Terms of service

**Last Updated:** November 15, 2025

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Kids Village Books mobile application (the "App") operated by Kids Village Books ("we," "us," or "our").

**IMPORTANT:** By using our App, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.

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1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using the App, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

**For Parents/Guardians:**
- You must be at least 18 years old to create an account
- **By creating an account, you certify that you are at least 18 years old.** If we discover that you are under 18, we reserve the right to terminate your account immediately.
- You are responsible for your children's use of the App
- You consent to the collection and use of information as described in our Privacy Policy

**For Children:**
- The App is designed for children under parental supervision
- Children cannot create accounts independently
- All account management must be done by a parent or guardian

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2. Account Registration and Security

2.1 Account Creation
- You must provide accurate and complete information during registration
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
- You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account
- One account may be used by one family/household

2.2 Account Restrictions
- Free tier accounts are limited to one child profile
- Premium accounts can create multiple child profiles
- You may not share your account credentials with others outside your household
- You may not create multiple accounts to circumvent limitations

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3. Subscriptions and Payments

3.1 Premium Subscription
- Premium features require a paid subscription processed through Google Play or Apple App Store
- Subscription pricing is displayed in the App and may vary by region
- All payments are processed securely by Google/Apple - we do not store payment information

3.2 Auto-Renewal
- Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends
- Your payment method will be charged within 24 hours prior to the renewal date
- You can manage or cancel subscriptions in your device's account settings (Google Play or App Store)

3.3 Free Trial (if applicable)
- Free trials may be offered for new subscribers
- **By starting a free trial, you explicitly acknowledge that:**
- Your trial will automatically convert to a paid subscription at the end of the trial period
- You will be charged immediately upon trial expiration unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends
- You must cancel through your device's app store settings (Google Play or App Store)
- Only one free trial per user/account

3.4 Refunds
- Refunds are subject to Google Play and Apple App Store policies
- We do not process refunds directly - you must request them through your app store
- Typically, refunds are available within 48 hours of purchase if the service has not been used

3.5 Price Changes
- We reserve the right to change subscription prices with 30 days' notice
- Changes will not affect your current billing cycle
- Continued use after price changes constitutes acceptance

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4. Content and Intellectual Property

4.1 Licensed Content
- **Book access is licensed, not sold.** You do not own the content; you receive a limited, non-transferable license to access it.
- All books, illustrations, text, audio (TTS narration), and other materials in the App are licensed to you for personal, non-commercial use only
- Content is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws
- Publishers retain all rights to their content
- **Content availability may change at any time** due to publisher licensing agreements, expiration of rights, or removal requests. We are not liable for removal of previously available content.

4.2 DRM Protection
- Books are protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM) to prevent unauthorized copying
- Downloaded books are encrypted and device-bound
- Offline licenses expire after 30 days and must be renewed
- You may not attempt to circumvent DRM protections

4.3 Prohibited Uses
You may NOT:
- Copy, distribute, or share books or content outside the App
- Screenshot or record content (screen recording protection is enabled)
- Reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract content from the App
- Use content for commercial purposes
- Remove or alter copyright notices

4.4 Our Intellectual Property
- The App's software, design, logo, and branding are owned by Kids Village Books
- "Kids Village Books" is our trademark
- You may not use our trademarks without written permission

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5. User Conduct and Prohibited Activities

You agree NOT to:
- Use the App for any unlawful or fraudulent purpose
- Violate any local, state, national, or international law
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems or other users' accounts
- Interfere with or disrupt the App's operation or servers
- Upload malicious code (viruses, malware, etc.)
- Impersonate any person or entity
- Harass, abuse, or harm others (though the App has no social features)
- Use automated tools (bots, scrapers) to access the App
- Share your account with users outside your household

**Violation of these terms may result in account suspension or termination.**

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6. Children's Use and COPPA Compliance

6.1 Parental Supervision
- The App is designed for children, including those under 13, with parental oversight
- **Children under 13 may use the App only through a parent-created account** in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
- Parents must create the master account and add child profiles
- Parents have full control over children's data and can delete it at any time
- Children under 13 cannot create accounts independently

6.2 No Social Features
- The App contains no chat, messaging, or social networking features
- Children cannot communicate with other users
- There are no third-party advertisements targeted at children

6.3 Parental Controls
- Parents can review reading history and progress
- Parents can manage subscriptions and settings
- Parents can delete child profiles and data at any time

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7. Data Collection and Privacy

Our Privacy Policy (available at https://kidsvillagebooks.com/privacy and in the App) explains:
- What information we collect
- How we use and protect it
- Your rights regarding your data
- COPPA, GDPR, and CCPA compliance

**Key Points:**
- We do not sell personal information
- We do not use behavioral advertising
- Children's data is minimized and protected
- Parents have full access and control

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8. Third-Party Services

The App uses third-party services:
- **Google Play / Apple App Store** (payment processing)
- **Firebase** (Google Cloud - hosting, authentication, database)
- **RevenueCat** (subscription management)
- **Microsoft Azure** (text-to-speech narration)
- **OpenAI** (AI-powered book search)
- Search queries are anonymized and not linked to individual users or children
- OpenAI processes search queries solely to provide search functionality
- No personal data (names, ages, account information) is included in queries sent to OpenAI
- We disable training-data usage where available to prevent queries from being used to train OpenAI models
- Queries contain only book-related keywords (e.g., "dragons," "adventure")
- **Google Cloud KMS** (encryption key management)

These services have their own terms and privacy policies. By using the App, you also agree to their terms.

**Important Disclaimers:**
- These third-party services act as independent data controllers or processors
- Their terms of service and privacy policies govern their respective processing of your data
- We are not responsible for the performance, security, or privacy practices of third-party services
- Service outages or failures by third parties (e.g., Google, Apple, Microsoft, OpenAI) are beyond our control
- You agree to hold us harmless for any issues arising from third-party service failures

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9. Availability and Service Changes

9.1 Service Availability
- We strive to provide 24/7 availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access
- The App may be temporarily unavailable for maintenance, updates, or technical issues
- We are not liable for service interruptions

9.2 Changes to the App
- We may add, modify, or remove features at any time
- We may discontinue the App with 90 days' notice
- We reserve the right to remove books from the catalog (though purchased access will be honored when possible)

9.3 Updates
- You may need to update the App to continue using it
- Outdated versions may not function properly or may be blocked

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10. Termination

10.1 Termination by You
- You may delete your account at any time in the App's settings
- Upon deletion, your data will be removed within 30 days (see Privacy Policy)
- Active subscriptions must be canceled separately in your app store

10.2 Termination by Us
We may suspend or terminate your account if:
- You violate these Terms
- You engage in fraudulent activity
- You abuse the service or other users
- Required by law

10.3 Effect of Termination
- You will lose access to the App and your reading history
- **Subscriptions are non-refundable upon termination for cause** (e.g., Terms violations, fraud, abuse)
- **Termination of your account does not automatically cancel your subscription billing.** You must separately cancel your subscription through Google Play or the Apple App Store to stop future charges.
- We are not responsible for subscription charges that continue after account termination if you fail to cancel through your app store
- You must delete the App from your devices
- These Terms will survive termination where applicable (e.g., intellectual property provisions)

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11. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

11.1 "AS IS" Service
THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
- Merchantability
- Fitness for a particular purpose
- Non-infringement
- Accuracy or reliability of content

11.2 No Guarantee of Educational Outcomes
- While our books are educational, we do not guarantee specific learning outcomes
- Parents are responsible for supervising children's reading and learning
- **Content suitability varies** - parents should review books for age-appropriateness before allowing children to read them
- **Age-based recommendations are automated** and may not account for individual maturity levels, sensitivities, or cultural considerations
- We are not liable for any psychological, emotional, or behavioral effects resulting from content consumption
- Parents should use parental controls and supervise children's reading activities

11.3 Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:
- We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
- Our total liability is limited to the amount you paid in the past 12 months (or $100 USD, whichever is greater)
- We are not liable for third-party service failures (Google, Apple, Azure, OpenAI, etc.)

11.4 Exceptions
Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on warranties or liability. If applicable to you, the above limitations may not apply.

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12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Kids Village Books, its affiliates, and partners from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from:
- Your violation of these Terms
- Your use of the App
- Your violation of any third-party rights (including intellectual property)
- Any content you upload (though children cannot upload content in this App)

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13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

13.1 Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.

13.2 Jurisdiction
Any disputes arising from these Terms or the App shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Orange County, California, USA.

13.3 Arbitration (if applicable)
For disputes under $10,000 USD, you agree to resolve them through binding arbitration rather than court litigation, except where prohibited by law.

**Apple iOS Users:** To the extent any part of this arbitration provision conflicts with the Apple App Store Licensed Application End User License Agreement (EULA), the Apple EULA governs for iOS users.

13.4 Class Action Waiver
You agree to resolve disputes individually and waive the right to participate in class actions, except where prohibited by law.

**Apple iOS Users:** To the extent this class action waiver conflicts with the Apple App Store EULA, the Apple EULA governs for iOS users.

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14. Changes to These Terms

14.1 Updates
We may update these Terms from time to time. Changes will be effective when posted in the App.

14.2 Notice
- Material changes will be notified via email or in-app notification at least 30 days in advance
- The "Last Updated" date at the top will reflect the most recent changes
- Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance

14.3 Your Options
If you do not agree to updated Terms, you must stop using the App and delete your account.

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15. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Notice

15.1 Copyright Complaints
If you believe that content in the App infringes your copyright, please send a DMCA notice to:

Email: [email protected]
Subject Line: "DMCA Copyright Complaint"

15.2 Required Information
Your DMCA notice must include:
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing (book title, page number, etc.)
- Your contact information (name, address, email, phone number)
- A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner
- A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner
- Your physical or electronic signature

15.3 Counter-Notice
If you believe content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notice to the same address.

15.4 Processing
- We will investigate all valid DMCA notices promptly
- Infringing content will be removed or disabled
- Repeat infringers will have their accounts terminated

**Note:** All books in our catalog are licensed from publishers. If you are a publisher with licensing questions, please contact us directly.

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16. General Provisions

16.1 Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Kids Village Books.

16.2 Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full effect.

16.3 Waiver
Our failure to enforce any right or provision does not constitute a waiver of that right.

16.4 Assignment
You may not assign these Terms. We may assign them to any successor or affiliate.

16.5 Force Majeure
We are not liable for delays or failures due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control (natural disasters, pandemics, wars, government actions, etc.).

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17. Contact Us

**Questions about these Terms?**

Email: [email protected]
Website: https://kidsvillagebooks.com/
Mailing Address: 3410 Molino, CA USA 92618

**For legal inquiries:**
Email: [email protected]

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18. App Store-Specific Terms

Google Play
Your use is also subject to Google Play's Terms of Service: https://play.google.com/about/play-terms/

Apple App Store
Your use is also subject to Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

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**By using Kids Village Books, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.**