Terms of Service

Parties and Acceptance

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between [TODO: legal entity name, e.g. "SermonBridge B.V.", a company registered in the Netherlands] ("SermonBridge", "we", "us") and you, the individual or organization accessing or using the Service ("you", "User"). By creating an account or using any part of the Service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms.

If you are accepting on behalf of a church, organization, or other legal entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity, and "you" refers to that entity.

Users under the age of 18 may not create accounts directly. Churches and organizations are responsible for ensuring that minors use the Service only through authorized adult account holders.

Service Description

SermonBridge provides a real-time AI-powered captioning and translation platform designed for church services and other worship gatherings. The Service allows a host (typically a pastor, sound operator, or designated volunteer) to stream live microphone audio from a service, which is then processed by AI speech recognition and translation technology to produce multilingual captions visible to participants on their own devices.

Key characteristics of the Service:

• Live audio is streamed to Soniox (a third-party AI provider based in the United States) for real-time transcription and translation. SermonBridge does not store audio - it is streamed in real time and never persisted. Soniox processes audio and transcript text in transit under contractual data-protection terms.
• Generated transcript text (captions) is stored in SermonBridge's database, hosted on Hetzner infrastructure in Germany (EU), and is retained for a limited period. Churches and authorized administrators may request deletion of transcripts at any time.
• Captions are AI-generated and will contain errors. See the accuracy disclaimer above and Section 8 below.
• The Service requires an active internet connection. Performance depends on network quality and microphone conditions.

Accounts and Security

To use most features of the Service, you must create an account with a valid email address and a secure password, or authenticate via a supported OAuth provider (Google or Microsoft). You are responsible for keeping your credentials confidential and for all activity that occurs under your account.

You agree to notify us promptly at privacy@sermonbridge.com if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account. SermonBridge will not be liable for any loss arising from unauthorized account access where you have failed to maintain the confidentiality of your credentials.

You must provide accurate information when creating your account and keep it up to date. Accounts created with false information may be suspended or terminated.

Acceptable Use

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

• Use the Service to stream, distribute, or store content that is unlawful, hateful, harassing, defamatory, or that infringes the rights of others.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise derive source code from any part of the Service.
• Use automated tools, bots, or scripts to access the Service in a way that places excessive load on our infrastructure.
• Share your account credentials or session access with third parties in a manner that circumvents our access controls.
• Use the Service to process audio of persons who have not been made aware that live AI transcription is in progress.
• Attempt to interfere with the Service's security, integrity, or availability.
• Use the Service in any way that could expose SermonBridge to legal liability or reputational harm.

Because the Service processes religious speech, you understand that AI-generated transcripts may be imperfect and that you remain responsible for any decisions made in reliance on those transcripts.

Subscription, Billing, and Cancellation

SermonBridge is currently in early access. Pricing, billing terms, and available plans have not yet been finalized. The following principles will apply once paid plans are launched:

• [TODO: plan names and prices to be confirmed at launch] - paid plans, billing cycles (monthly or annual), and any free-tier limits will be described on the pricing page and confirmed at checkout.
• By subscribing to a paid plan, you authorize SermonBridge to charge the payment method on file at the start of each billing period.
• You may cancel your subscription at any time via your account dashboard. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid billing period; no partial-period refunds are issued unless required by applicable law.
• Refund eligibility (for example, for annual plans or billing errors) will be governed by the specific plan terms shown at checkout and any mandatory consumer rights under Dutch or EU law.
• We reserve the right to change pricing on reasonable notice (at least 30 days). Continued use of the Service after a price change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the new price.
• Usage-based charges (reflecting underlying AI processing costs) may apply and will be disclosed clearly before you commit to a plan.

During the early access period, any free access granted is at SermonBridge's sole discretion and may be modified or ended at any time.

Intellectual Property

SermonBridge and its licensors retain all intellectual property rights in the Service, including the software, user interface, branding, and documentation. Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of those rights to you.

You retain ownership of the content you provide (such as the audio you stream and the transcripts generated from it). By using the Service, you grant SermonBridge a limited, non-exclusive licence to process, store, and transmit that content solely to provide the Service to you. We do not use your content to train AI models.

If you provide feedback or suggestions about the Service, you grant SermonBridge the right to use that feedback freely without any obligation of compensation or attribution.

Privacy and Data

Our Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect personal data in connection with the Service. The Privacy Policy forms part of these Terms. By using the Service you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy.

The Service processes religious-affiliation data (church membership) which is special-category personal data under GDPR Article 9. We collect this data only on the basis of your explicit consent, given when you create or join a church. You may withdraw that consent at any time by removing your church membership, deleting your account, or contacting us at privacy@sermonbridge.com.

AI Accuracy and Disclaimer

The Service uses AI speech recognition and machine translation to produce live captions. This technology has inherent limitations:

• Transcripts and translations may contain errors, omissions, substitutions, or mistranslations, including in names, dates, scripture passages, and theological terminology.
• Accuracy varies depending on audio quality, microphone placement, speaker accents, background noise, and vocabulary that differs from the AI model's training data.
• AI-generated output reflects statistical patterns and does not carry editorial oversight or verification.
• Congregations, preachers, and third parties must not rely on captions as an authoritative record of what was spoken.

The Service is provided as a communication aid, not as a certified transcription or translation service. SermonBridge expressly disclaims any warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for a particular purpose of any AI-generated content.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, SermonBridge's total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service (whether in contract, tort, or otherwise) is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid to SermonBridge in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) EUR 100.

SermonBridge is not liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages, including loss of revenue, loss of data, reputational harm, or harm arising from reliance on AI-generated captions, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under Dutch or EU law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Service Availability and Modifications

SermonBridge aims to provide a reliable service, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted availability. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, infrastructure issues, or third-party service disruptions (including Soniox, our AI provider).

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with reasonable notice where practicable. We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or via an in-app notification. Continued use of the Service after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time in the app or by contacting us. Account deletion erases your account and associated data immediately (an in-app control is being added; until then, deletion can be requested via privacy@sermonbridge.com). Financial records required by applicable law may be retained for the legally required period.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service immediately, without prior notice, if we reasonably believe that you have violated these Terms, that your use poses a security risk, or as required by law. We will attempt to notify you of any suspension unless doing so is legally prohibited or operationally impractical.

Sections 6, 8, 9, 12, and 13 survive termination of these Terms.

Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Netherlands, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. The applicability of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded.

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms will be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of [TODO: insert Dutch court district, e.g. "the District Court of Zeeland-West-Brabant"], the Netherlands, subject to your mandatory consumer-protection rights under Dutch or EU law (including any right to bring proceedings in your country of residence if you are an EU consumer).

Where required by EU consumer law, you may also refer a dispute to the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

General Provisions

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any plan-specific terms accepted at checkout, constitute the entire agreement between you and SermonBridge regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable.

No waiver. SermonBridge's failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. SermonBridge may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all of its assets.

Contact. [TODO: legal entity name and registered address]. Email: privacy@sermonbridge.com.