Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of These Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and Vortex Enterprises (a registered trade name; not a separately incorporated company) ("Vortex," "we," "us," or "our"), the operator of Vortex (the app, website at vtx.chat, Discord bot, and related services, together the "Service"). By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and our Community Guidelines, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

If you are using the Service on behalf of a guild, organization, or other group, you represent that you have authority to bind that group to these Terms, and "you" refers to both you and that group.

2. Eligibility & Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to create a Vortex account. This is a floor set by U.S. law (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, "COPPA"), not a target age - if the minimum age where you live is higher, you must meet that higher age instead. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may only use the Service with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian, and they are responsible for your compliance with these Terms.

We ask for your birthdate during account setup and use it to enforce this minimum age. If our records show you're under 13, your account is automatically locked until our records show you've reached the minimum age - you cannot bypass this by changing your listed birthdate. Knowingly providing a false birthdate to circumvent this restriction is itself a violation of these Terms. See Children's Privacy in our Privacy Policy for how we handle information collected during this process.

You also may not use the Service if you're barred from doing so under the laws of the United States or any other applicable jurisdiction, or if we've previously terminated your account for a violation of these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

3. Accounts

• You must provide accurate registration information and keep your email address current - we use it for account security, verification, and required notices.
• You're responsible for everything that happens under your account, whether or not you authorized it, except to the extent it results from our failure to maintain reasonable security. Keep your password confidential and enable available security features (passkeys, multi-factor authentication) if you want stronger protection.
• Tell us immediately at admin@vortexos.net or via a support ticket if you believe your account has been compromised.
• One account per person. Creating additional accounts to evade a suspension, ban, or platform restriction is prohibited and may result in all linked accounts being suspended.
• You may link a Discord account to your Vortex account. Doing so lets Vortex read the limited Discord profile information needed for linking (such as your Discord ID) and lets certain Vortex actions (like staff moderation commands) apply to your Vortex account from within Discord. If you send a message in a Discord channel that a server has linked to Vortex chat, that message is relayed into Vortex and is subject to these Terms and our Community Guidelines. You may also choose to enable a Discord profile widget that shows your Vortex profile and stats on your Discord profile. You can unlink your Discord account at any time from your settings, subject to any active restriction preventing it.

4. Acceptable Use

Our Community Guidelines set out detailed rules for behavior and content and are part of these Terms. At minimum, you agree not to:

• Violate any applicable law, or these Terms, our Community Guidelines, or our Privacy Policy;
• Upload, send, or otherwise distribute any child sexual abuse material, or any content that sexually exploits or endangers a minor - this results in an immediate permanent ban and a report to NCMEC and/or law enforcement as required by law (see Privacy Policy and our Law Enforcement Guidelines);
• Harass, threaten, dox, or incite violence against any person or group;
• Upload or transmit malware, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other users' accounts, or our systems;
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service, including through excessive automated requests, denial-of-service attempts, or circumventing rate limits, filters, or moderation tooling;
• Reverse engineer, scrape, or build unauthorized clients or bots against the Service except where an official API or integration is provided for that purpose;
• Use the Service to send unsolicited bulk messages, spam, or engage in fraud, phishing, or deceptive commercial activity; or
• Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Service or your account without our written permission.

5. Uploaded Content & Licenses

5.1 You own what you create

You retain ownership of the messages, images, files, avatars, banners, audio and music tracks, Hellfire levels, playlists, store asset submissions, and any other content you upload, submit, or create with the Service's tools ("Your Content"). We don't claim ownership of it.

5.2 License you grant us

To operate the Service, you grant Vortex a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, cache, back up, reproduce, transmit, display, perform (for audio), and process Your Content, including compressing, resizing, transcoding, reformatting, and generating thumbnails or previews of it, as necessary to provide, secure, moderate, and improve the Service and to comply with law (for example, delivering your messages to their recipients, showing your content to the audience you chose, and running the automated safety scans described in our Privacy Policy). We may extend this license to the service providers we use to run the Service (such as hosting, storage, content delivery, and moderation providers), only so they can perform that work for us. This license ends when you delete Your Content or your account, except as described in Sections 5.3 and 5.8, and except where a copy reasonably persists in backups, security logs, or as required by law or our Law Enforcement Guidelines.

5.3 Content you share with others or publish

When you make content available to other users (for example, messages in a channel or guild, a public profile, or a Hellfire level or music track that has been approved for public use), the license in Section 5.2 also lets us show that content to those users, let them play, listen to, or interact with it inside the Service, and feature it within the Service and in promotion of the Service (such as a featured level, a screenshot on our website, or a post on our social accounts), with credit to you where practical.

If you delete shared content, we'll stop making it newly available within a reasonable time. However, copies other users already received (such as delivered messages, quotes, or replies), and limited records tied to published content (such as a level's name, creator credit, play counts, records, and leaderboard entries), may remain.

5.4 Automated content screening & review

Images and files you upload are automatically screened by a content moderation system for policy-violating material - including sexual content, graphic violence, and content that appears to depict child sexual abuse - before they can be viewed by others. Messages and shared links may be automatically screened against third-party threat databases (such as Google Safe Browsing) for malware and phishing. Automated screening is a first line of defense, not a guarantee; we also rely on human review and user reports to catch what it misses. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Some uploads, including Hellfire levels, music tracks, and store asset submissions, are reviewed by staff before they're published. Approval only means the content was accepted for use in the Service. It is not an endorsement, and it is not a determination that the content is original, accurate, or free of third-party rights. We may remove previously approved content at any time.

5.5 Storage, retention & availability

We store Your Content so we can provide the Service, but Vortex is not a backup, archival, or file-hosting service. We may set and change limits on file size, file type, storage space, upload frequency, and how long content is kept; compress or convert files; and delete content that has expired, has been abandoned, belongs to a closed or terminated account, exceeds those limits, or has been removed under these Terms. We don't guarantee that any content will be stored for any particular length of time or remain available, and content can be lost or corrupted through outages, software errors, failures of third-party providers, or moderation actions. Keep your own copies of anything that matters to you. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we're not liable for any loss, corruption, deletion, or unavailability of Your Content.

5.6 Responsibility for Your Content

You're solely responsible for Your Content and the consequences of posting it. You represent that you own it or have the necessary rights and permissions to post it and to grant the licenses in these Terms, and that it doesn't violate these Terms, our Community Guidelines, or any law or third-party right, including copyright, trademark, privacy, or publicity rights. In particular:

• Only upload music or audio you created or have permission to share and let others hear inside the Service. Commercial songs you don't hold rights to are not allowed, even if you bought a copy.
• Images, fonts, sound effects, sprites, and other assets made by someone else may only be used within the limits of their license.
• If you use AI tools or other generators, you're responsible for making sure their terms let you use and share the output, and that the output doesn't copy someone else's work.
• Don't upload images, recordings, or personal information of another person without their consent.

5.7 Content from other users

Content on the Service that comes from other users is the sole responsibility of the person who posted it. We don't pre-approve most user content, we don't endorse it, and we have no obligation to monitor it, although we may review, refuse, edit for formatting, or remove any content at our discretion. You may encounter content you find inaccurate, offensive, or objectionable, and you can report it using the in-app reporting tools. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we're not liable for content posted by other users or for any loss or harm resulting from it.

5.8 Designer & store asset submissions

This section applies to anyone who submits artwork, icons, badges, profile decorations, wallpapers, store items, or other assets for use in Vortex ("Submitted Assets"), including staff members holding the Designer role. It applies in addition to the rest of Section 5.

• Ownership. You keep ownership of your Submitted Assets unless you and Vortex agree otherwise in a separate written agreement.
• License on approval. When a Submitted Asset is approved, you grant Vortex a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable, and sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, and adapt it (for example, resizing, recoloring, cropping, animating, combining it with other assets, or creating seasonal or event variants), and to display, distribute, and offer it as part of the Service. This includes offering it as a store item purchasable with credits or other currency, granting it as a reward or event item, and using it in Vortex promotional material. This license is perpetual so that users who obtain an item can keep it.
• Withdrawing a submission. You may withdraw a submission at any time while it is still pending review. Once approved, the license above can't be revoked, but you may ask us to retire an item from future sale and we'll consider the request in good faith. Copies already purchased by or granted to users remain with those users.
• No compensation. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, submissions are voluntary and you aren't entitled to payment, royalties, revenue share, or credits from the sale or use of Submitted Assets. Any rewards we choose to give for submissions (such as credits, ranks, or badges) are discretionary virtual items under Section 7.5. Submitting assets or holding the Designer role does not create an employment, partnership, joint venture, or agency relationship with Vortex.
• Credit. We'll try to credit the creator of an asset where the Service supports it, but missing or incorrect credit isn't a breach of these Terms. To the extent permitted by law, you waive, or agree not to assert, any moral rights (such as the right to object to modifications) in your Submitted Assets against Vortex or its users.
• Originality. You represent that each Submitted Asset is your original work, or that you hold a license that allows commercial use, modification, and sublicensing as described above. Do not submit traced or copied art, assets taken from games or other products, other companies' logos or characters, fonts without a commercial license, or AI output you don't have rights to. If asked, you'll tell us what tools, references, or third-party resources you used.
• Removal. We may reject, decline to use, modify, retire, or remove any Submitted Asset at any time, with or without notice. If an asset turns out to infringe someone's rights, we may remove it from the store and from users who own it, and Section 12 (Indemnification) applies.
• Survival. This section continues to apply to approved Submitted Assets after you lose the Designer role, stop submitting, or close your account.

5.9 Our content

The Service itself - including its software, design, logos, the Vortex name, and all associated branding - is owned by Vortex or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property law. Nothing in these Terms grants you rights to it beyond what's needed to use the Service as intended.

5.10 Feedback

If you send us feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you agree we can use them without restriction or obligation to you.

6. Copyright Infringement / DMCA

We respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you believe content on Vortex infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our designated agent that includes:

1. Your physical or electronic signature;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed;
3. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to locate it on the Service (e.g. a link, channel, or message);
4. Your contact information (address, phone number, email);
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
6. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and that you're authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

See our Copyright / DMCA page for a ready-to-use notice template. Send notices to our designated DMCA agent: Copyright Agent, Vortex Enterprises, 240 N Broadway, Denver, CO 80203, or by email to admin@vortexos.net with "DMCA" in the subject line.

If you believe content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notice with your identification of the removed content, a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief it was removed by mistake, your consent to the jurisdiction of the applicable federal court, and your contact information. We may restore the content within the timeframe required by the DMCA unless the original complainant files a court action.

We terminate accounts of users determined to be repeat infringers where appropriate.

7. Purchases, Subscriptions & Virtual Items

7.1 What you can buy

Vortex offers optional paid features, including subscription ranks, store items, and gifting of ranks or upgrades to other users, along with a virtual credit balance and redeemable codes used within the Service.

7.2 Payments

Payments are processed by Stripe. We don't store your full card number. By making a purchase, you also agree to Stripe's terms for the payment itself. You represent that you're authorized to use the payment method provided.

7.3 Subscriptions & auto-renewal

Subscription ranks automatically renew and charge your payment method at the end of each billing period until you cancel. Pricing and billing frequency are disclosed before you complete a purchase. You can cancel auto-renewal at any time from your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you keep access until then. We don't provide partial-period refunds for cancelling early.

7.4 Refunds

Purchases of virtual items, credits, redeem codes, and delivered subscription periods are generally final and non-refundable once delivered, except where required by law (for example, statutory consumer withdrawal rights in your jurisdiction, or where a purchase was unauthorized or resulted from a billing error). If you believe you were charged in error, contact admin@vortexos.net or open a billing support ticket.

7.5 Virtual currency & items have no cash value

Vortex credits, store items, ranks, badges, and redeem codes are a limited, non-transferable license to use a feature of the Service - they are not currency, property, or a stored-value instrument, have no real-world monetary value, cannot be redeemed for cash, and cannot be sold, traded, or transferred outside the Service's built-in gifting features. We may modify, discontinue, or adjust the availability, pricing, or balance of virtual items at any time, including on account termination.

7.6 Chargebacks

Disputing a legitimate charge with your bank or card issuer while keeping the associated benefit is treated as fraud under our Community Guidelines and may result in the benefit being revoked and the account being suspended or terminated, independent of any outcome of the chargeback itself.

8. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with and relies on third-party providers, including Discord (account linking, bot functionality, and optional message bridging), Stripe (payments), and content delivery for uploaded images and shared links. Some features (for example, the music bot) retrieve content from third-party platforms like YouTube at your request. Your use of those third-party platforms through Vortex is also subject to their own terms, and we're not responsible for their content, availability, or practices. If a linked Discord server or third-party integration is not made available by us, we're not responsible for what happens there, though our Community Guidelines still apply to your conduct as it relates to Vortex.

9. Moderation, Suspension & Termination

We may remove content, restrict features, or warn, mute, suspend, or permanently ban accounts that violate these Terms or our Community Guidelines, at our discretion and based on severity and history as described there. We may also suspend or terminate access to protect the Service, other users, or comply with a legal obligation, with or without prior notice where notice isn't practical (for example, active fraud or an imminent safety issue).

If your account is suspended, you may generally appeal through the in-app appeal flow or a support ticket, except for the zero-tolerance violations described in our Community Guidelines, which are not eligible for reinstatement.

You may stop using the Service and request deletion of your account at any time through account settings or a support ticket. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 5, 6, 7.5, 10, 11, 12, and 13) continue to apply after your account is closed.

10. Disclaimers

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, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DON'T WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, THAT CONTENT-SCREENING SYSTEMS WILL CATCH EVERY VIOLATION, OR THAT ANY DEFECT WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU USE THE SERVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Some jurisdictions don't allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of these exclusions may not apply to you.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VORTEX AND ITS OPERATOR WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (INCLUDING LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO YOUR CONTENT, AND ANY CONTENT POSTED BY OTHER USERS), ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF WE'VE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) USD $50. Some jurisdictions don't allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for certain damages, so some of these limitations may not apply to you.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Vortex, its operator, and their agents from any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: your use of the Service; Your Content; your violation of these Terms, our Community Guidelines, or applicable law; or your violation of any third-party right.

13. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Colorado, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles, except where a mandatory consumer-protection or data-protection law of your own country or state gives you rights these Terms cannot override. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Colorado, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there. This section does not currently include a mandatory arbitration or class-action-waiver clause; if one is added in the future, it will be presented to you as a material change under Section 14.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms as the Service evolves. If we make a material change, we'll update the "Last updated" date above and make reasonable efforts to notify you (such as an in-app notice or email) before the change takes effect. Continuing to use the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms. If you don't agree, stop using the Service and, if you wish, close your account.

15. Legal Review Status & Good-Faith Compliance

These Terms, our Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, and Law Enforcement Guidelines were prepared without review by a licensed attorney, as a good-faith effort to reflect applicable law as of the Effective Date above. This status does not reduce our obligation to comply with applicable law, and nothing in this section limits or waives any right you have under law that cannot be waived by agreement.

If you believe any provision of these Terms, or of the Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, or Law Enforcement Guidelines, fails to comply with applicable law, tell us at admin@vortexos.net with "Legal Compliance" in the subject line. We will review your notice and respond within 10 business days, and will correct any confirmed deficiency promptly.

These documents will be reviewed by counsel and updated accordingly as that review happens; material changes are handled under Section 14.

16. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement. These Terms, our Privacy Policy, and our Community Guidelines are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service, and supersede any prior agreements on the subject.
• Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remain in full effect, and the unenforceable provision will be interpreted to best reflect its original intent.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision isn't a waiver of our right to enforce it later.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, or by operation of law.
• Force majeure. We're not liable for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, including outages of third-party providers we depend on.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to admin@vortexos.net or submitted as a support ticket from Contact Us.