Terms of Service

To access certain features of the Service, you must register for an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to keep your account information updated.

You are solely responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activity that occurs under your account
• Notifying Forge immediately at hello@yourforge.app if you suspect unauthorized access to your account

Forge is not liable for any loss or damage arising from unauthorized use of your account resulting from your failure to maintain the security of your credentials.

You may register only one account. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent platform limits, earn additional Marks, or for any other reason is strictly prohibited and may result in termination of all associated accounts and forfeiture of all Marks.

You may use limited features of the Service without registering an account, using an anonymous session token stored in your browser. Anonymous Marks may be claimed upon account creation. Forge is not responsible for any loss of anonymous session data due to browser clearing, extension removal, or device changes.

You agree not to engage in any of the following:

• Using automated tools, bots, scripts, or any non-human means to watch ads, earn Marks, or interact with the Service
• Creating or using multiple accounts to circumvent per-user limits or earn additional Marks
• Interfering with, disrupting, or attempting to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its infrastructure
• Attempting to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract the source code of the Service
• Manipulating, tampering with, or exploiting the Marks ledger, allocation system, or voting mechanisms
• Misrepresenting your identity, affiliation, or the nature of a nominated organization
• Uploading or transmitting malicious code, viruses, or harmful content
• Using the Service in any manner that violates applicable laws, including laws governing spam, privacy, or intellectual property
• Harvesting, scraping, or collecting data about other users without authorization

Forge reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to:

• Suspend or permanently terminate any account found to be in violation of these Terms
• Void and forfeit any Marks earned through fraudulent, automated, or prohibited activity
• Cooperate with law enforcement in connection with any investigation of unlawful activity

Termination for violations is effective immediately and all Marks associated with the account are permanently forfeited, regardless of how they were earned. Forge is not required to provide a refund for any paid upgrades in cases of termination for cause.

Marks are governance tokens used solely to determine the allocation of a portion of Forge’s quarterly ad revenue to nonprofit causes. Marks:

• Are not currency, cryptocurrency, or a financial instrument of any kind
• Have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for cash
• Cannot be transferred, sold, gifted, or assigned between accounts
• Do not represent an ownership interest, equity, or any right to Forge’s assets
• Are not redeemable for goods or services

Nothing in these Terms or the operation of the Service should be construed as creating a financial product, investment, or security.

Marks are earned by watching qualifying advertisements through the Service in accordance with platform rules. Forge reserves the right to adjust earning rates, introduce multipliers for paid upgrade tiers, or modify the Marks system at any time with reasonable notice.

Forge offers an optional paid upgrade subscription that increases the number of Marks earned per ad viewed. The upgrade does not confer any other benefits, governance rights, or platform privileges beyond the enhanced earning rate. Subscription terms, pricing, and billing are managed through Stripe and displayed at the point of purchase.

Cancellation and Refunds: You may cancel your paid upgrade subscription at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you will retain the multiplier benefit until that date. Forge does not offer prorated refunds for partial billing periods except where required by applicable law (including EU/UK consumer protection rights and applicable Canadian consumer protection legislation). To request a refund or cancellation, contact us at hello@yourforge.app.

Marks are forfeited and permanently voided upon:

• Voluntary account deletion by the user
• Account termination by Forge for any reason, including violation of these Terms
• Extended account inactivity, as defined in Forge’s platform guidelines (notice will be provided before forfeiture for inactivity)

Forfeited Marks are not converted to any monetary value, donation, or credit. Forge is not obligated to compensate users for forfeited Marks under any circumstances.

On a quarterly cycle basis, Forge distributes a portion of net ad revenue as follows:

• Forge Foundation retains 20% of total quarterly ad revenue for platform operations, development, and sustainability
• The remaining 80% is allocated to the community pool and distributed to qualifying nonprofit causes based on user Mark allocations

To participate in a revenue allocation cycle, a user must hold a minimum of 100 Marks at the close of the allocation phase and direct those marks to one or more qualifying causes.

Marks that are not allocated before the voting window closes expire and do not roll over. Revenue corresponding to unallocated mark weight is distributed proportionally among all causes that did receive allocations during that cycle.

Forge does not guarantee any specific revenue amount, allocation amount, or distribution to any particular cause in any given cycle. Allocation amounts are dependent on ad revenue generated during the cycle and the number of qualifying users, both of which may vary materially between cycles.

Any registered user may nominate a nonprofit organization for inclusion on the Forge platform. Submitting a nomination requires a deposit of 50 Marks, which are held in escrow during the review period.

All nominations are subject to review and vetting by Forge. Forge evaluates nominated organizations against its vetting criteria, which may include but are not limited to: valid 501(c)(3) or equivalent charitable status, alignment with platform values, and operational legitimacy. Forge reserves the right to approve or reject any nomination at its sole discretion.

• Approved nominations: the 50 Mark deposit is refunded to the nominating user
• Rejected nominations: the 50 Mark deposit is permanently forfeited

The inclusion of a nonprofit organization on the Forge platform does not constitute an endorsement by Forge of that organization’s activities, financial management, or mission. Users are encouraged to conduct their own research before directing allocations to any cause.

While Forge makes reasonable efforts to verify the accuracy of nonprofit information on the platform, we do not guarantee the completeness or current accuracy of any cause listing. Forge is not liable for any inaccuracies in cause information provided by third parties.

Voting and cause selection features are provided to enable users to participate in the governance of quarterly allocations. Forge reserves the right to implement reasonable anti-manipulation safeguards, adjust voting mechanics, and invalidate votes that appear to result from coordinated abuse.

All content, features, and functionality of the Service — including but not limited to the Forge name, logo, platform design, software, text, graphics, and data — are owned by or licensed to Forge Foundation and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, publicly display, or exploit any such content without Forge’s prior written permission.

When you submit a nonprofit nomination or cause description, you grant Forge a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, and reproduce that content solely for the purpose of operating and improving the Service. You represent that you have the right to submit such content and that it does not infringe any third party’s rights.

If you submit suggestions, feedback, or ideas about the Service, you grant Forge a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free right to use and incorporate that feedback without any obligation to you.

You may delete your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us at hello@yourforge.app. Upon account deletion, all Marks are permanently forfeited. Paid upgrade subscriptions are cancelled at the end of the current billing period.

Forge may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, including for violation of these Terms. In cases of termination for cause, all Marks are immediately and permanently forfeited and no refund of paid subscription fees will be issued.

Where required by applicable law, Forge will provide reasonable advance notice of termination without cause and will offer a prorated refund of any prepaid subscription fees.

Upon termination for any reason: your right to use the Service ceases immediately; all Marks are forfeited; provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive (including Sections 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 19) shall survive termination.

These Terms and any disputes arising out of or related to the Service 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 provisions.

Before initiating any arbitration or legal proceeding, you agree to contact Forge at hello@yourforge.app with a written description of your dispute and the relief you seek. Forge will attempt to resolve your concern within 30 days. Neither party may initiate formal proceedings until this process is complete or the 30-day period has elapsed without resolution.

If you are located in the United States and informal resolution fails, you and Forge agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved exclusively by final, binding arbitration on an individual basis. Arbitration shall be conducted under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Colorado, or at your election, by telephone or video conference.

The arbitrator shall have authority to award any relief a court could award, but only on an individual basis. The award shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. Filing fees are governed by the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules; Forge will cover your filing fees if you cannot afford them.

YOU AND FORGE EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION. All disputes must be brought in your individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding. If a court finds this waiver unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim alone shall proceed in court while all other claims remain subject to arbitration.

Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court in Colorado if the claim qualifies. Either party may also seek emergency injunctive or equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent irreparable harm pending arbitration.

If you are a consumer resident in the European Union, United Kingdom, or Canada, the arbitration and class action waiver provisions in Sections 17.3 and 17.4 do not apply to you. Any dispute shall be resolved by the courts of your country of residence, and you retain all rights under the mandatory consumer protection laws of your jurisdiction. EU residents may also use the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution platform.