Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing, browsing, or using ValidDraft ("Service"), a product of Sotolis ("Company", "we", "our", or "us"), you ("User", "you", or "your") acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"), our Privacy Policy, and all applicable laws and regulations.

If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms and that you agree to these Terms on behalf of that organization.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years of age to use ValidDraft. If you are under 18, you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet the eligibility requirements and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement.

3. Description of Service

ValidDraft is a behavioral biometrics verification service that analyzes writing patterns to verify human authorship. The service provides:

• Humanity score calculation based on behavioral signals (keystroke dynamics, cursor entropy, revision patterns)
• Optional video-based presence verification (Gold mode, with explicit consent)
• Verification certificates with unique short codes and shareable URLs
• A public discovery feed of opted-in verified content

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation.

4. User Accounts

To access core features, you must create an account using either email and password registration or Google OAuth. You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the security of your login credentials and any linked Google account
• All activities that occur under your ValidDraft account, whether or not you authorized them
• Notifying us immediately at hello@sotolis.com of any unauthorized access

We reserve the right to disable or delete accounts that are inactive for more than 12 consecutive months, after providing 30 days' prior notice via email. You may not create multiple accounts to circumvent credit limits, abuse free tiers, or violate these Terms.

5. Consent to Biometric Data Collection

Silver Mode (Keystroke Biometrics): When you use the writing editor, we collect keystroke timing, inter-key intervals, typing rhythm, revision patterns, pause durations, and cursor movement data. This behavioral data constitutes biometric information. It is processed in real-time to generate a verification score. Raw keystroke event logs are transmitted to our servers for analysis and are retained as part of the verification record for the duration specified by your plan.

Gold Mode (Video Biometrics): With your additional explicit consent at the time of each session, we capture video samples from your device camera. Video data is used to verify physical presence, engagement, and liveness. Video samples are transmitted to our servers for AI-based analysis. Video samples are deleted after analysis is complete; only the resulting scores are retained.

Purpose: Biometric data is collected solely for the purpose of verifying human authorship. It is not used for identification, surveillance, tracking, advertising, or any purpose other than generating your verification certificate.

Withdrawal: You may withdraw consent at any time through your account settings, by contacting us, or by ceasing use of the Service and deleting your account. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing performed prior to withdrawal. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Attempt to circumvent, manipulate, or game the verification system, including by simulating human-like keystroke patterns programmatically
• Use the service to facilitate or conceal academic dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation
• Submit content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, or infringes any third-party intellectual property or privacy rights
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to extract the source code, algorithms, or scoring models of the Service
• Use automated scripts, bots, scrapers, or other automated means to access the Service without our express written permission
• Create accounts under false pretenses, use another person's account, or create multiple accounts to abuse the credit system
• Attempt to interfere with, disrupt, or impose an unreasonable burden on the Service's infrastructure
• Use the Service to build a competing product or to benchmark the Service for competitive purposes without our written consent
• Share, resell, sublicense, or redistribute your account access or verification credits
• Misrepresent a verification certificate as applying to content other than the content that was actually verified

Violation of these restrictions may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account without refund, and we reserve the right to pursue any available legal remedies.

7. Verification Accuracy Disclaimer

Probabilistic Nature: Humanity scores are statistical assessments derived from behavioral patterns. No verification system achieves 100% accuracy. Scores reflect the likelihood of human authorship based on available signals but do not constitute a guarantee or legal determination.

Recommended Use: Humanity scores should be used as one factor among many when evaluating content authenticity. We recommend:

• Using verification results alongside other assessment methods
• Allowing for human review in edge cases or disputed results
• Considering context, environment, and circumstances of the writing session
• Never making irreversible decisions based solely on a humanity score

False Results: We acknowledge the possibility of both false positives (incorrectly flagging genuine human work) and false negatives (failing to detect AI-generated content). Factors including assistive technologies, unusual typing conditions, disabilities, multilingual input, and copying from one's own prior work may affect results. You agree not to hold ValidDraft or Sotolis liable for any consequences arising from false positive or false negative results.

8. Intellectual Property

Your Content: You retain full ownership of all content you submit to ValidDraft. By submitting content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to process, analyze, and store your content solely for the purpose of providing the verification service. We will not use your content for training AI models, for advertising, or for any purpose beyond verification without your explicit consent.

Our Property: The Service, including its software, algorithms, scoring models, user interface, branding, trademarks, documentation, and all related intellectual property, is and remains the exclusive property of Sotolis. These Terms grant you no rights to our intellectual property except a limited, revocable, non-exclusive right to access and use the Service in accordance with these Terms.

Verification Certificates: Certificates generated by the Service are provided for your personal or professional use. You may share, embed, or link to your certificates. However, you may not modify certificate contents, forge or fabricate certificates, or misrepresent their meaning. Certificates remain verifiable through the Service and their validity depends on the continued operation of the verification URL.

9. Subscriptions & Payment Terms

Paid subscriptions (Pro at $9/month and Premium at $29/month) are billed monthly in advance via our payment processor, Dodo Payments. By subscribing, you expressly authorize recurring charges to your chosen payment method on each billing cycle until you cancel.

Cancellation: You may cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings. Upon cancellation, your paid plan benefits remain active until the end of your current billing period ("grace period"). After the grace period, your account reverts to the Free tier, and your monthly credits are reset to Free-tier allocations.

Refunds: We offer a full refund within 14 days of your initial subscription purchase if you are unsatisfied. Refund requests after 14 days, or for subsequent billing cycles, are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and are not guaranteed. Credits consumed during the refund period will be deducted from any refund at their pro-rata value. Contact hello@sotolis.com for refund requests.

Failed Payments: If a recurring payment fails, your subscription will be marked as past due. We may retry the charge. If payment remains unsuccessful, we reserve the right to downgrade your account to the Free tier after a 7-day grace period.

Price Changes: We reserve the right to modify subscription pricing with at least 30 days' written notice. Existing subscribers will be notified via email before any price change takes effect. If you do not agree to the new pricing, you may cancel before the new price takes effect.

Credits: Monthly verification credits (Silver and Gold) are allocated at the beginning of each billing period and do not roll over. Unused credits expire at the end of each billing period. Credits have no cash value and are non-transferable.

Taxes: All prices displayed are exclusive of applicable taxes unless otherwise stated. For customers in India, Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the applicable rate will be charged in addition to the subscription price in accordance with the GST Act, 2017. For customers in other jurisdictions, applicable sales tax, VAT, or equivalent consumption taxes may apply based on your location and will be displayed at checkout. You are responsible for providing accurate billing information, including your GSTIN (if applicable) for correct tax invoicing.

10. Data Retention by Plan

Verification certificates, associated scores, behavioral data, and submitted content are retained according to your subscription tier:

Premium verification data is retained for 2 years (730 days) from the date of verification. After this period, data is permanently deleted in accordance with our data retention policy. See Section 12 (Service Discontinuation) for details on data handling in the event the service ceases operations.

If you downgrade from a paid plan, existing verifications created under that plan retain their original retention period. New verifications will follow the retention rules of your current plan. You may request early deletion of any verification at any time from your dashboard.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties. In such jurisdictions, the above exclusions apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

12. Service Discontinuation

In the unlikely event that ValidDraft ceases operations, is acquired, or undergoes a material change in ownership:

• All users will receive at least 90 days' advance notice via email to their registered address
• Users will be provided with the ability to export all verification data, including certificates, scores, content, and metadata, in a standard machine-readable format (JSON and/or PDF)
• No new charges will be initiated after the discontinuation announcement
• Active paid subscriptions will be refunded on a pro-rata basis for the unused portion of their current billing period
• In the case of acquisition, the acquiring entity will be bound by these Terms with respect to existing user data for a minimum of 12 months following the acquisition

Premium retention (2 years) is the maximum retention period offered. This clause ensures that users have adequate time and means to preserve their verification records before any data is deleted.

13. Limitation of Liability

Liability Cap: Our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you paid to us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or (b) fifty US dollars ($50).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sotolis, its proprietor, contractors, agents, and service providers from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your use of the Service or any activity under your account
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any rights of a third party, including intellectual property rights
• Content you submit through the Service
• Any decision you or a third party makes based on a verification result

15. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

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

Informal Resolution: Before initiating any formal dispute resolution, you agree to first contact us at hello@sotolis.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

Arbitration: If informal resolution fails, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (India). The arbitration shall be conducted in English and the seat of arbitration shall be Bengaluru, India.

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. Where this waiver is not enforceable under your local law, it shall not apply.

Exceptions: Nothing in this section prevents either party from seeking injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction for the protection of intellectual property rights.

Data Protection Disputes: For disputes relating to the processing of personal data, you may also exercise your rights under the applicable data protection law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (India), the General Data Protection Regulation (EU/UK), or the California Consumer Privacy Act, as described in our Privacy Policy.

16. Termination

By You: You may terminate your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Any unused credits are forfeited. Data will be retained or deleted in accordance with the retention schedule of your plan at the time of termination.

By Us: We may suspend or terminate your access immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason, including but not limited to a breach of these Terms. Upon termination by us for cause, you are not entitled to any refund. We may also delete your account and data after providing 30 days' notice for accounts terminated without cause.

Survival: Sections relating to Intellectual Property, Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, Governing Law & Dispute Resolution, and any other provisions that by their nature should survive, shall survive termination of these Terms.

17. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with and relies upon third-party services, including but not limited to:

• Google OAuth: For user authentication. Subject to Google's Terms of Service
• Dodo Payments: For payment processing. Subject to Dodo Payments' terms and privacy policy
• Google Gemini API: For AI-assisted analysis of behavioral data. Content is processed per Google's API terms

We are not responsible for the practices, policies, or availability of any third-party services. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk and subject to the terms of those third parties.

18. Force Majeure

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, wars, terrorism, pandemics, government actions, power outages, internet or telecommunications failures, cyberattacks, or failures of third-party service providers.

19. Changes to Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. For material changes, we will provide at least 15 days' advance notice via email or a prominent notice within the Service before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Service and may cancel your account.

Non-material changes (such as formatting corrections or clarifications that do not affect your rights) may be made without advance notice. We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page for all changes.

20. General Provisions

Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and Sotolis regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and communications.

Severability: If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. Any waiver must be in writing and signed by an authorized representative of Sotolis.

Assignment: You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your rights under them without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations under these Terms without restriction.

Notices: All notices to you will be sent to the email address associated with your account. Notices to us should be sent to hello@sotolis.com.

21. Contact

For questions, concerns, or legal inquiries about these Terms:

Disputes and grievances are handled per the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and may be referred to the appropriate Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in addition to arbitration as specified in Section 15.