Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, accessing, or using the KONI platform (the "Service"), you agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, do not use KONI.

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. By accepting these Terms, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement.

If you are accessing KONI on behalf of a business, school, or organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

2. Description of Service

KONI provides a Montessori planning and guidance platform designed for parents, caregivers, nannies, au pairs, homeschooling families, microschool leaders, and educators. The Service includes:

• AI Coaching ("KONI AI Coach"): A conversational AI assistant that provides Montessori-aligned guidance, activity recommendations, and personalized suggestions based on the child profile you create.
• Activity Library: A curated collection of Montessori-inspired activities searchable by age range, subject area, and developmental goals.
• Observation Logging: Tools to record and review notes about a child's learning and development.
• Child Portfolio: Storage for photos, documents, and records of a child's work and milestones.
• Weekly Planner: A planning interface for scheduling and tracking activities.
• Guide Marketplace ("Mentorship Marketplace"): A marketplace connecting users with independent, vetted Montessori guides for paid one-on-one sessions.
• In-Platform Messaging: Direct messaging between users and guides for session coordination.

3. User Accounts

You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activities under your account.

You must notify us immediately at hello@koniapp.com if you suspect unauthorized access to your account. KONI is not liable for losses caused by unauthorized account use that results from your failure to protect your credentials.

You may only create one account per person. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent subscription restrictions, free trial limits, or suspensions is prohibited.

4. Free Trial and Subscription

Free Trial

New accounts receive a 7-day free trial with full access to premium features. The trial begins at account creation. You are required to provide payment information to start a trial; you will not be charged until the trial ends unless you upgrade before it expires.

We reserve the right to offer trials only once per person, household, or billing entity. Using multiple email addresses or accounts to claim multiple trials is a violation of these Terms.

Subscription Plans

After the trial, continued access to premium features requires an active subscription. Current pricing:

• KONI Premium (monthly): $19.99/month, billed monthly, auto-renewing.
• KONI Premium (annual): $149.99/year, billed annually, auto-renewing.
• Mentorship sessions are priced separately from the subscription. Guide session rates are set by individual guides and displayed at time of booking.

Prices are displayed in USD. KONI reserves the right to change subscription prices with at least 30 days' advance notice to existing subscribers via email.

Billing and Auto-Renewal

Your subscription renews automatically on the same day each month. By subscribing, you authorize KONI to charge your payment method on file for the subscription fee plus any applicable taxes. All billing is processed by our payment processor, Stripe, Inc. Your payment information is stored and handled by Stripe — KONI does not store your complete card details.

Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. After cancellation, you retain access to premium features until the period ends, then your account reverts to free-tier access. To cancel, go to Profile → Subscription, or contact hello@koniapp.com. We will not require you to call a phone number, navigate multiple pages, or complete unreasonable steps to cancel.

Refunds

We do not issue refunds for partially used subscription periods, except where required by applicable law. If you believe a charge was made in error, contact hello@koniapp.com within 30 days of the charge for review.

5. Guide Marketplace — Mentorship Sessions

Guide Status

Guides listed on the KONI Marketplace are independent contractors, not employees, agents, or representatives of KONI. KONI vets guide applications and reviews credentials, but does not independently verify every credential claim. Guide qualifications are represented by the guides themselves.

KONI is a platform, not a professional services provider. Booking a session through KONI creates a service agreement between you and the guide directly — KONI facilitates but is not a party to that agreement.

Payments and Payouts

Guide sessions are paid at booking through Stripe's payment processing. Guide payouts are processed via Stripe Connect. KONI may charge a platform fee on each session, which will be disclosed at checkout. Session prices are set by the guide and confirmed before you complete a booking.

Session Refunds and Cancellations

Each guide sets their own cancellation policy, which is displayed on their profile and at booking. If a guide cancels a session without reasonable notice, contact hello@koniapp.com for resolution. KONI will mediate disputes and may issue refunds at its discretion.

No Off-Platform Circumvention

All sessions, messaging, and payments between users and guides introduced through KONI must occur on the KONI platform. Both parties agree not to:

• Schedule, hold, or pay for sessions outside KONI after a connection is made through the platform.
• Exchange personal contact details (email, phone, social handles, payment handles) through KONI messaging for the purpose of moving the relationship off-platform.
• Use KONI to identify clients and redirect them to a personal practice or competing service.

Violations may result in account suspension, forfeiture of pending payouts (for guides), and removal from the platform. This obligation survives termination of these Terms for any ongoing relationship originating from KONI.

Messaging and Conversation Review

Messaging between a family and a guide becomes available once a booking exists between them. Messages are stored by KONI so that both parties keep a record of the relationship, and message history is retained for three years.

Conversations may be reviewed by KONI for safety and quality, and to investigate reports or resolve disputes. Review is limited to authorized KONI personnel, and every access to a conversation is recorded in an internal audit log.

To support the obligations above, KONI automatically hides contact details, phone numbers, social and payment handles, and links to sites other than KONI from messages before they are delivered. The sender is told when their message has been modified, and the original text is retained for review.

6. AI Services — Important Disclaimers

Specifically, the KONI AI Coach:

• Is not a substitute for professional educational assessment, medical advice, psychological evaluation, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, or any other licensed professional service.
• May make errors. AI systems can produce plausible-sounding but incorrect information.
• Does not know your child personally. Recommendations are based solely on information you provide in the app.
• Should not be the sole basis for significant educational or developmental decisions.

If you have concerns about a child's development, learning, behavior, or health, consult a qualified professional. KONI cannot diagnose developmental conditions, learning disabilities, or any medical or psychological conditions.

How the AI Works

The KONI AI Coach is powered by OpenAI's API (GPT-4 model family). When you use the AI Coach with a child's profile attached, that child's profile information (including name, age range, learning differences if provided, and conversation history) may be transmitted to OpenAI's servers to generate a response. See our Privacy Policy for details on how this data is handled and your consent options.

7. Children's Privacy and Parental Responsibility (COPPA)

KONI is designed to be used by adults on behalf of children. Users must be at least 18 years old. You may not create a KONI account on behalf of a child; accounts must be held by adults.

When you add a child profile to KONI, you represent and warrant that:

• You are the parent or legal guardian of that child, OR
• You have explicit authorization from the child's parent or legal guardian to add the child's information and share it with this platform.

We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13. All child data in KONI is entered by and controlled by the adult account holder. If you believe a child under 13 has directly created a KONI account, contact us immediately at hello@koniapp.com.

8. User Content and Data

You retain ownership of all content you create in KONI, including observations, notes, portfolio items, and child profiles ("Your Content"). By submitting Your Content, you grant KONI a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, process, and display Your Content solely to provide the Service to you.

KONI does not sell Your Content or use it to train AI models without your explicit consent. Anonymized, aggregated data that cannot identify you or your child may be used for platform improvement and research purposes.

You represent that Your Content does not violate any third-party rights, including privacy rights of individuals other than those whose consent you have obtained.

9. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use KONI to:

• Violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law.
• Submit false or misleading information about yourself, a child, or your credentials.
• Impersonate another person or entity.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to KONI systems, other users' accounts, or our databases.
• Scrape, crawl, or data-mine the Service without permission.
• Upload malicious code, viruses, or disruptive content.
• Use the AI Coach to solicit or generate content that is harmful, abusive, or illegal.
• Use KONI for commercial advertising, unsolicited messages ("spam"), or lead generation without our written permission.

10. Intellectual Property

The KONI name, logo, platform design, proprietary curriculum content, activity library, AI prompts, and all other platform content (excluding Your Content) are owned by KONI Technologies LLC or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service for your personal, non-commercial educational purposes. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, or commercially exploit KONI's proprietary content without our written consent.

If you believe any content on KONI infringes your intellectual property rights, contact hello@koniapp.com with a description of the claimed infringement.

11. Third-Party Services

KONI integrates with third-party services to deliver the platform. These services have their own terms and privacy policies, which govern their use of your data:

KONI is not responsible for the practices of these third parties. Your use of KONI constitutes acceptance of data processing by these providers as described in our Privacy Policy.

12. Service Modifications and Termination

KONI reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature or the entire Service at any time, with or without notice. We will make reasonable efforts to notify active subscribers of significant changes that affect their ability to use the Service.

KONI may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or for other reasons at our discretion. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. You may request an export of Your Content within 30 days of termination by contacting hello@koniapp.com.

You may close your account at any time by contacting hello@koniapp.com or through Profile → Account.

13. Disclaimers of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, KONI DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

KONI does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components. KONI does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any AI-generated content.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL KONI, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, EVEN IF KONI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN ANY CASE, KONI'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO KONI IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) $100.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so the above limitations may not apply to you.

15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Before filing any formal legal claim, you agree to contact KONI at hello@koniapp.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally. If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days, either party may bring a claim in a court of competent jurisdiction in Ohio.

Class Action Waiver: To the fullest extent permitted by law, you waive your right to participate in any class action, class arbitration, or representative proceeding against KONI. Nothing in this section prevents you from reporting concerns to applicable government agencies or from seeking injunctive relief to prevent imminent irreparable harm.

16. 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 14 days before the change takes effect. Changes to pricing require 30 days' notice. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

We will always post the current Terms at koniapp.com/terms with the effective date clearly displayed.

Contact

Questions about these Terms: hello@koniapp.com
KONI Technologies LLC · koniapp.com