Terms of Service

Terms of Service

DRAFT v1 — paralegal review required before publishing. This is a Claude-led draft anchored to docs/PRIVACYPLAN.md and docs/VOICEGUIDE.md. The 2026-05-07 v1 pass resolved the items the existing decision corpus already answered (state of incorporation per D-035, Patron tier scope per D-042, dispute resolution stance, attribution page commitment). The 2026-05-10 second pass converted deterministic placeholders to `[FOUNDER: …]` shape (launch date, mailing address, Georgia county of venue) and sharpened the genuine judgment-call items into `[PARALEGAL: …]` markers that name the specific decision needed. Items genuinely requiring paralegal review (Section 7 FDA-aligned phrasing, Section 10 state-law variance on limitation of liability, Section 12 arbitration clause decision, App Store required language for V1.5) remain inline as `[PARALEGAL: …]`. Founder-fill placeholders use `[FOUNDER: …]`.

The medical-disclaimer language (Section 7) is the highest-stakes piece — paralegal review of that section before launch is non-negotiable.

Effective: 2026-05-17 (per D-085; the public ToS surface reads from this markdown, so the date here renders on `/terms`) Last updated: 2026-05-17

1. What Drop Skincare is

Drop Skincare LLC ("Drop Skincare," "Drop," "we," "us," "our") is a consumer skincare- guidance app and website. It helps you understand the products you already own, build a skincare routine, see when ingredients you're using conflict with each other, and track effectiveness over time. Every flag we surface is backed by a citation to peer-reviewed literature — that's the wedge.

Drop Skincare is not a substitute for medical advice. We are not a medical service. We do not diagnose conditions, prescribe medications, or replace a dermatologist. See Section 7 for the full medical disclaimer.

These Terms of Service govern your use of:

• The Drop Skincare mobile app on iOS and Android
• The website at drop-skincare.com, including public sharing pages and the logged-out

compatibility checker

• Any related services we offer

By creating an account or using the service, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, don't use the service.

2. Eligibility

You may use Drop Skincare if:

• You are at least 13 years old
• You have the legal capacity to enter a contract in your jurisdiction
• You're not barred from using the service under applicable law
• You're not located in a country to which we cannot lawfully provide the service

If you are between 13 and 18 (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you confirm a parent or guardian has reviewed these terms. The app applies age-appropriate ingredient filtering (no retinoids, etc.) for users in the under-18 age band.

We do not knowingly accept users under 13. See the Privacy Policy, Section 8.

3. Your account

• You're responsible for keeping your sign-in credentials secure (or, for OAuth sign-ins via

Apple or Google, for keeping that account secure).

• You're responsible for activity that happens under your account.
• One account per person, please. Don't share accounts.
• Don't impersonate someone else or pick a handle that does (e.g., a real public figure's

name, or a name designed to imply association we don't have).

• Tell us if you suspect your account has been accessed without your permission:

privacy@drop-skincare.com.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or applicable law. See Section 11.

4. What you can and can't do with the service

4.1 Things that are fine

• Use the app for your personal skincare planning.
• Share your routine, wishlist, or compatibility check results publicly via Drop's sharing

features.

• Take screenshots of your own data and post them anywhere you like.
• Use the public compatibility checker without an account, subject to rate limits.
• Cancel your account at any time.

4.2 Things that aren't OK

• Don't use the service to harass, threaten, or harm anyone.
• Don't post or share content that's defamatory, obscene, hateful, or unlawful.
• Don't try to scrape, mass-download, or reverse-engineer our citation database, our

ingredient encyclopedia, or our codebase. The citations we curate are our work product.

• Don't try to use the service to evade rate limits, abuse the LLM-backed features, or

burn through our API budget.

• Don't impersonate Drop, claim affiliation we don't have, or use our brand to endorse

unrelated products or services.

• Don't try to manipulate aggregate analytics by creating fake accounts or fake activity.
• Don't use the service for commercial product reviews you're being paid for, unless you

disclose that compensation in the same content.

• Don't post other users' photos or routines without their permission.

We may remove content or restrict access to features at our discretion if these rules are violated.

4.3 Public sharing

Some features (public profile pages, public routine URLs, public wishlists) let you share content with people outside Drop. These are opt-in and default to private. If you publish content publicly, you grant Drop a non-exclusive license to display that content through our service. You can revoke a public share at any time, and we'll take it down within 24 hours of revocation.

5. Subscriptions (Patron tier — V1.5+ only)

This section is dormant at V1 launch. Per D-042, the Patron tier ships with V1.5 (~month 6 post-launch) and not at the V1 launch. The full Section 5 below is the language that activates with the V1.5 release; for the V1 launch, this section is shortened to a one-line "Drop Skincare is free at V1; an optional Patron tier ships with V1.5" placeholder, and the full subscription terms below are added back when V1.5 ships.

The full V1.5 language follows for paralegal pre-review (so that when V1.5 launches the language is already vetted):

Drop Skincare is free to use. We also offer an optional Patron subscription that supports continued development. Patron does not unlock features that gate core functionality — those remain free.

• Pricing: USD $4.99/month or USD $39/year, billed through the Apple App Store or

Google Play.

• Renewal: subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the renewal

date.

• Cancellation: cancel via your Apple or Google account settings. Cancellations take

effect at the end of the current billing period; you keep Patron status until then.

• Refunds: handled by Apple or Google per their refund policies. We don't process

refunds directly.

• Pricing changes: we'll notify you at least 30 days in advance via in-app notice and

email.

If we materially change the Patron benefit set, we'll notify you and offer a refund or cancellation option.

6. Affiliate disclosure

Drop earns commissions on some purchases made through links we surface in the app and on the website. At no extra cost to you. We never accept payment to recommend products. Our recommendations are ranked by what's likely to fit your skin and your existing routine, never by commission rate.

Where applicable, we include the program-specific phrasing required by the relevant affiliate network — e.g., "As an Amazon Associate, Drop earns from qualifying purchases."

7. Medical disclaimer (read this section)

This is the most important section in these terms.

Drop Skincare provides skincare guidance for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice, a substitute for medical advice, or a diagnostic tool.

• We do not diagnose any condition.
• We do not prescribe medications or treatments.
• We do not replace a dermatologist, doctor, pharmacist, or other licensed healthcare

professional.

• The ingredient flags, compatibility checks, routine suggestions, and timeline check-ins

in the app are based on published literature and curated rules, but they are general information, not personalized medical recommendations.

If you have a medical condition — including but not limited to severe acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, suspicious moles, melanoma risk, autoimmune skin disease, infections, or any persistent or worsening skin issue — please see a qualified healthcare professional in person. Drop is not a substitute and is not designed to be one.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, the app applies hard-rule filters for ingredients the published literature flags as contraindicated. These filters are based on conservative interpretations of available evidence. They do not replace a conversation with your obstetrician, midwife, or pharmacist about your specific case.

If you are using prescription products (tretinoin, isotretinoin, hydroquinone above OTC limits, topical antibiotics, etc.), follow your prescriber's instructions. Drop's suggestions are general; your prescriber's instructions are specific to you.

Allergic reactions, irritation, or unexpected effects: stop using the product, seek medical attention if needed, and let us know via support@drop-skincare.com so we can improve our flag set.

We do not guarantee any specific outcome — clearer skin, fewer breakouts, fewer wrinkles, or any other result. Skincare results vary widely between individuals.

PARALEGAL: highest-stakes section of the document, hard-required review before launch. The language above is anchored to FDA's wellness-vs-medical positioning per [docs/PRIVACY_PLAN.md §HIPAA and to AAD-style "see a qualified healthcare professional" framing. Three specific paralegal decisions outstanding: (a) State-by-state variance on medical-advice phrasing — does any of Drop's launch states (US-only at V1) require specific non-medical-advice disclaimers beyond the AAD framing used here? Confirm Georgia and the top-5 launch-traffic states (CA, NY, TX, FL, IL per DISTRIBUTION_PLAN.md) impose no specific carve-outs. (b) FDA-aligned pregnancy-contraindications phrasing — confirm the "hard-rule filters for ingredients the published literature flags as contraindicated" paragraph does not trip the FDA's pregnancy/lactation-claim guidance for cosmetic products. Specifically, does saying "we filter contraindicated ingredients" count as a medical claim under 21 CFR Part 740 (cosmetic warnings) or any related guidance? (c) Prescription-product paragraph — confirm the "follow your prescriber's instructions" paragraph aligns with state laws on incidental advice in non-medical apps. Some states have specific safe-harbor language; others impose stricter requirements when a non-medical app interacts with prescription regimens.]

8. Intellectual property

• Drop's IP: the app, website, brand, logos, copy, ingredient encyclopedia, citation

database, conflict-pair rules, hard-rule manifest, and code are owned by us. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or commercialize them without permission.

• Your content: you own what you create — your routines, photos, ratings, empties,

wishlist, profile copy. By using public sharing features, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display that content through the service. You can revoke a public share at any time.

• Citations: we cite peer-reviewed sources by author, year, journal, DOI, and PubMed

ID. We do not redistribute the full text of cited papers. Where a paper is open-access, we link to the public DOI; where it's paywalled, we cite the metadata only.

• Open-source attributions: we use open-source libraries; their licenses are listed in

the app's About → Open Source page (BUILD_PLAN.md week 8 task — pre-launch attribution page generation from package-lock + license-checker output, founder confirms before App Store submission).

9. Disclaimer of warranties

Drop Skincare is provided "as is" and "as available." To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy of content, and uninterrupted availability.

We don't warrant that:

• The service will be free of bugs, errors, or interruptions
• Recommendations will produce specific results
• The service will be available in your country, on your device, or at any specific time
• The information in the app is complete or current at every moment

Some jurisdictions don't allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Drop Skincare and its officers, employees, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages — including loss of profits, data, goodwill, or skin-care outcomes — arising out of or related to your use of the service.

Our total liability for any claim arising out of or related to the service, regardless of the cause of action, will not exceed the greater of:

• USD $100, or
• The amount you paid us for the Patron subscription in the 12 months preceding the claim

These limits apply even if Drop has been advised of the possibility of such damages and even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose.

[PARALEGAL: state-law variance review for the $100-or-12-months-of-Patron-fees liability cap. Specifically: (a) Georgia (governing law per D-035) — confirm enforceability of the cap amount and the consequential-damages exclusion under Georgia's UCC and consumer protection statutes; (b) California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois (top-5 expected launch traffic per DISTRIBUTION_PLAN.md) — identify any state that rejects or modifies $100-style caps for consumer apps and propose a carve-out clause; (c) confirm the cap amount itself is appropriate for a free V1 + V1.5 Patron-tier consumer app — paralegal- recommend if a different floor (e.g., $50, $250, $500) is more defensible. The current $100 number is placeholder-stable but not anchored to specific legal precedent.]

11. Termination

You may stop using the service at any time and delete your account via Settings → Account → Delete Account.

We may suspend or terminate your account if:

• You violate these terms
• You misuse the service in ways that affect other users (harassment, fraud, abuse of

rate limits)

• We are required by law

If we terminate your account for cause, we'll let you know via email if practical. You may appeal a termination decision by emailing support@drop-skincare.com.

12. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, United States (per D-035: single-member LLC formed in Georgia at week -6), without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

Any dispute arising out of these terms or your use of the service will be resolved in the state and federal courts located in [FOUNDER: insert Georgia county of venue — typically the county of the registered-agent address selected at LLC formation per D-035], except where:

• You're an EU/EEA or UK consumer, in which case mandatory consumer-protection laws of your

country of residence apply

• Applicable law requires arbitration or another forum

Arbitration clause: NOT included at V1 launch. Decision rationale (founder + Drop brand position): the brand wedge is "honest," and aggressive arbitration language with class-action waivers undercuts that signal. Standard court-based dispute resolution is the right framing for a small consumer app at launch. Revisit at V2 / scale (>50K MAU) if litigation risk surfaces.

[PARALEGAL: confirm the no-arbitration stance is defensible at V1 launch. Specifically: (a) is the absence of an arbitration / class-action waiver clause reasonable given Drop's projected scale (sub-50K MAU at V1, US-targeted, free with optional $4.99/mo Patron subscription at V1.5)? (b) does any Drop launch jurisdiction (Georgia + top-5 traffic states) have consumer-protection statutes that would make a future arbitration clause unenforceable, materially affecting the V2 reconsideration plan? (c) recommend whether the V1 ToS should include an explicit "no arbitration clause; either party may proceed in court" sentence, or whether silence (current draft) is preferable. If a future V2 ToS adds arbitration, the change follows Section 14's 14-day notice + email-notification process.]

13. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Drop Skincare harmless from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of:

• Your use of the service in violation of these terms
• Content you publish via public sharing features
• Your violation of any law or third-party right

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top
• Notify active users by email (via Resend) at least 14 days before the change takes

effect

• Post a notice in the app's "What's new" surface

Continued use of the service after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

15. Miscellaneous

• Severability: if any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the remaining

provisions stay in effect.

• No waiver: failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it

later.

• Assignment: we may assign these terms in connection with a sale, merger, or

acquisition. You may not assign these terms without our prior written consent.

• Entire agreement: these terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire

agreement between you and Drop Skincare regarding the service.

16. Contact

• General support: support@drop-skincare.com
• Privacy and rights requests: privacy@drop-skincare.com
• Mailing address: Drop Skincare LLC, [FOUNDER: needs Georgia business address from

D-035 LLC formation — registered-agent address per founder's selection at week -6]

Items flagged for paralegal review

Resolved 2026-05-07 (no longer paralegal-blocking)

• State of incorporation, governing law, and venue — Georgia (D-035: single-member

LLC at week -6). Section 12 reflects this; only the Georgia county of venue remains for founder selection (typically registered-agent county).

• Section 5 (Subscriptions) — keep, hide, or split — split into V1.5 addendum. V1

ships with the one-line placeholder; the full Patron-tier language activates with V1.5 per D-042. Pre-vetted Patron text remains in this draft for paralegal pre-review.

• Section 12 — arbitration clause decision — NO arbitration clause at V1 launch.

Brand-aligned with "honest" positioning; standard court-based dispute resolution. Revisit at V2 if scale-driven litigation risk surfaces.

• Section 8 (IP) — open-source attribution page — wired into BUILD_PLAN.md week 8

(pre-launch attribution page generation from package-lock + license-checker; founder confirms before App Store submission).

Founder fills at publication

• Effective date / last-updated date — locked 2026-05-17 (D-085, Q-A19 close);

parity with `/disclosure`. Future republishes bump the `LEGALPUBLICATIONDATE` constant in `apps/web/src/lib/legal-constants.ts` and the header block above.

• Mailing address — Drop Skincare LLC + Georgia registered-agent address. Fills

post-LLC formation per D-035 (week -6). Two occurrences: §12 venue paragraph (county only) and §16 contact block (full address).

• Section 12 — Georgia county of venue — founder selects (typically the

registered-agent address county).

Genuinely paralegal-required

• Section 7 (Medical disclaimer) — highest priority; FDA-aligned phrasing review

+ state-by-state language variance check for the medical-advice claims, the pregnancy-contraindications hard-rule layer, and the prescription-product paragraph. This is the load-bearing piece of the document and is the non-negotiable paralegal review item before launch.

• Section 10 (Limitation of liability) — state-law variance review for Georgia

+ applicable consumer-protection regimes (some jurisdictions reject or modify limitation-of-liability clauses; confirm enforceability and add jurisdiction-specific carve-outs as needed).

• EU/UK consumer-protection carve-outs — verify Section 12's mandatory

consumer-rights backstop language matches each jurisdiction's requirements (V1 is US-targeted but EU/UK users who reach the app organically should still be covered).

• App Store / Google Play required language audit (V1.5) — both stores require

specific language for subscription apps; confirm the V1.5 Section 5 activation hits those requirements before the V1.5 release.

• Voice-guide compliance final pass — this draft was written to VOICE_GUIDE.md.

Section 7 intentionally uses the disclaimer-claim vocabulary (the regulated terms naming what we do NOT do — see Section 7 for the literal list) because they are the disclaimer claims, not product claims — paralegal-confirm that's the right call. The rest of the document should be audited against VOICE_GUIDE banned phrases at publish; the voice-guide-allow suppression annotations on Sections 1 and 7 are the load-bearing exceptions and should be reviewed alongside the disclaimer language itself.