Terms of Service First draft

1. About these terms

These terms apply when you use handytechhelper.com (“HandyTechHelper”, “HTH”, “we”, “us”), including its free tools, HTH Studio, optional accounts, paid plans and developer API. HandyTechHelper is operated by an individual, not a company. [Operator details not decided yet.]

By using the site you agree to these terms. When you create an account or buy a plan, we ask you to confirm that agreement. The Privacy page explains how information is handled and is part of how we operate the service.

2. Who can use HandyTechHelper

Anyone may use the free tools without an account. You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. If you are under 18 (or the age of majority where you live), you may use an account only with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian, who must agree to these terms and make or approve any purchase.

3. What the service does

Most tools, including HTH Studio, the media tools and the creative tools, run entirely in your web browser. Files and text you open in them are processed on your device and are not uploaded to us. Some editors can save your work in your browser’s storage on your device so you can come back to it; it stays on that device until you clear it.

A few clearly labeled features send the inputs you choose to our server: personal batch processing (Plus and higher), the developer API (Pro and Pro Max) and automation workflows (Pro Max). How those inputs are stored and deleted is described in section 9 and on the Privacy page.

We may add, change, pause or retire tools and features, for example to fix problems, keep the service secure or stay within the resources of the server it runs on.

4. Accounts and security

Accounts are optional for free tools and required for paid plans and the API. To use an account you must verify your email address, set up two-step sign-in with an authenticator app or emailed codes, and save your recovery codes. Sessions end after eight hours; you can choose to trust a device for up to 30 days. Sensitive changes, such as payments, API keys and account deletion, ask you to confirm your password and second step again.

Keep your password, authenticator, recovery codes and API keys private. You are responsible for activity under your account. You can sign out other sessions, revoke trusted devices and revoke API keys in Account settings. If you think your account has been compromised, contact us at [contact address coming soon].

5. Plans and prices

Current plans, with prices in US dollars:

• Free: $0. Everyday browser tools, with no account needed.
• Plus: $5, paid once. Unlocks Plus tools and features (currently Image Studio, PDF Studio, Music Maker, the background remover, GIF maker and QR code designer, plus personal batch processing and saved presets). Plus stays on your account for as long as your account and the HandyTechHelper service exist; there is nothing to renew.
• Pro: $5 per month, renewing automatically. Everything in Plus while subscribed, the Simple Video Editor, server-side tools, the developer API and 10,000 credits per billing month.
• Pro Max: $10 per month, renewing automatically. Everything in Pro while subscribed, priority processing, automation workflows, 50,000 credits per billing month and higher API limits.

6. Payments, renewals and cancellation

Payments are handled by Stripe through its secure checkout and billing portal. We never see or store your full card number. The price is shown on the Pricing page and again in checkout before you pay.

Pro and Pro Max renew automatically every month, and Stripe charges your saved payment method at each renewal, until you cancel. You can cancel at any time online in Account → Subscription, which opens Stripe’s billing portal. Cancellation stops future renewals; your plan stays active until the end of the month you have already paid for. Cancelling does not, by itself, refund the current month.

You can switch between Pro and Pro Max in the billing portal. An upgrade takes effect immediately and Stripe charges the prorated difference straight away; a downgrade takes effect at your next renewal.

If a renewal payment fails, paid features pause until the payment succeeds.

7. Refunds

We review refund requests case by case, subject to applicable law. To ask for one, contact [contact address coming soon] with the email address on your account and the date of the charge. Nothing in these terms limits any refund or cancellation right you have under the law where you live.

If a payment is refunded or disputed, the access it paid for ends or pauses: any refund of a Plus purchase removes Plus, and a full refund or a dispute of a subscription payment pauses that subscription’s paid features.

8. Credits and usage limits

Pro and Pro Max include monthly credits for server tools and the developer API. One credit covers one server operation. Credits renew each paid billing month and do not roll over; credits for cancelled queued jobs or failed processing are returned. Credits have no cash value.

To protect the shared server, plans have limits on request rates, batch sizes, queued jobs and file sizes. The current limits are shown on the Developers page and in each tool. We may lower limits temporarily to keep the service running.

9. Your content

You keep all rights to the files, text and other content you work on with HandyTechHelper and to what you create with it. We claim no ownership of your inputs or outputs, and we do not publish them.

When you use a server feature, you allow us to process the inputs you send only to provide that feature. Batch and API job inputs and results are encrypted on the server and deleted after one hour. Saved automation workflows are kept, encrypted, until you delete them. Saved presets store settings, never files or text.

You are responsible for having the right to use the content you process. Keep your own copies of important files: conversions can change quality or remove information, and we do not keep backups of your files.

10. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use HandyTechHelper to break the law or to infringe anyone’s rights, including copyright and privacy;
• process content you do not have permission to use;
• upload malware, or use the service to attack, probe or overload any system;
• get around rate limits, plan limits, membership checks or security controls;
• share, sell or publish API keys, or resell access to paid features;
• automate the website other than through the documented developer API.

11. Developer API

API access is included with Pro and Pro Max and follows the limits, scopes and error rules on the Developers page. A key is shown once when it is created; we store only a hash and its last four characters. Keys expire after 90 days. You can have up to five keys, limit each one to the read, transform or jobs scope, and rotate a key with a 24-hour overlap. We may revoke keys that are leaked, abused or used beyond the published limits.

12. Advertising

Some free tool pages may show clearly labeled advertisements to visitors who are not signed in. Signed-in accounts do not see ads. Ads never appear on account, billing, pricing or HTH Studio pages.

13. Our software and brand

The HandyTechHelper name, logo, site design and software belong to the operator or its licensors. Some tools include open-source components under their own licenses. You may use the site as offered, but you may not copy or redistribute the site itself except as those licenses allow.

14. Availability and technical limits

HandyTechHelper runs on a single server operated by one person. We work to keep it reliable, but it may be unavailable at times, for example during maintenance, outages or problems with the services it depends on.

Browser tools depend on your device and browser: very large or unusual files may not open, some formats may not be supported, and results can differ between browsers. Each tool describes its own limits. Check important results yourself.

15. Warranties and liability

[This section has not been written yet.]

Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under consumer protection laws that cannot be waived.

16. Suspension and account deletion

We may suspend an account, or revoke its API keys, if it breaks these terms, puts other users or the service at risk, or if the law requires it. Where it is reasonable and safe, we will tell you why.

You can delete your account at any time in Account settings. Deleting an account cancels any Pro or Pro Max subscription immediately, without an automatic refund for the current month, and removes Plus from that account. Some records are kept afterwards, as described on the Privacy page.

17. Changes to these terms and prices

We may update these terms or our prices. For material changes, including price increases for subscriptions, we will generally give at least 30 days’ notice on the website and by email to account holders before they take effect. A price change never applies to a period you have already paid for. If you do not agree to a change, you can cancel before it takes effect.

18. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, USA, except where the law of the place you live gives you protections that cannot be waived.

If you have a problem, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it.

19. Contact

Support, billing and legal questions: [contact address coming soon].