Terms of Use

These Terms of Use ("Terms") are an agreement between you and VEGA Compute ("VEGA," "we," "us"), currently operated by its individual founder prior to formation of a legal entity. When a successor legal entity is formed, these Terms and your relationship with the service may be assigned to it without further notice, and references to VEGA will mean that entity. By downloading or using the VEGA app or the vegacompute.app website (together, the "Service"), you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. What the Service is

VEGA lets you voluntarily donate your device's idle computing capacity to scientific research campaigns. When enabled by you, the app downloads small pieces of public scientific datasets over Wi-Fi while your device charges, performs computations on them, and returns the mathematical results. The Service is currently offered as an early, pre-release version. Features, campaigns, and availability may change, be interrupted, or be discontinued at any time, with or without notice.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live, to create an account or use the Service. By using the Service you represent that you meet this requirement and that you own or have the right to use the device on which the app runs.

3. Your account

You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for safeguarding access to your account. You may delete your account at any time from within the app. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that we reasonably believe compromise the integrity, security, or scientific validity of the Service.

4. Your consent to use device resources

By starting compute in the app, you direct and authorize the Service to use your device's processing power, memory, battery power, and network bandwidth to perform scientific computation while your device is charging and connected to Wi-Fi. You can stop at any time by using the controls in the app or by unplugging your device. You acknowledge that this use consumes electricity and bandwidth, generates heat, and contributes to ordinary wear on your device, and that you, not VEGA, are responsible for any electricity, internet, or carrier charges and for the condition of your device. Participation is voluntary and unpaid.

5. Compute Credits

The Service may display Compute Credits, a numerical record recognizing computing work your device has completed. Compute Credits are recognition only. They have no monetary value, are not property, are not a form of payment or compensation, and cannot be purchased, sold, transferred, exchanged, or redeemed for anything. We may recalculate, adjust, reset, or discontinue Compute Credits at any time, including to correct errors or address misuse. Nothing in the Service grants you any entitlement, ownership interest, or expectation of value of any kind.

6. License and restrictions

We grant you a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to install and use the app on Apple-branded devices that you own or control, as permitted by the App Store Terms of Service, solely to participate in the Service. You may not, and may not attempt to: (a) copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service; (b) reverse engineer or extract source code from the app except where that restriction is prohibited by law; (c) interfere with, overload, or disrupt the Service or its infrastructure; (d) submit falsified, manipulated, or automated results, or misrepresent computation your device did not perform; (e) access the Service by any means other than the app and website we provide; or (f) use the Service in violation of any law.

7. Scientific results and intellectual property

All computational results produced through the Service, and all aggregations of them, are and remain the property of VEGA and its research collaborators. You acquire no rights in campaign datasets, results, the Service, the app, or the VEGA name and branding. Donating compute does not make you an author of, contributor to, or rights-holder in any scientific output, and does not entitle you to attribution, although we may choose to recognize contributors. If you send us feedback or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use them without obligation to you.

8. Third-party services

The Service relies on third-party providers, such as sign-in through Apple or Google and cloud infrastructure. Your use of those services is governed by their own terms and privacy policies, and we are not responsible for them.

9. Privacy

Our collection and use of information is described in our Privacy Policy at vegacompute.app/privacy, which is part of these Terms.

10. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT ANY CAMPAIGN WILL RUN OR PRODUCE ANY RESULT, OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR DEVICE. THE SERVICE IS AN EARLY, PRE-RELEASE OFFERING AND MAY CONTAIN DEFECTS. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

11. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VEGA AND ITS FOUNDER, CONTRACTORS, AND COLLABORATORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, DEVICE DAMAGE, BATTERY DEGRADATION, OR SERVICE INTERRUPTION, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS (US $50), REFLECTING THAT THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless VEGA and its founder from claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your violation of these Terms, your misuse of the Service, or your violation of law or the rights of a third party.

13. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without cause or notice. Sections 5, 7, and 10 through 17 survive termination.

14. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at info@vegacompute.app and attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for 30 days. Any dispute not resolved informally will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Hillsborough County, Florida, and you consent to their jurisdiction, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ANY PROCEEDING WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

15. Apple App Store terms

These Terms are between you and VEGA only, not with Apple Inc. ("Apple"). Apple is not responsible for the app or its content. Your license to the app is limited to use on Apple-branded devices you own or control, per the App Store Terms of Service, except that the app may be accessed by other accounts via Family Sharing or volume purchasing where available. Apple has no obligation to furnish maintenance or support for the app. If the app fails to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund any purchase price paid (the app is free, so no refund applies); to the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation for the app, and all other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses attributable to a failure to conform to a warranty are governed by these Terms. Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims by you or a third party relating to the app or your possession or use of it, including product liability claims, claims that the app fails to conform to legal or regulatory requirements, claims under consumer protection or similar laws, and claims regarding intellectual property infringement. You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo or designated as a "terrorist supporting" country, and that you are not on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You must comply with applicable third-party terms of agreement when using the app. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you. Questions or claims about the app should be directed to VEGA at info@vegacompute.app.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms as the Service evolves. When we make material changes, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app or by email. Continuing to use the Service after changes take effect means you accept them.

17. General

These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and VEGA about the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them, including to a successor legal entity upon its formation. Notices to you may be provided in the app, on the website, or by email.

Contact

VEGA Compute
Email: info@vegacompute.app