Terms of Service

1. Introduction

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of StenVault (“Service”, “we”, “us”, “our”), an end-to-end encrypted cloud storage platform operated from Portugal. By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

StenVault is currently operated as an independent project. When a legal entity is formally registered, these Terms will be updated to reflect the entity details.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use StenVault. If you are between 13 and 16 years old and reside in the European Union, you must have the consent of a parent or legal guardian. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements.

3. Account Registration and Security

To use StenVault, you must create an account with a valid email address, a sign-in password, and an Encryption Password. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

3.1 Zero-Knowledge Architecture

StenVault uses a zero-knowledge encryption model. Your Encryption Password is never transmitted to or stored on our servers. All encryption and decryption occurs exclusively on your device. This means:

• We cannot recover your Encryption Password if you lose it.
• We cannot access, read, or decrypt your files, filenames, or file contents.
• We cannot reset your encryption keys on your behalf.
• You are solely responsible for maintaining access to your encrypted data through your Encryption Password and/or recovery codes.

3.2 Recovery Codes

During account setup, you may be provided with recovery codes. We strongly recommend storing these codes securely offline. If you lose both your Encryption Password and recovery codes, your encrypted data will be permanently inaccessible.

3.3 Account Sharing

Accounts are personal and non-transferable. You may not sell, trade, or share your account credentials with third parties.

4. Subscription Plans and Payments

4.1 Plans

StenVault offers Free and Pro subscription plans. The current features, storage limits, and pricing for each plan are listed on our Pricing page. We reserve the right to modify plan features and pricing with 30 days' notice to existing subscribers.

4.2 Billing

Paid subscriptions are billed in advance on a monthly or annual basis through Stripe. All prices are in Euros (EUR) and include applicable taxes (VAT) for customers in the European Union.

4.3 Free Trial

The Pro plan includes a 14-day free trial. You must provide a valid payment method to start a trial. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, you will be charged automatically. You may cancel during the trial at no cost.

4.4 Refund Policy

You may request a full refund within 14 days of any subscription purchase or renewal, for both monthly and annual plans. After 14 days, no refunds will be issued. Refund requests are processed through our payment provider (Stripe). To request a refund, contact us at privacy@stenvault.com.

We reserve the right to deny refund requests where there is evidence of abuse, such as repeated subscription and cancellation cycles, or usage exceeding 50% of the plan's storage quota at the time of the request.

4.6 Failed Payments

If a payment fails, we will retry the charge using Stripe Smart Retries over a period of up to 3 weeks. During this period, your access may be progressively reduced:

• Days 1–14: Full access with a billing warning.
• Days 15–28: Read-only access (downloads permitted, uploads blocked).
• Days 29–42: Suspended access (billing management and data export only).
• After day 42: Subscription canceled, account reverts to Free plan.

4.7 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through the Stripe customer portal accessible from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain full access to paid features until then.

5. Downgrade and Over-Quota Policy

When your subscription ends (cancellation, expiry, or failed payment), your account reverts to the Free plan. If your stored data exceeds the Free plan limits:

• New uploads will be blocked immediately.
• Downloads and file deletion remain available.
• You have a 90-day grace period to reduce your storage usage below the Free plan limit or resubscribe.
• We will send reminder emails at the start, at 30 days, 7 days, and 1 day before the grace period expires.
• After 90 days, your account may be suspended. Downloads remain available for an additional 30 days (120 days total).

We will never automatically delete your files. Your encrypted files are your property. Due to our zero-knowledge architecture, selective deletion by us is not technically possible without destroying all data.

6. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree not to use StenVault to store, share, or distribute:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in any form.
• Content that promotes terrorism or violent extremism.
• Malware, ransomware, or other malicious software intended to harm others.
• Content that infringes on intellectual property rights where you are not the rightful owner or licensee.
• Any material that violates applicable laws in your jurisdiction or in Portugal.

Due to our zero-knowledge encryption, we cannot inspect the contents of your files. However, if we receive a valid legal order or credible report of abuse, we may be required to suspend or terminate your account. We will notify you unless legally prohibited from doing so.

You also agree not to:

• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other accounts, or our infrastructure.
• Use automated tools to scrape, crawl, or overload the Service.
• Create multiple free accounts to circumvent storage limits.
• Resell or sublicense the Service without our written consent.
• Use the Service for cryptocurrency mining or unrelated computational tasks.

7. Inactive Accounts

Free accounts that have been inactive (no login) for 12 consecutive months may be suspended and eventually deleted. We will send at least two email notifications before taking action: one at 10 months and one at 11 months of inactivity.

Paid accounts are always considered active for the duration of their subscription, regardless of login frequency.

8. Intellectual Property

8.1 Your Content

You retain all ownership rights to the files and data you upload to StenVault. We do not claim any intellectual property rights over your content. Due to our zero-knowledge encryption, we have no ability to access or use your content.

8.2 Our Service

The StenVault platform, including its software, design, and branding, is our intellectual property. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse engineer any part of the Service, except as permitted by applicable open-source licenses for components we release under such licenses.

9. Service Availability and SLA

We aim to maintain a service availability of 99.5% measured on a monthly basis, excluding scheduled maintenance. Scheduled maintenance will be announced at least 24 hours in advance when possible.

If we fail to meet the 99.5% uptime target in any calendar month, affected paid subscribers may request a service credit proportional to the downtime experienced. Service credits are applied to future billing cycles and do not exceed 30% of the monthly subscription fee.

This SLA does not cover downtime caused by:

• Force majeure events (natural disasters, wars, pandemics).
• Third-party service outages (Cloudflare, Stripe, internet infrastructure).
• Scheduled maintenance with prior notice.
• Your own network connectivity issues.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• The Service is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
• We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or completely secure.
• Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising from or related to the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) €100.
• We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, business opportunities, or goodwill.

Important: Due to our zero-knowledge architecture, we cannot recover your data if you lose your Encryption Password and recovery codes. We are not liable for data loss resulting from lost credentials.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless StenVault and its operators from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

• Your violation of these Terms.
• Your use of the Service.
• Content you store, share, or transmit through the Service.
• Your violation of any third-party rights.

12. Termination

You may delete your account at any time from your account settings. Upon deletion:

• Your encrypted files will be permanently deleted from our servers.
• Your account data will be removed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
• Active subscriptions will be canceled (no further charges).
• This action is irreversible.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, engage in abusive behavior, or if required by law. We will provide reasonable notice unless immediate action is necessary to prevent harm or comply with a legal obligation.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Notify you by email at least 30 days before the changes take effect.
• Post the updated Terms on this page with a new “Last updated” date.
• Provide a summary of the key changes.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you disagree with the changes, you may cancel your subscription and delete your account before the changes take effect.

14. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of Portugal and the applicable regulations of the European Union, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Portugal, unless mandatory consumer protection laws in your country of residence grant you the right to bring proceedings in your local courts.

For consumers in the European Union: you may also submit complaints to the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform.

15. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable while preserving its original intent.

16. Contact

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

privacy@stenvault.com