Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using Pronounce (the "Service"), you accept and agree to be bound by the terms and provision of this agreement. If you do not agree to abide by the above, please do not use this service.

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of our website located at pronounce.tv (the "Service") operated by Pronounce ("us", "we", or "our").

2. Description of Service

Pronounce is an educational platform that provides English pronunciation learning tools, including audio/video content, phonetic transcriptions, and interactive gamification features.

Our service includes but is not limited to:

• Audio pronunciations of English words (US, UK, AUS accents)
• Video pronunciation guides via YouTube integration
• IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcriptions by accent
• Word difficulty scoring with percentiles and confidence levels
• Gamification features: XP (experience points), coins, achievements, and leaderboards
• User progress tracking and favorites system
• Community FAQ and Q&A for pronunciation questions
• Etymology, usage notes, synonyms, antonyms, and rhyming words
• Educational blog content about pronunciation
• Subscription tiers with premium features via Polar.sh

3. User Accounts

Account Creation Requirements

To create an account on Pronounce, you must:

• Be at least 13 years old. Users under 13 are not permitted to create accounts.
• Provide accurate and complete information during registration, including a valid email address.
• Use Google OAuth authentication or other approved authentication methods.
• Maintain only one account per person unless explicitly authorized by Pronounce.

Account Security Responsibilities

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the security and confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activities that occur under your account, whether authorized by you or not
• Notifying us immediately at support@pronounce.tv if you suspect unauthorized access to your account
• Keeping your account information current, accurate, and complete

Account Termination Conditions

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account if you:

• Violate these Terms of Service or our Community Guidelines
• Engage in abusive, harassing, or inappropriate behavior toward other users
• Submit spam, malicious content, or engage in fraudulent activity
• Attempt to circumvent subscription paywalls or abuse gamification features
• Scrape, automate, or abuse our API without authorization
• Provide false information during registration or misrepresent your identity
• Are inactive for an extended period (we will provide notice before deletion)

You may delete your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us at support@pronounce.tv.

4. User-Generated Content

Content Submission Guidelines

Pronounce allows users to contribute content such as etymology explanations, usage examples, Q&A responses, and other pronunciation-related information. When submitting content, you agree to:

• Submit only accurate, helpful, and relevant content related to English pronunciation
• Ensure your content does not violate any third-party rights, including copyrights and trademarks
• Provide proper attribution when referencing external sources
• Write in a respectful, educational tone appropriate for a learning platform
• Not submit content that is offensive, discriminatory, or inappropriate

Content Licensing

By submitting content to Pronounce, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, and display such content in connection with the Service. This license allows us to:

• Display your submissions to other users of the platform
• Moderate, edit, or format your content for consistency and readability
• Use your content in marketing materials, educational resources, or platform improvements
• Incorporate your content into our pronunciation database and learning materials

You retain ownership of your original content, but you acknowledge that this license survives even if you delete your account or remove the content from the platform.

Content Moderation Rights

Pronounce reserves the right to review, moderate, edit, or remove any user-generated content at our sole discretion, including content that:

• Violates these Terms of Service or Community Guidelines
• Contains inaccurate or misleading pronunciation information
• Is reported by other users as inappropriate or harmful
• Contains spam, advertising, or promotional material
• Infringes on intellectual property rights
• Does not meet our quality or educational standards

Prohibited Content

You may not submit content that contains:

• Spam or advertising: Promotional content, links to unrelated websites, or repetitive messages
• Abusive or harassing material: Personal attacks, threats, or targeted harassment
• Inappropriate or offensive content: Hate speech, discriminatory language, sexually explicit material, or graphic violence
• Misleading information: Deliberately false or deceptive pronunciation guidance
• Copyrighted material: Content copied from dictionaries, textbooks, or other sources without permission
• Malicious code: Viruses, malware, or scripts designed to harm users or systems

5. Gamification and Virtual Currency

Pronounce includes gamification features to enhance the learning experience, including experience points (XP), coins, achievements, leaderboards, and other virtual rewards.

Virtual Currency Terms

IMPORTANT: You acknowledge and agree that:

• No real-world monetary value: XP, coins, achievements, badges, and other virtual items have NO real-world monetary value and cannot be exchanged for cash, goods, or services.
• No redemption: Virtual currency cannot be redeemed, refunded, or transferred to other users or platforms.
• No purchase: Virtual currency cannot be purchased with real money. It is earned only through platform activities.
• No gambling: Pronounce does not involve gambling, real-money transactions, or games of chance.
• Platform discretion: We reserve the right to adjust, modify, or remove gamification features, including XP balances and achievements, at any time without notice.
• No ownership rights: You do not own virtual currency or achievements. They are licensed to you for use within the platform only.

Gamification features are designed purely for educational motivation and engagement. Any attempt to exploit, manipulate, or abuse these systems may result in account suspension or termination.

6. Community Guidelines

Pronounce is committed to maintaining a respectful, inclusive, and educational environment for all users. By using our platform, you agree to follow these community standards:

Respectful Behavior Requirements

• Be respectful: Treat all users with kindness, courtesy, and respect
• Be constructive: Provide helpful feedback and corrections in a positive manner
• Be inclusive: Welcome learners of all backgrounds, skill levels, and accents
• Be educational: Focus on learning and helping others improve their pronunciation
• Be authentic: Use your real identity and don't impersonate others

Prohibited Conduct

The following behaviors are strictly prohibited:

• Harassment: Bullying, intimidation, stalking, or targeted attacks against other users
• Hate speech: Content that promotes violence, discrimination, or hatred based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics
• Abuse: Verbal abuse, insults, profanity directed at others, or threats of violence
• Discrimination: Treating users differently based on their accent, native language, or pronunciation ability
• Trolling: Deliberately disruptive, inflammatory, or off-topic content designed to provoke reactions
• Doxxing: Sharing personal information about other users without consent

Moderation Policies

Pronounce moderators have the authority to:

• Review and remove content that violates Community Guidelines
• Issue warnings to users who engage in prohibited conduct
• Temporarily suspend or permanently ban users for repeated or severe violations
• Restrict features (e.g., commenting, content submission) for users who abuse them
• Report illegal activity to law enforcement authorities when appropriate

If you encounter content or behavior that violates these guidelines, please report it using the reporting tools available on the platform or contact us at support@pronounce.tv.

7. Prohibited Activities

In addition to the prohibited conduct outlined in our Community Guidelines, the following technical and operational activities are strictly prohibited:

• Scraping and data harvesting: Using bots, scripts, or automated tools to scrape, crawl, or extract data from the platform
• API abuse: Accessing our APIs without authorization or exceeding rate limits
• Reverse engineering: Attempting to decompile, reverse engineer, or extract source code from our platform
• Circumventing paywalls: Using technical measures to bypass subscription restrictions or access premium content without authorization
• Account sharing: Sharing account credentials or allowing unauthorized access to your account
• Security vulnerabilities: Exploiting security vulnerabilities or attempting to gain unauthorized access to systems
• Interference: Disrupting, interfering with, or degrading the performance of the service
• Malicious code: Uploading viruses, malware, trojans, or other harmful code
• Unlawful purposes: Using the service for any illegal activity or to violate local, state, national, or international laws

8. Intellectual Property Rights

Pronounce Platform Ownership

The Service and its original content, features, and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of Pronounce and its licensors. The platform, including but not limited to software, design, text, graphics, logos, audio files, video content, IPA transcriptions, and word data, is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws of the United States and international treaties.

Our trademarks, service marks, and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without our prior written consent.

User Submissions License

As outlined in Section 4, when you submit user-generated content (etymology, usage examples, Q&A, etc.), you grant Pronounce a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use that content. You retain ownership of your original submissions, but we have the right to display, modify, and incorporate them into our platform.

Content Usage Rights

• Personal Use: You may use our content for personal, non-commercial educational purposes (e.g., studying pronunciation, learning new words)
• Educational Use: Teachers and educational institutions may use our content in classrooms or course materials with proper attribution to Pronounce
• Fair Use: Limited excerpts may be quoted with attribution for criticism, commentary, research, or educational purposes under fair use doctrine
• Commercial Use Prohibited: Any commercial use of our content (e.g., creating derivative products, selling access, incorporating into paid courses) requires explicit written permission from Pronounce
• Attribution Required: When sharing or referencing our content, provide clear attribution: "Source: Pronounce (pronounce.tv)"

Copyright Infringement Policy (DMCA)

Pronounce respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects our users to do the same. If you believe that content on our platform infringes your copyright, please submit a DMCA takedown notice to legal@pronounce.tv with the following information:

• Your physical or electronic signature
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and its location on our platform
• Your contact information (address, telephone number, email)
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

We will respond to valid DMCA notices in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Users who repeatedly infringe copyrights may have their accounts terminated.

9. Subscription Terms

Pronounce offers subscription tiers that provide access to premium features and content. Subscriptions are managed through Polar.sh, our payment processing partner.

Subscription Tiers and Features

We offer various subscription tiers (e.g., Starter, Pro, Premium) with different feature sets. Subscription tier details, pricing, and features are available on our Pricing page. Premium features may include:

• Unlimited access to pronunciation videos and audio files
• Advanced learning features and progress analytics
• Ad-free experience
• Priority customer support
• Early access to new features
• Downloadable content for offline learning

Billing and Payment

By subscribing, you agree to:

• Recurring billing: Subscriptions renew automatically on a monthly or annual basis (depending on your chosen plan) until you cancel
• Payment authorization: You authorize Polar.sh to charge your payment method (credit card, debit card, or other approved method) for subscription fees
• Accurate billing information: You must provide current, complete, and accurate billing and payment information
• Payment responsibility: You are responsible for all charges incurred under your account, including taxes and fees
• Price changes: We reserve the right to change subscription prices with at least 30 days' advance notice. Price changes will not affect your current billing cycle

Cancellation and Refunds

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings or by contacting support@pronounce.tv. Cancellation terms:

• Access until end of period: Upon cancellation, you will retain access to premium features until the end of your current billing period
• No automatic refunds: Subscription fees are generally non-refundable, except as required by law or at our sole discretion
• Refund requests: If you believe you are entitled to a refund (e.g., technical issues, billing errors), contact us within 7 days of the charge
• No partial refunds: We do not provide pro-rated refunds for partial billing periods
• Free trials: If you cancel during a free trial period, you will not be charged

Subscription Modifications

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue subscription tiers or features at any time. If we make material changes to your subscription tier, we will notify you at least 30 days in advance and provide options to switch to a different tier or cancel without penalty.

10. Limitation of Liability

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY AS IT LIMITS OUR LIABILITY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PRONOUNCE.TV DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
• WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT
• WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR HARMFUL COMPONENTS
• WARRANTIES REGARDING THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR COMPLETENESS OF PRONUNCIATION CONTENT
• WARRANTIES THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED

While we strive for accuracy in our pronunciation guides, phonetic transcriptions, and educational content, we make no guarantees about their completeness, reliability, or suitability for your specific learning needs. Users should verify pronunciation information with additional authoritative sources when necessary.

Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL PRONOUNCE.TV, NOR ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, OR AFFILIATES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION:

• Loss of profits, revenue, or business opportunities
• Loss of data or information
• Loss of goodwill or reputation
• Cost of substitute goods or services
• Personal injury or property damage
• Any other intangible losses

THIS LIMITATION APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF PRONOUNCE.TV HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

IN JURISDICTIONS THAT DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OUR LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. IF YOU ARE A PAID SUBSCRIBER, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO PRONOUNCE.TV IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY.

11. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

Governing Law

These Terms shall be interpreted and governed by the laws of the United States and the State of [Your State/Jurisdiction], without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that any legal action or proceeding relating to your access to, or use of, the Service shall be instituted in a state or federal court located in [Your County/State].

Informal Dispute Resolution

Before filing a formal legal claim, you agree to first contact us at legal@pronounce.tv to attempt to resolve the dispute informally. We will make good faith efforts to resolve disputes through informal negotiation within 60 days of receiving your notice.

Arbitration Agreement (Optional)

For disputes that cannot be resolved informally, you and Pronounce agree to resolve disputes through binding arbitration rather than in court, except that you may assert claims in small claims court if your claims qualify. This arbitration agreement applies to all disputes arising out of or relating to any aspect of these Terms.

Arbitration shall be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding, and judgment may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Note: Some jurisdictions do not allow mandatory arbitration. If you are located in such a jurisdiction, this arbitration provision may not apply to you.

12. Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. Please review our Privacy Policy, which also governs your use of the Service and explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information. Our Privacy Policy can be found at pronounce.tv/privacy.

13. Changes to Terms of Service

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material (such as changes to pricing, liability, or arbitration provisions), we will provide at least 30 days' notice prior to any new terms taking effect by:

• Posting a notice on our website homepage
• Sending an email to your registered email address
• Displaying a notification when you log into your account

What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the new Terms, you must stop using the Service.

The current version of these Terms will always be available at pronounce.tv/terms with the "Last Updated" date clearly displayed.