Terms of Service

Welcome to CiteMe. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the CiteMe website, browser extension, and related services (collectively, the "Service") operated by CiteMe ("we", "us", or "our").

By accessing or using our Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms, you may not access the Service.

For users in Brazil: These terms comply with the Brazilian Civil Code (Lei 10.406/2002) and the Consumer Protection Code (CDC - Lei 8.078/1990). You have additional rights under Brazilian law that cannot be waived.

1. Service Description

CiteMe is an academic citation management platform that provides:

• Citation search and formatting in multiple styles (APA, MLA, ABNT, Chicago, etc.)
• Browser extension for quick citation capture
• Personal citation library management
• AI-powered features including paper summarization and recommendations
• Export functionality (BibTeX, RIS, clipboard)

2. User Accounts

2.1 Account Creation

To access certain features, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information
• Maintain the security of your account credentials
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access
• Accept responsibility for all activities under your account

2.2 Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian's permission to use the Service.

3. Subscription and Payments

3.1 Free and Paid Plans

CiteMe offers both free and paid subscription plans. Free plans have usage limits as described on our Pricing page.

3.2 Billing

Paid subscriptions are billed in advance on a recurring basis (weekly, monthly, or annually depending on your plan). Payment is processed through Paddle, our third-party payment processor.

3.3 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Cancellation will take effect at the end of the current billing period. We do not provide refunds for partial periods, except as required by law.

3.4 Price Changes

We may change subscription prices with at least 30 days' notice. Price changes will apply at the start of your next billing period after the notice. Continued use of the paid service after a price change constitutes acceptance of the new price.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree NOT to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law
• Circumvent usage limits, rate limits, or quota restrictions through any means (including rotating identifiers, using multiple accounts, or automated scripts)
• Access or attempt to access the Service through automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) without prior written permission
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service
• Resell, redistribute, or sublicense the Service or its output without authorization
• Interfere with the security or integrity of the Service
• Impersonate another person or entity

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

5. Intellectual Property

5.1 Our Property

The Service, including its design, code, algorithms, logos, and documentation, is owned by CiteMe and protected by copyright and intellectual property laws. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

5.2 Citation Data

Citation metadata (titles, authors, DOIs, abstracts) is sourced from public academic databases (OpenAlex, PubMed, CrossRef, etc.) and remains subject to their respective terms and licenses. CiteMe formats this data but does not claim ownership over it.

5.3 Citation Style Language (CSL)

Citation formatting uses open-source CSL styles licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

6. Your Content & Data

6.1 Ownership

You retain full ownership of your data, including your citation library, projects, notes, and any content you create using the Service. We do not claim any intellectual property rights over your content.

6.2 License to Us

By using the Service, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to store, process, and display your content solely for the purpose of providing the Service to you. This license terminates when you delete your data or account.

6.3 Data Portability

You may export your citation library at any time in BibTeX or RIS format. You may also request deletion of your account and all associated data through Settings or by contacting us.

7. PDF Import

CiteMe processes PDFs in two distinct ways:

• Identifier scan — when we only need to identify a paper (DOI, ISBN, PMID, or title), the scan runs in your browser and only the extracted identifier is sent to our API.
• Bibliography extraction — for tools that extract the full reference list (PDF to BibTeX/RIS, Reference Checker, the free /read reader), the PDF is uploaded to our servers to be parsed and then discarded immediately after extraction. We retain only the extracted reference text.
• PDF Reader (Pro) — if you opt in to attach a PDF to a library item on a Pro plan, the file is stored in our secure cloud storage against your monthly page quota. You can delete it at any time.

You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to process the PDFs you upload. CiteMe does not access, share, or retain PDF file content beyond the scope described above.

8. Disclaimers & Limitations

8.1 Citation Accuracy

While we strive for accuracy, citation formatting depends on metadata from third-party academic databases. We cannot guarantee that every citation will be 100% complete or error-free. You are responsible for verifying citations before submission in academic work.

8.2 Service Availability

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or secure access. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue features at any time with reasonable notice.

8.3 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, CiteMe shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of data, academic penalties, or lost opportunities arising from the use or inability to use the Service.

For users in Brazil: Under the Consumer Protection Code (CDC), this limitation does not apply to damages caused by defects in the service or to situations where liability cannot be limited by law.

9. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without prior notice, if you breach these Terms. Upon termination:

• Your right to use the Service ceases immediately
• You may request export of your data within 30 days of termination by contacting us
• After 30 days, we may permanently delete your account data

You may terminate your account at any time by deleting it through Settings or contacting us at privacy@citeme.app.

10. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Any disputes shall be submitted to the courts of São Paulo, SP, Brazil, without prejudice to any other jurisdiction that may be applicable under consumer protection laws.

For EU users: Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights under EU consumer law. You may bring proceedings in your country of residence.

11. Changes to These Terms

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

• We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
• We will notify registered users via email at least 30 days in advance
• We will display a prominent notice on the website

Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree with the new terms, you must stop using the Service and delete your account.

12. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at: