Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("you," "your," or "User") and Tandem ("we," "us," "our," or the "Company") governing your access to and use of the Tandem website, applications, and services (collectively, the "Service").

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.

We may modify these Terms at any time. We will provide notice of material changes by posting the updated Terms on the Service and updating the "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

2. Eligibility

2.1 Geographic Restrictions

The Service is available only to users located in the United States and Canada. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are physically located in, and are a legal resident of, the United States or Canada.

We may use technical measures to verify your location. If we determine that you are accessing the Service from outside the United States or Canada, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access.

2.2 Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are between 13 and 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agrees to these Terms on your behalf.

By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these eligibility requirements.

2.3 Account Registration

To access certain features of the Service, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration
• Maintain and promptly update your account information
• Maintain the security of your password and account
• Accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account

3. Your Content and Intellectual Property

3.1 Ownership

As between you and Tandem, you own all right, title, and interest in and to:

• All text, stories, manuscripts, and written content you create
• All character descriptions, profiles, and development notes
• All plot outlines, story structures, and world-building elements
• All brainstorming notes, ideas, and creative concepts
• Any other content you submit, post, or create through the Service ("Your Content")

We do not claim any ownership rights in Your Content.

3.2 License Grant to Tandem

To provide the Service, you grant Tandem a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to:

• Store Your Content on our servers
• Process Your Content to provide Service features (e.g., character tracking, AI assistance)
• Display Your Content back to you
• Create backups for data protection purposes

This license is solely for the purpose of operating, developing, and improving the Service for you. This license terminates when you delete Your Content or your account.

3.3 What We Will Never Do With Your Content

• Never train AI models: We will never use Your Content to train, fine-tune, or improve any AI or machine learning models
• Never sell or share: We will never sell, license, or share Your Content with third parties
• Never use for marketing: We will never use Your Content in our marketing materials
• Never read without permission: We will never read Your Content except when you explicitly request technical support assistance

3.4 Tandem's Intellectual Property

The Service, including its design, features, functionality, software, and documentation, is owned by Tandem and protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service without our written permission.

4. AI Features and Limitations

4.1 Nature of AI Assistance

Tandem uses artificial intelligence to help you organize your thoughts, track story elements, and brainstorm ideas. Our AI is designed to be a thinking partner, not a ghostwriter.

What Our AI Does

• Responds to your questions about your story and characters
• Helps you brainstorm and think through creative challenges
• Tracks characters, locations, and story elements you've created
• Organizes information you provide
• Helps you maintain continuity across your work

What Our AI Does NOT Do

• Generate prose, dialogue, or narrative text
• Write any portion of your manuscript
• Suggest how you should write or change your style
• Make creative decisions for you
• Auto-complete your sentences or paragraphs

4.2 AI Infrastructure

Our AI features are powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) Bedrock. When you use AI features:

• Your prompts and relevant content are sent to AWS Bedrock for processing
• AWS Bedrock does not use customer inputs to train its models
• Responses are generated in real-time and returned to you
• We do not maintain persistent AI memory beyond your stored data

4.3 AI Limitations and Disclaimers

You acknowledge and agree that:

• AI responses may be inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent
• AI assistance is provided "as is" without warranties
• You are solely responsible for reviewing and using any AI-assisted output
• AI is not a substitute for professional editorial, legal, or other expert advice
• You should not rely on AI for factual accuracy in your creative work

5. Subscriptions and Payment

5.1 Subscription Plans

Tandem offers both free and paid subscription plans. Paid plans provide additional features and capabilities as described on our pricing page.

5.2 Billing

For paid subscriptions:

• You will be billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annually)
• Payment is processed through Stripe, our third-party payment processor
• You authorize us to charge your payment method for all fees
• If payment fails, we may suspend access until payment is received

5.3 Price Changes

We may change subscription prices with at least 30 days' notice. Price changes will apply to your next billing cycle after the notice period.

5.4 Refunds

Subscription fees are generally non-refundable. However, if you are unsatisfied with the Service, contact us within 14 days of your initial purchase for a full refund.

6. Cancellation and Data Retention

6.1 Cancellation by You

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Upon cancellation:

• You will retain access to paid features until the end of your current billing period
• Your account will be downgraded to a free plan (if available) or deactivated
• Your data will enter our archival period

6.2 Data Archival Policy

6.3 Reactivation

If you reactivate your subscription within 6 months of cancellation:

• Your archived data will be fully restored
• All your content, characters, and story elements will be available
• Your account settings will be preserved

6.4 Account Deletion

You may request immediate and permanent deletion of your account and all associated data at any time by contacting us at support@tandem.app. Upon deletion request:

• Your account will be immediately deactivated
• All data will be permanently deleted within 30 days
• Backups will be purged within 90 days
• This action cannot be undone

6.5 Export Your Data

Before canceling or deleting your account, we strongly recommend exporting your data. You can export:

• All manuscripts, notes, and creative content
• Character profiles and story elements
• Conversation history with AI assistant

Export formats include JSON, Markdown, and plain text. Your data is yours—take it with you.

7. Acceptable Use

7.1 Permitted Use

You may use the Service for lawful purposes consistent with its intended function as a writing organization and brainstorming tool.

7.2 Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Violate any applicable law or regulation
• Infringe the intellectual property rights of others
• Upload or create content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service
• Use the Service to distribute malware or conduct cyberattacks
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated means to access the Service without permission
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Service
• Resell or sublicense access to the Service
• Use the Service in a manner that could damage, disable, or impair it

7.3 Content Guidelines

While we respect creative freedom, we reserve the right to remove content or terminate accounts that contain:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
• Content that promotes terrorism or violence
• Content that facilitates illegal activities

8. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability

8.1 Service "As Is"

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. We disclaim all warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

8.2 No Guarantee of Availability

We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service at any time with or without notice.

8.3 AI Disclaimer

AI-generated suggestions, organization, and brainstorming assistance are provided for convenience only. We make no warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of AI outputs. You are solely responsible for reviewing and using any AI-assisted content.

8.4 Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TANDEM SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
• Loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses
• Damages arising from your use or inability to use the Service
• Damages arising from any content obtained from the Service
• Unauthorized access, use, or alteration of your content

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR $100, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

8.5 Exceptions

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Tandem and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use of the Service
• Your Content
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any third-party rights
• Your violation of any applicable law

10. Termination

10.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your account at any time by canceling your subscription and requesting account deletion.

10.2 Termination by Tandem

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason, including if you breach these Terms.

10.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination:

• Your right to use the Service will immediately cease
• Unless terminated for cause, your data will be archived per our data archival policy (Section 6.2)
• If terminated for cause (e.g., Terms violation), we may delete your data immediately
• Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will survive

11. Governing Law and Disputes

11.1 Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

11.2 Dispute Resolution

Informal Resolution: Before filing any formal dispute, you agree to contact us at legal@tandem.app to attempt to resolve the dispute informally. Most disputes can be resolved this way.

Binding Arbitration: If we cannot resolve a dispute informally within 60 days, either party may initiate binding arbitration through the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration will be conducted in English.

11.3 Class Action Waiver

YOU AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

11.4 Exceptions

Either party may bring a lawsuit in court for: (a) disputes related to intellectual property; or (b) claims for injunctive relief.

11.5 Canadian Users

If you are a Canadian resident, you may have additional rights under provincial consumer protection laws. Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you have under applicable Canadian law that cannot be waived or limited by contract.

12. General Provisions

12.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Tandem regarding the Service.

12.2 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

12.3 Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of that right or provision.

12.4 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms without your consent in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

12.5 Notices

We may provide notices to you via email to the address associated with your account or by posting on the Service. You may provide notices to us at the contact information below.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us:

• General Inquiries: support@tandem.app
• Legal Matters: legal@tandem.app
• Privacy Questions: privacy@tandem.app

For questions about our trust commitments and how we protect your creative work, please see our Trust Promise.