Terms of Service

1. Who we are

CohortKit is an operating system for responsible dog breeders. We help breeders track litters, health tests, applications, finances, and the data that comes out of raising puppies. We also operate a public directory where breeders can opt in to share information with people looking for puppies.

These terms govern your use of the CohortKit website, applications, and APIs (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these terms.

2. Accounts

You're responsible for keeping your login credentials secret and for everything that happens under your account. Notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorized access. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.

You may delete your account at any time from the Account settings page. Account deletion is permanent and removes all data associated with the account. We retain narrowly-scoped records as required by law or for legitimate operational reasons (e.g. audit logs, fraud prevention).

3. Your data, your work

You own the breeding records, photos, applications, and other content you put into CohortKit. We need a limited license to host, display, and process that content in order to run the Service, for example, to show your kennel profile on the public directory if you opt in, or to back up your data so we can restore it for you.

You're responsible for the accuracy of what you record. CohortKit doesn't certify, verify, or guarantee anything about the dogs, litters, or health results you log. Public-facing health information you choose to publish is shown as you entered it.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service to break the law, including local animal welfare and breeding regulations.
• Misrepresent registration numbers, health tests, or pedigree.
• Harass, threaten, or send unsolicited bulk messages to other users.
• Scrape, reverse-engineer, or otherwise interfere with the Service.
• Upload content that infringes someone else's copyright or other rights.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms. For serious violations we'll terminate immediately; for less serious ones we'll usually reach out first.

5. Paid plans (CohortKit Pro)

Some features are available on the CohortKit Pro subscription. When you upgrade, you're charged by our payment processor (Stripe, Inc.) on the interval you selected (monthly or annual). We'll be clear about pricing before you upgrade.

You can cancel any time from the Billing page or the Stripe customer portal. Cancellation stops future billing and takes effect at the end of your current period. We do not refund partial periods unless required by law or unless we made a mistake.

If a scheduled payment fails, Stripe will automatically retry per their standard schedule. If retries are exhausted without a successful payment, your Pro features are turned off, but your account and data remain accessible on the free tier.

We may change pricing for future billing periods with reasonable advance notice. Existing subscribers are grandfathered until they upgrade, downgrade, or cancel.

6. Payments from puppy buyers to breeders

CohortKit optionally helps breeders accept payments from puppy buyers on invoices they issue through the Service. To do this, a breeder can connect their own account at a supported payment processor: Stripe (for card payments) or PayPal (for PayPal and Venmo). Connecting a processor is entirely optional; a breeder can accept only manual methods like cash and check if they prefer.

CohortKit is a facilitator, not a money transmitter. When a buyer pays through Stripe or PayPal, the money moves directly from the buyer to the breeder's own account at that processor. CohortKit never holds, custodies, transmits, or controls the funds. We are not a party to the payment.

CohortKit charges you nothing on those transactions. Stripe and PayPal charge their own standard processing fees to the breeder receiving the payment. CohortKit does not add a platform fee, take a percentage, or receive any share of the transaction. Our compensation comes exclusively from the CohortKit Pro subscription.

When you connect Stripe or PayPal, you also agree to that processor's terms and their acceptable use policy. Card data, bank account numbers, and other sensitive payment information are handled by the processor on their PCI DSS certified infrastructure and are not stored by CohortKit.

Chargebacks and disputes initiated by a buyer are handled directly between the breeder and the processor's dispute system. CohortKit does not mediate, adjudicate, or fund chargebacks or refunds. If a breeder needs to refund a buyer, they do so through the processor.

Tax reporting (including but not limited to Form 1099-K in the United States) is filed by Stripe or PayPal directly with the breeder receiving payment, per those processors' policies and applicable law. CohortKit does not issue tax forms for buyer-to-breeder payments.

Breeder responsibilities. The breeder is solely responsible for the goods or services sold to the buyer, the accuracy of invoices, applicable sales tax and other taxes, compliance with consumer protection laws, and the terms of any contract between the breeder and buyer. CohortKit does not verify goods, review contracts, or guarantee delivery.

Manual payment methods (cash, check, Zelle, Venmo personal transfers, wire, etc.) are recorded by the breeder when they receive payment. CohortKit does not verify these entries and cannot recover payments if a check bounces or a Zelle transfer is fraudulent.

Anti-abuse. We may suspend or terminate a kennel's ability to use the payment facilitation features if we detect or reasonably suspect fraud, sanctions violations, money laundering, or a pattern of chargebacks that indicates harm to buyers. Suspension of payment features does not affect other CohortKit functionality.

7. No warranty and marketplace disclaimer

The Service is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. We work hard to keep it reliable and accurate, but breeding records are ultimately yours to verify. CohortKit is not a substitute for veterinary advice, legal advice, or a written contract between breeders and puppy buyers.

Marketplace disclaimer. CohortKit is not a party to any transaction between breeders and puppy buyers, stud owners and dam owners, or breeders and service providers. All applications, deposits, health-test verification, contract negotiation, stud service, and puppy delivery are conducted directly between the parties. CohortKit provides recordkeeping and communication software; it does not review, approve, certify, endorse, or guarantee any listing, breeder, dog, litter, health test, title, pedigree, price, contract, or outcome.

Self-reported data. All health tests, titles, pedigrees, registration numbers, CHIC data, temperament observations, and litter details displayed on public profiles are entered by the breeder or stud owner. CohortKit does not audit, verify, certify, or authenticate any such data. Where a public source registry (OFA, AKC, UKC, CHIC, PennHIP, parent club, etc.) publishes the record, we link out to it. Buyers and dam owners are solely responsible for confirming any claim by contacting the referenced registry directly before entering into any transaction.

No fitness for purpose. CohortKit makes no representation that any breeder, dog, litter, or stud listed via the Service is suitable for any user's particular needs, family situation, home environment, or breeding program. Any dispute arising from a transaction between users is between those users; CohortKit is not a party and has no obligation to mediate, adjudicate, or make a party whole.

Listing removal. CohortKit reserves the right to remove any listing that contains information believed to be inaccurate, unauthorized, or misleading. Removal of any single listing is not an admission that other listings have been verified.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent allowed by law, CohortKit will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits or lost data, arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us for the Service in the 12 months before the claim.

9. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll give you reasonable advance notice via email or in-app banner. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept them.

10. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email [email protected].