terms of service.

1. what aura.refract is.

aura.refract is a website operated by refract ventures, LLC (USA) at aura.refractventures.co. it lets you open your camera in a web browser, captures a frame, and returns a stylized "aura portrait" with a dominant color band and a short brand-voice reading. all processing happens in your browser. nothing is uploaded unless you explicitly use the share-by-email or QR features.

by using the site or any of its features, you agree to these terms and to our privacy policy. if you don't agree, don't use the site.

2. who can use it.

you must be 13 years old or older to use aura.refract. if you're between 13 and 18 (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you confirm you have permission from a parent or guardian.

brand activations, operator program applications, and aura+ membership (when live) require you to be at least 18.

3. acceptable use.

use the site for personal, non-commercial enjoyment, or under the formal operator/brand-partner agreements described below. don't:

• scrape, copy, or republish our content, code, or brand assets without permission (the brand kit is for inspiration and operator use, not for cloning).
• reverse-engineer the reader to build a competing product (you can build whatever you want from your own work; just don't build it from ours).
• upload someone else's likeness without their consent and use the share features to send it around.
• use the site to harass, defraud, or harm anyone.
• attempt to break, overload, or probe our infrastructure.
• use automated scripts to capture, refract, or hit our APIs at scale without our written permission.

4. your content.

any photo you capture and any aura you save is yours. we don't claim ownership of your image, your face, your likeness, or your saved aura PNG.

if you use the "send to email" or "scan QR" features, you grant us a temporary, limited license to upload and serve that PNG only for as long as needed to deliver it to you (≤7 days for QR, immediately deleted after sending for email). once delivered or expired, we have no further rights.

if you choose to share your aura on social media and tag us, you give us permission to repost it on our channels with credit to your handle — unless you ask us not to.

5. our brand & content.

"aura.refract", the wordmark, the prism mark, the seven-band color system, and the written content on this site (including field notes, color guides, and the brand kit) are owned by refract ventures, LLC. you may not:

• use our trademarks in ways that imply we endorse your product, service, or event when we don't.
• reproduce our written content on your own site at scale (small quotes with attribution are fine — this is fair use, not a license to copy whole articles).
• build a competing product that uses our brand assets or claims affiliation we haven't granted.

operators and brand partners receive a separate written license to use our marks in specific, agreed contexts.

6. tips & payments.

tips processed through the reader are voluntary and non-refundable. stripe handles the actual transaction; we never see your full card details. you'll see a charge from AURA.REFRACT TIP on your statement.

if you tip by mistake or feel the charge was unauthorized, email allofus@refractventures.co within 14 days and we'll review it case-by-case. for clearly fraudulent charges (e.g. your card was stolen and used), we'll cooperate with your card issuer to refund.

print orders, aura+ subscriptions, and event tickets (when launched) will have their own refund policies disclosed at checkout.

7. no medical or diagnostic claims.

we are explicit about this elsewhere on the site too — our blog post "we measure light, not energy" is the long version. but it's important enough to live in the terms.

8. service availability.

aura.refract is provided as-is. we make no promise of continuous availability. we may take the site offline for maintenance, updates, or any other reason without notice. we may discontinue features or the entire service.

if you've paid for something at the time of discontinuation (active aura+ subscription, pending print order, future event ticket), we'll refund or fulfill the unfulfilled portion in good faith.

9. warranties.

10. limitation of liability.

11. indemnification.

you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold refract ventures, LLC harmless from any third-party claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your misuse of the site, your violation of these terms, your violation of someone else's rights (including using the share features to send someone's image without consent), or content you submit through our forms.

12. operators & brand partners.

if you apply to be an operator (through /operate) or book a brand activation (through /brands), a separate written agreement will govern that relationship. it covers fees, royalties, territory, equipment, brand-asset use, exclusivity, and termination. these website terms still apply on top of it but the operator/brand agreement controls where they conflict.

nothing on this site is a binding offer of an operator slot or brand partnership. applications are reviewed and approved (or not) at our discretion.

13. termination.

you can stop using aura.refract any time — close the tab and you're done. for things tied to an email (waitlist, newsletter, applications), use the unsubscribe links or email privacy@refractventures.co to be removed.

we can suspend or terminate your access (including operator and brand-partner agreements) if you breach these terms, especially the acceptable-use section. for serious violations (fraud, harassment, infrastructure abuse), termination is immediate. for everything else, we'll give you notice and a chance to fix it.

14. governing law.

these terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. any dispute arising from these terms or your use of the site will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Delaware, and you consent to their personal jurisdiction.

if you're in the EU, UK, or another jurisdiction where local consumer-protection law cannot be waived by contract, those local protections apply to you to the extent they cannot be waived.

15. changes to these terms.

we may update these terms from time to time. if changes are material (anything that affects your rights or our obligations meaningfully), we'll update the "last updated" date at the top, post a notice on the homepage for at least 30 days, and (where we have your email) send a notification.

continued use after a change means you accept the updated terms. if you don't agree, stop using the site and email us to delete any data we have.

16. contact.

general questions: allofus@refractventures.co

privacy-specific: privacy@refractventures.co

brand partnerships: brands@refractventures.co

operator applications: operate@refractventures.co

legal notices: refract ventures, LLC — postal address available on email request.