Terms of Service

1. Introduction

Welcome to Nowline ("we", "our", or "us"). These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Nowline website, APIs, RSS feeds, and all related 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 use the Service.

2. Service Status

The Service is provided on a commercially reasonable basis. By using the Service, you acknowledge and agree that:

• The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis.
• The Service may contain bugs, errors, or inaccuracies. Data, analysis, and AI-generated content may be incomplete, incorrect, or misleading.
• The Service may experience occasional downtime due to maintenance, updates, or unforeseen issues.
• We target 99.5% monthly uptime for the Service hosted on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), but this is a goal, not a guarantee. Scheduled maintenance windows will be communicated in advance when possible.
• Features may be added, modified, or removed with reasonable notice.
• The Service offers both free and paid tiers. Free tier features may be limited or changed at any time (see Section 10).
• You should not rely on the Service as your sole source of information for any critical decision-making.

3. Service Description

Nowline is an AI-powered real-time issue intelligence platform that:

• Collects and analyzes signals from publicly available news, social media, and online communities.
• Uses artificial intelligence to detect emerging issues, predict viral potential, and generate content summaries.
• Provides trend analysis, viral scoring, early detection, and cross-regional comparison features.
• Delivers information via web interface, API, and RSS feeds.

4. User Accounts

To access certain features of the Service, you must sign in using Google OAuth. By creating an account, you agree that:

• You will provide accurate and complete information.
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and API keys.
• You will not share your API keys with unauthorized third parties.
• You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account.
• We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

5. AI-Generated Content and Data Accuracy

The Service relies heavily on artificial intelligence and third-party AI services. You acknowledge and agree that:

• Content summaries, trend analyses, viral predictions, style recommendations, and other outputs are generated by AI and may contain errors, hallucinations, or inaccuracies.
• We use third-party AI services (including but not limited to Google Gemini, Groq, and local language models) for content generation, analysis, and embeddings. We are not responsible for the output quality, availability, or accuracy of these third-party services.
• AI-generated content does not constitute professional advice (financial, legal, medical, or otherwise). You should independently verify any information before acting on it.
• The viral prediction scores and trend analyses are estimates based on available data and should not be relied upon as definitive predictions.
• AI models may produce biased, offensive, or inappropriate content despite our best efforts to filter such outputs. We disclaim responsibility for any such content.

6. Third-Party Services and Data Sources

The Service integrates with and depends on various third-party services and data sources. You acknowledge that:

• We rely on third-party AI providers (Google Gemini, Groq, etc.) for core functionality. Service disruptions, rate limits, or changes to these providers may impact the Service without notice.
• Data is collected from publicly available third-party sources (news sites, social media, communities). We do not control these sources and are not responsible for their content accuracy.
• Third-party service outages, API changes, or discontinuations may cause partial or complete Service unavailability. We bear no liability for such events.
• Your use of the Service is also subject to the terms and policies of the third-party services we use (Google OAuth, Cloudflare, etc.).

7. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE FROM VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY CONTENT, DATA, OR ANALYSIS PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE.

8. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL NOWLINE, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, RELIANCE ON ANY CONTENT OR DATA PROVIDED BY THE SERVICE, ACTIONS TAKEN BASED ON AI-GENERATED CONTENT OR PREDICTIONS, OR ANY INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION, OR TERMINATION OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS (USD $100), WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

9. Service Availability

The Service is hosted on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and we strive to maintain high availability. However, we do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted access. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to scheduled maintenance, updates, infrastructure issues, third-party service outages, or other factors beyond our control. We will make commercially reasonable efforts to minimize downtime and restore the Service promptly. Scheduled maintenance will be communicated in advance when possible.

10. Paid Subscriptions

The Service offers paid subscription plans ("Pro") in addition to a free tier. By subscribing to a paid plan, you agree that:

• Subscriptions are billed monthly and automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless cancelled.
• You may cancel your subscription at any time through the Settings page or Stripe Customer Portal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
• No refunds are provided for partial billing periods. If you cancel mid-cycle, you retain access until the end of your paid period.
• We reserve the right to change subscription pricing with at least 30 days' advance notice. Price changes apply to the next billing cycle after the notice period.
• Free tier users may access limited features. Some features currently available for free may become part of a paid tier.
• We process payments through Stripe. Your payment information is handled directly by Stripe and is not stored on our servers.
• We may suspend or terminate paid subscriptions for violations of these Terms, with a prorated refund at our discretion.

11. Intellectual Property

All content, features, and functionality of the Service, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, and software, are owned by Nowline and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works of the Service or its content without our prior written consent. AI-generated content provided to you through the Service may be used for your personal or internal business purposes, but may not be redistributed or commercially exploited.

12. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws.
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service.
• Use automated tools (bots, scrapers) to access the Service beyond the provided APIs and RSS feeds.
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its related systems.
• Use the Service to distribute spam, malware, or harmful content.
• Exceed reasonable API usage limits or deliberately abuse the Service resources.

13. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. You may delete your account at any time through the Settings page. We are not liable for any loss of data or access resulting from termination.

14. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time.

• Updated Terms will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date.
• Material changes will be communicated through the Service or via email.
• Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
• If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service.

15. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising from these Terms or the Service shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Snohomish County, Washington.