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Terms of Service

The agreement between you and AskAncients.

Effective: August 21, 2026

By creating an account or using AskAncients ("the Service"), you ("User," "you") agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, do not use the Service. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and AskAncients ("we," "us," "our").

1. Nature of the Service — Not Professional Advice

AskAncients is a personal reflection and intellectual exploration tool. It is NOT a substitute for professional help of any kind.

The Service uses artificial intelligence to present perspectives inspired by historical philosophers and thinkers. These perspectives are generated by a machine learning model, not by licensed professionals. The Service does not provide and shall not be construed as providing:

  • Medical, psychological, psychiatric, or therapeutic advice or treatment
  • Crisis intervention or suicide prevention services
  • Legal advice or legal representation
  • Financial, investment, or tax advice
  • Counseling or mental health services of any kind

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, suicidal thoughts, or thoughts of harming yourself or others, stop using this Service immediately and contact emergency services (911), the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988), or go to your nearest emergency room.

You acknowledge and agree that any actions you take based on content provided by the Service are taken entirely at your own risk and discretion. We bear no responsibility for any consequences — direct, indirect, or otherwise — arising from your interpretation of or reliance on any content provided by the Service.

2. Assumption of Risk

By using the Service, you expressly acknowledge and agree that:

  • All content generated by the Service is for informational and reflective purposes only.
  • You are solely responsible for your own decisions, actions, and wellbeing.
  • You will not rely on the Service as a substitute for professional judgment in any area, including but not limited to health, safety, legal matters, or financial decisions.
  • The Service cannot assess your mental state, emotional condition, or personal circumstances, and is not designed or equipped to do so.
  • You assume all risks associated with your use of the Service and any actions you take as a result of using the Service.

3. Your Account

  • You must provide a valid email address to create an account.
  • You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account.
  • You must be at least 18 years old to use AskAncients. The Service is intended solely for adults. By creating an account or using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older.
  • One person per account. Do not share accounts or create multiple accounts.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Service to generate content that is harmful, threatening, abusive, illegal, or violates others' rights.
  • Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, copy, or abuse the Service or its underlying API.
  • Misrepresent AskAncients's responses as professional advice of any kind to any person.
  • Use automated tools, bots, or scripts to access the Service beyond normal personal use.
  • Use the Service for any commercial purpose without our prior written consent.
  • Redistribute, republish, or commercially exploit any content generated by the Service.

5. Your Content

The questions you ask and reflections you write belong to you. We store your saved items and reflections to provide the Service; we do not retain the text of your consultations after they are processed. For Pro subscribers, we derive a short, editable "profile memory" from your inputs to personalize your experience, as described in our Privacy Policy. We do not sell your content or use it for advertising. You grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to store and process your content as necessary to operate the Service.

Content you write in The Vent is never stored by us. Once burned, it is permanently gone.

6. AI-Generated Content

Responses are generated by an AI model (Claude by Anthropic) drawing from a curated library of philosophical frameworks. You acknowledge and agree that:

  • AI-generated content may be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or inappropriate.
  • Responses are generated by algorithms, not human professionals, and should be treated accordingly.
  • The Service does not verify, endorse, or guarantee the accuracy, safety, or applicability of any AI-generated content.
  • Historical and philosophical claims made in responses may contain errors or oversimplifications.
  • You are solely responsible for evaluating the suitability of any content for your particular situation.

7. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of harmful components. We do not warrant that the content generated by the Service will be accurate, reliable, appropriate, or suitable for any particular purpose. We make no representations regarding the results that may be obtained from use of the Service.

8. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ASKANCIENTS, ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY:

  • INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES
  • LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES
  • PERSONAL INJURY, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, OR DEATH
  • DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY CONTENT PROVIDED BY THE SERVICE
  • DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY ACTIONS YOU TAKE OR FAIL TO TAKE BASED ON THE SERVICE
  • DAMAGES ARISING FROM UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR DATA

THIS LIMITATION APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OF THE SERVICE EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00).

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

9. Indemnification

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

  • Your use of or reliance on the Service or any content provided by the Service
  • Any actions you take or decisions you make based on content provided by the Service
  • Your violation of these Terms
  • Your violation of any applicable law or regulation
  • Any claim by a third party arising from your use of the Service
  • Any content you submit to the Service

10. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY — IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

You and AskAncients agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved through binding individual arbitration, rather than in court, except that either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in court for intellectual property disputes.

Arbitration shall be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in the State of Illinois, United States, or at another mutually agreed location, or by remote proceeding where the rules permit. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding.

YOU AGREE THAT YOU AND ASKANCIENTS ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY. YOU ALSO AGREE THAT YOU ARE WAIVING THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION, COLLECTIVE ACTION, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any form of class or representative proceeding.

If any part of this arbitration provision is found to be unenforceable, the remainder shall still apply. If the class action waiver is found to be unenforceable, the entire arbitration provision shall be null and void, and disputes shall be resolved in courts located in the State of Illinois.

11. Governing Law

AskAncients is operated from the State of Illinois, United States. These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions, and the federal laws of the United States where applicable. Any legal action not subject to arbitration shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in the State of Illinois, and you irrevocably consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of such courts and waive any objection based on inconvenient forum.

12. Paid Subscriptions

AskAncients offers paid subscriptions (currently the Pro plan). When you subscribe:

  • Payment is processed by Stripe. We never see or store your card number.
  • You can cancel anytime. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period.
  • Paid subscriptions are non-refundable for partial billing periods. When you cancel, your access continues until the end of the current billing period and does not renew — you are not charged again. Any refunds beyond this are at our discretion and only where required by law.
  • We'll clearly communicate what's included in free vs. paid before you're asked to pay.
  • We reserve the right to change pricing with 30 days' notice.

13. Termination

You can delete your account at any time by contacting us. We may suspend or terminate your account at our sole discretion, with or without notice, for any reason, including violation of these Terms. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Sections 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 14 survive termination.

14. Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and AskAncients regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will take reasonable steps to make them known, such as posting a notice in the app or updating the "Effective" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Service after the revised Terms take effect constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree with the revised Terms, you must stop using the Service.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email us at support@askancients.com.