Terms of Service

Effective: [EFFECTIVE_DATE]

Template notice — review before relying on: This document is a starting template generated for donationDefender. Placeholders in [BRACKETS] must be filled in, and the whole document should be reviewed by qualified legal counsel before it is published as the operative terms of your service.

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of donationDefender, including the donationDefender website, mobile applications, and related services (collectively, the “Service”), operated by [LEGAL_ENTITY_NAME] (“we,” “us,” or “donationDefender”). By creating an account or otherwise accessing the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

donationDefender helps thrift stores, donation centers, and similar organizations photograph, catalog, and estimate the value of donated items using AI-assisted image analysis. The Service includes account creation, photo upload, automated item identification and value estimation, collection organization, and tax-receipt support features.

3. Eligibility & Accounts

You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to create an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly at [SUPPORT_EMAIL] if you suspect unauthorized access.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law or regulation;
Upload content you do not have the right to upload, or that infringes the intellectual property or privacy rights of others;
Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise extract source code from the Service;
Use automated systems (bots, scrapers) to access or interact with the Service without our written permission;
Interfere with the security or integrity of the Service or the data of other users.

5. Your Content

You retain ownership of the photos, item descriptions, and other content you upload to the Service (“Your Content”). By uploading Your Content, you grant donationDefender a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, process, transmit, and analyze Your Content solely for the purpose of providing the Service to you and your organization. This license terminates when you delete the content or close your account, subject to reasonable backup retention periods described in our Privacy Policy.

6. AI-Generated Output — Not Professional Advice

donationDefender uses third-party artificial intelligence models (currently provided via Anthropic Claude through AWS Bedrock) to identify items, assess condition, and estimate donation values. These outputs are informational estimates only and are not appraisals, financial advice, or tax advice. AI estimates may be inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. You are solely responsible for any decision you make based on the Service’s output, including but not limited to:

Setting retail or resale prices for donated items;
Filing IRS Form 8283 or any other tax document — consult a qualified tax professional for non-cash charitable contribution valuations;
Insurance claims, appraisals, or any legally binding valuation.

7. Subscriptions, Billing & Refunds

donationDefender offers free and paid subscription plans. Paid plans are billed in advance on a recurring basis through Stripe, our third-party payment processor. By subscribing, you authorize us (through Stripe) to charge your payment method for the applicable fees. Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each billing period unless cancelled. You may cancel at any time from your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Refunds are issued at our discretion; we are not obligated to provide refunds for partial billing periods or unused features. We may change subscription pricing with at least 30 days’ notice to active subscribers.

8. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its software, design, trademarks, and branding (other than Your Content), is owned by [LEGAL_ENTITY_NAME] and protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service in accordance with these Terms.

9. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time from your account settings. We may suspend or terminate your access if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, or to comply with legal obligations. We will notify you of material termination decisions by email where practical. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 8, 10, 11, and 12) survive.

10. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR ACCURACY OF AI-GENERATED OUTPUT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL [LEGAL_ENTITY_NAME] BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) USD $100.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless [LEGAL_ENTITY_NAME] and its officers, employees, and affiliates from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your violation of these Terms or your misuse of the Service.

13. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of [GOVERNING_STATE], United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in [GOVERNING_COUNTY], [GOVERNING_STATE], and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify active users by email and update the “Effective” date above. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at [SUPPORT_EMAIL].