Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using MyDocuva (“the Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Service. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and MyDocuva.

You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement.

2. Description of Service

MyDocuva is a zero-knowledge document management platform that provides individuals and families with secure digital vaults for storing, organizing, and managing sensitive documents. The Service includes:

• Items Vault — store and categorize personal items with media, ownership proof, and confidence scoring
• Travel Vault — organize trip documents, link valuables, and generate travel reports
• Insurance Vault — inventory management, insurance reports, and video walkthroughs for insurance claims
• Legacy Vault — designate nominees, allocate items, and configure automatic disclosure triggers for inheritance planning
• Family Plan — shared access with role-based permissions for family members
• Secure Sharing — time-limited, password-protected sharing links with QR codes

3. Account Responsibilities

3.1 Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and passphrase. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to your account.

3.2 Passphrase — Critical Responsibility

MyDocuva uses a zero-knowledge encryption model. Your passphrase is used to derive encryption keys on your device and is never transmitted to or stored on our servers.

If you lose your passphrase, we cannot recover your encrypted data. This is a fundamental security guarantee of our architecture, not a limitation. You are solely responsible for remembering and safeguarding your passphrase.

3.3 Account Accuracy

You agree to provide accurate and complete information when creating your account and to keep your account information up to date. You may not create an account using a false identity or on behalf of another person without their authorization.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes. You may not:

• Store, upload, or distribute content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable
• Use the Service to facilitate fraud, money laundering, or any criminal activity
• Attempt to bypass, disable, or circumvent security features of the Service
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service
• Use automated systems (bots, scrapers) to access the Service without prior written authorization
• Impersonate another person or entity
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or the servers and networks connected to it
• Share your account credentials with third parties or allow multiple individuals to use a single account (use Family Plan for shared access)

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, with or without notice.

5. Subscriptions and Payments

5.1 Plans

MyDocuva offers both free and paid subscription plans. Free accounts are subject to limits on item count and storage capacity. Paid plans unlock additional features and higher limits as described on our Pricing page.

5.2 Billing

Paid subscriptions are billed on a recurring monthly or annual basis through Stripe. By subscribing to a paid plan, you authorize us to charge the payment method on file at the applicable rate. Prices are subject to change with 30 days' notice.

5.3 Cancellation and Downgrades

You may cancel or downgrade your subscription at any time from Settings. Upon cancellation, your paid features remain active until the end of the current billing period. After that, your account reverts to the Free tier. If your stored items exceed the Free tier limits, you will retain read-only access to existing items but will not be able to create new ones until you reduce usage or upgrade.

5.4 Refunds

Subscription fees are generally non-refundable, except where required by applicable law. If you believe a charge was made in error, please contact us within 30 days of the charge.

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Your Content

You retain all ownership rights to the content you upload to MyDocuva. We do not claim any intellectual property rights over your documents, photos, or other files. Due to our zero-knowledge architecture, we cannot and do not access or use your content for any purpose.

6.2 Our Service

The Service, including its design, features, code, branding, and documentation, is the property of MyDocuva and is protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Service without our prior written consent.

7. Legacy Vault and Disclosure

The Legacy Vault feature allows you to designate nominees and configure automatic disclosure triggers. By using this feature, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Legacy Vault designations are not testamentary instruments and do not supersede or replace any will, trust, power of attorney, or court order. In the event of a conflict between your Legacy Vault settings and a legal instrument, the legal instrument shall control
• Vault disclosure is triggered by your configured inactivity period (including a reminder phase and grace period before disclosure)
• You are responsible for keeping your trigger settings, nominees, and item allocations up to date
• Designated nominees will receive email notifications and secure portal access to their allocated items upon disclosure
• If a nominee cannot be reached at the email address you provide, disclosure to that nominee will not occur
• Disclosure is irreversible once completed — ensure your settings are accurate
• MyDocuva is not responsible for verifying the identity, legal capacity, or authority of designated nominees
• Disclosed items may constitute “digital assets” under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) or similar laws, and estate fiduciaries may have separate legal rights to access your account
• Co-owners you designate will have access to manage the vault and can check in on your behalf
• We strongly recommend informing your estate attorney about your Legacy Vault configurations

8. Family Plan

The Family Plan allows you to share access with family members under a single subscription. By creating or joining a Family Plan, you acknowledge that:

• The plan creator (“Owner”) is responsible for managing members and the subscription
• Items marked with “Family” visibility are accessible to all active members of the plan
• Items marked “Private” remain accessible only to their creator
• Removing a member revokes their access to family-shared items immediately
• Each member maintains their own passphrase and encryption keys

MyDocuva is not responsible for disputes between Family Plan members regarding ownership, access, or control of items within the Family Plan. The Plan Owner has sole authority to add and remove members. Disputes between members, including those arising from divorce, separation, or family disagreements, must be resolved between the parties involved. We will comply with valid court orders regarding account access or data disclosure.

9. Secure Sharing

When you create a share link, you are granting temporary access to the specified item(s) to anyone who possesses the link and any password you set. You are responsible for:

• Sharing links only with intended recipients
• Setting appropriate expiration dates and access passwords
• Revoking share links when access is no longer needed

MyDocuva is not responsible for unauthorized access resulting from share links you distribute.

10. Service Availability and Force Majeure

We strive to maintain high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access to the Service. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, updates, or circumstances beyond our control.

Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations under these Terms due to events beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, acts of government, internet or telecommunications failures, infrastructure provider outages (including AWS), cyberattacks, pandemics, or labor disputes. We will use reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact and notify affected users promptly.

11. Export Control and Sanctions Compliance

The Service employs encryption technology subject to United States export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). By using the Service, you represent and warrant that:

• You are not located in, or a resident or national of, any country subject to US trade sanctions (currently Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions)
• You are not listed on any US government prohibited or restricted party list, including the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list
• You will not use the Service in violation of any applicable export control or sanctions laws

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, MYDOCUVA AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF PROFITS, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

You specifically acknowledge that MyDocuva cannot recover data encrypted with a lost passphrase, and you accept full responsibility for maintaining your passphrase.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

While we employ industry-standard encryption (AES-256-GCM) and key derivation (PBKDF2), we do not warrant that the encryption used by the Service is or will remain unbreakable. No security system is impenetrable, and advances in technology, including quantum computing, may in the future affect the strength of cryptographic protections. You acknowledge that you use the Service's encryption features at your own risk.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless MyDocuva, 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 rights of a third party.

15. Termination

You may terminate your account at any time through Settings or by contacting us. We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms or if required by law.

Upon termination or account deletion, you will have 30 days to export your data via the Data Export feature in Settings. During this period, your account will be in a read-only state allowing data export but not new uploads. If your account was terminated by us, we will provide you with instructions for accessing the data export feature during the 30-day retention period. After 30 days, all data is permanently and irreversibly deleted.

If we terminate your account for a violation of these Terms, you will not be entitled to a refund for any remaining subscription period. If we terminate or discontinue the Service for reasons other than your breach, we will provide a pro-rata refund for any prepaid and unused portion of your subscription.

Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including intellectual property, limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution) shall survive.

16. Dispute Resolution

16.1 Informal Resolution

Before initiating any formal dispute resolution, you agree to first contact us at support@mydocuva.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 60 days.

16.2 Binding Arbitration

If the dispute is not resolved informally, it shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration may be conducted remotely (by videoconference or telephone) or in the county where you reside.

• For claims under $10,000, MyDocuva will pay all AAA filing and arbitration fees
• The arbitrator's decision is final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction
• Either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction

16.3 Class Action Waiver

You agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action. If this class action waiver is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this arbitration provision shall be null and void.

16.4 Small Claims Exception

Either party may bring an individual action in small claims court for disputes within the court's jurisdictional limits.

16.5 Opt-Out

You may opt out of this arbitration provision by sending written notice to support@mydocuva.com within 30 days of creating your account. Your notice must include your name, email address, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. If you opt out, disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in the jurisdiction of MyDocuva's principal office.

17. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Terms on this page and updating the “Last Updated” date. For significant changes, we may also send an email notification. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

18. General Provisions

• Entire Agreement — these Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and MyDocuva
• Severability — if any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect
• Waiver — our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision
• Assignment — you may not assign your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations without restriction

19. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

Email: support@mydocuva.com