODO
The service is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our liability is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months preceding the claim. TODO: finalise limitation-of-liability language and jurisdiction-specific carve-outs with counsel.
12. Indemnification TODO
TODO: standard mutual indemnification clause, drafted with counsel.
13. Service availability and changes
No uptime SLA applies to free-tier use. Paid tiers receive advance notice of material changes to the service. We may update these terms; material changes will be dated and noted, mirroring the process in the privacy policy.
14. Termination
You may stop using alcoia at any time by uninstalling the extension and cancelling any subscription. We may suspend accounts that breach section 5 or 6.
15. Governing law and dispute resolution TODO
TODO: set governing law and forum once the legal entity and jurisdiction of incorporation are confirmed.
16. Severability and contact
If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Questions: legal@alcoia.com.