Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using CiteGenie at https://citegenie.app, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. These terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and CiteGenie governing your use of our citation generation, citation checking, source finding, writing assistance, and reading assistance services.

If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you must discontinue use of our service immediately. Your continued use of the service constitutes acceptance of these terms and any future modifications.

2. Service Description

CiteGenie provides AI-powered academic citation and research tools at https://citegenie.app, including:

Citation Generator: Automatically generates properly formatted citations and references in a variety of citation styles from DOIs, URLs, or manual entry.

Citation Checker: Checks the authenticity and accuracy of academic citations and references by cross-referencing them against trusted scholarly databases including CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, OpenAlex, and other authoritative sources.

Find Source: Helps users discover supporting academic papers to cite for a claim or statement, searching across multiple scholarly databases.

Writing Assistant: Provides AI-powered writing guidance to help users improve the quality and clarity of their academic writing.

Reading Assistant: Assists users in understanding and engaging with academic papers and research materials.

Our services are intended to assist with academic research and writing, but do not replace professional academic review or peer review processes.

3. User Accounts and Eligibility

Account Creation: To use our services (except the Citation Generator, which is available without an account), you must create an account and provide accurate, current, and complete information including your name and email address.

Eligibility: You must be at least 13 years old to use our service. If you are under 18, you represent that you have parental or guardian consent to use this service.

Account Security: We use Google Sign-In for authentication. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your Google account, as access to CiteGenie is tied to it. Please notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized use of your account.

One Account Per User: Each user may maintain only one active account unless explicitly authorized by us for institutional or organizational purposes.

4. Acceptable Use and Restrictions

When using CiteGenie, you agree to:

Permitted Uses:

• Generate, check, and manage citations and references for your own academic research, writing, or educational purposes
• Use Find Source to discover supporting literature for your academic work
• Use Writing Assistant and Reading Assistant to improve your understanding and writing quality
• Access and download your own citation history and generated references

Prohibited Uses:

• Use the service to generate or check citations for plagiarized, fraudulent, or fabricated academic work
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract our algorithms or proprietary methods
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access the service or extract data without explicit permission
• Share your account credentials with others or allow unauthorized access to your account
• Submit an excessive volume of requests designed to overwhelm or test the limits of our service
• Resell, redistribute, or commercialize our services without a valid commercial license
• Use the service for any illegal purposes or in violation of any applicable laws or regulations

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these acceptable use terms.

5. Service Results and Accuracy

Nature of Service: CiteGenie provides automated analysis and AI-generated content based on data from third-party academic databases and AI models. While we strive for accuracy, results should be used as a tool to assist your own research and writing, not as a definitive or final determination.

No Guarantee of Accuracy: We do not guarantee that all generated citations, checker results, or AI responses will be 100% accurate. Factors including database completeness, data quality, citation format variations, and limitations of AI models may affect results.

User Responsibility: You are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy of your own citations and references. Our service is a tool to assist you, but you retain full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of your academic work.

Not Professional Advice: Our services do not constitute professional academic, legal, or editorial advice. You should not rely solely on our service for critical academic decisions.

6. Credits and Payments

Pricing: Access to certain services requires the purchase of credits. Current pricing is available on our pricing page and may be changed at our discretion.

Credits: Purchased credits can be used to access CiteGenie's AI-powered features. Credits expire one year after purchase and are non-refundable once purchased. Credits are tied to your account and cannot be transferred to other users.

Refunds: Credits are non-refundable except as required by law.

Payment Processing: Payments are processed through secure third-party payment processors. You agree to provide accurate payment information and authorize us to charge your payment method for applicable fees.

Free Trial: We may offer free trials or promotional credits for new users. Free trial limitations and terms will be specified at the time of registration. We reserve the right to limit or modify free trial offerings.

7. Intellectual Property

Our Content: All content on our platform, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, software, algorithms, and AI methodologies, are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws.

Your Content: You retain all rights to the citations, text, and academic materials you submit to CiteGenie. By submitting content, you grant us a limited license to process and analyze the content solely for the purpose of providing services to you.

Generated Output: Citations, references, and other outputs generated by our service are provided for your personal use. You may use these outputs in your own academic work, but you may not resell or redistribute our services.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

Our services are provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. We make no warranties or representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of our services or their outputs.

We expressly disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied, including but not limited to:

• Warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement
• Warranties regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of generated citations or AI responses
• Warranties that the service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free
• Warranties regarding the quality or availability of third-party academic databases

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of our service, including but not limited to:

• Damages related to inaccurate citation generation or checking results
• Academic consequences resulting from reliance on AI-generated content
• Loss of data, work product, or research materials
• Service interruptions, downtime, or unavailability
• Unauthorized access to your account or data breaches

Our total liability to you for any claims arising from these terms or your use of our service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or $100, whichever is greater.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless CiteGenie, its affiliates, and its respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from:

• Your use or misuse of our services
• Your violation of these Terms of Service
• Your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property rights or privacy rights
• Any academic misconduct or fraud committed using our service

11. Service Availability and Modifications

Service Changes: We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of our service at any time, with or without notice. We may also impose limits on certain features or restrict access to parts of the service.

Maintenance: We may perform scheduled or emergency maintenance that may temporarily interrupt service availability. We will make reasonable efforts to minimize service disruptions.

Third-Party Dependencies: Our service relies on third-party academic databases and AI APIs. We are not responsible for changes, interruptions, or discontinuations of these third-party services.

12. Termination

Termination by You: You may terminate your account at any time by contacting our support team.

Termination by Us: We may suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms of Service, engaged in fraudulent activity, or for any other reason at our sole discretion.

Effect of Termination: Upon termination, your right to access and use our service will immediately cease. We may delete your account data in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including intellectual property rights, disclaimers, and limitations of liability.

13. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms of Service at any time. When we make changes:

• We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
• For material changes, we will provide notice through email or a prominent notice on our website at least 30 days before the changes take effect
• Your continued use of our service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the modified terms

If you do not agree to the modified terms, you must stop using our service and may cancel your account.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

Governing Law: These Terms of Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with applicable laws, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Dispute Resolution: Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of our service should first be addressed by contacting our support team. We encourage informal resolution of disputes whenever possible.

15. General Provisions

Entire Agreement: These Terms of Service, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and CiteGenie regarding your use of our service.

Severability: If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

No Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these terms will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision.

Assignment: You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations without restriction.

16. Contact Information

If you have questions about these Terms of Service or our services, please contact us:

Website: https://citegenie.app

Contact: See our contact page for support information.

We are committed to addressing your concerns and providing excellent service to support your academic research and writing.