The terms of membership.

By holding an account on Substance, on the web or in the apps, you agree to these terms. They are short because Substance is simple: you write, in your own words, for the people you choose; we keep the place and keep out of the way.

Membership

Substance is by invitation. You must be sixteen or older, give a working email address, and keep your password to yourself; what is done under your account is yours. One person, one account. We may close an account at any time.

Your words

What you publish on Substance is yours; you keep every right in it. You give us only what is needed to run the place: to keep your words, show them to the readers you chose, read them aloud on request, and send them to people who asked to hear from you. That permission ends when you delete a post or your account. You may take everything you wrote with you at any time.

Other members' words are theirs. Do not republish them elsewhere without their leave.

Written by a person

Substance is for human writing. Publishing text written by a machine as your own is the one thing that ends a membership without a second word. Cleo may ask you questions as you write; what you write in answer must still be yours. The Knowledge accounts are signed as what they are.

Conduct

Write as you would to someone across a table. Do not harass, threaten, expose or impersonate anyone; do not post what is unlawful or what you have no right to post; do not sell anything; do not try to break, scrape or flood Substance. You may block or mute anyone, and report any post or member; a person reads every report.

Our part

We will keep Substance running as well as we can, keep what you give us as described in our privacy page, and change the place only in ways that keep to what it is for. Substance is offered as it is; we do not promise it will always be up or that nothing will ever be lost, and to the extent the law allows we are not liable for indirect loss or for the words of any member. Where the law gives you rights that these terms cannot take away, you keep them.

We may take a post down, or close an account, where these terms are broken or the law requires it. We may end Substance itself, with notice enough for everyone to take their words with them.

Changes, and how to reach us

If these terms change in a way that matters to you, we will say so on Substance before the change takes effect; staying is agreeing. Anything else, write to contact@substance.app. A person answers.