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Terms of Service

Our terms and conditions

Message Crystal — Web Terms of Service

Effective: April 21, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between Message Crystal LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company with a principal address at 107 Hickory Hollow Circle, Warrington, PA 18976 ("Message Crystal," "we," "us"), and you ("you" or "User") governing your access to and use of the Message Crystal website, web application, and related services available at message-crystal.com and its subdomains (collectively, the "Web Service").

By creating an account, accessing, or using the Web Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Web Service.

A separate Terms of Service governs the Message Crystal mobile application.

1. Definitions

  • "Beacon" means a notification channel created by a Publisher within the Web Service.
  • "Crystal" means a User's subscription to a Beacon.
  • "Event" or "Notification" means a message published by a Publisher through a Beacon and delivered to Subscribers.
  • "Publisher" means a User who creates Beacons and publishes Events.
  • "Subscriber" means a User who subscribes to one or more Crystals.
  • "Publisher Content" means any Event, Beacon metadata, or other material submitted to the Web Service by a Publisher.
  • "Subscriber Data" means preference selections, timing metrics, and other information generated by Subscribers through their use of the Service.
  • "User Content" means, collectively, Publisher Content and Subscriber Data.

Every Web Service User is simultaneously a Subscriber and a potential Publisher. These Terms apply to both roles. Your rights and obligations do not change if you purchase paid publishing capabilities.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Web Service. By using the Web Service you represent that (a) you are at least 13, (b) you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms, and (c) you are not barred from using the Web Service under the laws of the United States or Pennsylvania.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity occurring under your account. You must provide accurate information and promptly update it when it changes. We may suspend or terminate accounts that contain false information or are used in violation of these Terms.

4. Publisher Content — Ownership & License

4.1 Ownership. Publishers retain all ownership rights in Publisher Content.

4.2 License to Message Crystal. You grant Message Crystal a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to host, store, reproduce, transmit, display, and distribute Publisher Content solely for the purpose of operating and delivering the Service, including delivery via mobile push notification chains and web browsers. This license is sublicensable only to our subprocessors and infrastructure providers acting on our behalf to deliver the Service (see the Privacy Policy for a current list). The license terminates when you delete the relevant Publisher Content or your account, subject to the retention periods set out in the Privacy Policy.

4.3 Publisher Representations. You represent and warrant that:

(a) Rights and ownership. You either (i) own the Publisher Content outright, or (ii) have obtained all rights, licenses, consents, permissions, and clearances necessary to publish, reproduce, transmit, and distribute the Publisher Content through the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not publish content owned or licensed by a third party — including but not limited to news articles, photographs, videos, song lyrics, book excerpts, or paywalled material — unless you have a written license from the rights holder authorizing distribution through a notification service such as Message Crystal, or the material is unambiguously in the public domain or licensed under a permissive license that allows such distribution (e.g., Creative Commons with commercial and redistribution rights);

(b) Non-infringement. The Publisher Content does not and will not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any third party's copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity, right of privacy, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right;

(c) Sensitive content compliance. If the Publisher Content includes health information, political communications, religious material, biometric data, or any other data subject to sector-specific laws (including but not limited to HIPAA, election law, and state biometric privacy statutes), you have obtained all necessary consents and legal bases to distribute it and you alone are responsible for compliance with applicable law;

(d) Accuracy. The Publisher Content is not knowingly false, misleading, or fraudulent.

5. Subscriber Data & the Aggregate Rule of Fifty

Subscriber preferences, notification interaction timing, and other individualized Subscriber Data are never exposed to Publishers in identifiable form. Publishers receive only aggregated reports subject to the Aggregate Rule of Fifty: no reported segment, percentile, or range may represent fewer than fifty Subscribers.

  • Publishers with 5,000+ Subscribers receive data in ranges no finer than 1%.
  • Publishers with 500 Subscribers receive data in ranges no finer than 10%.
  • Publishers with 100 Subscribers receive only above-half / below-half indications per characteristic.
  • Publishers with fewer than 100 Subscribers receive no aggregated Subscriber data.

Any attempt to circumvent the Aggregate Rule of Fifty — including creating synthetic or dummy Crystals to inflate Subscriber counts — results in a single written warning and an elevated reporting threshold of 500 Subscribers. A second attempt results in termination of the offending account.

6. Prohibited Content and Conduct

You may not publish, transmit, or store content that:

  • violates any applicable law or regulation;
  • constitutes harassment, threats, stalking, or targeted abuse;
  • contains sexually explicit material, pornography, or other adult content;
  • infringes the copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights of any third party;
  • contains malware, phishing payloads, or other malicious code; or
  • is intended to defraud any person.

You may not (a) attempt to access the Web Service or its data by unauthorized means, (b) probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Web Service without written permission, (c) interfere with the operation of the Web Service, or (d) use the Web Service to send unsolicited bulk commercial messages.

7. Copyright Complaints

Takedown notices and counter-notices must be submitted to legal@message-crystal.com. Message Crystal has not designated a DMCA agent with the U.S. Copyright Office; notices should be addressed directly to the email address above.

7.1 Takedown notices must include: (a) identification of the copyrighted work; (b) identification of the allegedly infringing material; (c) the location of the infringing material (Crystal, Publisher, and publishing date); and (d) a statement made under penalty of perjury that the complainant is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. Incomplete notices will be rejected.

7.2 Response. Flagged material is removed and the Publisher is contacted within one business day of receiving a compliant notice.

7.3 Counter-notices must include: (a) the Publisher's contact information; (b) a good-faith belief statement; (c) a statement under penalty of perjury that the Publisher has a good-faith belief the content was removed due to mistake or misidentification; (d) consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court for the Publisher's district or, for Publishers outside the United States, any district in which Message Crystal is located; and (e) the Publisher's physical or electronic signature.

7.4 Restoration. Compliant counter-notices are forwarded to the complainant within one business day. If the complainant has not filed a lawsuit seeking to restrain the Publisher within fourteen business days of the forwarded counter-notice, Message Crystal will restore the content.

8. Suspension and Termination

8.1 Suspension of Publishers. Publishers may be suspended for violations of these Terms. A Notice of Suspension will be sent within one business day stating the conditions required to lift the suspension. Publishers have ten business days to respond in writing. Message Crystal will review any response within ten business days of receipt and will issue a final decision either (a) lifting the suspension, (b) continuing the suspension until the conditions are met, or (c) terminating the Publisher's account.

8.2 No Liability for Incidentals. Message Crystal accepts no financial responsibility for incidental damages arising from a suspension or termination, including but not limited to loss of income, lost subscribers, or lost business opportunity.

8.3 Voluntary Termination. You may terminate your account at any time. Termination does not entitle you to any refund.

9. Paid Publishing — Billing

9.1 Subscriptions. Paid publishing tiers are available on monthly or annual auto-renewing subscriptions. You may cancel at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the then-current billing period.

9.2 No Refunds. All fees are non-refundable except where required by applicable law or expressly provided in these Terms (Section 10 — SLA credits).

9.3 Price Changes. We may change subscription prices with at least thirty days' prior notice. Continued use of paid features after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

9.4 Failed Payment. If a scheduled payment fails, your account enters a ten-business-day grace period. If payment has not succeeded by the end of the grace period, the account may be downgraded or suspended.

9.5 Taxes. Displayed prices are exclusive of VAT, sales tax, and similar transaction taxes. Applicable taxes are calculated and remitted through Stripe, our payment processor.

9.6 Quota Overages. If you exhaust your monthly notification quota, the Notification in progress at the moment of exhaustion completes delivery. No further Notifications may be published until the billing period resets or the account is upgraded.

10. Service Level Agreement

If, in any billing month, fewer than 99.95% of a Publisher's Notifications are delivered within one hour of publication, the Publisher receives a pro-rata credit equal to (shortfall percentage) × (that month's subscription fee), applied to the next billing cycle. Credits are the sole remedy for missed delivery targets. Credits only — no cash refunds. Free-tier Publishers are not entitled to SLA credits.

11. Warranty Disclaimer

THE WEB SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. MESSAGE CRYSTAL DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEB SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MESSAGE CRYSTAL'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE WEB SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO MESSAGE CRYSTAL IN THE TWELVE MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. IN NO EVENT WILL MESSAGE CRYSTAL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, OR LOST DATA, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Message Crystal, its officers, employees, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to (a) your Publisher Content, (b) your use of the Web Service, (c) your violation of these Terms, or (d) your violation of any law or third-party right.

14. Beta and Early-Access Features

Features designated "beta," "preview," or "experimental" are provided without any SLA, without warranty of any kind, and may be modified, suspended, or withdrawn at any time without notice or liability.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced in-app and by updating the "Last updated" and "Effective" dates above. Changes take effect thirty days after the Last updated date. Continued use of the Web Service after the Effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

16. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your account without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms freely, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets.

17. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The state and federal courts located in Pennsylvania have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms, and you consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in those courts.

18. Miscellaneous

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force. Our failure to enforce any right is not a waiver of that right. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Message Crystal regarding the Web Service.

19. Contact

Message Crystal LLC
107 Hickory Hollow Circle
Warrington, PA 18976
Email: legal@message-crystal.com