Terms of Service

1. Acceptance and Eligibility

1.1 Agreement to Terms

By creating an account or using MorphIt, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

1.2 Age Requirements

• General Users: You must be at least 16 years old to use MorphIt
• With Parental Consent: Users aged 13-15 may use MorphIt with verifiable parental consent
• School-Managed Accounts: Students under 13 may use MorphIt through school-managed accounts in EDU Mode (see Section 17)

1.3 Account Responsibilities

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account
• You must provide accurate and complete information
• You are responsible for all activities under your account
• You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized use

2. Platform Overview

2.1 What MorphIt Does

MorphIt is a civic imagination platform that allows users to:

• Upload photos of public spaces
• Use AI to generate visualizations of potential improvements
• Share and collaborate on community visions through our remix feature
• Vote and comment on proposals
• Earn recognition points for community participation

2.2 What MorphIt Doesn't Do

• We do not provide professional architectural or engineering services
• We do not guarantee implementation of any visualized improvements
• We do not endorse or validate the feasibility of generated concepts
• We do not provide legal advice regarding property rights or permits
• Visualizations are conceptual only and not professional design documents

3. User Content and Conduct

3.1 Public Photography and Privacy Safeguards

When uploading photos of public spaces, you represent and warrant that:

• You captured the images lawfully from places open to the public
• You have not focused on private interiors, medical facilities, or educational records
• You have obtained consent for any identifiable individuals who are the focal point
• You will not upload images with minors as the focal point without parental/guardian consent
• You understand copyright may protect public art and will not upload such works as central subjects without permission
• You accept that MorphIt may auto-blur faces and license plates for privacy protection

3.2 Prohibited Content

You may not upload or create content that:

• Violates any laws or regulations
• Infringes on intellectual property rights, including copyrighted public art
• Contains personally identifiable information without consent
• Is discriminatory, hateful, threatening, or harassing
• Promotes illegal activities or unsafe modifications
• Misleads about the current state of a location
• Impersonates others or misrepresents affiliation

3.3 Community Standards

Users must:

• Engage constructively and respectfully
• Focus on community benefit and improvement
• Provide honest feedback and suggestions
• Respect diverse perspectives and ideas
• Report inappropriate content or behavior
• Not manipulate votes or game the points system

4. Content Rights and Licensing

4.1 Your Rights

You retain ownership of original photos and creative ideas you contribute to the extent they are eligible for copyright protection. However, by using MorphIt, you grant certain licenses as described below.

4.2 The MorphIt Community License

By posting content publicly on MorphIt, you grant all other users the "MorphIt Community License":

• A worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, remix, adapt, and create derivative works from your public content
• This license is contractual and applies regardless of copyright status
• Users must provide attribution to original creators when remixing
• All remixes must preserve the provenance chain
• Remixed content must be shared under the same MorphIt Community License terms

4.3 AI-Generated Content and Outputs

• AI-generated visualizations may not be eligible for copyright protection under current law
• To the extent any rights exist, as between you and MorphIt, you own your outputs
• You acknowledge that outputs may be similar to or non-unique from others' outputs
• Outputs are conceptual visualizations only and may contain inaccuracies or artifacts
• You grant MorphIt and all other users the MorphIt Community License for all public AI outputs

4.4 AI Model Training

• We may use public content to improve our AI models unless you opt out in account settings
• We do not use private or restricted content for training without your consent
• We deidentify training data consistent with applicable law
• Opting out will not affect model improvements already derived from prior training

5. Points and Recognition System

5.1 How Points Work

Points are earned through platform activities:

• Creating locations/projects: +100 points
• Adding reimagined spaces to others' locations: +30 points
• Adding reimagined spaces to own locations: +10 points
• Voting on proposals: +10 points
• Commenting or liking: +1 point

5.2 Points Terms

• Points have no monetary value and are non-transferable
• Points cannot be exchanged, sold, or redeemed for money or goods
• Points are not property, stored value, or consideration
• We may adjust point values or rules at any time
• Points may be revoked for Terms violations

6. AI Technology Disclaimers and Limitations

6.1 AI Limitations

You understand and acknowledge that AI-generated visualizations:

• Are conceptual and artistic interpretations only
• May not be technically, legally, or financially feasible
• May contain inaccuracies, misleading elements, or artifacts
• Should not be relied upon as professional advice
• Are not guarantees of feasibility, safety, cost estimates, or compliance

6.2 No Professional Services

MorphIt does not provide architectural, engineering, legal, urban planning, or professional design services. Photorealistic outputs are conceptual only, and actual implementation may differ significantly from visualizations.

7. Privacy and Data Protection

Our data practices are detailed in our Privacy Policy. Content you share on MorphIt is public by default and may be accessed by other users, local governments, organizations, and search engines.

Key Privacy Features:

• We strip EXIF metadata and geolocation from public images by default
• We do not create or store biometric identifiers or templates
• We may apply ephemeral face detection for safety blurring only
• You may export your content and account data in machine-readable format

8. Intellectual Property

8.1 Copyright Infringement and DMCA

DMCA Agent: MorphIt's designated DMCA Agent for copyright infringement claims is:

We respond to copyright infringement notices and maintain a policy of terminating accounts of repeat infringers.

10. Moderation and Appeals

10.1 Content Moderation

We may remove or restrict content that violates these Terms or applicable law. We maintain sole moderation authority to ensure a safe community environment.

10.2 Appeals Process

• You can appeal most moderation actions within 14 days of the action
• Submit appeals to [email protected] with "Appeal" in the subject line
• We aim to decide appeals within 14 days
• We maintain a repeat violator policy and may suspend or terminate accounts

11. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability

11.1 "As Is" Service

MorphIt is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind. We do not guarantee that visualized improvements will be implemented or that technical features will be error-free.

11.2 Civic Input Disclaimer

MorphIt is not an official public notice or consultation platform. Votes, comments, and proposals are informal, non-binding expressions of community interest. Government entities may view content at their discretion, but no duty to act, respond, or retain is created by use of the platform.

11.3 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, MorphIt's aggregate liability shall not exceed the greater of $100 or amounts paid by you to MorphIt in the 12 months preceding the claim, except for willful misconduct or violation of law.

16. Government Use Addendum

Government entities and organizations using MorphIt acknowledge that:

• Platform content represents individual user visions, not official proposals
• Votes indicate community interest, not formal approval or consensus
• Professional validation is required before implementation
• Community engagement supplements but does not replace official public consultation processes
• Government accounts are responsible for compliance with applicable public records laws (Hawaii UIPA HRS Ch. 92F)
• MorphIt provides export tools but does not act as the agency's records custodian

17. Education (EDU) Addendum

17.1 School-Managed Accounts

For school-managed accounts, MorphIt operates in "EDU Mode" with enhanced privacy safeguards.

17.2 FERPA and COPPA Compliance

• MorphIt acts as a "school official" under FERPA with a legitimate educational interest
• We process student data solely for educational purposes
• We do not sell student data or use it for targeted advertising
• For students under 13, schools provide consent as required by COPPA
• EDU Mode automatically disables public-by-default posting and limits social discovery features

14. Dispute Resolution

14.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Hawaii, USA.

14.2 Arbitration Agreement

Any dispute will be resolved by binding arbitration under the Hawaii Uniform Arbitration Act and AAA Consumer Rules, except:

• Either party may bring claims in small claims court
• You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days of accepting these Terms by emailing [email protected] with "Arbitration Opt-Out" in the subject line

15. Modifications to Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' notice before they take effect, except for changes required by law, new features, or security concerns. Continued use of MorphIt after the effective date constitutes acceptance of modified Terms.

20. Contact Information

For questions or concerns about these Terms: