Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using DearFile, you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the service. These terms form a binding agreement between you and DearFile. We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use after changes are posted constitutes acceptance.

2. Description of Service

DearFile is a personal organizational tool that helps you store and share important information — accounts, wishes, and personal notes — with trusted contacts.

DearFile is not a legal, financial, tax, medical, estate-planning, or professional advice service. Nothing stored in DearFile constitutes a legal will, trust, power of attorney, healthcare directive, or any other legally binding document. Users are responsible for consulting qualified professionals where appropriate. For legal estate planning, consult a licensed attorney.

3. User Accounts and Responsibilities

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and for the accuracy, completeness, and currentness of the information you store. You must not use DearFile for any unlawful purpose or to store information that infringes on the rights of others. You are responsible for keeping your encryption passphrase and recovery key safe. We cannot recover them if lost.

You must be at least 18 years old to use DearFile.

4. Acceptable Use

Users may not use DearFile to:

• Upload illegal, harmful, or infringing content
• Upload malicious software or code
• Attempt unauthorized access to DearFile systems or other accounts
• Interfere with platform operation or other users
• Use DearFile to harm, harass, or exploit others

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, with or without notice.

5. Subscription and Billing

DearFile offers a free Start tier. DearFile Ready is available as an annual subscription at $39/year. Payments are processed securely by Stripe. We never store your card details.

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period. You may cancel at any time from the Settings page. Upon cancellation, your DearFile Ready features remain active until the end of the current billing period, after which your account reverts to the Start tier.

If your subscription ends, some access, export, AI, reminder, or trusted-contact features may become unavailable unless you reactivate DearFile Ready.

No refunds are issued for unused portions of a billing period. This does not affect any rights that may not be waived under applicable law. We reserve the right to change pricing with reasonable notice communicated by email before changes take effect.

6. Trusted Contact Limitations

Users are solely responsible for selecting trusted contacts and configuring access permissions. DearFile does not independently verify death, incapacity, legal authority, family relationships, entitlement, or the appropriateness of any trusted contact designation. DearFile is not responsible for disputes among spouses, relatives, beneficiaries, representatives, heirs, guardians, or other third parties arising from trusted contact access or access decisions.

7. AI-Generated Content

DearFile offers AI-assisted features such as note help. AI-generated content may be inaccurate, incomplete, or inappropriate for your situation. Users are responsible for reviewing, editing, and deciding whether to use AI-generated content. AI output does not constitute professional advice of any kind.

8. Data Storage and Privacy

We store your data securely to provide the DearFile service. Our full data practices are described in the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these terms by reference.

You retain ownership of all content you store in DearFile. By using the service, you grant DearFile a limited license to store and transmit your content solely as necessary to provide the service.

9. Encryption and Data Access

Content in your file — such as account details, wishes, and personal notes — is stored securely with encryption at rest and in transit, but is accessible to DearFile's systems as needed to provide the service (for example, to generate a PDF export or send content to a trusted contact you have authorized).

10. Service Availability

DearFile is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind. DearFile may be unavailable due to maintenance, outages, third-party service failures, security events, or events beyond our control. DearFile is not responsible for inability to access the service during such periods, or for any consequences arising from service interruption.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, DearFile's liability for any claim arising from use of the service is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months prior to the claim. DearFile is not responsible for any consequences arising from a trusted contact's actions after receiving access to your file, or from your failure to keep your account information or passphrase current and secure.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold DearFile harmless from claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your content, your misuse of the service, your violation of these Terms, or disputes involving trusted contacts or access decisions you have configured.

13. Termination and Deletion

You may close your account at any time by contacting us at hello@dearfile.com. We will respond to deletion requests within 7 days. Active account deletion is generally completed within 30 days after verification. Some information may remain in encrypted backups or logs for a limited period as described in the Privacy Policy. Exceptions apply for legal, security, fraud-prevention, or compliance reasons.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, with or without notice.

14. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of DearFile will be resolved through binding individual arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association, rather than in court. You waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration. If arbitration is found unenforceable, disputes will be resolved in the courts of Delaware.

15. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. When we do, we will update the date at the top of this page and, for material changes, notify you by email. Continued use of DearFile after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

16. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email us at hello@dearfile.com.