Terms of Service

By accessing or using Aeterna (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you," or "your") and Aeterna ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"). We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or through a prominent notice on our platform. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

You must be at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

The Service offers two tiers of access: Free Tier — You may create an account using email or social authentication (via our authentication provider) without connecting a cryptocurrency wallet. Free-tier accounts provide limited storage and basic features. Paid Tiers (Creator, Permanent Archive, Team) — Accessing paid features requires connecting a supported cryptocurrency wallet (e.g., MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet) and maintaining an active subscription through on-chain payment processing. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and wallet. We do not store your wallet's private keys. Any transaction signed with your wallet is your sole responsibility. We strongly recommend using a hardware wallet for significant storage commitments.

Aeterna provides decentralized file storage across two backends: Arweave (Permanent Archive tier) — Files uploaded to the Permanent Archive tier are stored on Arweave, a permanent and immutable data storage protocol. Once written to Arweave, data cannot be modified or deleted. A transaction fee is paid at the time of upload; no recurring storage fees apply. IPFS (Creator tier) — Files uploaded to the Creator tier are pinned to IPFS via a third-party pinning service. IPFS provides content-addressed storage with replication. Pinned files remain available as long as the pinning service maintains them. Important disclaimers: - While Arweave is designed for permanent storage, we cannot guarantee the long-term viability of any decentralized network. - We strongly recommend maintaining local backups of critical data. - The Service acts as a facilitator between you and the storage protocols; we are not the custodian of your data.

All fees are displayed in the application before any transaction is initiated. Fees are denominated in the native currency of the blockchain network you use (e.g., ETH on Base). Subscription payments are processed on-chain through our smart contracts. By subscribing, you authorize recurring charges to your connected wallet at the intervals indicated at the time of purchase. All fees are non-refundable once a transaction has been confirmed on-chain, except where required by applicable law. We reserve the right to change our pricing at any time; price changes will not affect your current billing period.

You retain full ownership of all files, data, and content you upload through the Service ("Your Content"). We do not claim any intellectual property rights over Your Content. By uploading content, you grant Aeterna a limited, non-exclusive license to: - Process, encrypt, and transmit your content to the designated storage backend (Arweave or IPFS). - Cache metadata necessary for the Service to function (file names, sizes, content hashes). - Display Your Content to you and to others you explicitly share it with. You represent and warrant that Your Content does not violate any applicable law, regulation, or third-party rights, including intellectual property, privacy, and publicity rights.

You agree not to use the Service to: - Upload, store, or distribute content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. - Infringe upon the intellectual property rights of any third party. - Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other accounts, or connected systems. - Use the Service to distribute malware, spam, or other malicious content. - Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service. - Engage in any activity that could damage, disable, or impair the Service. - Use automated systems (bots, scrapers) to access the Service without our express written permission. - Circumvent or attempt to circumvent any access controls, subscription requirements, or zero-knowledge verification mechanisms. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access for violations of this section.

Your privacy is fundamental to how we built Aeterna. Please review our Privacy Policy for a detailed description of how we collect, use, and protect your information. Key principles: - Zero-knowledge identity — We use zero-knowledge proofs to verify membership without revealing your identity. - End-to-end encryption — File contents can be encrypted client-side before upload; we never have access to your encryption keys. - Minimal on-chain data — Only content hashes and encrypted metadata are stored on-chain; your file contents are never written to the blockchain. - Wallet address as identifier — Your wallet address is used as a pseudonymous identifier; we do not link it to real-world identity unless you voluntarily provide that information.

The Service, including its software, design, logos, trademarks, and documentation, is the property of Aeterna and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer any part of the Service without our express written consent. Open-source components used in the Service are licensed under their respective open-source licenses. Contract source code deployed to public blockchains is publicly accessible by design.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not warrant that: - The Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. - Decentralized storage networks (Arweave, IPFS) will remain operational indefinitely. - Smart contracts are free from vulnerabilities; they are deployed as-is and audited to the best of our ability. - Zero-knowledge proofs generated by the Service are infallible. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AETERNA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF REVENUE, OR LOSS OF USE, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY. Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising from the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Aeterna, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third-party rights.

You may terminate your account at any time by disconnecting your wallet and contacting us. Termination does not affect your on-chain data, which remains stored on the applicable decentralized network. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at our discretion, with or without notice, for conduct that violates these Terms or is harmful to other users, the Service, or third parties. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Any outstanding fees remain payable.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation. If the dispute cannot be resolved within thirty (30) days, it shall be submitted to binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association, with proceedings held in Wilmington, Delaware. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction for matters involving intellectual property rights.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice. We will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice of material changes that affect your stored data or access. We are not liable for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

Severability — If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect. Entire Agreement — These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Aeterna regarding the Service. Assignment — You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations without restriction. No Waiver — Failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision. Force Majeure — We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, government actions, network failures, or blockchain network congestion.

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at: Email: team@aeternavault.cc Website: https://aeternavault.cc