Terms of Service

Last updated: August 31, 2026

1. Acceptance of terms

By accessing or using Mascot AI ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Description of service

Mascot AI is a college counseling platform that helps students:

• have voice conversations with an AI counselor and build a profile from them;
• create academic and personal profiles, including transcript upload and parsing;
• discover and explore universities with detailed institutional data;
• generate personalized university matches with fit explanations;
• draft and refine application essays with AI feedback;
• track application deadlines and status for saved schools.

3. AI-powered features

Mascot AI uses third-party AI services to power core features: Claude (by Anthropic) for university matching, essay analysis, and transcript parsing, and Gemini (by Google) for real-time voice conversations. For real-time voice conversations, this includes audio processed by Google's Gemini API. We store the resulting text transcript; we do not store the audio ourselves. We currently use Gemini's free API tier, under which Google may retain the underlying audio under its own terms.

• By using AI-powered features, you acknowledge that your relevant data is processed by these third-party AI services under their respective terms.
• We do not use your data to train AI models, and we do not share personally identifiable information without your consent.
• AI output is guidance, not professional advice, and is not a guarantee of any admission outcome. Verify important information independently.

4. User eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use Mascot AI. By using the Service you represent that:

• you are at least 13 years of age;
• if you are under 18, you have parental or guardian consent;
• all information you provide is accurate and truthful;
• you will comply with all applicable laws.

5. User accounts and security

You are responsible for your account credentials and all activity under your account. You agree to:

• provide accurate registration information;
• keep your password secure;
• notify us immediately of any unauthorized access;
• accept responsibility for all activity under your account.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• violate any laws or regulations;
• infringe the intellectual property rights of others;
• upload malicious code or harmful content;
• harass, abuse, or harm other users;
• impersonate another person or entity;
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service;
• use automated systems to scrape or collect data;
• share false or misleading information.

7. Intellectual property

The Service and its original content, features, and functionality are owned by Mascot AI and protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws.

You retain ownership of content you create and upload. By uploading content, you grant us a license to use, store, and display it solely to provide the Service to you.

8. Third-party services

Mascot AI integrates with third-party services, including:

• Anthropic (Claude) and Google (Gemini): AI features.
• Google OAuth: optional authentication.
• Stripe: subscription payments.
• University data providers: institutional information.

We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or availability of third-party services. Your use of them is subject to their own terms.

9. Subscriptions and billing

Mascot AI offers a free plan and, where available, a paid subscription billed monthly through Stripe. You may cancel at any time. Cancellation stops future billing and takes effect at the end of the current billing period. During the beta, paid plans and pricing may change.

10. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION, AND ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION.

11. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MASCOT AI SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages;
• loss of profits, data, or goodwill;
• service interruptions or data loss;
• actions or decisions made based on information from the Service;
• college admission outcomes.

Our total liability for any claims related to the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid for the Service, if any, in the 12 months preceding the claim.

12. Data and privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy. Please review it to understand how we collect, use, and protect your information.

13. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service at our discretion, without notice, for conduct we believe violates these Terms, harms other users or the Service, breaks applicable law, or exposes us to legal liability. You may terminate your account at any time by contacting us at pranrosh@gmail.com or using the account deletion feature in your settings.

14. Changes to terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of material changes by email or through the Service. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

15. Beta service modifications

During the beta period, we may:

• add, modify, or remove features without notice;
• change data retention policies;
• temporarily suspend the Service for maintenance;
• reset or modify user data for testing, with advance notice where possible.

16. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which Mascot AI operates, without regard to conflict-of-law provisions.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms: pranrosh@gmail.com. We aim to respond within 2 to 3 business days.

By using Mascot AI, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.