Terms of Service
Last updated: December 2025
Welcome to Coauthor ("we," "our," "us"). These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Coauthor platform, website, and services ("Services"). By creating an account or using Coauthor, you agree to these Terms.
If you do not agree, please do not use Coauthor.
1. Overview
Coauthor is a creative writing platform designed for children ages 10–14 with parental oversight. Parents are the primary account holders. Children ("Child Users") participate through parent-managed accounts.
2. Eligibility
- A parent or legal guardian ("Parent User") must create the account.
- Child Users may only participate with parental authorization.
- You must be at least 18 to create a Parent User account and provide consent for a child to use the service.
3. Account Responsibilities
As a Parent User, you agree to:
- Provide accurate information during sign-up
- Maintain the confidentiality of your login credentials
- Supervise your Child User's activity
- Ensure your child follows Community Guidelines
You are responsible for all activity under your account.
4. Acceptable Use
You and your child agree not to:
- Post inappropriate, harmful, or adult content
- Share personal information (address, phone, school, etc.)
- Harass, bully, impersonate, or disrupt other users
- Attempt to bypass safety tools or moderation
- Use Coauthor for commercial, political, or advertising purposes
Coauthor may suspend or terminate accounts violating these rules.
5. Intellectual Property
5.1 Ownership of Content
Children retain ownership of the original stories, writing, and creative work ("User Content") they produce on Coauthor.
Parents, as the account holders, act on behalf of the child in granting the permissions described below.
Coauthor does not claim ownership of your child's creative work.
5.2 License to Use the Content Within Coauthor
By posting User Content on the platform, you grant Coauthor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to:
- Display the content within the platform
- Host, store, and reproduce the content
- Modify or format the content for moderation, age-appropriateness, or technical compatibility
- Use the content in writing challenges, feeds, collections, and educational experiences
This license ends when the content is deleted from the platform unless Section 5.3 (Publishing License) applies.
5.3 Optional Publishing License (Anthologies, Books, Print Editions)
Coauthor occasionally selects stories to publish in:
- Print books or anthologies
- Digital books (eBook, PDF, Kindle, etc.)
- Promotional materials
- Official Coauthor collections or "Best of" editions
To support this, you grant Coauthor a conditional, non-exclusive commercial license to use, adapt, and publish your child's work only if you opt in.
This publishing license:
- Is separate from normal platform use
- Is opt-in only via explicit parental consent (email or in-app confirmation)
- May be revoked at any time before publication
- Does not transfer ownership of the story to Coauthor
- Allows Coauthor to edit spelling/grammar and format content for print
- May include fair promotional use (e.g., book cover, website showcase, marketing materials)
You (the parent) always retain full ownership of the story.
5.4 Right to Opt Out of Publishing
Parents may opt out of the publishing program at any time by:
- Not checking the publishing consent box
- Declining any invitation to publish
- Emailing support@coauthor.co with "Opt-Out of Publishing"
- Requesting removal from an upcoming publication (before print)
If you opt out, your child's content will never be included in external publications.
5.5 Compensation (If Applicable)
If Coauthor ever offers compensation, royalties, or rewards for published works:
- Terms will be provided separately
- Parents will be required to explicitly accept those terms
- Compensation will always go to the parent on behalf of the child
Coauthor is not obligated to offer compensation unless agreed upon in writing.
5.6 Termination of License
You may delete your child's User Content at any time.
Upon deletion:
- The standard Coauthor license (Section 5.2) ends
- The publishing license (Section 5.3) ends unless the story has already been printed or distributed
For printed or distributed works, Coauthor may continue selling or displaying existing editions, but will not use the work in new editions without renewed consent.
5.7 Respect for Original Work
Coauthor will never:
- Sell User Content without parental opt-in
- Transfer ownership of a child's work to someone else
- Use content in external products without explicit parental permission
- Allow third parties to claim rights to your child's work
6. Safety & Moderation
Coauthor uses:
- Human moderation on all stories and comments
- Automatic content filtering
- No private messaging
- Age-grouped communities
- Parent-linked accounts
We reserve the right to remove any content that violates our rules.
7. Payments & Subscriptions
- Coauthor may offer free trials, monthly plans, annual plans, or special promotional memberships.
- Billing is processed securely through third-party providers (e.g., Stripe).
- Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled before the renewal date.
- Parents may cancel anytime through account settings.
Refunds may be offered when required by law or stated during purchase.
8. Termination
We may suspend or terminate access if:
- Rules are violated
- Safety concerns arise
- Required information is missing
- Illegal or harmful activity is suspected
Upon termination, content may be deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
9. Disclaimers
Coauthor is provided "as-is" without warranties of any kind.
We do not guarantee uninterrupted service or error-free operation.
10. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
- We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages.
- Our maximum liability is limited to the amount you paid in the last 12 months.
11. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time.
Major changes will be emailed to Parent Users and posted within the platform.
12. Contact Us
For questions about these Terms: