Version: 2026-02-01. These Terms are a binding contract between you and Umbra Shadow Speak Journal ("Umbra," "we," "us"). By creating an account or using our services, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, don't use Umbra.
1. Eligibility & Age
You must be at least 13 years old to use Umbra. Users aged 13–15 must have verified parental consent (per COPPA and applicable laws). Users 16 and older may self-consent. If you are under 13, do not create an account; if we learn a user is under 13 without parental consent we will delete the account and any collected data within 30 days.
By using Umbra, you represent that (a) all information you provide is accurate; (b) you have the legal capacity to enter this agreement; and (c) your use complies with your local laws.
2. Your Account
Sign-in is provided via Google OAuth through Emergent Auth. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your Google account. Notify us at hello@shadowspeakjournal.com immediately if you suspect unauthorized use. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, at our reasonable discretion, with notice where practicable.
3. Subscriptions, Fees & Auto-Renewal
Pricing tiers
Umbra offers Founding Monthly ($9.99/mo, sign-ups through Dec 31 2026, locked at $9.99 until Dec 31 2027), Monthly ($12.99/mo, standard rate from Jan 1 2028), Quarterly ($29.99 every 3 months), Yearly ($89.99/yr), and — while remaining inventory lasts — a one-time Lifetime tier ($333). Chapter unlocks and keepsake book add-ons are one-time purchases.
Auto-renewal
Recurring plans (Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly) renew automatically at the end of each billing period until you cancel. Lifetime is a one-time payment. You may cancel any time from your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
Payment processing
All payments are processed by Stripe. Umbra does not store your full payment card number. Applicable sales tax is collected automatically where required.
Refunds & cancellations
All sales are final — we do not offer refunds. Instead, we give every subscriber a 7-day cancel window: within 7 days of any billing charge, you can self-serve cancel from Settings → Manage subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle — you keep full access until then, and no further charges are made. After the 7-day window, you can still cancel anytime through the Stripe billing portal (also in Settings) — same "access through end of cycle, no more charges" behavior.
Pause (grandfathered subscribers)
Subscribers who signed up before Jan 1 2027 (at any tier — Founding Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly) may pause billing for up to 60 days per Settings → Manage subscription. On day 61 your subscription auto-resumes with the next scheduled charge unless you cancel during the pause. If the auto-resume charge fails, we'll email you and hold the account in "past-due" until you update your card.
Price changes
We may change pricing on new checkouts at any time. Existing subscribers are grandfathered on their current price for at least the duration of their current billing period, and we will provide at least 30 days' notice before any renewal at a higher rate.
4. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Use Umbra for any unlawful purpose or in violation of anyone's rights;
- Post content that is defamatory, harassing, hateful, sexually explicit involving minors, or violent;
- Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract source code from the service;
- Scrape, crawl, or automate data collection without written permission;
- Interfere with, overload, or disrupt the service or its infrastructure;
- Impersonate another person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
- Bypass authentication, rate limits, or paywalls;
- Use Umbra to develop competing products or to train AI models on our content or code.
5. Your Content
You retain full ownership of the journal entries, reflections, audio, comments, and other content you create in Umbra ("Your Content"). By using Umbra you grant us a limited, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, process, transmit, and display Your Content solely to operate the service on your behalf (for example: transcribing your audio, generating reflections, syncing across your devices, printing your keepsake book).
We do not use Your Content to train AI models, sell it to third parties, or share it publicly. Comments you post on the public blog are visible per your explicit choice. See our Privacy Policy.
6. Intellectual Property
Umbra's software, prompts, workbook structure, branding, blog essays authored by Umbra, and all related materials are owned by Umbra Shadow Speak Journal or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. You may not copy, redistribute, or create derivative works without written permission, except for the personal, non-commercial use expressly enabled by the service (e.g., printing your own keepsake book).
7. DMCA & Copyright Complaints
If you believe content on Umbra infringes your copyright, send a DMCA notice to hello@shadowspeakjournal.com with: (a) a physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the copyrighted work; (c) the URL of the infringing content; (d) your contact information; (e) a good-faith statement that use is not authorized; and (f) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are authorized to act.
8. Third-Party Services
Umbra integrates with third-party services including Stripe (payments), Lulu (print-on-demand), Resend (email), OpenAI (transcription and reflections), Anthropic (blog drafting), Google (Gemini image generation and Sign-in). Your use of those services is governed by their respective terms and privacy policies.
9. Disclaimer of Warranties
Umbra is a journaling tool, not a medical, mental-health, legal, or crisis service. The AI reflections are not diagnostic and are not a substitute for professional care. If you're in crisis, please call your local emergency number or a crisis line (in the US: 988).
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
10. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, UMBRA SHADOW SPEAK JOURNAL AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE) THE SERVICE.
OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR (B) US $100.
11. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold Umbra Shadow Speak Journal harmless from any claim, demand, loss, or damages, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or related to (a) Your Content; (b) your use of the service; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any third-party rights.
12. Termination
You may cancel your subscription any time from Settings. You may delete your account any time from Settings → Privacy. We may suspend or terminate your access if you materially breach these Terms, with notice where reasonable. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (payment obligations, IP, disclaimers, liability limits, arbitration) shall survive.
13. Governing Law & Arbitration
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America, without regard to conflicts-of-law rules.
Arbitration: Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the service will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, on an individual basis. You and Umbra each waive the right to trial by jury or to participate in a class action. You may opt out of this arbitration clause within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailing hello@shadowspeakjournal.com with the subject "Arbitration Opt-Out." Small-claims court is available for qualifying claims.
14. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms occasionally. When we do, we'll change the "Effective" date and, for material changes, ask you to re-accept the updated version on your next sign-in. Continued use after changes means you accept the new Terms.
15. Contact
Questions, complaints, or DMCA notices: hello@shadowspeakjournal.com.
This document is a good-faith SaaS boilerplate — it is not legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney before relying on it for a public launch or investor diligence.