VoiceBridge Terms of Service

Welcome to VoiceBridge. These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you (or the school district, educational institution, or organization on whose behalf you act) and the maintainers of the open-source VoiceBridge Project ("VoiceBridge", "we", "us", or "our").

By installing, accessing, or using the VoiceBridge Chrome extension, our website (https://voicebridge-ext.web.app), or any associated software, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Student Data Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not install or use VoiceBridge.

1. Educational Purpose & Authorized Minor Use

VoiceBridge is an assistive educational technology tool designed to support Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Special Education (SpEd) accommodations by enabling students to record audio responses directly in Google Classroom, Google Docs, and Google Slides.

• School & Institutional Authorization: When VoiceBridge is deployed or made accessible to K-12 students under 18 (including children under 13), the subscribing or deploying school, school district, teacher, or educational agency affirms that it has the authority under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to authorize student use for educational and instructional purposes.
• Independent & Home Users: If you are a parent or legal guardian enabling VoiceBridge for personal or home use by a minor under 18, you consent to these Terms on their behalf.

2. Decentralized Architecture & Zero-Storage Model

3. User Content & 100% Student/District Ownership

You and your educational institution retain 100% ownership, title, and all intellectual property rights in and to all audio recordings, oral submissions, transcripts, comments, and media created through VoiceBridge ("User Content").

• No License Granted: VoiceBridge does not claim, seek, or receive any license, copyright interest, or right of access to User Content.
• Data Custody: All recordings remain under the direct custody and control of the student and their authorized school district in their native Google Workspace environment.

4. Strict Prohibitions: Zero AI Training & Zero Commercialization

In alignment with our privacy covenants:

• Zero AI/ML Training: Audio recordings, voice patterns, and user interactions are never collected, retained, or utilized to train, tune, or evaluate artificial intelligence, speech recognition models, or machine learning algorithms.
• Zero Advertising or Profiling: VoiceBridge does not serve advertisements, build student profiles, or monetize student or educator data in any manner.

5. Third-Party Integrations & Google Workspace Disclaimer

VoiceBridge interacts with third-party software and APIs, primarily Google Chrome, Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Slides, and the Google Drive API.

• Independent Project: VoiceBridge is an independent open-source project and is not endorsed by, affiliated with, sponsored by, or partner-associated with Google LLC or Alphabet Inc. Google, Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Drive, and Chrome are trademarks of Google LLC.
• Third-Party Compliance: Use of VoiceBridge requires adherence to Google's applicable Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policies. VoiceBridge is not responsible for outages, API deprecations, or service interruptions caused by third-party platforms.

6. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree to use VoiceBridge strictly for lawful, educational, and instructional purposes. You agree not to:

• Use VoiceBridge to record individuals without lawful authorization or consent where required by state or federal law;
• Record, upload, or transmit any unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or harmful content;
• Interfere with, disrupt, or attempt to circumvent the security mechanisms or least-privilege permission model of VoiceBridge or Google Workspace;
• Use VoiceBridge in any manner that violates FERPA, COPPA, or state student data privacy laws.

7. Intellectual Property & Open-Source License

The VoiceBridge extension source code and documentation are provided as open-source software under applicable open-source license terms (available in the GitHub repository). All trademarks, logos, brand names, and visual designs associated with VoiceBridge remain the property of the VoiceBridge Project maintainers.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, VOICEBRIDGE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

THE VOICEBRIDGE PROJECT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR COMPATIBLE WITH ALL FUTURE UPDATES OF GOOGLE WORKSPACE OR GOOGLE CHROME.

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE VOICEBRIDGE PROJECT, ITS MAINTAINERS, CONTRIBUTORS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE) VOICEBRIDGE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF THESE TERMS EXCEED FIFTY US DOLLARS ($50.00 USD) OR THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO VOICEBRIDGE IN THE PRECEDING TWELVE MONTHS, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

10. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

11. Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to modify or update these Terms at any time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Effective Date" at the top. Your continued use of VoiceBridge following the posting of revised Terms signifies your acceptance of the changes.

12. Contact Information

If you have questions, feedback, or legal inquiries regarding these Terms of Service: