Terms of Service

Effective date: 2025-11-26
Last updated: 2025-11-26

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of Spy Startup (“we”, “us”, “our”) and the website spystartup.com (the “Service”).

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].

1. Overview of the Service

Spy Startup is a research tool that, given an anonymous listing (for example from Acquire.com), generates a report with up to three likely startup candidates behind that listing, including scores and explanations.

The Service:

• Suggests candidates based on information we can access
• Provides a confidence score and short explanation for each candidate
• Does not guarantee that any candidate is correct or complete

Our reports are assistance for your own research, not definitive identification or professional advice.

2. Eligibility

To use the Service, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old (or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction), and
• Have the authority to enter into these Terms on your own behalf or on behalf of the organization you represent.

By using the Service, you represent that you meet these requirements.

3. Accounts

To use most features, you must create an account.

You agree to:

• Provide accurate and up-to-date information
• Keep your login credentials confidential
• Be responsible for all activity under your account

If you suspect unauthorized use of your account, you should notify us promptly at [email protected].

4. Subscriptions, plans and billing

We may offer free and paid plans (such as Free, Pro and Unlimited) with different limits, for example:

• Number of reports you can generate
• Other usage limits

Details of plan limits and pricing are shown on our website and/or in the Service. We may update plans and pricing from time to time.

Paid subscriptions are typically billed in advance on a recurring basis (e.g. monthly or annually) via our payment provider (such as Polar and its underlying processors). All payment processing is subject to the payment provider’s own terms and policies.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service if we cannot process payment for a paid plan.

5. Cancellation

You can cancel your subscription at any time via the Service or by contacting us. When you cancel:

• Your subscription will remain active until the end of the current billing period, unless otherwise stated.
• We may keep your account and reports unless you ask us to delete them, subject to our Privacy Policy.

Any applicable refund policies will be described on the pricing page or during checkout.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable law or third-party terms of service
• Harass, threaten or harm others
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to accounts, systems or data
• Reverse engineer, decompile or attempt to extract source code, except as allowed by law
• Circumvent technical measures that protect the Service or third-party services
• Use the Service in a way that could interfere with or disrupt the Service or infrastructure

You are responsible for complying with the terms and policies of any third-party platform you use in connection with Spy Startup (for example, Acquire.com).

7. No guarantee of accuracy or availability

The Service generates inferred matches based on available information. You understand and agree that:

• We do not guarantee that any candidate suggested in a report is correct, complete or suitable for your purposes.
• The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
• We may modify, suspend or discontinue the Service (or any part of it) at any time, with or without notice.

You are solely responsible for decisions you make based on reports generated by the Service.

8. Intellectual property

We (and our licensors) own all rights, title and interest in and to the Service, including:

• Software
• Design and user interface
• Text, graphics and other content we provide

Subject to these Terms and your payment of any applicable fees, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service for your internal business purposes.

You may not:

• Copy, modify or create derivative works of the Service
• Resell, rent or lease access to the Service to third parties
• Use the Service to build a competing product

You retain any rights you have in the content you submit to the Service (for example, listing URLs, labels and notes), but you grant us a licence to use that content as reasonably necessary to operate and improve the Service, as described in our Privacy Policy.

9. Third-party services

The Service may integrate with or depend on third-party services (for example, payment providers, analytics, identity providers).

We are not responsible for:

• The availability or performance of third-party services
• The content, terms or privacy practices of third parties

Your use of third-party services is governed by their own terms and policies.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• We will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill or other intangible losses, resulting from:

  • Your use of or inability to use the Service
  • Any conduct or content of any third party
  • Any content obtained from the Service
  • Unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content

• Our total liability for any claims arising out of or related to the Service or these Terms will be limited to the amount you paid us for the Service in the 3 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim (or, if you use only the free plan, to EUR 0).

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with:

• Your use of the Service
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any third-party rights

12. Changes to the Service and to these Terms

We may update the Service and these Terms from time to time.

When we make material changes to the Terms, we may notify you (for example by email or in the Service). If you continue to use the Service after changes take effect, you agree to the updated Terms.

If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you should stop using the Service and cancel any paid subscription.

13. Governing law

Unless otherwise required by mandatory local law, these Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws applicable where Spy Startup is established, without regard to conflict of law principles.

You and Spy Startup agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts in that jurisdiction.

14. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, you can contact us at:

Spy Startup
Email: [email protected]