Terms and Conditions of Use
1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using Shadowee — the website shadowee.org or the Shadowee mobile app ("the Service," "the App") — creating an account, or otherwise interacting with the Service, you ("User," "you") agree to be legally bound by these Terms and Conditions ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms in their entirety, you must immediately cease all use of the Service.
These Terms constitute a binding legal agreement between you and Soroush Karami, an individual based in Chicago, Illinois, USA, who owns and operates Shadowee ("Operator," "we," "us," "our"). You can reach us at [email protected].
2. Description of Service
Shadowee is an English language learning service, available on the web and as a mobile app, that provides shadowing practice: lessons with audio recordings and transcripts, optional translations, a guided learning Path that includes speaking practice using your device's microphone, and progress features such as XP, streaks, and daily goals. The Service is provided for personal, non-commercial educational purposes only.
3. Eligibility
You must be at least 13 years of age to use the Service. If you are under 18, you represent that you have obtained parental or guardian consent. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these eligibility requirements.
4. User Accounts
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
- You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
- You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to your account.
- We may suspend or terminate accounts as described in Section 15 (Termination).
- You may delete your account at any time from the Profile page on the website or in the app. Account deletion is immediate and permanent — all associated data is removed at that time and cannot be recovered (see the Privacy Policy, Section 7).
5. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable laws or regulations.
- Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, scrape, or extract data from the Service, except as Section 6 allows.
- Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access or collect content from the Service.
- Upload, transmit, or distribute malware, viruses, or any harmful code.
- Impersonate any person or entity.
- Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, its servers, or related systems.
- Modify, tamper with, or circumvent the App or its security and integrity checks, or access the Service through an unofficial client.
- Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit any portion of the Service without express written permission.
6. Ownership and Reservation of Rights
Ownership. The Service — including the website, the mobile apps, their software and source code, design, text, graphics, and all lesson materials (scripts, transcripts, audio recordings, translations, and exercises), as well as the selection, arrangement, and compilation of all of these — is owned by Soroush Karami or his licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws. Some lesson materials are created with the help of AI tools and then selected, edited, and arranged by us; we claim all rights in them to the fullest extent the law allows.
Trademarks. "Shadowee", the Shadowee logo, and the Shadowee app icon are trademarks of Soroush Karami. You may not use them without our prior written permission.
Your license. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Service, and to install the app on devices you own or control, solely for your own personal, non-commercial learning. The app is licensed, not sold, to you.
Restrictions. Except as expressly permitted by these Terms, you may not: copy, download (other than temporary caching by your browser or the app), reproduce, record, redistribute, publish, sell, rent, or publicly perform or display any part of the Service or its content; modify it or create derivative works from it; decompile, disassemble, or reverse-engineer the apps or software, except to the extent applicable law expressly permits this despite this restriction; scrape or bulk-extract content; or use any content of the Service to train, fine-tune, test, or improve any artificial-intelligence or machine-learning model. These restrictions apply as a matter of contract whether or not a particular item is protected by copyright.
Reservation of rights. All rights not expressly granted to you in these Terms are reserved by Soroush Karami. No implied licenses are granted.
Feedback. If you send us ideas, suggestions, or other feedback, you allow us to use them freely, without restriction or payment to you.
Third-party components. The Service includes open-source software and fonts that are licensed to you under their own terms, listed on our Copyright and Licenses page. Nothing in these Terms limits your rights under those licenses.
7. User-Generated Content and Progress Data
Progress data, lesson status, settings, and lesson lists or packages you create while using the Service are stored on our servers if you create an account. Voice recordings made during speaking practice are not stored or uploaded (see the Privacy Policy). By using the Service, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free license to store and process this data solely to operate and improve the Service. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
8. Privacy
Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Service, you consent to our collection and use of data as described therein.
9. Mobile Apps
- The Shadowee app is distributed through Google Play. Your download and use of the app are also subject to Google Play's terms of service; if they conflict with these Terms regarding the app store, Google Play's terms prevail to that extent.
- We may release updates to the app. Some updates may be required: an out-of-date version may stop working with the Service until you install the latest version.
- The app uses your device's microphone only for speaking practice and only with your permission; you can deny or revoke that permission and continue using the rest of the Service.
10. Third-Party Content and Links
The Service may include content from or links to third-party sources. We do not endorse, control, or assume any responsibility for any third-party content, websites, products, or services. Your use of any third-party content is at your own risk.
11. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Operator expressly disclaims all warranties, including but not limited to:
- Implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
- Any warranty that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components.
- Any warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of any content on the Service.
- Any warranty that the Service will meet your specific requirements or produce any particular learning outcome.
We make no guarantee that your English language skills will improve as a result of using the Service.
12. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE OPERATOR, ITS OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY:
- Direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages;
- Loss of profits, revenue, data, business opportunities, or goodwill;
- Damages resulting from your use of or inability to use the Service;
- Unauthorized access to or alteration of your data;
- Any bugs, viruses, or other harmful code transmitted through the Service;
- Any errors or omissions in content;
- Any events beyond our reasonable control.
This limitation applies regardless of the legal theory under which such damages are claimed (contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise), even if the Operator has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
In jurisdictions that do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law. In no event shall our total aggregate liability to you exceed USD $50 or the amount you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim, whichever is greater.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or (where the law so provides) for gross negligence or willful misconduct.
13. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Operator and its owners, officers, agents, and employees from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:
- Your use of or access to the Service;
- Your violation of these Terms;
- Your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party.
14. Modifications to the Service and Terms
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service or any part of it. Where a change materially reduces what the Service offers you, we will try to give you reasonable advance notice.
We may update these Terms from time to time and will post the updated version on this page with a new "Last Updated" date. For material changes, we will give at least 14 days' notice (for example, in the Service or by email) before they take effect. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you may stop using the Service and delete your account before they take effect; continuing to use the Service after that means you accept them.
15. Termination
You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time.
We may suspend or terminate your access immediately if you materially breach these Terms, if required by law, or to protect the Service or other users. For other reasons, we will give you reasonable notice where practicable. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ends, and your account data is handled as described in the Privacy Policy.
16. Dispute Resolution
Informal Resolution. Before filing any formal legal claim, you agree to contact us at the email address provided on the site and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.
Governing Law. These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, United States, without regard to conflict of law provisions.
Jurisdiction. Any legal action or proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the courts located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and you consent to personal jurisdiction therein.
No Class Actions. To the extent permitted by law, you waive any right to participate in class-action lawsuits or class-wide arbitration against the Operator.
Consumers outside the United States. If you are a consumer living in the European Union, the United Kingdom, or another country whose laws give consumers mandatory protections, nothing in these Terms deprives you of those protections. The mandatory consumer-protection laws of your country of residence continue to apply, and you may bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence.
17. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed severable from the rest of the Terms and shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions.
18. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Operator with respect to the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations, warranties, and understandings.
19. Waiver
Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of that provision or any other provision.
20. Assignment
You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our consent. We may transfer ours, for example as part of a sale or reorganization of the Service, provided this does not reduce your rights under these Terms.
21. Survival
Sections that by their nature should survive the end of these Terms — including Ownership and Reservation of Rights, Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, and Dispute Resolution — survive termination.
22. Language and Notices
These Terms are written in English, and the English version controls over any translation. We may give you notices by email to your registered address or within the Service; you may give us notices at [email protected].
23. Contact
Soroush Karami, Chicago, Illinois, USA — [email protected].