Terms and Conditions

1. Agreement to these Terms

By accessing, creating an account for, booking through, offering services through, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. If you use the Service for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

2. Eligibility and accounts

The Service is intended only for individuals who are at least 18 years old and meet our then-current account eligibility requirements. Do not use the Service if you are under 18. You must provide accurate, current, and complete account information, keep your sign-in credentials secure, and promptly notify us at [email protected] of suspected unauthorized access. You are responsible for activity that occurs through your account.

AnteaterTutors may refuse, suspend, or terminate accounts or access when reasonably necessary to protect users, the Service, or others; to investigate suspected misuse; or to comply with law.

3. Independent marketplace; no UCI affiliation

AnteaterTutors is a technology marketplace that helps students locate, schedule, and pay independent tutors. Tutors are independent service providers, not employees, agents, partners, or representatives of AnteaterTutors. We do not employ, direct, supervise, control, or provide tutoring services through tutors. Each tutor is solely responsible for that tutor's services, statements, conduct, and compliance with law. AnteaterTutors does not guarantee any tutor's or student's identity, credentials, availability, conduct, teaching quality, safety, or suitability.

AnteaterTutors is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the University of California, Irvine or any other educational institution. References to courses or institutions are for descriptive purposes only.

4. Tutor and student responsibilities

Tutors must accurately describe their qualifications, rates, subjects, availability, and session format; deliver accepted sessions professionally; comply with applicable laws and tax obligations; and maintain any licenses, permissions, insurance, and Stripe account requirements applicable to them. A verification badge only reflects the limited review AnteaterTutors chose to perform at that time. It is not a certification or guarantee of identity, background, safety, qualifications, conduct, or results. Unless AnteaterTutors expressly states otherwise in writing, we do not conduct criminal background checks, safety inspections, or ongoing monitoring of users, and users must not rely on the Service as a safety-screening service.

Students must accurately describe the requested support, pay all disclosed charges, treat tutors respectfully, and evaluate a tutor's fit for themselves. All users must use sound judgment and comply with local rules when arranging an in-person session. Users, not AnteaterTutors, independently select, arrange, and control the location and circumstances of an in-person session. Meet in a safe, public or otherwise mutually appropriate location when possible; do not share unnecessary sensitive information; and end an interaction that feels unsafe. Call emergency services, not AnteaterTutors support, for an emergency.

5. In-person sessions and assumption of risk

In-person tutoring involves risks that cannot be eliminated, including risks associated with meeting or communicating with another person, traveling to or from a location, and entering a location selected by a user. By choosing an in-person session, you voluntarily assume the ordinary risks inherent in that choice, including risks arising from the acts or omissions of another user or a third party, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. You are responsible for deciding whether, where, and how to meet and for taking precautions you consider appropriate.

This provision does not ask you to waive rights that cannot lawfully be waived. Nothing in these Terms limits responsibility that cannot be limited under applicable law, including responsibility for fraud, willful misconduct, or unlawful conduct by AnteaterTutors.

6. Academic integrity and prohibited conduct

The Service may be used for lawful educational support, explanation, practice, and feedback. It may not be used to facilitate cheating, plagiarism, academic dishonesty, impersonation, completing graded work on a student's behalf, taking an exam or assessment for someone else, or violating an institution's academic integrity rules.

You may not harass, threaten, discriminate against, defraud, exploit, or harm another person; submit false information or reviews; upload unlawful, infringing, confidential, or malicious content; interfere with the Service; attempt unauthorized access; evade fees; or use the Service for any unlawful purpose. We may remove content and take account action for suspected violations.

7. Bookings, payments, cancellations, and no-shows

A booking request is not confirmed until the applicable payment and tutor-acceptance steps are completed. The total price, including any platform fee, is shown before payment. Payments are processed by Stripe; by submitting payment information, you authorize the applicable Stripe entities and AnteaterTutors to process the disclosed charge. We do not store full payment-card numbers.

At present, a card authorization may be placed while a tutor's response is pending and payment may be captured after the tutor accepts. Tutors generally have up to 12 hours to respond. If a tutor declines or does not respond in time, the authorization will be cancelled or a refund will be initiated, as applicable. Financial institutions and Stripe may take additional time to reflect a released authorization or refund.

Students may cancel or reschedule an eligible booking up to 24 hours before the scheduled session start time. A booking may be rescheduled no more than twice, and a rescheduled confirmed session may require tutor acceptance again. Cancellation or rescheduling after the deadline is not available through the Service and does not create a right to a refund. If a tutor cancels an upcoming confirmed session, we will initiate a full refund when the payment can be processed.

No-show reports are reviewed manually and do not automatically result in a refund. AnteaterTutors may make reasonable operational decisions about a booking, refund, or account based on the information available, but Stripe and applicable law control payment processing and non-waivable consumer rights.

8. Reviews and user content

You retain ownership of content you submit, including profile information, session notes, and reviews. You grant AnteaterTutors a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, display, adapt, and use that content as needed to operate, improve, protect, and promote the Service. You represent that you have the rights needed to grant this license and that your content complies with these Terms.

Reviews must be honest, relevant, and based on your experience. We may, but are not obligated to, monitor, remove, hide, or moderate reviews and other content. We do not endorse user content and are not responsible for its accuracy.

9. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, logos, and content supplied by AnteaterTutors, is owned by AnteaterTutors or its licensors and protected by applicable intellectual-property laws. Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-transferable right to use the Service for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, reverse engineer, distribute, or exploit the Service except as permitted by law or with our written permission.

10. Third-party services

The Service relies on third-party services, including Google for sign-in, Stripe for payment processing and tutor payouts, Supabase for secure document storage, and video or calendar providers selected for a session. Your use of those services may be subject to their separate terms and privacy policies. AnteaterTutors is not responsible for third-party services or their availability.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ANTEATERTUTORS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, SECURITY, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE SERVICE. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE ACADEMIC RESULTS, GRADES, TUTOR AVAILABILITY, SESSION OUTCOMES, OR THE CONDUCT OR SUITABILITY OF ANY USER.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ANTEATERTUTORS AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO ANTEATERTUTORS FOR THE SERVICE IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR $100, WHICHEVER IS GREATER. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these limits may not apply to you.

13. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless AnteaterTutors and its owners, officers, employees, and service providers from claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your content, your use of the Service, your tutoring or booking activity, your interactions with other users, or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

14. Governing law and venue

California law governs these Terms and any dispute arising from them or the Service, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Except where applicable law permits you to bring an individual claim in small-claims court, you and AnteaterTutors agree that the state and federal courts located in Orange County, California have exclusive jurisdiction, and you consent to their personal jurisdiction and venue.

15. Safety reports, changes, termination, and general terms

Report suspected safety concerns, unlawful conduct, threats, harassment, or other misuse to [email protected]. Do not use this address for emergencies. We may review a report, request information, restrict or remove content, suspend or terminate an account, preserve relevant records, and cooperate with law enforcement or legal process where appropriate. We are not obligated to investigate every report or to take any particular action, and our review does not create a duty to protect or supervise users.

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated version and revise its effective date. Continuing to use the Service after an update becomes effective means you accept the updated Terms. You may stop using the Service at any time. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including ownership, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnity, and dispute terms.

If any provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or transfer of assets. These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and AnteaterTutors about the Service.

16. Contact

Questions, reports, and notices about these Terms may be sent to [email protected].