Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern the use of the SaaS platform WriteGeist (the "Platform") by you ("User" or "You"). The provider is:

WriteGeist.app, c/o Marco Bugno, Poststrasse 1, 5613 Hilfikon, Switzerland, contact@writegeist.app

By registering and using the Platform, you accept these Terms.

2.1 Registration is required to use the Platform. You can register via email/password or via Google OAuth.

2.2 You must be at least 18 years old or have reached the age of majority required by the law of your country to use these services.

2.3 You are responsible for the security of your login credentials. If your password or Google account is lost or compromised, you must inform us immediately.

2.4 You may only hold one account. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent tier restrictions is not permitted.

2.5 We reserve the right to suspend or delete accounts without notice, particularly in the event of a breach of these Terms.

3.1 The Platform is offered in four tiers: Hobby (free), Writer, Author, and Publisher (each paid). Current prices and features are displayed on our website.

3.2 Payment processing for paid tiers is handled by Stripe. We do not store credit card or payment data; these are processed directly by Stripe.

3.3 Paid subscriptions are billed as recurring payments (monthly or yearly, depending on the chosen billing period). The term begins with the first successful payment.

3.4 You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. No refunds will be given for the remainder of the current billing period.

3.5 If payment fails (e.g., declined charge), we reserve the right to restrict access to the Platform until successful payment. After 30 days of non-payment, the account may be downgraded to the Hobby tier.

3.6 Prices may be adjusted with 30 days' notice. Existing subscriptions will remain unaffected by price changes until the end of the current billing period.

4.1 Each tier has specific monthly quotas for projects, characters, locations, timelines, AI credits, image generations, and audio minutes. The exact limits are shown in our pricing details.

4.2 Credits are deducted at the time of each hosted Geist AI call (Writer+ tiers) using optimistic concurrency control. If insufficient credits remain, the AI call is rejected unless you have provided your own API key (see Section 6).

4.3 Unused monthly quotas expire at the end of the billing period unless otherwise noted. Carry-over is not permitted.

4.4 Publisher plans are subject to a fair use policy. To ensure consistent performance and availability for all users, a usage cap applies to certain features (including AI features). The exact limits are not part of these Terms and may be adjusted at any time.

4.5 If you reach or exceed the applicable cap, we may temporarily restrict access to the affected features until the next billing period. Publisher users who require higher limits may contact our support team; we will review individual requests.

5.1 The hosted Geist AI is available to users on paid tiers (Writer, Author, Publisher). It uses Google Gemini models accessed via a server-side API key.

5.2 For each AI call, the text you selected (or the full chapter) is sent to Google Gemini together with the project's styleguide context and current POV character. No automatic or unnoticed transmission of content to AI providers occurs.

5.3 We make no warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or legal permissibility of AI-generated content. You are solely responsible for reviewing and using AI results.

5.4 AI-generated text is owned by you. However, you bear sole responsibility for ensuring that generated content does not infringe the rights of third parties (e.g., copyrights, trademarks, personality rights).

5.5 AI-generated content may contain errors or be inappropriate or offensive. Google states in its terms: "The Services include experimental technology and may sometimes provide inaccurate or offensive content that doesn't represent Google's views." We adopt this disclaimer.

6.1 On the Hobby tier, no Geist credits are available. However, you can enter your own API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, and DeepSeek in your settings ("Bring Your Own Key" – BYOK).

6.2 Your API keys are stored exclusively in your browser's localStorage. When you invoke an AI feature, your browser sends the key together with your prompt to our server, which forwards the request to the third-party provider you selected.

6.3 We do not store your API key, do not log it, and do not share it with third parties. The key is held in server memory only for the duration of the request and is immediately discarded.

6.4 You are solely responsible for the security of your API key and for all requests made through your key. If your key is lost or misused by a third party, you are liable to the respective third-party provider and to us.

6.5 Use of the third-party service is at your own risk. The respective provider is not a contractual partner of WriteGeist. You are bound by the Terms of Service and privacy policy of the provider you choose. WriteGeist assumes no liability for outages, data loss, or other damages arising from the use of third-party AI services.

6.6 Users in the EU/EEA/Switzerland/UK should note that forwarding prompts to US-based AI providers may constitute a data transfer to a third country. Ensure that the provider you choose offers adequate safeguards under Art. 44 ff. GDPR.

7.1 You retain all copyright and ownership rights to your manuscripts, characters, locations, and other content you create or upload on the Platform ("Your Content").

7.2 By uploading and storing Your Content on the Platform, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, limited license to store, process, display, and export Your Content in the formats you request (DOCX, EPUB, PDF). This license terminates when you delete your account or remove the respective content.

7.3 You warrant that you own all necessary rights to the content you upload and that it does not infringe the rights of third parties (including copyrights, trademarks, personality rights).

7.4 We reserve the right to remove content that violates these Terms or applicable law.

8.1 DOCX export is available to all tiers. EPUB and PDF (KDP-ready) export are restricted to Writer, Author, and Publisher tiers (feature: pro_export).

8.2 You can share your project with others via a sharing link (share_token). You are responsible for managing the link and the sharing. We are not liable if the link is forwarded by third parties.

8.3 Guests (readers without a WriteGeist account) can leave comments under a name of their choice. We reserve the right to delete offensive or unlawful comments.

8.4 Guest comments are publicly visible within the shared project. We recommend not sharing sensitive personal data in comments.

9.1 WriteGeist provides an offline mode where chapter content is stored in the browser's localStorage when the connection is lost.

9.2 When the connection is restored, local changes are synced with the cloud. In case of conflict (simultaneous changes online and offline), a conflict modal prompts you to choose between "Upload local version (overwrite cloud)" and "Discard local version (keep cloud)."

9.3 We recommend saving regularly when online. WriteGeist assumes no liability for data loss in offline mode.

You are prohibited from using the Platform for the following purposes:

• Violating applicable law or regulatory orders.
• Infringing the rights of third parties (copyrights, trademarks, personality rights).
• Distributing defamatory, obscene, violent, or unlawful content.
• Automated scraping or crawling of the Platform.
• Circumventing security measures or access restrictions.
• Using the AI features to develop competing AI models (especially for BYOK in accordance with third-party provider terms).

11.1 We are unlimitedly liable for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body, and health, and for defects we have fraudulently concealed.

11.2 In cases of ordinary negligence, we are liable only for breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), limited to the typical, foreseeable damage at the time of the event giving rise to the claim.

11.3 Liability is capped at the fees paid by you in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

11.4 The above limitations of liability do not apply in cases of mandatory statutory liability (particularly product liability) or if we have assumed a guarantee.

11.5 WriteGeist is operated on Coolify (Hetzner). We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability of the Platform. We aim for at least 99.5% availability on an annual average.

The Platform is provided substantially as described. We do not warrant the completeness or error-freeness of AI-generated content (see Section 5.3). Export features (DOCX, EPUB, PDF) are provided without warranty as to formatting fidelity using third-party tools.

We reserve the right to change these Terms at any time with effect for the future. We will notify you of material changes by email or by a notice on the Platform at least 30 days before they take effect. If you do not object to the changes within this period, the amended Terms will be deemed accepted by you.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Switzerland (Code of Obligations, Civil Code), excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). To the extent permitted by law, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms is {entity.jurisdiction}. For consumers in the EU/EEA, mandatory consumer protection provisions of their country of residence remain unaffected.

If you have questions about these Terms, feel free to reach out to us, contact details to be found in 1.