HITO Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") set forth the conditions for using "HITO", a one-to-one human conversation and chat service (the "Service") provided by GritVib (an operations team centered on Sara Azuma; collectively, the "Operator").

The Service is a personal and experimental offering in which team members of the Operator (real human beings) engage in one-to-one text exchanges without relying on AI or other automated generation tools.

For operational efficiency and sustainability, Users acknowledge in advance that the team member who handles a conversation may change from time to time depending on circumstances (the same person will not always respond). Assignment of team members is at the Operator's discretion, and Users may not designate or fix a particular person in charge.

To maintain the quality of carefully delivered human services, the Service adopts a capacity system that sets an upper limit on the number of registered users. The Operator may increase or decrease the capacity at any time at its sole discretion without User consent or prior public notice.

Even when acceptance of new users resumes due to vacancies from cancellations or an increase in capacity, the Operator will not send any notice of reopening to individual Users or prospective users, nor accept advance reservations or similar arrangements.

Given that the Service consists of manually performed services by humans, Users shall use the Service only after acknowledging each of the following in advance, and may not file complaints, seek damages, or terminate the contract on the grounds set forth below.

(1) The Operator does not assume an obligation to respond immediately 24 hours a day. Replies may take time due to the operations team's work schedule, sleep, health, or similar circumstances.

(2) The Service does not guarantee omniscient correctness or the resolution of any particular problem. The Operator may, at its discretion, state that they "do not know," "do not wish to answer," or choose not to speak at all.

(3) The Operator and the User engage in dialogue as equal human beings, and the Operator (including whichever team member responds at the time) is not obligated to use honorific language or a business-like writing style. Users also acknowledge in advance that the tone and atmosphere of dialogue may change when the person in charge changes.

1. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE OPERATOR EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

2. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE OPERATOR 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.

3. THE OPERATOR'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY THE USER TO THE OPERATOR FOR THE SERVICE IN THE ONE (1) MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY.

The Service does not include any notification features whatsoever, including push notifications, badge displays, or email notices regarding the reopening of acceptance for new users. Users shall access the Service on their own and confirm only the content displayed at that time.

Messages on the Service may be deleted at any time by User action. The Operator is not obligated to retain past logs permanently and assumes no responsibility whatsoever for loss of data or similar events.

The fee for the Service is USD 30 per month.

Payment is processed through the payment system provided by Stripe, Inc.

Because performance of the Service (granting access to chat) begins upon completion of payment, the Service is not subject to statutory cooling-off rights or any equivalent consumer withdrawal rights under applicable local laws. For any reason whatsoever, paid fees will not be refunded, and no prorated settlement will be made.

Cancellation of a subscription plan must be completed by the User by the day before the next billing date through the system (or by a method designated by the Operator).

Users agree to enter membership information such as the name on the credit card on Stripe's payment screen when making payment. The Operator uses such payment information only for subscription management of the Service and identity verification or responses to inquiries, and does not view or use Users' real names in day-to-day chat support. By using the Service, Users acknowledge and agree that their payment data will be processed by Stripe, Inc. and may be transferred to and stored in jurisdictions outside their country of residence, including Japan.

Users shall not engage in harassment, defamation, threats, statements contrary to public order and morals, or any act that interferes with operation of the Service against the Operator (including individual operations team members).

If a User violates the preceding paragraph, or if the Operator objectively or subjectively determines that continuing human dialogue has become difficult, the Operator may, without prior notice, refuse to accept messages from that User, suspend the account, or forcibly cancel the subscription. Even in such cases, no refund will be made for amounts already paid.

The Operator may terminate or discontinue the Service at any time due to the team's personal circumstances, illness, or a determination that continuing the business is difficult. If the Service is completely discontinued, the Operator shall stop further automatic billing thereafter and shall not be obligated to refund past payments already settled.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan.

If any dispute arises in connection with the Service, the district court having jurisdiction over the Operator's location (the location of the representative, Sara Azuma) shall be the exclusive court of first instance by agreement.