Terms of Service

Introduction

Cultiv8 is a student-developed platform created as part of a university project. Throughout these terms, "us," "we," "our," "Team 28," and "Cultiv8" refer to our team and its associated services, and "you" refers to the individual or entity accessing and using the Service.

By using Cultiv8, you affirm that you are at least 18 years old or have obtained valid consent from a parent or guardian.

If you do not agree with these terms, you may not use our services. By accessing or using our platform, you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into this agreement and to abide by all of the terms and conditions.

Last updated: 3 May 2025

Our Services

Cultiv8 provides a comprehensive platform designed to enhance university student experiences. Our services include:

• Calendar: Manage your schedule with our intuitive calendar system
• Chat: Stay connected with your circle of peers and collaborators
• Explore: Connect with peers who share your interests and academic goals
• Forums: Join discussions with like-minded students on various topics
• Notes: Keep your ideas organised seamlessly in one place
• Pomodoro Timer: Study smarter, not longer with our focused work session timer
• Room Bookings: Find and reserve your perfect study spot on campus
• Tasks: Get things done one at a time with our task management tools

Prohibited Activities

You are prohibited from using our platform or its content to:

• Use our services for any illegal purpose or in violation of any laws
• Violate any international, federal, provincial, or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances
• Infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others
• Harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on protected characteristics including, but not limited to, sex, race, disability, religion, or age, as outlined in the UK Equality Act 2010
• Submit false or misleading information
• Upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code
• Interfere with or circumvent the security features of the Service
• Engage in academic dishonesty or plagiarism using our platform

Service Limitations and Availability

Cultiv8 services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We may experience interruptions, delays, or errors in service at any time without notice.

Our platform is primarily designed for educational purposes within the context of our university project. Please be aware of the following limitations:

• The service may experience interruptions or downtime during the development phase
• Features and functionality may be modified throughout the project timeline
• As a university project, our platform may have limited resources for scaling or handling high volumes of users
• We reserve the right to limit or restrict access to specific features based on system load or available resources
• We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of our services at any time. We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of significant changes that affect their use of our platform

We reserve the right to terminate or restrict your access to our services if you violate these terms or engage in any activity that we deem harmful to other users, third parties, or the operation of our services.

User Content

When you use our platform, you may submit content such as profile information, academic preferences, calendar events, tasks, notes, and other data pertaining to student life. Here's how we handle this content:

• Ownership of Your Content: You retain ownership of any content you submit to our platform. However, by uploading content, you grant us a limited licence to use, process, and store your content solely for the purpose of providing our services to you.
• Third-Party Services: Some features of our platform may utilise third-party services such as Google Gemini API. By using these features, you acknowledge and agree that your content may be processed by these third parties according to their terms of service. For example, when using features powered by Google Gemini API, your content may be used by Google to improve and develop their products and services in accordance with their terms.
• Data Processing: We process your content to personalise and improve your experience with our platform.
• Content Restrictions: You are solely responsible for the content you submit. You agree not to submit content that:
  • Infringes on intellectual property rights of others
  • Contains illegal, offensive, harmful, or inappropriate material
  • Contains malware, viruses, or other malicious code
  • Violates the privacy or publicity rights of others
  • Misrepresents your identity or affiliation with any person or organisation

Third-Party Services

Our platform integrates with certain third-party services to provide enhanced functionality. In particular:

• Google Gemini API: Some features of our platform are powered by Google's Gemini API. When you use these features, you are also bound by Google's Gemini API Additional Terms of Service (available at https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms). In accordance with these terms, you acknowledge that:
  • Content submitted to Google's Unpaid Services (including Google Gemini API) may be used by Google to provide, improve, and develop Google products and services and machine learning technologies.
  • Human reviewers at Google may read, annotate, and process your inputs and outputs for quality and product improvement purposes.
  • You should not submit sensitive, confidential, or personal information when using features powered by Google Gemini API.
• Other Third Parties: We may use other third-party services for hosting, analytics, and other platform functionality. Each of these services is governed by its own terms of service and privacy policies.
• Cookies: Our platform uses cookies to enhance user experience, personalize content, and analyze traffic. By using our platform, you consent to the use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Cookies may track your interactions with the platform and store preferences to improve your experience.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) - CloudFront: We use AWS CloudFront, a content delivery network (CDN) service, to distribute content and improve the performance and speed of our platform. AWS CloudFront may process your data in accordance with its Privacy Policy. While we strive to ensure the security and privacy of your data, we encourage you to review AWS's privacy practices to better understand how your data is managed.

While we strive to select reputable third-party services, we cannot be held responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies and terms of service of any third-party services that our platform integrates with.

Cookie Policy

Our platform uses a minimal number of cookies to ensure secure functionality and improve user experience. By continuing to use our platform, you consent to the use of these cookies as outlined below.

• Authentication Cookie (JWT): We use a JSON Web Token (JWT) stored in a cookie to manage user authentication. This cookie helps securely identify users during sessions and access control within the app. The JWT cookie is:
  • Secure and HttpOnly (not accessible via JavaScript)
  • Used solely for maintaining authenticated sessions
  • Deleted when you log out or your session expires
• AWS CloudFront Cookie: We use AWS CloudFront to deliver audio (music) content efficiently. CloudFront may use cookies to:
  • Enable efficient content caching and distribution
  • Balance network load for faster delivery
  • Occasionally set session-related cookies for performance optimization
  These cookies do not track personal information or browsing behavior.

We do not use cookies for advertising or analytics purposes. You may control or delete cookies through your browser settings, but disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of the app.

For more information, please visit our full Cookie Policy.

Intellectual Property

Cultiv8 and its original content, features, and functionality are owned by us and are protected by international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

• Permitted Use: We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable licence to use our platform for your personal, academic, non-commercial use in accordance with these Terms. This licence does not include:
  • Modifying or creating derivative works based on our platform or its contents
  • Using any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering methods
  • Downloading or copying account information for the benefit of another party
  • Using our services beyond their intended purpose
• Feedback and Submissions: Any feedback, suggestions, ideas, or other information you provide to us regarding our services may be used by us without restriction or compensation to you. By submitting such information, you grant us all rights to use and incorporate it into our services.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information.

By using our platform, you consent to the data practices described in our Privacy Policy which is incorporated into these Terms of Service. We encourage you to read it carefully.

Key Privacy Points:

• We only collect data necessary to provide our services
• Your data is securely stored using university-approved tools and services
• We do not sell your personal information
• Data will be retained for the duration of the project module and deleted upon completion

Liability & Warranty

Our services are provided "as is" without any warranty or condition, express, implied, or statutory.

Cultiv8 and its developers, owners, and affiliates make no warranties or representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the content, services, software, text, graphics, and links used on our platform.

Whilst we strive to provide accurate and reliable services, our platform functionality is not perfect and should be considered as a work in progress rather than a polished product. The quality and reliability of our services depend on various factors including your device, internet connection, browser compatibility, and technical conditions.

Limitation of Liability: To the maximum extent permitted by law, Cultiv8, its affiliates, and their respective directors, employees, agents, and licensors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to your use of our services.

This includes, but is not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, loss of data, or any other loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of the service, even if advised of their possibility.

Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Changes will be effective immediately upon posting.

It is your responsibility to review these Terms periodically to stay informed of updates. Your continued use of our platform after the posting of revised Terms means that you accept and agree to the changes.

Notification of Changes: For significant changes to these Terms, we will make reasonable efforts to provide notice, such as a prominent notice on our website. What constitutes a significant change will be determined at our sole discretion.

Service Modifications: We reserve the right to update, modify, or replace any part of the Service without prior notice. We may also change or discontinue specific features or functionality of the Service. We are not liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about these Terms of Service or our platform, please contact one of the team members below:

• Ayush Acharjya: axa2204@student.bham.ac.uk
• Argya Adhirajasa: ana457@student.bham.ac.uk
• Louis Anandaputra: lwa450@student.bham.ac.uk
• Ashprit Mehra: asm155@student.bham.ac.uk
• Deska Moenandar: dam454@student.bham.ac.uk
• Shay Patel: sxp1116@student.bham.ac.uk
• Siddharth Shringarpure: srs314@student.bham.ac.uk
• Rohan Patel: rxp366@student.bham.ac.uk

When contacting us regarding these Terms, please include:

• A clear description of your concern or question
• Any relevant details about your use of our platform
• Your suggestions, if any, for resolving the issue

We will make reasonable efforts to respond to all enquiries in a timely manner.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights.

By using our platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you disagree with any part of these terms, you must discontinue use of our service immediately.