Terms of Service - Chefs AI

Effective Date: November 3, 2025 Last Updated: November 3, 2025 Version: 1.0

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Chefs AI ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Service.

Who can use Chefs AI:

  • You must be at least 13 years old (16 in the EU)
  • You must have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement
  • You must not be prohibited from using the Service under applicable laws

2. Description of Service

Chefs AI is a web-based application that:

  • Generates recipe recommendations using artificial intelligence (Google Gemini API)
  • Allows users to save and manage recipes
  • Provides ingredient-based recipe suggestions
  • Offers tiered subscription plans with usage quotas
  • Stores user data securely in the cloud (Google Firebase)

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind.

3. Account Registration

3.1 Creating an Account

To use Chefs AI, you must:

  • Sign in with a valid Google account
  • Provide accurate information
  • Be on the approved user list (during beta/private testing)

3.2 Account Security

You are responsible for:

  • Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
  • All activities that occur under your account
  • Notifying us immediately of unauthorized use

We are NOT responsible for:

  • Losses due to stolen or compromised passwords
  • Unauthorized access if you shared your credentials

3.3 Account Restrictions

You may NOT:

  • Share your account with others
  • Create multiple accounts to bypass usage quotas
  • Use another person's account without permission
  • Sell, trade, or transfer your account

Violation may result in account suspension or termination.

4. Subscription Plans and Payment

4.1 Subscription Tiers

Chefs AI offers three tiers:

Occasional Chef (Free)

  • 10 recipes per month
  • Basic features

Home Chef ($9.99/month)

  • 50 recipes per month
  • Voice input
  • Custom recipe variations

Master Chef ($19.99/month)

  • 150 recipes per month
  • Local LLM support
  • Priority support

Tier features subject to change with notice.

4.2 Payment Terms (Paid Tiers)

Billing cycle: Monthly, recurring on the date you subscribe

Payment method: Credit card via Stripe (secure payment processor)

Auto-renewal: Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled

Price changes: We'll notify you 30 days before any price increases

Taxes: Prices exclude applicable sales tax/VAT (added at checkout)

4.3 Refunds and Cancellations

Cancellation:

  • You may cancel anytime via Settings > Subscription > Cancel
  • Access continues until end of current billing period
  • No refunds for partial months

Refunds:

  • No refunds except as required by law
  • Exception: If we terminate your account for reasons other than Terms violation, you'll receive a pro-rated refund

Downgrading:

  • You may downgrade to a lower tier
  • Downgrade takes effect at end of current billing period
  • No refunds for unused quota

4.4 Free Tier Limitations

Free tier usage quotas are enforced:

  • 10 recipe generations per calendar month
  • Quota resets on the 1st of each month
  • Attempting to bypass quotas may result in account termination

5. Acceptable Use

5.1 Permitted Uses

You may use Chefs AI to:

  • Generate recipes for personal use
  • Save and organize your recipes
  • Share recipes you've generated (at your discretion)
  • Use AI-generated content for personal or commercial purposes

5.2 Prohibited Uses

You may NOT:

Misuse the Service:

  • Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the application
  • Bypass or circumvent usage quotas or tier restrictions
  • Use automated tools (bots, scrapers) to access the Service
  • Overload or disrupt our servers (DoS attacks)

Violate Laws:

  • Use the Service for illegal purposes
  • Violate any applicable laws or regulations
  • Infringe on others' intellectual property rights

Abuse AI Features:

  • Generate harmful, offensive, or illegal content
  • Attempt to "jailbreak" or manipulate the AI
  • Use the Service to train competing AI models

Violate Others' Rights:

  • Impersonate others
  • Harass or threaten other users
  • Collect other users' information

Violation consequences:

  • Warning for first offense
  • Temporary suspension for repeated offenses
  • Permanent account termination for serious violations

6. Intellectual Property Rights

6.1 Our Intellectual Property

What we own:

  • The Chefs AI application (code, design, features)
  • Our trademarks, logos, and branding
  • The "Chefs AI" name

Your license:

  • We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service
  • This license terminates when you stop using the Service or violate these Terms

You may NOT:

  • Copy, modify, or redistribute our code
  • Use our trademarks without permission
  • Create derivative works based on our application

6.2 Your Content

What you own:

  • Recipes you manually enter
  • Diner profiles you create
  • Pantry data you input

What we don't own:

  • AI-generated recipe content (see 6.3)

License you grant us:

  • You grant us a non-exclusive license to store and display your content as necessary to provide the Service
  • This license ends when you delete your content or account

Your responsibility:

  • You own the content you upload
  • You have the right to upload it
  • Your content doesn't violate others' rights

6.3 AI-Generated Content

Ownership of AI-generated recipes:

  • AI-generated recipe text and images are created by Google Gemini API
  • Per Google's Generative AI terms, you own the output you generate
  • Chefs AI does NOT claim ownership of AI-generated recipes

Your rights:

  • You may use AI-generated recipes for any purpose (personal or commercial)
  • You may modify, republish, or sell recipes you generate
  • You may share recipes with attribution or without

Our rights:

  • We do NOT own your AI-generated recipes
  • We do NOT use your recipes to train models or for other purposes

Important notes:

  • AI-generated content may not be copyrightable (varies by jurisdiction)
  • You are responsible for verifying recipes before use
  • We are not liable for recipe accuracy or safety (see Section 8)

7. User Content and Responsibility

7.1 Your Responsibilities

You are responsible for:

  • The safety and accuracy of recipes you follow
  • Verifying ingredient safety and allergen information
  • Following proper food safety practices
  • Any consequences of recipes you generate or share

7.2 Content You Share

If you share recipes publicly (outside Chefs AI):

  • You are responsible for any copyright or IP issues
  • We are not liable for content you share
  • You should include appropriate disclaimers (food safety, allergens)

7.3 Content Monitoring

We do NOT:

  • Monitor recipes you generate
  • Review content before it's created
  • Guarantee content accuracy or safety

We MAY:

  • Remove content that violates these Terms
  • Suspend accounts generating harmful content
  • Report illegal activity to authorities

8. Disclaimers and Warranties

8.1 Service "As Is"

Chefs AI is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied.

We do NOT warrant:

  • The Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free
  • The results will be accurate, complete, or reliable
  • Defects will be corrected
  • The Service will meet your requirements

8.2 Recipe Safety Disclaimer

IMPORTANT - READ CAREFULLY:

We are NOT responsible for:

  • Recipe accuracy or safety
  • Food allergies or dietary restrictions
  • Food poisoning or illness
  • Nutritional information accuracy
  • Cooking results or failures

AI-generated recipes may:

  • Contain errors or unsafe ingredient combinations
  • Fail to account for all allergens
  • Provide inaccurate cooking times or temperatures
  • Not comply with dietary restrictions despite instructions

YOU MUST:

  • Verify all ingredient safety before cooking
  • Check for allergens if you have food allergies
  • Use your own judgment on recipe safety
  • Follow proper food safety practices
  • Consult a doctor for dietary/health concerns

By using Chefs AI, you assume all risks related to recipe generation and food preparation.

8.3 No Professional Advice

Chefs AI does NOT provide:

  • Medical advice
  • Nutritional advice from licensed professionals
  • Allergen safety guarantees
  • Dietary guidance for medical conditions

Always consult qualified professionals for:

  • Dietary restrictions due to health conditions
  • Food allergies
  • Nutritional planning
  • Medical dietary advice

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:

9.1 No Liability for Damages

We are NOT liable for:

  • Any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages
  • Lost profits, revenue, data, or business opportunities
  • Service interruptions or errors
  • Food-related illness, injury, or property damage
  • Unauthorized access to your account
  • Third-party actions (e.g., Google Firebase outages, Gemini API issues)

9.2 Maximum Liability

Our total liability to you is limited to:

  • The amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim
  • OR $100 USD (whichever is greater)

This applies even if:

  • We've been advised of the possibility of damages
  • A remedy fails of its essential purpose

9.3 Exceptions

Some jurisdictions don't allow limitation of liability for:

  • Gross negligence
  • Willful misconduct
  • Personal injury
  • Death

In those cases, our liability is limited to the minimum required by law.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Chefs AI, its owners, employees, and partners from:

  • Claims arising from your use of the Service
  • Your violation of these Terms
  • Your violation of others' rights
  • Recipes you generate or share
  • Food-related incidents from recipes you create
  • Any content you upload or share

This means: If someone sues us because of something you did, you're responsible for legal costs and damages.

11. Third-Party Services

11.1 Services We Use

Chefs AI relies on:

  • Google Firebase (data storage, authentication)
  • Google Gemini API (AI recipe generation)
  • Stripe (payment processing)

Each has their own terms:

  • Firebase: https://firebase.google.com/terms
  • Gemini API: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms
  • Stripe: https://stripe.com/legal

By using Chefs AI, you agree to their terms as well.

11.2 Third-Party Liability

We are NOT responsible for:

  • Third-party service outages or errors
  • Changes to third-party terms or pricing
  • Third-party data breaches
  • Loss of data due to third-party failures

If a third-party service fails:

  • We'll do our best to restore service
  • We may temporarily disable affected features
  • We're not liable for resulting damages

12. Service Availability

12.1 Uptime

We strive for high availability but do NOT guarantee:

  • 100% uptime
  • Specific performance levels
  • Availability during maintenance

12.2 Maintenance

We may perform maintenance that causes:

  • Temporary service interruptions
  • Feature downtime
  • Data migration delays

We'll try to:

  • Schedule maintenance during low-usage periods
  • Provide advance notice when possible
  • Minimize disruption

We're NOT liable for maintenance-related downtime.

12.3 Service Changes

We may:

  • Add, modify, or remove features
  • Change tier limits or pricing (with notice)
  • Discontinue the Service entirely

If we discontinue the Service:

  • We'll provide 30 days notice
  • You can export your data before shutdown
  • Paid subscribers receive pro-rated refunds

13. Account Termination

13.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your account at any time:

  • Settings > Privacy > Delete Account
  • All data permanently deleted within 30 days
  • No refunds for remaining subscription time
  • Cannot be undone

13.2 Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your account if:

  • You violate these Terms
  • You abuse the Service (quota bypassing, automation)
  • We're required to by law
  • The Service is discontinued

Notice:

  • We'll provide notice if possible
  • Immediate termination for serious violations (illegal activity, abuse)

Refunds:

  • No refunds if terminated for Terms violations
  • Pro-rated refunds for other terminations

13.3 Effect of Termination

When your account is terminated:

  • Your access ends immediately
  • Your data is deleted within 30 days
  • These Terms survive termination (liability, indemnification, disputes)

14. Dispute Resolution

14.1 Informal Resolution

Before filing a claim, you agree to:

  1. Contact us at support@chefs-ai.com
  2. Describe the issue in detail
  3. Give us 30 days to resolve it

We'll work with you to resolve issues amicably.

14.2 Jurisdiction

Governing law: United States law (without conflict of laws rules)

Exclusive jurisdiction: Courts of New Castle County, Delaware

You consent to: Personal jurisdiction in United States

15. General Provisions

15.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, along with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Chefs AI.

15.2 Severability

If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest of these Terms remain in effect.

15.3 No Waiver

Our failure to enforce a provision doesn't waive our right to enforce it later.

15.4 Assignment

You may NOT assign these Terms to anyone else.

We MAY assign these Terms (e.g., if we're acquired).

15.5 Force Majeure

We're not liable for delays or failures due to:

  • Natural disasters
  • War, terrorism, riots
  • Government actions
  • Internet outages
  • Third-party service failures
  • Other events beyond our reasonable control

15.6 Updates to These Terms

We may update these Terms:

  • To reflect changes in laws
  • To add new features
  • To improve clarity

How we'll notify you:

  • Email notification (for significant changes)
  • In-app notification
  • Updated "Last Updated" date

Your acceptance:

  • Continued use after changes means you accept the new Terms
  • If you don't agree, stop using the Service and delete your account

16. Contact Information

Questions about these Terms: Email: support@chefs-ai.com

Legal notices: Email: info@chefs-ai.com

Response time: Within 5 business days

17. Beta Testing / Private Access

During beta/private access period:

  • Access is by invitation only
  • Features may change without notice
  • Data loss may occur (use at your own risk)
  • We may terminate beta access at any time

When beta ends:

  • These Terms will be updated
  • You'll be notified of changes
  • Service will transition to general availability

This Terms of Service agreement was last updated: November 3, 2025 Effective date: November 3, 2025 Version: 1.0

By using Chefs AI, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.