**DRAFT — must be reviewed by a licensed attorney before launch.**

# LawnTide Terms of Service

**Effective Date:** [PLACEHOLDER — EFFECTIVE DATE]

**Last Updated:** [PLACEHOLDER — EFFECTIVE DATE]

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and [PLACEHOLDER — COMPANY LEGAL NAME] ("LawnTide," "we," "us," or "our") governing your use of **lawntide.com** and our free soil-temperature email alert service (together, the "Service").

**PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.** These Terms contain important provisions about the **informational-only nature of the Service**, **your assumption of risk for any product or chemical application**, **disclaimers of warranties**, and **limitations of our liability**.

**By signing up for or using the Service, you agree to these Terms.** If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

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## 1. What the Service Is

LawnTide is a **free** service for **U.S.-based homeowners**. You provide an email address and a ZIP code, and after you confirm your subscription (double opt-in), we send occasional email alerts estimating the approximate week to apply certain seasonal lawn treatments, such as:

- a **spring pre-emergent (crabgrass) alert**, fired as forecasted soil temperature at ~6 cm depth approaches about 55°F, typically issued 7–14 days ahead using an approximately 8-day weather forecast; and
- a **fall pre-emergent (poa annua) alert**, based on a comparable seasonal soil-temperature rule.

The Service provides **general, educational timing suggestions only**. It uses third-party weather and soil-temperature forecast data (from Open-Meteo) tied to the approximate center of your ZIP code.

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## 2. Informational Only — No Professional Advice and No Guarantee

**THE SERVICE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.** It is not professional agronomic, horticultural, pest-control, environmental, legal, or other professional advice, and it is not a substitute for the judgment of a licensed professional or for the instructions on the products you use.

- **We do not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, or usefulness of any alert or timing recommendation.**
- Alerts are based on **forecasts and models**, which are inherently uncertain and **can be wrong**. Weather changes, forecasts are revised, soil conditions vary across a single yard, and the modeled soil temperature for your ZIP code may differ materially from the actual temperature on your property.
- Local microclimate, soil type, shade, moisture, grass species, recent weather, and many other factors affect correct treatment timing. **An alert may arrive too early, too late, or not at all.**
- We may change, delay, pause, or stop sending alerts at any time, and we do not promise any particular schedule, frequency, or delivery.

**You should independently verify timing** (for example, by measuring your own soil temperature and consulting your local cooperative extension service) before acting.

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## 3. Herbicides and Lawn Products — You Assume the Risk

LawnTide tells you, in general terms, **when** conditions may be appropriate for a category of treatment (such as a pre-emergent herbicide). **LawnTide does not tell you which specific product to buy, how much to apply, how to mix or calibrate it, or how to apply it safely.** We provide only generic product category descriptions and **no application-rate, dosage, mixing, or method-of-application advice.**

**YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DECISION TO PURCHASE, HANDLE, MIX, APPLY, STORE, OR DISPOSE OF ANY HERBICIDE, PESTICIDE, FERTILIZER, OR OTHER LAWN PRODUCT, AND YOU ASSUME ALL RISK ARISING FROM THAT DECISION.**

You agree that:

1. **The product label is the law.** You must read, understand, and follow the entire manufacturer's label and all safety data sheets before using any product. **The label governs over anything in an alert.** If our timing differs from the label or local regulation, **follow the label and the law.**
2. **You are responsible for legal compliance.** Some products are restricted, require licensing, or are regulated or banned in certain states, municipalities, or near water, wells, pets, children, pollinators, or sensitive areas. You are responsible for knowing and complying with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and homeowner/HOA rules.
3. **Chemicals can cause harm.** Improper selection, timing, dosage, or application can damage your lawn, plants, soil, or property; harm people, pets, wildlife, or the environment; and create legal liability. **These risks are yours, not ours.**
4. **When in doubt, consult a licensed professional** (such as a licensed pesticide applicator or your local cooperative extension service).

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## 4. No Warranties

**THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND**, whether express, implied, or statutory. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including any implied warranties of **merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, title, and non-infringement**, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade.

We do not warrant that the Service will be accurate, reliable, uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or that alerts will be delivered on time or at all. Forecast and soil-temperature data are supplied by a third party (Open-Meteo) and we do not control or warrant that data.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above may not apply to you.

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## 5. Limitation of Liability

**TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, [PLACEHOLDER — COMPANY LEGAL NAME] AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR LAWN, PLANTS, PROPERTY, PERSON, PETS, OR THE ENVIRONMENT**, arising out of or relating to the Service or your use of (or inability to use) it, your reliance on any alert, or your purchase, handling, or application of any product — even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages — and regardless of the legal theory.

**Because the Service is provided free of charge, our total aggregate liability to you for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars (US $100.00).**

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

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## 6. Your Responsibilities & Acceptable Use

You agree that you will:

- Provide accurate information and use only an email address you own or are authorized to use;
- Use the Service only for your own personal, non-commercial lawn-care purposes in the United States;
- Independently verify any timing before acting and follow all product labels and laws (Section 3).

You agree that you will **not**:

- Sign up email addresses you do not control, or submit false or misleading information;
- Use the Service to send spam or for any unlawful, harmful, or abusive purpose;
- Interfere with, overload, probe, scrape, reverse engineer, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its infrastructure (including Supabase, Resend, Vercel, or Open-Meteo);
- Resell, redistribute, or commercially exploit the Service or its data without our written permission.

We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including suspected misuse.

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## 7. Email Consent & CAN-SPAM

- **Double opt-in.** When you sign up, we send a confirmation email; you must confirm before we add you to the alert list. By confirming, you **consent** to receive transactional and marketing emails from LawnTide.
- **Unsubscribe anytime.** Every email includes a working unsubscribe link. We will honor opt-out requests promptly, consistent with the **CAN-SPAM Act** and applicable law.
- Our emails will include a valid identifying header, a truthful subject line, and a valid physical postal address as required by law.
- Withdrawing consent (unsubscribing) ends the Service for you; see our Privacy Policy for how we handle your data afterward.

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## 8. Third-Party Links and Future Affiliate Content

The Service is currently free and contains **no** affiliate or brand-specific product recommendations. In the future, the Service may include **affiliate links** to third-party retailers or products. If you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. **We do not control, endorse, or warrant any third-party product, retailer, or website, and we are not responsible for them.** Any purchase is solely between you and the third party, governed by that third party's terms.

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## 9. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its text, design, logo, and original content, is owned by [PLACEHOLDER — COMPANY LEGAL NAME] and protected by applicable law. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for its intended purpose. Weather and soil-temperature data are provided by **Open-Meteo** and used under the **Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)** license.

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## 10. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless [PLACEHOLDER — COMPANY LEGAL NAME] and its owners, officers, and employees from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your use of the Service, your application or handling of any product, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

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## 11. Changes to the Service and to These Terms

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service (in whole or in part) at any time. We may also update these Terms; when we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date and, where appropriate, notify subscribers. **Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.**

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## 12. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of **[PLACEHOLDER — GOVERNING LAW STATE/JURISDICTION]**, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You agree that any dispute will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in **[PLACEHOLDER — VENUE / COUNTY, STATE]**, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.

> **[ATTORNEY DECISION NEEDED:** Whether to add a binding arbitration clause, a class-action waiver, and/or a jury-trial waiver. These are common in consumer terms but have specific drafting and enforceability requirements that vary by state. Left out of this draft pending attorney review.**]**

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## 13. Miscellaneous

- **Severability.** If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
- **No waiver.** Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
- **Entire agreement.** These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service.
- **Assignment.** You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

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## 14. Contact

- **[PLACEHOLDER — COMPANY LEGAL NAME]**
- **[PLACEHOLDER — COMPANY MAILING ADDRESS]**
- **[PLACEHOLDER — CONTACT EMAIL]**