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ForeverTrail - Terms of Service

DRAFT - not yet reviewed by an attorney. This document was prepared to reflect how ForeverTrail actually works today, but it has not been reviewed by a lawyer and should not be published or presented to users as binding until it has been. Bracketed items like [STATE OF FORMATION] need a real value filled in before this goes live.

Effective date: [DATE] Operated by: ForeverTrail LLC, a limited liability company formed in the State of [STATE OF FORMATION] ("ForeverTrail," "we," "us," or "our") Contact: privacy@forevertrail.com

1. What ForeverTrail is

ForeverTrail is a public, communal website and app where people can create a memorial page for someone who has died, and where anyone can add a "memory" - a written story, optionally with photos, tied to a real place - to a memorial once it has been verified and approved. Memories, comments, memorials, and the people who post them (by username) are visible to anyone who visits ForeverTrail, whether or not they have an account. There is currently no way to make a memory, comment, or memorial private, followers-only, or visible to a limited group - everything you post through ForeverTrail's normal posting flows is public by design. Please keep that in mind before posting anything you or your family would not want visible to the general public.

By creating an account, posting content, or otherwise using ForeverTrail, you agree to these Terms of Service (the "Terms"). If you do not agree, please do not use ForeverTrail.

2. Who can use ForeverTrail

You must be at least 13 years old to create a ForeverTrail account (or 16, if you are located in the European Economic Area, the UK, or another jurisdiction that sets a higher minimum age for consenting to online services without a parent or guardian). By creating an account, you represent that you meet this requirement. ForeverTrail does not currently verify age at signup; we reserve the right to remove any account we learn does not meet this requirement.

You need an account (a username, email address, and password) to create a memorial, add a memory, or leave a comment. You do not need an account to browse ForeverTrail, view memorials, memories, or comments, or to report content you believe violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity that happens under your account. Tell us right away at privacy@forevertrail.com if you believe your account has been accessed without your permission.

3. Memorials: creating one, and what verification means

Anyone can submit a memorial for a person who has died. Creating one requires:

A human reviewer checks the obituary link before a memorial goes live. This review confirms that a real, published obituary exists at the link provided and is a reasonable check against obviously false or fabricated submissions - it is not a background check, a verification of your identity, or a confirmation that you are legally entitled to create a memorial for that person. You are solely responsible for having an appropriate connection to the person you are memorializing, and for the accuracy of everything you submit. ForeverTrail may reject, remove, or request changes to any memorial submission or live memorial at any time, for any reason, including if we later determine it was created without an appropriate connection to the deceased or contains false information.

The person who submits a memorial is recorded internally but is never shown publicly on the memorial page itself - see our Privacy Policy for how that information is used and who can see it.

Once a memorial is live, it is open: any signed-in user may add a memory to it, without further verification. ForeverTrail does not control, and is not responsible for, the content other users add to a memorial you created.

4. Your content

You keep ownership of what you post. When you post a memory, a comment, a photo, or any other content through ForeverTrail (your "Content"), you retain all rights you have in it. By posting Content, you grant ForeverTrail a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute that Content as part of operating ForeverTrail - for example, showing it on the map, on the relevant memorial page, in search results, and in any place ForeverTrail normally displays that kind of content. This license lasts as long as the Content remains on ForeverTrail, or as needed to comply with legal obligations after removal (for example, a backup that has not yet been purged).

You are responsible for your Content, and you represent that:

ForeverTrail does not pre-screen memories, comments, or photos before they appear publicly (only memorial submissions themselves go through the review step described in Section 3). Content you post is visible immediately.

Moderation and removal. Any visitor can report a memory, a comment, or a memorial they believe violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines. A moderator may remove any memory, comment, or memorial at any time, whether or not it has been reported, and may suspend or terminate an account for repeated or serious violations. We try to act in good faith, but we do not promise a formal appeals process, a warning before removal, or that removal decisions will always be perfect. If your Content is removed, we will generally email you to let you know, using the address on your account.

Deleting your account, or having a memory or comment removed, does not guarantee immediate removal from backups or caches, though it will no longer be publicly visible.

5. Location information

If you use "Use my current location" when adding a memory, ForeverTrail records your device's GPS coordinates at that moment, to mark the memory as an in-person visit and to calculate the "miles traveled" figure shown on a memorial's page. This only happens if you choose to use that feature - typing a place name instead does not share your device's location with us. See our Privacy Policy for more on how location data is stored and used.

6. Third-party services

ForeverTrail relies on other companies' services to operate, including a database and file-storage provider (Supabase), an email-delivery provider for notifications (Resend), and a free map/geocoding service (OpenStreetMap and its Nominatim search). Your use of ForeverTrail means your data may pass through these providers as described in our Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the availability or performance of third-party services we don't control.

7. Disclaimers

FOREVERTRAIL IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT FOREVERTRAIL WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY CONTENT - INCLUDING OBITUARY LINKS, MEMORIAL INFORMATION, OR ANYTHING SUBMITTED BY OTHER USERS - IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR TRUTHFUL. FOREVERTRAIL IS A PLATFORM FOR USER-SUBMITTED CONTENT; WE DO NOT ENDORSE, AND ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR, WHAT OTHER USERS POST.

8. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FOREVERTRAIL LLC AND ITS OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AND CONTRACTORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, GOODWILL, OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF FOREVERTRAIL, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATED TO FOREVERTRAIL WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM (WHICH, FOR A FREE SERVICE, MAY BE ZERO), OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

[This section, and the limits it sets, need attorney review - enforceability varies by jurisdiction, and some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations at all.]

9. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ForeverTrail LLC from any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your Content, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third party's rights.

10. Termination

You may delete your own account at any time from your profile's "Edit profile" screen ("Delete my account"), or by contacting privacy@forevertrail.com. Deleting your account permanently removes your login, email, bio, and avatar photo. Memories, comments, and any memorial you created stay visible - so a memorial's history and other people's replies aren't erased - but your username is replaced with an anonymized placeholder (like "Deleted user-a1b2c3d4"). This cannot be undone.

We may also suspend or terminate your account or access to ForeverTrail at any time, for any reason, including a violation of these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

11. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we will try to give reasonable notice (for example, by email or a notice on ForeverTrail) before it takes effect. Continuing to use ForeverTrail after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.

12. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of [STATE OF FORMATION], without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except where local consumer-protection law in your own country or state requires otherwise. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in [STATE OF FORMATION], and you consent to that venue.

[International users: this section, along with any arbitration/class-action-waiver language a lawyer may recommend adding, needs review for enforceability in the visitor's home jurisdiction - mandatory venue and governing-law clauses are treated very differently country to country, and some consumer-protection regimes (e.g., in the EU) override a chosen governing law for certain disputes.]

13. Contact

Questions about these Terms: privacy@forevertrail.com