The deal,in plain language.

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the CageSync mobile and web applications, the website at cagesync.com, and any related services (together, the "Service"). By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated here by reference.

If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Service. If you are using CageSync on behalf of a laboratory, institution, or other organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms, and "you" refers to that organization.

CageSync is developed and operated by Govind Prakash ("CageSync," "we," "us," or "our"), a tool built by a researcher, for researchers. You can reach a real person directly at govind@cagesync.com.

The Service is intended for researchers, graduate students, and laboratory professionals. By using CageSync you confirm that you are at least 13 years old (or 16 in the European Economic Area), and that you are able to form a binding contract. The Service is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly allow them to create accounts.

To use most features you'll create an account, using either Google sign-in or an email and password. When you do, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current information and keep it up to date.
• Keep your password and devices secure, and not share your credentials.
• Be responsible for all activity that happens under your account.
• Notify us promptly at govind@cagesync.com if you suspect unauthorized use.

You may delete your account at any time from within the app. We are not liable for any loss arising from unauthorized use of your account that results from your failure to keep your credentials secure.

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in line with these Terms. You will not:

• Use the Service in violation of any applicable law, regulation, or institutional or ethical research requirement.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or data that is not yours.
• Interfere with, disrupt, or place an unreasonable load on the Service or its infrastructure.
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service except through a responsible disclosure to us.
• Reverse engineer the hosted Service to extract source beyond what the open-source license permits, or circumvent any security or rate-limiting measure.
• Upload malware, or use the Service to store or transmit unlawful, infringing, or harmful content.
• Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the hosted Service without our written permission.

We may investigate and take appropriate action, including suspending or terminating accounts, for conduct that violates this section or that we reasonably believe is harmful to other users or to the Service.

5.1 You own your data

The colony records, cage data, notes, and other content you create in CageSync ("Your Content") belong to you. We do not claim ownership of Your Content.

5.2 The permission you give us

To run the Service, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, store, back up, process, and transmit Your Content, solely to operate and provide the Service to you (for example, to sync records across your devices and, if you enable it, to write them to your own Google Sheet). This license exists only so the Service can function and ends when you delete the content or your account.

5.3 Your responsibility

You are responsible for Your Content and for ensuring you have the right to store it, including compliance with your institution's data, animal-welfare, and research-ethics policies. We do not review Your Content and are not responsible for its accuracy.

5.4 Export & deletion

You can export Your Content to a Google Sheet in your own Drive, and delete individual records or your entire account at any time, as described in our Privacy Policy.

The Service relies on third-party providers, and optional features depend on them. Your use of these features is also subject to the providers' own terms and policies.

If you enable Google Sheets sync, you authorize access through Google's OAuth 2.0 system; we never see or store your Google password. We are not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or practices of third-party services, and your relationship with them is governed by their agreements with you.

The CageSync name, logo, brand, and the design of the website and app are the property of CageSync and protected by intellectual-property law. These Terms do not grant you any right to use our trademarks or branding without prior written permission.

CageSync's source code is published openly on GitHub. Your use, copying, modification, and distribution of that code are governed by the open-source license included in the repository, not by these Terms. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and that license with respect to the source code, the open-source license controls for the code.

We welcome contributions; any code you contribute is licensed under the project's open-source license. This section does not give you rights to the hosted Service, its databases, or other users' content.

We aim to keep the Service available and reliable, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. The Service may be temporarily unavailable for maintenance, updates, or reasons beyond our control, and we may modify, add, or remove features over time.

8.1 Pricing

CageSync is currently free for researchers. We reserve the right to introduce paid plans or features in the future. If we do, we will give clear advance notice, and any paid features will be optional and clearly described before you are charged. We will never convert existing free functionality into a silent charge.

8.2 Offline use

The app keeps a local copy of your records so you can keep working offline; changes sync when you reconnect. Sync depends on your network and on third-party providers, and is provided on a best-effort basis.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that data will never be lost or corrupted. You are responsible for maintaining independent backups of any data that matters to your research. CageSync is a colony-management aid and is not a substitute for your institution's official records or regulatory obligations.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will CageSync or Govind Prakash be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, profits, revenue, or research, arising out of or related to your use of (or inability to use) the Service, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you paid us for the Service in the twelve months before the claim, or (b) USD 100. Because the Service is currently free, amounts paid may be zero. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless CageSync and Govind Prakash from any claims, damages, liabilities, and reasonable expenses (including legal fees) arising out of your misuse of the Service, your violation of these Terms, your violation of any law, or your infringement of the rights of any third party.

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time from within the app. When you delete your account, we remove the personal data associated with it as described in our Privacy Policy.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you materially breach these Terms, use the Service unlawfully, or create risk or legal exposure for us or other users. Where reasonable, we'll give you notice and a chance to fix the issue first. Sections that by their nature should survive termination, including data ownership, intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and indemnification, will continue to apply.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to applicable law, the courts located in India will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service.

Before filing any formal claim, you agree to first contact us at govind@cagesync.com so we can try to resolve the matter informally and in good faith. Nothing in these Terms limits any mandatory consumer-protection rights you may have under the law of your country of residence.

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Updated" date at the top of this page, post the revised Terms at cagesync.com/terms, and, where appropriate, notify you through the app or by email.

Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, please stop using the Service and delete your account.