Terms of Service for SideNote

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", or "your") and the operators and contributors of SideNote ("SideNote", "we", "us", or "our"). By downloading, installing, accessing, or using the SideNote Chrome Extension or visiting this website, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms and our accompanying Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you must immediately cease using SideNote and remove the extension from your browser.

2. Description of Service & Features

SideNote is a productivity browser extension engineered for Chromium-based browsers that provides local-first note-taking and voice memo recording directly within Google Chrome's native side panel. The Service includes, without limitation:

• Side Panel Workspace (sidepanel.html): A dockable, non-intrusive container displaying notes, audio controls, and rich text editors alongside active web tabs.
• TipTap Rich Text Editor: In-browser formatted text editing, supporting lists, headings, code blocks, and quote styling.
• Google Keep Color Palettes: Authentic pastel palettes (Sand, Mint, Storm, Coral, Dusk) for organizing and prioritizing your notes.
• Voice Memo Recording & Playback: In-browser audio recording utilizing the Web Audio API (getUserMedia) with integrated waveform visualization and local playback.
• All-Notes Masonry Dashboard (all-notes.html): A multi-column visual manager for searching, filtering, and organizing notes across all visited domains.
• Universal Note Exports (Pro): Exporting notes into Markdown (.md), clean HTML, CSV, or structured JSON formats for interoperability with external knowledge tools.
• Full Data Backup & Restore (Pro): Creating and downloading complete JSON backups of all stored notes, audio attachments, and configuration metadata.
• Google Identity & Customer Portal: Optional Google OAuth2 sign-in to link Pro licenses and direct access to the Polar Customer Portal for subscription management.
• Settings & Diagnostics (settings.html): Microphone diagnostics, storage quota metrics, and personalization preferences.

3. License Grant & Restrictions

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, SideNote grants you a personal, worldwide, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable license to install and use the SideNote Chrome Extension on supported devices.

Restrictions:

You agree that you will not:

• Modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any portion of the software, except to the extent permitted by applicable open-source licenses or mandatory law.
• Circumvent or disable any security features, licensing mechanisms, or protocol restrictions built into the extension.
• Re-distribute, sublicense, or sell the software as a standalone commercial product without explicit written consent.
• Use SideNote in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect, or inhibit other users or compromise browser integrity.

4. User Content & Intellectual Property Ownership

SideNote Intellectual Property: All software code, visual designs, trademarks, service marks, graphics, and documentation associated with SideNote are the exclusive property of SideNote and its licensors, protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable intellectual property laws.

5. Acceptable Use & Recording Consent Compliance

You are solely responsible for your conduct while using SideNote:

• Lawful Use: You agree to use SideNote only for lawful purposes and in accordance with all applicable local, national, and international laws, regulations, and third-party terms of service.
• Audio Recording Compliance: When utilizing the voice memo recording feature to record conversations, lectures, or meetings, you are solely responsible for complying with all applicable wiretapping and audio recording consent laws (including one-party or all-party consent statutory requirements in your jurisdiction). SideNote disclaims all liability for unauthorized audio recording by users.
• Third-Party Copyrights: When taking notes on third-party web content, you are responsible for respecting third-party copyrights and intellectual property rights under applicable fair use or fair dealing doctrines.

6. Local-First Architecture & Data Disclaimer

7. Subscriptions, Lifetime Licenses & Polar Billing

SideNote provides free local note-taking functionality alongside optional paid upgrade tiers (Pro Monthly, Pro Annual, Lifetime License) that unlock universal exports and data backup capabilities:

8. Disclaimer of Warranties ("AS IS")

9. Limitation of Liability

10. Third-Party Websites & Content

SideNote allows you to interact with, annotate, and take notes on third-party websites across the internet. SideNote does not endorse, control, monitor, or assume any responsibility for any third-party websites, their content, security, or privacy policies. Accessing and annotating third-party websites is conducted at your own risk.

11. Termination

You may terminate these Terms at any time by uninstalling the SideNote extension and discontinuing all use of our services. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your license to use SideNote at our discretion, without prior notice, if you breach any provision of these Terms. Upon termination, all provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive will survive, including ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, and limitations of liability.

12. Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to amend or replace these Terms at any time. When modifications are made, we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this document. Continued use of SideNote following any amendments constitutes your binding acceptance of the revised Terms.

13. Severability & Governing Law

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with standard international commercial law principles and the laws of the applicable jurisdiction, without regard to conflict of law principles.