Terms of Service

Effective Date: October 9, 2026

Welcome to ShellTide. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the ShellTide application at shelltide.app ("Service"), operated by ShellTide ("we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using ShellTide, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using ShellTide, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use ShellTide. By creating an account, you represent that you are at least 13 years of age. If you are under 18, you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf.

3. Account Responsibilities

• You must provide accurate information when creating your account.
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your password and account.
• You may not create more than one account per person.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
• You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.

4. User Content and License

Your ownership: You retain ownership of all content you create and upload to ShellTide, including photos, videos, text posts, listings, and messages.

License to ShellTide: By posting content on ShellTide, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, 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 your account, except where your content has been shared by other users or is reasonably needed for the continued operation of the Service.

Content removal: We reserve the right to remove any content that violates these Terms, without prior notice.

5. Prohibited Content and Conduct

You agree not to:

• Post content that is illegal, harassing, threatening, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely represent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Post spam, unsolicited promotions, or deceptive content.
• Upload malware, viruses, or any code designed to disrupt the Service.
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated tools to access the Service without our written permission.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to other users' accounts or our systems.
• Use the Service to facilitate illegal transactions or activities.
• Collect or harvest other users' personal information without their consent.
• Post content that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others.

6. Marketplace

ShellTide provides a Marketplace feature where users can list items for sale or for free. You acknowledge and agree that:

• ShellTide is not a party to any transaction between buyers and sellers. We are a platform, not a retailer.
• We do not guarantee the quality, safety, legality, or accuracy of any listing.
• All transactions are conducted directly between users. You are solely responsible for your purchases and sales.
• We do not provide payment processing for Marketplace transactions — payment arrangements are between buyer and seller.
• You must comply with all applicable laws when listing items, including laws regarding the sale of wildlife specimens, endangered species, and protected materials.

7. Premium Features and Payments

Shell Society: Certain features (event creation, event interactions, location channels, Nearby Map) require a Shell Society subscription purchased with real money through PayPal.

• Shell Societys include a set number of interactions and a time duration. Both must be active for premium features to work.
• Interactions are consumed when you perform premium actions (create events, RSVP, like/comment on events, promote events).
• No refunds once interactions have been used. If your Shell Society expires with unused interactions, those interactions are forfeited.
• Payments are processed securely through PayPal. We do not store your payment details.
• Prices and tier structures may change. Existing purchased packages will be honored at their original terms.

8. AI Shell Identification

The Shell ID feature uses artificial intelligence (provided by OpenAI) to identify shell species from photos you upload.

• AI identifications are for informational and entertainment purposes only. They are not guaranteed to be accurate.
• Do not rely on Shell ID results for scientific research, legal compliance, or determining whether a species is protected or endangered.
• Photos you submit for identification are sent to OpenAI's servers for processing. See our Privacy Policy for details.
• We are not responsible for any actions you take based on AI identification results.

9. Intellectual Property

The ShellTide name, logo, design, and original content (excluding user-generated content) are owned by ShellTide and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not use our branding without written permission.

If you believe content on ShellTide infringes your intellectual property rights, please contact us at admin@shelltide.app with details of the alleged infringement.

10. Third-Party Services

ShellTide integrates with third-party services to provide certain features:

• OpenAI: Powers the Shell ID feature. Subject to OpenAI's Terms of Use.
• PayPal: Processes Shell Society payments. Subject to PayPal's User Agreement.
• NOAA: Provides tide prediction data. NOAA data is public domain.
• OpenStreetMap: Provides map tiles. Subject to OpenStreetMap's Terms.

We are not responsible for the practices or policies of third-party services. Your use of those services is governed by their respective terms and privacy policies.

11. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that we determine, in our sole discretion, violates these Terms or is harmful to other users, us, or third parties.

You may delete your account at any time. Upon deletion, your personal data will be removed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

12. Disclaimers

ShellTide 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, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.
• Tide predictions, sunrise/sunset times, or moon phase data will be accurate.
• AI shell identifications will be correct.
• Marketplace listings are accurate, legal, or safe.
• Content posted by other users is truthful or reliable.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, ShellTide and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenue, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from:

• Your use of or inability to use the Service.
• Any conduct or content of any third party on the Service.
• Unauthorized access to or alteration of your data.
• Any transactions or interactions between users, including Marketplace transactions.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ShellTide and its operators from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of another party.

15. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be resolved in the courts located in the State of Florida.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this page and notify users through the application. Your continued use of ShellTide after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Service.

17. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at:

Email: admin@shelltide.app