Terms of Service
Last updated: March 5, 2026
Effective date: March 9, 2026
Agreement to Terms
Welcome to TraceVault. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of TraceVault's website, services, and applications (collectively, the "Service"). By accessing or using our Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.
1. Acceptance of Terms
By creating an account, accessing, or using TraceVault, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and TraceVault. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.
2. Eligibility
To use TraceVault, you must:
- Be at least 13 years of age
- Have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract
- Not be prohibited from using the Service under applicable laws
- Provide accurate and complete registration information
If you are under 18, you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf.
3. User Accounts
3.1 Account Creation
You must create an account to access certain features of the Service. You are responsible for:
- Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
- All activities that occur under your account
- Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access
- Ensuring your account information remains accurate and up-to-date
3.2 Account Security
You agree not to share your account credentials with others. TraceVault is not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain account security.
4. User Conduct and Responsibilities
When using TraceVault, you agree to:
- ✓ Provide accurate information when reporting lost or found items
- ✓ Respect the privacy and property rights of others
- ✓ Communicate respectfully with other users
- ✓ Comply with all applicable local, state, national, and international laws
- ✓ Only post content that you have the right to share
- ✓ Make reasonable efforts to return found items to their rightful owners
5. User-Generated Content
5.1 Your Content
"User Content" means any content you submit, post, or transmit through the Service, including:
- Lost and found item reports
- Photos and descriptions
- Messages and claims
- Profile information and comments
5.2 License to TraceVault
By posting User Content, you grant TraceVault a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, display, reproduce, and distribute your content solely for the purpose of operating and improving the Service. This license ends when you delete your content or account.
5.3 Content Responsibility
You represent and warrant that:
- You own or have the necessary rights to your User Content
- Your content does not violate any third-party rights
- Your content complies with these Terms and applicable laws
6. Prohibited Activities
You may NOT:
- ❌ Post false, misleading, or fraudulent information
- ❌ Claim items that do not belong to you
- ❌ Harass, threaten, or abuse other users
- ❌ Use the Service for any illegal purposes
- ❌ Post spam, advertisements, or promotional content without permission
- ❌ Attempt to gain unauthorized access to accounts or systems
- ❌ Use bots, scrapers, or automated tools without authorization
- ❌ Reverse engineer or attempt to extract source code
- ❌ Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers
- ❌ Post content that infringes intellectual property rights
- ❌ Post harmful, obscene, or offensive content
- ❌ Impersonate any person or entity
7. Intellectual Property Rights
7.1 TraceVault's Property
The Service, including its original content, features, functionality, design, code, and branding, is owned by TraceVault and is protected by international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
7.2 Open Source
TraceVault is an open-source project. The source code is available on GitHub under the MIT License. You may use, modify, and distribute the code in accordance with the license terms.
8. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.
TraceVault makes no warranties regarding:
- The accuracy, reliability, or completeness of user-generated content
- The availability or uninterrupted access to the Service
- The security of data transmission or storage
- The recovery of lost items or success of claims
- Interactions between users
Important: TraceVault is a platform that connects users. We do not verify the accuracy of reports, guarantee item recovery, or take responsibility for user interactions or transactions.
9. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TRACEVAULT SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:
- Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
- Loss of profits, data, or goodwill
- Service interruptions or technical failures
- User conduct or user-generated content
- Third-party actions or interactions between users
- Theft, loss, or damage to property
- Reliance on information posted by users
In any event, TraceVault's total liability shall not exceed $100 USD or the amount you paid us in the past 12 months, whichever is greater.
10. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless TraceVault, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses arising from:
- Your use of the Service
- Your violation of these Terms
- Your User Content
- Your violation of any rights of another party
11. Termination
11.1 By You
You may terminate your account at any time by contacting us or using the account deletion feature in your settings.
11.2 By TraceVault
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service immediately, without notice, for:
- Violation of these Terms
- Fraudulent, illegal, or harmful activity
- Upon your request
- Any reason at our sole discretion
Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. We may delete your account and content, though some information may be retained as required by law.
12. Changes to These Terms
We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes by:
- Posting the updated Terms on this page
- Updating the "Last updated" date
- Sending an email notification (for significant changes)
Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the new Terms, you must stop using the Service.
13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of [Your Jurisdiction], without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Service shall be resolved through good faith negotiation. If negotiation fails, disputes may be resolved through binding arbitration or in the courts of [Your Jurisdiction].
14. General Provisions
- Entire Agreement: These Terms, along with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and TraceVault.
- Severability: If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect.
- Waiver: Failure to enforce any right or provision does not constitute a waiver of future enforcement.
- Assignment: You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms at any time.
- No Third-Party Beneficiaries: These Terms do not create any third-party beneficiary rights.
15. Contact Information
If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us:
By using TraceVault, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.