Terms of Service

Article 1 (Application)

These Terms set the conditions for use of Koe (the "Service"). Registered users ("Users") use the Service on the basis of agreement to these Terms.

Article 2 (Definitions)

1. "Service" means Koe, the customer testimonial collection, management, and embedding service we provide.
2. "User" means an individual or legal entity that has registered to use the Service after agreeing to these Terms.
3. "Testimonials" means customer feedback (text, ratings, images, etc.) collected by Users through the Service.
4. "Content" means all information that Users create, post, or upload on the Service.

Article 3 (Registration)

1. Prospective users must apply for registration by providing the required information via the method we specify.
2. We may decline registration in the following cases:
   • If false information is provided
   • If the applicant has previously violated these Terms
   • If we otherwise determine the registration is inappropriate

Article 4 (Account Management)

1. Users are responsible for appropriately managing their own email address and password.
2. Users may not transfer or lend accounts to third parties under any circumstances.
3. If a login occurs with a matching email and password combination, it is deemed to be usage by the registered account holder.

Article 5 (Fees and Payment)

1. The Service offers a Free plan and paid plans (Pro, Business).
2. Fees for paid plans are as published on the Service pricing page.
3. Payment for paid plans is handled via Stripe.
4. Paid plans are monthly subscriptions and automatically renew each month.
5. When a User cancels a paid plan, the paid features remain available until the end of the current billing period, after which the account moves to the Free plan.

Article 6 (Prohibited Acts)

Users must not engage in the following acts when using the Service:

1. Acts that violate laws or public order
2. Acts related to criminal activity
3. Acts that interfere with the Service's servers or network functions
4. Acts that interfere with Service operations
5. Acts that unlawfully collect personal information of other users
6. Unauthorized access or attempts at unauthorized access
7. Impersonating other users
8. Collecting or displaying fabricated testimonials
9. Providing direct or indirect benefits to antisocial forces
10. Other acts we determine to be inappropriate

Article 7 (Content Handling)

1. Rights to testimonials collected by Users through the Service belong to the User.
2. We may use anonymized User Content as aggregated statistics to improve and operate the Service.
3. Users are responsible for obtaining appropriate consent from providers of the testimonials they collect.

Article 8 (Changes, Suspension, Termination)

1. We may change the content of the Service or suspend its provision without prior notice.
2. When terminating the Service, we will notify Users at least 30 days in advance.
3. We are not liable for any damages caused to Users by changes, suspension, or termination of the Service.

Article 9 (Disclaimer)

1. We do not guarantee that the Service is free from factual or legal defects.
2. Except in cases of our intentional acts or gross negligence, we are not liable for any damages incurred by Users.
3. Even where liability is recognized, it is limited to direct and ordinary damages, capped at the total amount of fees paid by the User in the prior 12 months.

Article 10 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)

1. These Terms are interpreted under Japanese law.
2. In the event of a dispute regarding the Service, the Tokyo District Court has exclusive jurisdiction as the court of first instance.

Article 12 (Review Governance Policy)

Because the Service collects, manages, and displays customer testimonials ("Reviews"), and to structurally avoid risks under Japan's Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (Act No. 134 of 1962) and comparable consumer-protection laws, Users (project owners) agree to this Article when creating a Project.

1. Scope of AggregateRating: The JSON-LD AggregateRating (overall star rating and review count) emitted by the embeddable widget is calculated only from the following sources: (a) public form submissions that are either email-verified (deduplicated by email — only the most recent submission from each email address is counted) or anonymous (no email provided), and (b) automated bulk imports from Google Maps, the App Store, and Google Play. Public form submissions where the reviewer provided an email but did not click the verification link remain visible in the widget but are excluded from AggregateRating (impersonation prevention). Manually entered reviews (source="manual") and individual X (Twitter) URL imports (source="twitter") remain visible in the widget but are excluded from AggregateRating, in order to structurally comply with Google's Rich Results policy that prohibits "self-serving reviews". Eligible reviews are counted regardless of publication status and regardless of deletion (logical delete), so unpublishing or deleting low-rated reviews cannot inflate the average. Users shall not operate the Service in a way that circumvents or alters this mechanism.
2. Mandatory reason for unpublishing: When a User unpublishes a Review, the User shall select an appropriate reason label (duplicate, spam, privacy, consent_pending, editing, or other). Selectively hiding low-rated reviews to inflate the displayed average may violate this Agreement and the Act referenced above.
3. Audit log: All operations on Reviews (publish / unpublish / edit / delete) are recorded by the Service in an audit log, and may be inspected by us where operationally necessary.
4. Reviewer rights: Reviewers may receive a private link, on request, allowing them to verify the publication status of their submission and to request its withdrawal. Users shall respond to such withdrawal requests within a reasonable period.
5. Prohibition of exaggerated claims: Users shall not pair Reviews (in advertising, landing pages, etc.) with absolute terms ("guaranteed", "100%", etc.) or unsubstantiated numerical claims ("3x more inquiries", "150% improvement", etc.).
6. Consequences of violation: If a violation of this Article is identified, we may, after prior notice, suspend the Project, hide the affected Reviews, suspend the account, or take other measures.
7. Policy updates: We may revise this Article as needed. For material revisions, we will notify Users and may require renewed consent.

Article 13 (Contact)

For inquiries about these Terms, please contact:

• Inquiry form: open the form
• Email: koe@arere.jp