Terms of Service

Effective date: [DATE] Last updated: [DATE]

These Terms are a contract between you and What If Studio, LLC ("we", "us"), which runs Design and Decide (the "Service"). Please read them. Section 19 says that most disputes will be decided by an arbitrator, not a judge or jury, and that you give up the right to bring a class action.

1. Accepting these Terms

1.1 You accept these Terms by checking a box that says: "I'm 18 or older and agree to the Terms of Service. This includes arbitration: disputes go to a private arbitrator, not a judge or jury, and you can't join a class action. You can opt out within 30 days by emailing [legal@DOMAIN]." We show that box before you pay and when you upload files. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1.2 You must be 18 or older and able to form a binding contract.

1.3 At launch the Service is offered only to customers with a billing address in the United States.

1.4 If you use the Service for a company or firm, you confirm that you may bind it to these Terms, and "you" includes it.

2. What the Service does

2.1 You upload a home's plan set (PDF drawings, and optionally CAD files, photos or a survey). We read it, run automated and manual consistency checks on the reading, and deliver some or all of the following, depending on your tier: a 3D tour, a progress page, What-if design layers, renders, cost reports, finish and product ideas (confirm with your contractor before ordering), studies and a lot report (together, the "Outputs"). "Delivery" is the day we email you the link to your finished tour.

2.2 Tiers, prices and what each includes are shown at checkout. Prices are per house. The Pro tier for architects, designers and builders is arranged by email and may have a separate order form. If an order form conflicts with these Terms, the order form controls for that order.

2.3 We may use automated tools, including AI services from the providers listed in our Subprocessors list, to produce the Outputs. People may also review your files to do the work and check it, including contractors who help build and check our models, under confidentiality and data-protection obligations.

2.4 "Early access" is the period before we announce general launch by email to customers and on our website. Some parts of the Service work differently during early access, as these Terms and our Privacy Policy say.

3. What the Service is not

Please read this section closely. It limits what you can rely on.

3.1 Not architecture or engineering. We do not provide architectural, engineering, surveying, interior design or construction services. We are not your architect or engineer. What-if layers, styles and add-ons are design studies for visualization and discussion. They are not designs for construction. What-if layers are visual concepts only; they are not plans, are not prepared by a licensed professional, and must be designed by a licensed architect or engineer where the law requires. Site placements are illustrative and not based on a survey. Site placements do not locate property lines.

3.2 Not for construction, pricing or ordering. No Output is a construction document. Do not use an Output to build, apply for permits, price or bid work, or order materials or products. Confirm every product, size and quantity with your contractor before ordering. Your licensed professionals' drawings govern. Check every dimension in the field.

3.3 Costs are estimates. Cost figures are rough estimates from public and catalog prices. They are not bids, quotes or appraisals, and real costs can differ a great deal.

3.4 The lot report is a summary of public sources. It summarizes public records such as flood, earthquake, soil and fire maps and local rules, with the source and date for each. It is not legal, zoning, geotechnical, engineering or survey advice, and it is not a natural hazard or property disclosure. Records can be out of date or wrong. Check with your city, county and licensed professionals before you rely on it.

3.5 Studies are information. Studies and reports are researched write-ups to help you ask better questions. They are not professional advice. Studies do not decide structural, grading, drainage, egress or code-compliance questions; where a study touches one, it lists the questions to put to your licensed engineer or architect.

3.6 Accuracy depends on your drawings. The model is only as accurate as the files you give us. Items labeled "assumed" are known estimates; unlabeled items may also be wrong.

4. Your account and your links

4.1 During early access there are no customer logins; we work with you by email, and you are responsible for the email address you give us.

4.2 Your tour, progress page and reports are private by default. During early access they are shared through a private link: anyone with the link can view it, so treat it like a key. You choose whether and with whom to share a link, and you are responsible for your sharing choices.

4.3 You can ask us to turn off a link at any time.

5. Your uploads

5.1 You keep your rights. You keep whatever rights you have in the files you upload ("Uploads"). These Terms do not transfer ownership of your Uploads to us. You give us a license only to build your tour and reports, as section 5.5 says.

5.2 Who may upload. Owners, architects, designers and builders may upload.

5.3 Your rights promise. When you upload, you promise that:

(a) you own the Uploads, or the owner (usually the architect) has let you use them for a private 3D model and reports, and to grant the license in section 5.5;

(b) you are responsible for any limits in your own agreements, such as a license from your architect or a client contract, and for your own sharing choices;

(c) you have the right to give us any personal information about other people that appears in your Uploads, such as names, addresses, license numbers and photos; and

(d) your Uploads do not break any law or anyone else's rights.

5.4 Why we ask: plans usually belong to the architect. House plans and the design they show are usually protected by copyright, which usually belongs to the architect or designer who drew them, even after the client has paid. A homeowner commonly holds only permission to build the project. That's normal, and most architects say yes if you ask. Any permission you give us can only cover rights you actually hold. If you are not sure what you may do with your plans, ask the person who drew them before you upload.

5.5 License to build your tour and reports. You give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, copy, process, analyze, transform and display your Uploads, and to create Outputs from them, only as needed to provide, check and support the Service for you and the people you share with. This license ends when we delete the Uploads under our Retention Schedule, except for material we must keep under a legal hold, as our Copyright Policy and Retention Schedule describe.

5.6 What we learn from. We improve the Service from two things only, and we de-identify both first: we remove names, addresses, parcel numbers, license numbers, phone numbers, emails and images.

(a) Workflow data. This is data about our own work on your project: check results, pass or fail, error categories, timings, counts, and which step failed and why. We record it in a form that does not copy or describe your design. We may use and keep de-identified workflow data to improve the Service.

(b) Feedback. This is what you tell us: answers to our questions, corrections, ratings, request and comment text, and survey replies ("Feedback"). You give us a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use Feedback to improve the Service, and we have no obligation to you for it. Before we keep Feedback, we remove any personal or design detail in it, including names, addresses, measurements tied to a house, and attachments.

(c) Nothing in this section 5.6 lets us use your Uploads, Outputs or anything derived from them, except as section 5.7 allows.

5.7 Our promises about your files (every project). These promises apply to every project, including Pro projects:

(a) We never train any AI on your plans, drawings, models or images, and we never use them to make designs for anyone else. This includes anything derived from them, such as geometry, dimensions, room layouts, catalog entries, templates and test cases built from your project;

(b) we never sell your files (if our company is sold, the buyer must keep these promises);

(c) we never publish your drawings; and

(d) we never show your Uploads to other customers, and Outputs and materials shown to other customers never contain your drawings or images.

5.8 Plans are security-sensitive. Plans can show entrances, locks, alarm and camera positions and safe rooms. We only need floor plans, elevations, sections and schedules. Leave out security, alarm and camera sheets, and photos of people. We treat all Uploads as confidential under our Privacy Policy.

5.9 We may refuse or remove Uploads that we reasonably believe break these Terms or the law, or that are the subject of a copyright complaint under our Copyright Policy.

6. Outputs

6.1 Subject to these Terms and to payment, we give you a non-exclusive license to use, copy and share the Outputs for your own project. You may share them with your family and your design team, such as your architect, designer and contractor, for discussion. No one, including a contractor, lender or buyer, may rely on an Output for pricing, ordering, bidding, lending, purchase, construction or disclosure. If you are a Pro customer, you may also use Outputs for your client's project, under the same limits. Outputs are not a natural hazard or property disclosure.

6.2 Outputs can include or reflect the design in your Uploads. Your use of Outputs is limited by the rights you hold in that design. Our license in 6.1 does not give you rights in someone else's design.

6.3 We keep all rights in the Service, our software, catalogs, styles, templates, checks and models, excluding anything derived from Uploads, and in anything in the Outputs that did not come from your Uploads.

6.4 Design layers are described by look and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any designer.

7. Showcase (optional, separate)

We will not use images or renders of your project in our marketing unless you separately grant our Showcase Release for that project. Only someone who confirms they hold the rights may grant it. You can revoke it for future use at any time. See the Showcase Release, which we show on your project page after Delivery.

8. Testimonials

We will only publish your name, words or likeness as a testimonial if you sign our separate testimonial release. Feedback is covered by section 5.6(b).

9. Acceptable use

You will not: upload files you have no right to use; upload malware or content meant to manipulate our systems, including instructions hidden in drawings; try to reach other customers' data; probe, scan or overload the Service; reverse engineer it except where the law allows; resell the Service without a Pro agreement; or use it to break the law.

10. Fees, taxes and refunds

10.1 Prices are in US dollars and are charged through Stripe when you order.

10.2 Prices do not include taxes. We will add sales or similar taxes where the law requires.

10.3 Refunds and corrections. [Placeholder: if you cancel before your build starts, we refund the full price. After the build starts, we offer credit toward a future house or revision, not a cash refund.] A "material error" is (a) a dimension, room or element in the tour that differs from a legible, dimensioned value in your Uploads by more than 3 percent of that value (or 1 inch, whichever is larger), or (b) a cost line that does not match the source it states. If an Output has a material error caused by us, we will correct it at no charge, or, if we cannot, refund the fees for that project. Correction or refund is your sole remedy for a material error. Credits do not expire. Nothing here limits rights you have under law that cannot be waived.

10.4 Paid options that keep files longer or restore an archive are priced at [PRICE].

10.5 [Automatic renewal. This section applies only if we offer a plan that renews automatically. Before you buy a renewing plan, we show you, clearly and next to the buy button: that the plan renews until you cancel; the price and how often you will be charged; the length of each term; any minimum purchase; and how to cancel. We charge you only after you agree to those terms. We then email you an acknowledgment with the same terms and how to cancel. You can cancel online, in the same place and the same way you signed up, at any time. Before an annual plan renews, and before any free trial or discounted period ends, we email you a reminder. If the price changes, we tell you before the new price applies, and you can cancel first.]

11. Keeping and deleting your data

We keep and delete data as set out in our Retention Schedule. In short:

During early access we delete by hand, following the Retention Schedule. Copies our providers keep for a limited time, and anything under legal hold, are kept as the Retention Schedule says.

12. Copyright complaints

We respond to notices of claimed copyright infringement under our Copyright Policy, and we end the accounts of repeat infringers as that policy describes.

13. Your indemnity

13.1 You will defend, indemnify and hold harmless us and our members, officers, employees and contractors from any third-party claim, and the resulting losses, costs and reasonable legal fees, to the extent the claim arises from (a) your breach of your rights promise in section 5.3, or (b) your use of Outputs; except to the extent the claim arises from our use of Uploads beyond the licenses you granted, our security failures, or content in Outputs that did not come from your Uploads.

13.2 If you use the Service for your own home and not for a business, your total obligation under this section is limited to the fees you paid for the project the claim relates to, unless you willfully broke section 5.3.

13.3 We will tell you promptly about a claim. We control our own defense, and you will cooperate with us in it. You may not settle a claim that admits fault for us without our consent.

14. Disclaimers

SECTION 10.3 IS THE ONLY WARRANTY WE GIVE. EXCEPT FOR OUR PROMISE TO CORRECT OR REFUND IN SECTION 10.3, THE SERVICE AND ALL OUTPUTS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT OUTPUTS ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR SUITABLE FOR CONSTRUCTION, PERMITTING, PRICING, ORDERING, PURCHASE, FINANCING OR ANY DECISION.

15. Limit of liability

15.1 TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO A PROJECT IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF THE FEES YOU PAID FOR THE PROJECT THE CLAIM RELATES TO, OR $[500]. FOR ALL CLAIMS NOT TIED TO ONE PROJECT, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF THE FEES YOU PAID FOR YOUR MOST RECENT PROJECT, OR $[500].

15.2 WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, CONSTRUCTION COSTS, DELAYS OR REWORK, EVEN IF WE WERE TOLD THEY WERE POSSIBLE.

15.3 Nothing in this section limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including for fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct.

15.4 The limits in sections 15.1 and 15.2 do not apply to our breach of section 5.7 (our promises about your files), or to a security incident caused by our failure to use reasonable security. For those claims, our total liability is limited to 5 times the fees you paid for the project the claim relates to.

16. Changes to the Service and these Terms

16.1 We may change, add or remove features of the Service. Changes will not reduce the features of a tier you already bought for a house in progress or delivered.

16.2 We may change these Terms. For material changes we will give notice by email or in the Service at least [30] days before they take effect, and we will ask you to accept them again by clickwrap where the law requires. Changes do not apply to a dispute that arose before the change. Changes that expand our rights in your Uploads apply only to Uploads made after you accept the change by checking a box. Section 19.6 gives you a new opt-out after a material change to section 19.

17. Ending the relationship

17.1 You may ask us to delete your projects at any time. We will then handle your data under the Retention Schedule.

17.2 We may suspend or end your access if you break these Terms, if the law requires it, or if we stop offering the Service. If we end the Service for reasons other than your breach, we will refund fees for work not yet delivered, and you will have [90] days from our notice to ask us for a copy of your Outputs.

17.3 Sections 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 (until deletion), 5.6, 5.7, 6.2, 6.3, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20 and 21 survive.

18. Notices

We send notices to the email you gave us. You send notices to [legal@DOMAIN] and [MAILING ADDRESS].

19. Disputes: arbitration and class-action waiver

19.1 Talk first. Before either of us files a claim, the one with the dispute sends the other a written description: you to [legal@DOMAIN], we to the email you gave us. We will both try to resolve it within [60] days. During those [60] days, any limitation period that applies to the claim is paused.

19.2 Arbitration. If we cannot resolve it, you and we agree that any dispute relating to the Service or these Terms will be resolved by final, binding, individual arbitration administered by [AAA / JAMS] under its consumer rules then in effect. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section. The arbitrator decides questions about the scope and enforceability of this section, except that a court decides questions about sections 19.4 and 19.8.

19.3 Small claims. Either party may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies.

19.4 No class actions. You and we may bring claims only individually, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or collective proceeding. If this section 19.4 is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim goes to court, not arbitration.

19.5 Exceptions. Either party may go to court for claims that the other party infringed or misused its intellectual property. Either party may also ask a court for public injunctive relief, meaning an order that mainly protects the general public. A claim for public injunctive relief in court is stayed (paused) until the individual claims in arbitration are decided.

19.6 Opting out. You may opt out of arbitration by emailing [legal@DOMAIN] within [30] days after you first accept these Terms. If we make a material change to this section 19, you may opt out of that change by emailing [legal@DOMAIN] within [30] days after it takes effect; the earlier version of section 19 then still applies to you.

19.7 Fees. For consumer claims, we pay the arbitration provider's filing, administrative and arbitrator fees, except any part the provider's rules require you to pay, and we pay them within the time California law requires. Claims by business customers, including Pro customers, follow the provider's commercial fee rules.

19.8 [Mass arbitration. Placeholder: if [25] or more similar claims are filed by or with the help of the same law firm or coordinated group, they will be filed and decided in batches of [10], with fees charged per batch as the provider's mass-arbitration rules allow. Batches run at the same time, not one after another. Limitation periods are paused for claims waiting to start. If a claimant's batch has not started within [120] days after the claim was filed, that claimant may bring the claim in court instead.]

20. Governing law and venue

California law governs these Terms, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Except for arbitration and small claims, the state and federal courts in San Francisco County, California have exclusive jurisdiction, and you and we consent to them.

21. General

These Terms, together with the policies they link to and any order form, are the whole agreement between us about the Service. If a part is unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. A failure to enforce a part is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them to a successor to the Service, who must keep the promises in sections 5.6 and 5.7. There are no third-party beneficiaries.

22. Contact

What If Studio, LLC, [MAILING ADDRESS], [legal@DOMAIN].