Disclaimer, Privacy & Refunds

Terms of use — what ContractShield is and isn't

• Informational tool only. ContractShield flags potentially risky clauses in contracts and suggests wording. Reports are AI-generated and do not constitute legal advice. Using the service creates no attorney–client relationship.
• We are not a law firm and do not provide legal representation, legal opinions, or case-specific advice. For anything material to you — money, IP, liability — consult a licensed attorney in your state.
• AI can be wrong. Models can misinterpret, miss context, or over-flag. Every finding includes a source reference (the public legal resource its guidance is based on) precisely so you can verify before acting. Treat this product as a first line of defense, not a final word.
• Templates are deliberately conservative. Our demand letters claim no interest or late fees (avoiding state usury-limit issues), reference courts generically, and use a restrained professional tone. State rules vary — check your state's small-claims self-help resources before filing anything.

Refunds & cancellation

• Subscriptions — cancel anytime. Cancel by emailing lhr495878@gmail.com or replying to any receipt email. Your cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — you keep full access until then, and there are never cancellation fees. Partial-period refunds are not offered for month-to-month plans.
• Cancelling is one email. No phone calls, no forms, no retention hoops. If you ever see a charge after you cancelled, forward it to us and we refund it — no questions asked.
• One-time attorney orders. Full refund any time before your attorney begins work. Once work has begun, refunds are handled case-by-case — contact us. After the review is delivered it is a consumed digital service, so there is no cash refund — but if something went wrong we will make it right with a re-review or account credit.
• How refunds are issued. Payments are processed by Paddle (our payment processor and merchant of record for your purchase). Refunds are issued through Paddle to your original payment method, typically appearing within 5–10 business days depending on your bank, with an email confirmation when issued.

Privacy — the short version

• Contracts are deleted after review. Your uploaded or forwarded contract is processed in memory and deleted when the review completes. We store only the structured findings (the risk list), never the original text.
• Account data is minimal. We store your email address, plan status, your personal inbox address, and your review findings. No passwords (we use emailed one-time codes).
• AI processing. Review requests are sent to a third-party AI model provider under a zero-retention / no-training configuration. We do not use your contracts to train any model, ours or anyone else's.
• Your rights — self-serve. Download everything we hold about you (or delete your account and all findings permanently) right from your dashboard — Account & privacy. No email required. You can also reach us at lhr495878@gmail.com. California residents: this includes rights under the CCPA/CPRA (know, delete, opt out of sale — we do not sell personal data, period).
• Cookies. One session cookie (sign-in), one counter cookie (anonymous free-review limit), and one optional referral cookie (cs_ref, 30 days — set only when you arrive via someone's invite link; it doubles the invitee's free quota and credits the inviter; clearing it opts you out). No ad trackers, no third-party analytics in this MVP.
• Shared report cards. If you explicitly click "Share my result", we create a public page showing ONLY the risk score and issue-type counts — never your contract's text, file contents, or your identity. You can revoke the link from your report page at any time; revoked links stop working immediately.
• Referrals. Invite links carry your referral code so signups can be credited (inviter earns Pro credit, invitee gets doubled free quota). The code itself contains no personal data.

Where our guidance comes from

Findings are built on public legal education resources, including Nolo guides (freelance contracts, getting paid, small claims), U.S. Copyright Office materials (copyright transfer), state statutes and court self-help centers (venue, small claims, usury limits), bar association public materials, and established freelancer-association guidance (spec work, portfolio rights, payment practices). Every finding in every report cites the resource type it is based on. Before production launch, each knowledge-base topic is verified against the current edition of the named resource, with direct links added to the report UI.

If you find an error in any finding's guidance, tell us — corrections go into the knowledge base and improve the product for everyone.