Terms of Service

Welcome to CiteMe. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the CiteMe website, browser extension, and related services (collectively, the "Service") operated by CiteMe ("we", "us", or "our").

By accessing or using our Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms, you may not access the Service.

For users in Brazil: These terms comply with the Brazilian Civil Code (Lei 10.406/2002) and the Consumer Protection Code (CDC - Lei 8.078/1990). You have additional rights under Brazilian law that cannot be waived.

1. Service Description

CiteMe is an academic citation management platform that provides:

• Citation search and formatting in multiple styles (APA, MLA, ABNT, Chicago, etc.)
• Browser extension for quick citation capture
• Personal citation library management
• AI-powered features including paper summarization and recommendations
• Export functionality (BibTeX, RIS, clipboard)

2. User Accounts

2.1 Account Creation

To access certain features, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information
• Maintain the security of your account credentials
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access
• Accept responsibility for all activities under your account

2.2 Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian's permission to use the Service.

3. Subscription and Payments

3.1 Free and Paid Plans

CiteMe offers both free and paid subscription plans. Free plans have usage limits as described on our Pricing page.

3.2 Billing

Paid subscriptions are billed in advance on a recurring basis (weekly, monthly, or annually depending on your plan). Payment is processed through Paddle, our third-party payment processor.

3.3 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Cancellation will take effect at the end of the current billing period. We do not provide refunds for partial periods, except as required by law.

3.4 Price Changes

We reserve the right to modify subscription prices. Any price changes will be communicated at least 30 days in advance and will apply to the next billing cycle.

3.5 Refund Policy

We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for all paid subscriptions. If you are not satisfied with CiteMe Pro for any reason, you may request a full refund within 30 days of your initial purchase or renewal.

• How to request: Contact us at hello@citeme.app with your account email and reason for refund (optional).
• Processing time: Refunds are processed within 5-10 business days via Paddle, our payment processor.
• Partial refunds: For annual/semester plans cancelled after 30 days, we may offer prorated refunds at our discretion.
• Abuse prevention: We reserve the right to deny refunds in cases of repeated abuse or fraud.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable laws or regulations
• Infringe upon intellectual property rights
• Transmit malware or engage in hacking activities
• Attempt to bypass usage limits or security measures
• Scrape, crawl, or harvest data in bulk without permission
• Resell or redistribute the Service without authorization
• Use automated systems to access the Service beyond normal usage

5. Intellectual Property

5.1 Our Content

The Service, including its original content, features, and functionality, is owned by CiteMe and protected by international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

5.2 Your Content

You retain ownership of the citations and data you save to your library. By using the Service, you grant us a limited license to store and process your content solely to provide the Service.

5.3 Third-Party Content

Citation metadata is sourced from academic databases (OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, PubMed, etc.). This data is used under their respective terms and we do not claim ownership of bibliographic information.

6. AI-Powered Features

CiteMe uses artificial intelligence (including Google Gemini) to provide features such as paper summarization, recommendations, and query extraction.

• AI outputs are provided "as is" and should be verified for accuracy
• We do not guarantee that AI summaries will be free from errors
• You are responsible for reviewing AI-generated content before use
• AI features may be subject to additional usage limits

7. Data Sources and Accuracy

CiteMe aggregates citation data from multiple academic sources:

• OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, CrossRef
• Google Books & Open Library (for book/ISBN lookup)
• BDTD (Brazilian theses and dissertations)

While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee that all citation data is complete or error-free. You are responsible for verifying citations before submission in academic work.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, CiteMe shall not be liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages
• Loss of data, profits, or business opportunities
• Errors in citation formatting or data
• Service interruptions or unavailability

Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid for the Service in the 12 months preceding the claim.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that defects will be corrected.

10. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account and access to the Service immediately, without prior notice, for conduct that we believe:

• Violates these Terms
• Is harmful to other users or the Service
• Exposes us to legal liability

Upon termination, you may request a copy of your data within 30 days. After this period, we may delete your account and associated data.

11. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Brazil, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

For users in the European Union, you may also be entitled to invoke the mandatory consumer protection laws of your country of residence.

Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of São Paulo, Brazil, except where consumer protection laws require otherwise.

12. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of material changes by:

• Posting the updated Terms on this page
• Updating the "Last updated" date
• Sending an email notification for significant changes

Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the new Terms.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at: