Legal

Terms of Service

Effective Date: 2026-05-03 · Last Updated: 2026-05-03

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Shpots mobile application ("the App") provided by Shpots ("we", "us", "our"). By creating an account or using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the App (16 in the European Union and United Kingdom). By using the App, you represent that you meet this age requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

2. Your account

• You sign in using Apple or Google. You are responsible for keeping the underlying Apple ID or Google account secure.
• You may choose a username, which other members of any collaborative collection you join can see.
• One person, one account. Don't create multiple accounts to circumvent limits or bans.
• You are responsible for all activity under your account.

3. Subscriptions ("Shpots Plus")

The App is free to use. Cloud backup, multi-device sync, and live collaborative collections require a Shpots Plus subscription.

3.1 Pricing

• Monthly: $1.99 USD per month.
• Yearly: $14.99 USD per year.

Pricing in other currencies and regions is set by Apple based on local market conversions. The price you see at purchase is the price you pay.

3.2 Auto-renewal

• Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends.
• Renewal is billed to your Apple ID at the same price you signed up at.
• Apple charges your account 24 hours before each renewal.

3.3 Cancellation

• You can cancel any time in iOS Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Shpots, or via the in-app "Manage Subscription" link.
• Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — you keep access until then. We do not issue partial refunds for the unused portion.
• Refund requests for any reason go through Apple at https://support.apple.com/HT204084. We do not have the ability to issue refunds directly.

3.4 What you get with Shpots Plus

• 25 GB of cloud media storage shared across spots and collections.
• Automatic cloud backup of your spots, photos, videos, and collections.
• Sync across iPhone and iPad.
• Ability to create and own live collaborative collections (up to 14 other members).

3.5 Storage limits

• If you exceed your 25 GB storage cap, new uploads will fail with a clear error until you free space (delete spots, photos, or videos) or your storage usage drops below the cap.
• Existing data is never auto-deleted for being over the cap.

3.6 Subscription lapse

If your subscription lapses (you cancel and the period ends, or payment fails and Apple's retries are exhausted):

• You enter a 30-day grace window. During this window, your cloud data is retained but read-only — you can browse and download but not upload new content from cloud-backup features.
• After the grace window, cloud-only data may be deleted. Local data on your device is never affected by subscription lapse.
• For collaborative collections you own, you may be prompted to transfer ownership to another paid member or the collection may eventually be archived.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Upload content that is illegal, infringing on someone else's intellectual property, defamatory, hateful, harassing, or sexually explicit.
• Upload content depicting minors in sexual or exploitative contexts (this is unconditional and reportable to law enforcement).
• Use the App to stalk, harass, or threaten anyone.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the App, except as expressly permitted by law.
• Probe, scan, or test the security of the App or our infrastructure without prior written permission.
• Use automated scripts, scrapers, or bots to interact with the App in ways that imitate real users.
• Resell access to the App, your account, or any cloud features.
• Upload viruses, malware, or any code intended to damage other users' devices.

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of this section, with or without notice.

5. User content

• You keep ownership of every spot, photo, video, note, and collection you create. We don't claim copyright over your content.
• You grant us a limited license to host, transmit, display, back up, and process your content only as necessary to provide the App (sync between your devices, deliver shared content to people you choose, generate thumbnails, etc.). This license ends when you delete your content or your account.
• You are solely responsible for your content. You represent that you have the rights to upload anything you upload.

6. Sharing and collaborative collections

• When you share a spot or collection via link, anyone with the link can see the content until the link expires or is revoked. You are responsible for who you share with.
• In a collaborative collection you own, members you invite can add their own spots and photos. Their content belongs to them; your content belongs to you. If you delete the collection or transfer ownership, content reattribution rules in the App apply.
• Members can leave a collection at any time. Spots they added stay with the collection unless they delete the spots first.
• We are not responsible for actions or content of other members of a collaborative collection.

7. Free tier

• Every feature of the App that is not cloud backup, sync, or live collaboration is available on the free tier with no time limit.
• Free-tier data lives only on your device. If you lose, reset, or replace your device without backup, your data is lost. Subscribing to Shpots Plus before that happens is the recommended way to protect your data.

8. Intellectual property

The App, its design, code, and trademarks (including the name "Shpots") are owned by Shpots and protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, personal, non-transferable, revocable license to use the App per these Terms.

Map data is provided by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap and is subject to their respective licenses.

9. Disclaimers

THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. We do not warrant that:

• The App will always be available, uninterrupted, or error-free.
• Sync will complete within any specific time.
• Map locations, weather data, sun/moon timing, or addresses are accurate. Do not use the App for navigation in life-safety situations (boating, aviation, mountaineering, etc.) without independent verification from authoritative sources.
• Cloud backup will protect against all data loss. We use industry-standard practices but offer no absolute guarantee. Keep your own local backups for irreplaceable content.

10. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SHPOTS AND ITS OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AND CONTRACTORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• Any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages.
• Lost profits, lost data, or loss of goodwill.
• Damages exceeding the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose, or (b) USD $50.

Some jurisdictions do not allow these limitations; in those jurisdictions our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Shpots from any claim, damage, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from:

• Your violation of these Terms.
• Content you upload.
• Your interactions with other users (in shared or collaborative collections).

12. Termination

• You may stop using the App at any time. Delete the App and use "Nuke Account" inside the App to wipe all server-side data.
• We may suspend or terminate your account for violation of these Terms, with or without notice.
• Sections that by their nature should survive termination (intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law) survive.

13. Changes to the Terms

We may update these Terms occasionally. The "Last Updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change. Material changes will be communicated via in-app notice or email at least 30 days before they take effect. Continuing to use the App after the effective date of an updated version constitutes acceptance.

14. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of California, USA, without regard to conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the App will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in California, USA, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

If you are a consumer in a jurisdiction with mandatory consumer protection laws, those laws apply notwithstanding this section.

15. Apple-specific terms

This section applies if you obtained the App from the Apple App Store:

• These Terms are between you and Shpots, not Apple. Apple is not responsible for the App or its content.
• Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the App.
• Apple is not responsible for any product warranties (express or implied). To the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App.
• Apple is not responsible for addressing claims by you or any third party relating to the App, including product liability, regulatory compliance, or consumer protection claims.
• In the case of any third-party claim that the App or your use of it infringes that third party's intellectual property rights, Apple is not responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, or discharge of the claim.
• You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. government embargo or designated by the U.S. government as a "terrorist supporting" country, and that you are not on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms with the right to enforce them against you.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms:

Shpots
support@shpots.live

This document is a template. The author is responsible for reviewing it with legal counsel for the relevant jurisdiction.