Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the AlwaysThere (the "Protocol") directly via our smart contracts, through the official web interface, or any third-party interface, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, do not interact with our smart contracts or web interfaces. These terms constitute a binding legal agreement between you and the protocol maintainers.

2. User Obligations & Security

You are solely responsible for the security of your cryptographic wallets and the files you choose to encrypt. When using the Protocol, you agree that:

• You will not use the Protocol to store, distribute, or hide illegal, illicit, or copyrighted material without authorization.
• You understand the mechanics of Shamir's Secret Sharing and the implications of your chosen M-of-[N] threshold.
• You will maintain the security of your heartbeat mechanism, ensuring it accurately reflects your active status.
• The Protocol maintainers have no knowledge of, or access to, the contents of the files you encrypt.

3. Smart Contract Mechanics

The core logic of the AlwaysThere is deployed to the Polygon blockchain (and other EVM-compatible networks) as immutable smart contracts.

By interacting with these contracts, you acknowledge that blockchain transactions are irreversible. The execution of the contract logic—specifically the decay timer and the release of key shards to beneficiaries—happens deterministically based on network consensus, not by manual intervention from the protocol maintainers. We are not responsible for edge cases caused by network outages, high gas fees preventing heartbeat pings, or validator delays.

4. Protocol Disclaimer

The AlwaysThere and all associated software are provided "as is" and "as available" without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. While our smart contracts undergo rigorous audits, interacting with experimental decentralized technologies carries inherent risks such as undiscovered vulnerabilities. You acknowledge these risks and agree to bear full responsibility for your interactions.

5. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, under no circumstances shall the maintainers, developers, contributors, or affiliates of the AlwaysThere be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data, digital assets, or other intangible losses, resulting from:

(i) the use or the inability to use the service;
(ii) unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data;
(iii) statements or conduct of any third party on the service; or
(iv) any underlying flaw in the blockchain network itself.

6. Protocol Upgrades & Forks

The web interface may be updated periodically to support new features or contract versions. However, the underlying smart contracts are immutable. In the event of a significant protocol upgrade or a network hard fork, you are responsible for migrating your encrypted vaults to the new version if you wish to utilize new features. We provide no guarantee that older contract versions will continue to be actively supported via the official web interface indefinitely.

7. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the principles of decentralized governance and, where strictly necessary, the laws of the jurisdiction in which the core contributor entity is legally established, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising from these terms will ideally be resolved via on-chain arbitration protocols when available.