Terms of Service

Last Updated: August 18, 2025 | Effective: August 18, 2025

Welcome to Capturing Illumination

These Terms govern your use of Capturing Illumination and our community features.

Our Mission

We foster meaningful critique, genuine community, and artist growth.

Eligibility & Accounts

Age Requirements

• You must be at least 13 (or the minimum in your region)
• Minors require appropriate guardian consent when applicable
• Educational programs may have additional requirements

Account Responsibilities

• Provide accurate information
• Keep your credentials secure
• Update your details when they change
• You're responsible for activity on your account

Acceptable Use

Core Principles

We prioritize story, respect, and growth.

• Honor the creator's story
• Give constructive feedback
• Support growth over performance

Prohibited Conduct

To keep CI safe and welcoming, you may not:

• Post hateful, harassing, or abusive content
• Upload infringing or unauthorized content
• Spam or conduct deceptive practices
• Disrupt the service or other users
• Engage in illegal activity
• Impersonate others
• Harvest personal data without consent

Content & Intellectual Property

Your Rights

• You own your content
• You control visibility and sharing
• Receive proper attribution
• Request removal of your work

License to Capturing Illumination

You grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to operate the service.

• Display your content on CI
• Enable community features and critique
• Include your work in feeds and discovery
• Create backups and technical copies

You retain ownership; this license is only to operate CI.

Respect Others' Rights

• Only upload content you have rights to
• Respect copyright and intellectual property
• Provide attribution when required
• Report infringement to our team

Critique Standards

Standards for Feedback

Critique on CI should be constructive, specific, respectful, and thoughtful.

• Constructive
• Specific
• Respectful
• Thoughtful

Guidelines

• Be authentic and honest
• Keep discourse respectful and safe
• Support learning and growth
• Report harmful behavior

AI System & Limitations

How We Use AI

• Assist with optional critique drafting
• Provide technical analysis suggestions
• Enable consistency and quality checks

AI Critique Limitations

• AI provides suggestions, not verdicts
• Human review remains essential
• Request human moderator review anytime
• Models are not trained on your private work

Privacy & Data Protection

We are committed to protecting your creative work and personal information. Privacy Policy for full details.

Privacy Commitments

• We never sell your personal information
• You control your privacy preferences
• You can export your data
• We avoid invasive tracking

Payment & Billing

During Beta

• Beta access is free
• No payment is required
• Founding members keep core access

Future Plans

• Advanced features may be paid
• Creators retain ownership of content
• We provide 30 days' notice for pricing changes
• Pricing will be transparent and fair

Refunds

• Refunds for unused subscription periods when applicable
• Beta benefits may be exempt from refunds
• No refunds for policy violations

Availability & Reliability

Service Reliability

• We strive for high uptime
• We schedule maintenance with notice
• Emergency maintenance may occur

Backups

• Automatic backups support recovery
• Disaster recovery procedures are in place
• You should keep personal backups of originals

Suspension & Termination

Suspension

We may suspend accounts to protect users and the platform.

• Policy violations
• Fraud or abuse
• Legal obligations
• Security risks

Termination

We may terminate accounts when necessary.

• Repeated violations
• Illegal activity
• Harassment or threats
• Circumventing safety controls

Your Rights

• Reasonable grace period when appropriate
• Right to appeal moderation outcomes
• Refunds for eligible unused periods

Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

Disclaimers

• The service is provided "as is"
• We do not guarantee accuracy of user content
• Features may change over time
• Third-party links are not endorsements

Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law, CI is not liable for certain damages.

• No liability for indirect or consequential damages
• No liability for loss of data or profits
• Users are responsible for their interactions
• No liability for unauthorized access beyond our control

Dispute Resolution

Community Resolution

• Attempt direct resolution first
• Involve moderators when needed
• Contact support if unresolved

Formal Resolution

• Provide notice of dispute
• Work in good faith to resolve
• Binding arbitration where required
• No class-action proceedings where permitted

Changes to These Terms

Notification

• Advance notice for material changes
• We welcome feedback on proposed changes
• Using CI after changes means acceptance
• Close your account if you do not agree

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of your jurisdiction where applicable.

Contact

Reach our team for support, legal, or abuse reporting:

• Support: info@capturingillumination.com
• Legal: legal@capturingillumination.com
• Abuse: abuse@capturingillumination.com
• We aim to respond within 5 business days.