Terms of service

These terms are a legal agreement between you and ManyStops ("we", "us" or "ManyStops"). They govern your use of the ManyStops website, the web app, the phone apps and related services (together the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service, you accept them.

Please read the sections headed Disclaimer of warranties, Limitation of liability and Disputes and arbitration with particular care. They limit what you can recover from us. They also require most disputes to be settled by individual arbitration instead of in court.

1. Who may use the Service

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you confirm that a parent or guardian has read these terms and agrees to them for you.

You may not use the Service if the law bars you from doing so. You confirm that the information you give us when you create an account is accurate, and that you will keep it up to date.

2. Your account

You are responsible for keeping your password and any signed-in device secure. You are also responsible for everything done through your account. Tell us promptly at hello@manystops.com if you think someone has used it without permission.

An account belongs to one person and may not be sold or transferred. To share a list with other people, use the group features the Service provides.

3. What the Service is, and what it is not

ManyStops is a personal tool for planning shopping and recording what you pay. Most prices it shows are the ones you or the people in your group entered. Others are marked as estimates for your region, or as prices other ManyStops shoppers recorded. None of them is a statement about the prices any store charges.

Stock levels and store details are entered by you or the people in your group. Distances and drive times are estimated from what was entered. All of them are provided for convenience only, and they may be wrong or out of date.

The Service is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any retailer or brand mentioned in it. The names and marks of retailers and brands belong to their owners. A store or product appearing in the Service does not mean we have any relationship with it.

The Service does not check any product for allergens or dietary suitability. It does not tell you what a product contains, and it gives no medical or financial advice. You remain responsible for deciding what to buy and for reading the labels on it.

A recipe the Service writes out is rewritten by an AI from a published page, and it can contain mistakes. Check the ingredients, the cooking times and the temperatures yourself before you rely on it. You can report a recipe that looks wrong from the cooking page.

Distances are straight-line estimates, and drive times are rough approximations. The Service is not a navigation tool and should not be relied on to plan a journey.

4. Groups and the people in them

A group is a shared set of lists and stores, with their prices and settings. The person whose account created the group is its group owner. Everyone they add to it is a group member.

The group owner can invite people by email and remove them. The owner can also buy Teams for the group, hand the group to another member and delete it. A group member can use everything in the group but cannot do any of those things.

Everyone in a group can see and change everything stored in it, including any home address that has been set. The group owner is responsible for deciding whom to add, and for what those members do in the group.

Group members can use a group only while the group owner's account is active and the owner keeps them in it. Members lose access if the owner removes them, closes the group or deletes their account. This can happen without any action on the member's part. We tell members so when they are invited.

A group member can leave a group at any time. Deleting their own account does the same: it removes their access and leaves the group as it was.

5. Your content and our license to it

You keep ownership of everything you put into the Service, such as item names, notes, prices, store details and photos. We call this your content. Nothing in these terms transfers that ownership to us.

You give us a worldwide license that is non-exclusive and royalty-free. It lets us store and process your content, and show it to you and the people in your group. We use it only as needed to run and secure the Service, and to support and improve it. That includes the de-identified form described in the next section and in our privacy policy.

You confirm that you have the right to give us that license. You confirm that your content does not infringe anyone else's rights or break the law. You will upload only photos and notes you are entitled to share. You will not upload anything that shows other people who have not agreed to it.

We do not review your content in advance. We may remove content that breaks these terms or the law. We are not responsible for content that you or the other people in your group add.

6. De-identified data

When an account is deleted, we keep the purchase history, store layouts and aisle information from its group in a de-identified form. We use that data, with similar data from other groups, to improve the Service for everyone.

De-identified data has had your name, email address and home address removed. So have the map positions of your stores, every free-text note and the link to your login. We do not attempt to re-identify it. The privacy policy explains this in more detail.

7. Payments

The Service carries no advertising.

The free plan is the shopping list itself. It includes your groups up to the free size shown on the pricing page, your stores and the order each store is walked in. It includes your own price history and its export, what has probably run out, and the day's stores with the drive to each. It also includes a number of receipt readings, shelf label readings and aisle sweeps each month.

Every new account also has Plus free for the number of days shown on the pricing page. Those days start on the day you finish your first trip, or a set number of days after the account was created if you have not shopped by then. No payment details are asked for. That free period ends by itself.

An account that joins through another person's referral link gets extra free days of Plus, as the app says at the time. When that account finishes its first trip, the person who shared the link gets days of Plus, up to a number of times a year. For a plan that renews by itself, those days are added after the period already paid for. A referral has no cash value, and we may end the program at any time.

There are two paid plans. Each is priced in US dollars on the pricing page.

Plus is bought by a person for their own account. It applies in every group they are in. Plus can also be bought without an account. We then add it to the account that uses the email address given at checkout. If there is no such account, we create one for that address. Plus provides the decision features named on the pricing page. It makes receipt readings, shelf label readings and aisle sweeps unlimited. It also lifts the limit on the number of groups a person owns. Plus can be shared with one more person named by the buyer. It ends for that person when the buyer's Plus ends.

Teams is bought by the group owner for one group. It lifts the free size of that group. It includes Plus for everybody in the group while it runs. With Teams, we also answer email from the group owner before other email. That is an order of answering, not a promise of a time.

Plus monthly, Plus yearly and Teams renew automatically at the end of each period until you cancel. They renew at the price shown on the pricing page when you bought them. You can cancel at any time from Manage account or Manage group, which opens your own page at Stripe. The plan then runs to the end of the period already paid for and is not charged again. Deleting your ManyStops account cancels a plan paid by card, and we refund the part you have not used.

When Plus ends, the person keeps everything they recorded and goes back to the free plan and its allowance. They keep every group they already own. When Teams ends, a group above the free size keeps its members. It cannot add more until Teams is bought again.

A price shown in another currency is an estimate at that day's exchange rate. Where the payment page offers your currency, Stripe sets the exact amount, including Stripe's conversion fee. Everywhere else you pay in US dollars. Your bank may charge for converting it.

Payments are processed by Stripe. Any sales tax or similar tax is included in the price shown. We do not store your card details. They go directly to Stripe.

Plus and Teams can also be bought through Apple inside the iPhone app, at the prices Apple shows. Apple takes that payment under its own terms, charged to your Apple Account. A plan bought through Apple renews until you cancel it in your iPhone's Settings, under your name, then Subscriptions. Deleting your ManyStops account does not cancel it.

Plus and Teams can also be bought through Google Play inside the Android app, at the prices Google Play shows. Google takes that payment under its own terms. You pay through Google Play. A plan bought through Google Play renews until you cancel it in the Play Store app, under Payments and subscriptions. Deleting your ManyStops account cancels it, and the part you have not used is refunded through Google Play.

If we ever decide to close the Service, we will give at least 90 days' notice by email and in the app. You will be able to download your data during that time.

If you are not satisfied, you can ask for a refund by email within 14 days of a purchase. It will be refunded in full. After that, purchases are refunded only where the law requires it.

A refund for a plan bought through Apple is asked of Apple, at reportaproblem.apple.com. When Apple refunds it, the plan ends.

A refund for a plan bought through Google Play can be asked of Google, in the Play Store. The 14-day refund above also applies to it, and we make it through Google Play. When it is refunded, the plan ends.

8. Acceptable use

You agree to use the Service lawfully and considerately. In particular, you agree that you will not do any of the following.

• Try to reach or change data that belongs to another group, or probe the Service for weaknesses without our written permission.
• Overload the Service or interfere with how it works, including by automated requests that go beyond ordinary personal use.
• Copy or scrape the Service or the data in it in bulk, or use it to build a competing product or dataset.
• Upload anything that is unlawful or infringing or harmful, or that contains malware or that you have no right to share.
• Reverse engineer or decompile the Service, except as far as the law allows despite this restriction.
• Get around any limit or payment requirement, or use another person's account or identity.
• Harass or threaten another person.
• Share anything sexually explicit or hateful.

You can report a person, or something in a group, from the group's page in the app. You can report a recipe from the cooking page. We read every report. We may remove content or close an account that breaks these terms.

9. Third-party services

The Service relies on other providers. Supabase stores data and runs sign-in. Netlify hosts the Service. Google provides place search and sign-in, and Apple provides sign-in. Stripe takes payments. Apple and Google Play take the payments made in their apps. Resend sends email. An artificial intelligence provider runs the AI features, as the privacy policy describes. Open Food Facts provides barcode lookups, and ExchangeRate-API provides exchange rates. Their own terms and policies apply to what they do.

We are not responsible for what those providers do or fail to do. We are not responsible for the accuracy of what they return either, including place details and product names. A lookup that returns nothing, or something wrong, does not affect the rest of the Service.

Reading a shelf label or sweeping an aisle means photographing a store's shelves. Check that the store allows photography before you do. The pictures go to the reader only to read prices from them. We keep no picture. We accept no liability for a store's rules or for what a store does about photography.

10. Our intellectual property and open source

The Service belongs to us or our licensors and is protected by law. That includes its design, its software and the ManyStops name and logo. We give you a limited personal right to use it in line with these terms. That right can be revoked and cannot be transferred.

If you send us suggestions or feedback, we may use them without restriction or payment.

The Service includes open source software that remains under its own license. That includes the Supabase client library, under the MIT license. The icons in the app are Material Icons by Google, under the Apache License 2.0. Photos are used under the Unsplash license, with their photographers credited in section 22. The videos on the home page and behind Home in the app are used under the Pexels license, with their makers credited there too.

Some of the grocery item names the Service suggests as you type come from the Open Food Facts database. Its contributors make it available under the Open Database License. The product names returned when you scan a barcode come from the same source.

11. Copyright complaints

If you believe that content in the Service infringes your copyright you can send a notice to hello@manystops.com. Identify the work and where the material is, and give your contact details. Include a statement that you believe in good faith the use is unauthorized. Also include a statement, under penalty of perjury, that your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner.

We may remove content that is the subject of a valid notice. We may tell the person who posted it. We may end the accounts of people who repeatedly infringe.

12. Availability and your backups

The app is built to keep working without a connection and to sync when a connection returns. We do not promise that the Service will be uninterrupted or secure or free of errors. Sync conflicts between devices are resolved automatically, and the most recent change to an item wins.

We may change or suspend any part of the Service, or discontinue it altogether. We will try to give notice of changes that matter. You are responsible for keeping your own copy of anything you cannot afford to lose. You can do that at any time by downloading your price history from the account screen.

13. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. THIS INCLUDES ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE, OR ANY PRICE, DISTANCE, DRIVE TIME, PLAN, RECIPE OR SUGGESTION IT PRODUCES, WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR PURPOSES. YOU USE THE SERVICE AND RELY ON ITS OUTPUT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

14. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, WE AND OUR OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANYONE CLAIMING THROUGH YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT LOSS, ANY INCIDENTAL LOSS, ANY SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS, ANY EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE, SAVINGS, GOODWILL OR DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS.

THIS APPLIES WHATEVER THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. IT APPLIES EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT SUCH LOSS IS POSSIBLE, OR IT WAS FORESEEABLE.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM AND FIFTY US DOLLARS ($50).

YOU AGREE THAT THESE LIMITS ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE BARGAIN, AND THAT THE SERVICE WOULD NOT BE OFFERED WITHOUT THEM. THEY APPLY EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

Some places do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or damages. In those places, the exclusions and limits above apply only as far as the law permits. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for fraud.

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless, and to defend us. This covers our owners and officers, and our employees and contractors. It covers any claim, and any resulting loss or expense including reasonable legal fees, that arises out of your content, your breach of these terms or the law, or your misuse of the Service. We may take over the defense of any such claim at your expense.

16. Ending your use

You can stop using the Service and delete your account at any time from the account screen. We may suspend or end your access at any time if you break these terms, if your use puts the Service or other people at risk, or if the law requires it. We will give notice where that is practical.

When an account ends, the parts of these terms that by their nature should continue will continue. They include the sections on your content license and de-identified data. They also include the sections on disclaimers and limits of liability, and on indemnification and disputes.

17. Disputes and arbitration

If you have a problem with the Service, please write to hello@manystops.com first. Most concerns can be settled informally. Before either of us starts a formal proceeding, we both agree to try in good faith to resolve the dispute for at least 30 days. Those 30 days start when one of us gives the other written notice of it.

If a dispute is not resolved in that time, we both agree that it will be settled by binding arbitration on an individual basis. The American Arbitration Association will administer it under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. A court will not hear it and no jury will decide it. The arbitrator may award the same individual relief that a court could.

Either of us may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies. Either of us may ask a court to stop the infringement or misuse of intellectual property. The arbitration will take place by video call, by telephone or on documents, unless the arbitrator decides otherwise.

YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT COMBINE THE CLAIMS OF MORE THAN ONE PERSON.

You can opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing hello@manystops.com within 30 days of first accepting these terms. Include your name, the email address on your account and a clear statement that you opt out. Opting out does not affect any other part of these terms.

If the class action waiver is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim will be heard in court instead of in arbitration. If any other part of this section is found unenforceable, the rest of it remains in force.

18. Governing law and courts

These terms and any dispute between us are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. A dispute that is not subject to arbitration will be heard only in the state or federal courts located in Butte County, California. You and we agree to the jurisdiction of those courts.

19. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If a change affects your rights in a material way, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. If you keep using the Service after that date, you accept the updated terms.

20. General terms

These terms and the privacy policy are the whole agreement between you and us about the Service. They replace any earlier understanding. If a part of them is found to be unenforceable the rest continues in force to the fullest extent the law allows.

Our failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these terms without our written consent. We may assign them as part of a merger or a sale of the business. Neither of us is liable for a delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

Notices to you may be sent to the email address on your account. Notices to us should go to hello@manystops.com. Headings are for convenience only. These terms do not create a partnership, an agency or an employment relationship between us.

You may not use or export the Service in breach of United States export laws or sanctions. You confirm that you are not located in, or a resident of, a country subject to a comprehensive embargo.

21. Notice for California residents

Under California Civil Code section 1789.3, California users with an unresolved complaint can contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. They can write or telephone, using the details published on that department's website.

22. Photographs and video used on this site

The photos on our public pages are used under the Unsplash license. Their photographers are credited here. The produce aisle is by Mark Stosberg. The handwritten list on a notepad is by Torbjørn Helgesen. The mother and daughter with radishes are by Dmitry Rodionov. Both groups cooking at a kitchen counter are by Sweet Life. The two friends in a grocery aisle are by Ninthgrid.

On the guide pages, the notebook checklist is by Jakub Żerdzicki and the open road at sunrise is by Tim Mossholder. The aisle of bulk goods is by Dennis Siqueira. The shopper at the dairy shelf is by Spencer Plouzek. The jars on a pantry shelf are by Steven Ungermann. The market stall priced by the kilo is by Kaden Taylor. All of these are on Unsplash.

The video at the top of the home page is used under the Pexels license. The couple shopping in a store are filmed by Jack Sparrow. The woman loading her car is filmed by Gustavo Fring.

The videos behind Home in the app are used under the Pexels license. The kitchen is filmed by Charlotte May. The sunny kitchen is filmed by Vlada Karpovich. The breakfast table is filmed by Max Vakhtbovych.

Every other image on the site is a screenshot of the Service itself. The people in these photos and in the video have no connection with ManyStops and do not endorse it.

23. Contact

Send questions about these terms to hello@manystops.com.

Notes

* A fair use cap applies. A free account can own up to 100 groups.

1. From the supermarket price surveys of Consumers’ Checkbook, which price the same groceries at the stores of one city at a time.