Terms of Service

1. Agreement to these Terms

By creating an account, checking the acceptance box, clicking a sign-in button, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

If you accept these Terms on behalf of a student, family, school, or business, you represent that you have authority to bind that person or organization.

2. Who we are

Apprentice, Inc. operates Apprentice, a college- and career-planning product that includes Scout, an AI coaching assistant. Apprentice is a product of Apprentice. These Terms apply to student, family, and business users.

3. Eligibility and accounts

The Service is not directed to children under 13. You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. If you are 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17, you may use the Service only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, who is responsible for your use.

You must provide accurate account information, keep your login credentials confidential, and tell us promptly if you believe your account has been misused. You are responsible for activity that occurs under your account, except where we caused the misuse.

We may refuse, suspend, or reclaim usernames or accounts that violate these Terms or applicable law.

4. Family accounts

A parent or guardian may create a family account, invite students, purchase a plan, and view progress for linked students as described in the product. By linking a student, the parent represents they have authority to manage that student’s use of the Service and to agree to these Terms on the student’s behalf where the law requires it.

Students who join a family account understand that the linked parent or guardian can see certain account, planning, and usage information. Family seating, entitlements, and billing are described in-product and in Section 14.

5. Business accounts

Organizations may use the business portal to post opportunities and review applicants who choose to apply. Business users represent that their listings are lawful, accurate, and non-discriminatory, and that they will handle applicant information only for legitimate recruiting related to the posted role. We are not an employer, recruiter of record, or staffing agency, and we do not guarantee applicants, hires, or outcomes.

6. The Service

Apprentice helps students explore colleges, programs, internships, and other opportunities; plan tasks and deadlines; store writing and profile material; and get coaching from Scout. Features vary by plan and may change as we improve the product.

We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability, error-free operation, or that any particular college, employer, or program listing is complete or current. We may add, modify, or discontinue features with reasonable notice when the change is material to paying customers.

7. Artificial intelligence — Scout

Scout is an artificial intelligence assistant. It is not a human counselor, admissions officer, lawyer, doctor, or financial advisor. A reasonable person should not treat Scout as a person. Outputs can be incomplete, outdated, biased, or simply wrong (including “hallucinations”). You must review Scout’s suggestions before relying on them.

• Scout does not make admissions, hiring, scholarship, or financial-aid decisions.
• Scout does not replace licensed professional advice.
• You are responsible for verifying facts, deadlines, requirements, citations, and eligibility with the official source (college, employer, or agency).
• We may use multiple model providers over time. The PII commitment in Section 8 applies regardless of which provider we use.

Scout is a coaching tool. It is not intended as a companion chatbot designed to meet social or emotional relationship needs. It may not be suitable for all minors. If Scout is not a good fit, stop using it and contact a trusted adult or hello@apprentice-app.com.

8. Personally identifiable information and model providers

In more detail: when Scout or other Apprentice AI features send text to a third-party model provider, we first replace known direct identifiers (such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, school names, cities, and profile URLs) with tokens. The provider sees tokenized text, not those identifiers. We then restore tokens in the response shown to you. We contractually and technically intend that model providers may not use Apprentice prompts or outputs to train or improve their general models.

This commitment is specific to AI model providers. It is not a claim that no vendor ever processes personal data. We use infrastructure, authentication, email, and payment processors (for example Cloudflare, sign-in providers, and Stripe) as described in the Privacy Policy. Those processors receive only what they need to provide their service to us, not permission to use your data for their own advertising or model training.

Do not paste government ID numbers, bank credentials, health records, or other sensitive data into Scout. If you do, we may still apply our filters, but you remain responsible for what you submit.

9. Writing tools and academic integrity

Writing Studio and Scout are designed to help you brainstorm, outline, revise, and organize your work. They are not a ghostwriting service. You agree that:

• You will not submit AI-generated text as your own original academic work where that is prohibited.
• You remain the author of applications, essays, and assignments you submit to schools or employers, and you will comply with their integrity and AI-disclosure rules.
• We do not guarantee that writing will be accepted, undetectable, original, or free of errors, plagiarism flags, or AI-detection scores.

Schools, testing agencies, and employers set their own rules. A violation of those rules is your responsibility, not ours.

10. No admissions, hiring, or professional advice

College data, rankings-style information, cost estimates, opportunity listings, and Scout recommendations are informational only. They are not a promise of admission, financial aid, employment, immigration status, or any particular outcome. Always confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution or employer.

Nothing on the Service is legal, medical, mental-health, tax, or financial advice.

11. Your content

You retain ownership of content you submit (profile information, essays, resumes, messages to Scout, uploads, and similar “User Content”). You grant Apprentice a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, process, display, and otherwise use User Content solely to operate, secure, and improve the Service for you — including tokenizing identifiers before model inference as described in Section 8.

You represent that you have the rights to the User Content you submit and that it does not infringe others’ rights or violate the law. We may remove content that we reasonably believe violates these Terms.

12. Acceptable use

You may not:

• Use the Service if you are under 13, or allow a child under 13 to create an account.
• Harass, exploit, or sexually solicit minors, or generate sexually explicit content involving minors.
• Attempt to jailbreak Scout into producing violent, self-harm, or illegal instructions.
• Scrape, bulk-download, or resell listings, college data, or other Service content except as we allow.
• Probe, reverse engineer, or overload our systems, or circumvent usage limits.
• Impersonate another person, misrepresent your affiliation, or post fraudulent opportunities.
• Use the Service to send spam, malware, or to violate others’ privacy.
• Share accounts in a way that evades plan or seat limits.

13. Listings, colleges, and third parties

Opportunity and college information may come from public sources, employers, partners, or our own research. We do not endorse any school, employer, or program. Third-party sites and application portals have their own terms. Your dealings with them are between you and them.

14. Subscriptions, billing, and payment infrastructure

Some features require a paid plan. Current prices appear on our pricing page and in Billing settings. Family plans are typically billed per student seat on a recurring monthly cycle unless we state otherwise.

Payment processor. We use Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates (“Stripe”) to process cards and other payment methods. Apprentice is the merchant of record for purchases on the Service. Stripe processes the transaction; we do not store full payment card numbers. Stripe’s services are subject to Stripe’s terms and privacy policy. You authorize us and Stripe to charge your selected payment method for the plan, taxes, and any seat changes you confirm.

Automatic renewal. Paid subscriptions renew automatically at the then- current rate until canceled. By starting a paid plan you agree that (a) the subscription is recurring, (b) you will be charged at the interval shown at checkout until you cancel, and (c) you can cancel as described in Section 15. We will send receipts to the billing email on file.

Price changes. We may change prices with at least 30 days’ notice to the billing account holder, effective at the next renewal. If you do not agree, cancel before the new price takes effect.

Failed payments. If a charge fails, we may retry, email the billing contact, and suspend paid features until payment succeeds. You remain responsible for amounts owed. Accounts with prolonged non-payment may be downgraded to a free plan or closed.

Taxes. Fees are exclusive of applicable taxes unless stated. We or Stripe may collect sales, VAT, or similar taxes where required. You are responsible for taxes not collected at checkout.

Chargebacks. If you dispute a charge with your bank, contact us first so we can help. Unwarranted chargebacks may result in suspension and recovery of processing fees to the extent allowed by law.

15. Cancellations and refunds

How to cancel. The billing account holder can cancel a paid plan in Settings → Billing, or by emailing hello@apprentice-app.com. Cancellation must be at least as easy as signup. Canceling stops future renewals. You keep paid access until the end of the current prepaid period unless we say otherwise or law requires a different result.

Free plan. The free plan has no subscription charge and is not eligible for a refund.

First paid period — 14-day refund. If you are the original purchaser of a family’s first paid subscription, you may request a full refund of that first charge within 14 days of the charge date by emailing hello@apprentice-app.com from the billing email. We will refund the original payment method through Stripe, usually within 5–10 business days after we approve the request. We may decline refunds where we reasonably find fraud, abuse, or repeated signup-and-refund patterns.

After 14 days / later renewals. Except as required by law, later renewal charges and unused time after the 14-day window are not refunded. Canceling mid-cycle does not generate a prorated credit unless we choose to offer one.

Errors and duplicates. If we charge you twice in error, or charge you after a cancellation we already processed, we will refund the mistaken amount.

Consumer cooling-off rights. If you are a consumer in a jurisdiction that grants a mandatory withdrawal or cooling-off period for digital services (for example certain UK/EU rules), those rights apply in addition to this policy. If you ask us to start the paid Service immediately, you may lose a statutory withdrawal right to the extent the law allows that waiver.

Downgrades. Moving to a cheaper plan or fewer seats takes effect at the next renewal unless the product states an earlier change. We do not refund the difference for the current period.

16. Our intellectual property

The Service, including Scout, software, design, logos, and compiled college or opportunity datasets, is owned by Apprentice or its licensors. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-transferable license to use the Service for your own educational or recruiting purposes under these Terms. You may not copy, scrape, or create a competing product from our content except as allowed by law (including fair use).

Feedback you send us may be used to improve the Service without obligation to you.

17. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and the PII-to-model-provider commitment. Together with these Terms, it is part of your agreement with us.

18. Safety, crisis situations, and minors

Scout is not an emergency service and is not a substitute for a crisis counselor. If you or someone else may be in danger, contact local emergency services or a crisis line. In the United States, you can call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line).

We maintain product safeguards intended to refuse self-harm instructions, child sexual exploitation, and similar prohibited content, and to point people in crisis toward real help. Those safeguards are not perfect. If you see a failure, email hello@apprentice-app.com.

19. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Service and request account deletion by contacting hello@apprentice-app.com. We may suspend or terminate access if you violate these Terms, if required by law, or if we discontinue the Service. Upon termination we may delete or de-identify User Content after a reasonable period, except where we must retain records (for example billing, fraud prevention, or legal holds).

Sections that by their nature should survive (including 7–11, 14–16, and 20–25) survive termination.

20. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, APPRENTICE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT AI OUTPUTS, LISTINGS, OR COLLEGE DATA ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT, OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE.

21. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, APPRENTICE AND ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND PROVIDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, ADMISSIONS OUTCOMES, EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES, OR ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR (B) FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS (US$50). THESE LIMITS DO NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING CERTAIN LIABILITY FOR GROSS NEGLIGENCE, WILLFUL MISCONDUCT, OR PERSONAL INJURY.

22. Indemnity

You will defend and indemnify Apprentice against claims, damages, and reasonable legal fees arising from your User Content, your misuse of the Service, your violation of these Terms or of a school’s or employer’s rules, or your violation of another person’s rights, except to the extent we caused the harm.

23. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, excluding conflict-of- law rules, and by applicable United States federal law (including COPPA).

Informal resolution. Before filing a claim, email hello@apprentice-app.com with a brief description of the dispute and your account email. We will try to resolve it within 30 days.

Arbitration; class waiver. If we cannot resolve the dispute, except for claims that qualify for small-claims court, claims for injunctive relief to protect intellectual property, or claims that cannot be arbitrated as a matter of law, you and Apprentice agree to binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitration may be conducted by video or in the county where you live. YOU AND APPRENTICE WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION to the extent permitted by law.

Opt out. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailing hello@apprentice-app.com with the subject “Arbitration Opt- Out” and your account email. If you opt out, or if this Section is found unenforceable, exclusive venue for court actions is the state or federal courts in California, except that you may still bring a qualifying claim in small-claims court in your home county.

24. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The version and effective date appear at the top of this page. If a change is material, we will provide notice (for example by email or in-product) and, where required, ask you to accept the new version before continuing. Continued use after the effective date, or acceptance of the new version, means you agree to the updated Terms.

25. General

These Terms are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede prior terms for the same subject. If a provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Headings are for convenience only.

26. Contact

Questions about these Terms, billing, or refunds: hello@apprentice-app.com.

Apprentice, Inc. · Product: Apprentice