Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and The Daily Solver ("we," "us," or "our") and govern your access to and use of the website at thedailysolver.com, the puzzle games, and all related features (the "Service").

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Eligibility

• You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. The Service is not directed to children under 13.
• If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction (typically 18), you may use the Service only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian, who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.
• You must be legally permitted to enter into a binding contract under the laws of your jurisdiction.
• You must not be barred from using the Service under U.S. law or the laws of your country, and you must not be located in a country subject to a U.S. government embargo.

Your Account

Creating an Account

• You can create an account using email and password, a magic link sent to your email, or Google Sign-In. You can also link multiple sign-in methods to the same account.
• You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. Keep your password and sign-in links confidential.
• Notify us immediately at support@thedailysolver.com if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account.

Display Name

• When you sign up, the Service generates a display name for you automatically (for example, "SwiftFalcon42").
• You may change your display name from your account settings.
• Display names must be unique and pass an automated profanity filter.
• You agree not to choose a display name that impersonates another person, infringes another's rights, is misleading, harassing, hateful, or otherwise violates these Terms. We may rename or reset display names that violate this rule.
• Your display name is shown publicly on leaderboards, friends' activity feeds, and anywhere your puzzle results are displayed.

Guest Access

• You may play certain puzzles as a guest without creating an account.
• Guest progress is stored only in your browser's local storage. It will not sync across devices and will be lost if you clear browser data.
• Leaderboards, achievements, friends, and Premium features require an account.

The Service

Free Tier

• Free users get access to today's puzzles for Sudoku (6×6 and 9×9), Mini Crossword, Word Trail, and Checkmate.
• Free users have access to leaderboards, achievements, and the friends system.
• Free users see advertisements served through Google AdSense, including interstitial ads when starting a puzzle.

Premium Tier

• Everything in the Free tier.
• The Puzzle Vault: access to the full archive of past daily puzzles.
• Additional daily puzzles where offered.
• Ad-free experience — no interstitial or display ads anywhere on the site.
• Other features we may add for Premium subscribers from time to time.

Service Changes

• We may add, modify, suspend, or discontinue features of the Service at any time.
• We will make reasonable efforts to notify subscribers if a material change affects features they pay for.

Subscriptions, Billing, and Cancellation

Plans and Pricing

• Premium is offered as a monthly or annual recurring subscription.
• Current pricing is shown on the checkout page. Pricing is subject to change as described below.
• All payments are processed by Stripe. By subscribing, you also agree to Stripe's terms and privacy policy.

Free Trials

• If we offer a free trial, you will receive Premium features for the trial period.
• Unless you cancel before the trial ends, you will be automatically charged for the subscription at the end of the trial.

Automatic Renewal

• Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period. You authorize us (through Stripe) to charge your payment method for each renewal until you cancel.
• Renewals are charged at the then-current rate for your plan.

Cancellation

• You may cancel at any time from your account settings or through the Stripe Customer Portal linked there.
• If you cancel, you keep Premium access through the end of the current billing period and your account reverts to the Free tier afterward.
• Canceling does not entitle you to a refund for the current billing period unless required by law.

Refunds

• Except where required by law, subscription fees are non-refundable.
• We do not refund for partial periods, unused time after cancellation, or accidental purchases.
• If you believe you were charged in error, email support@thedailysolver.com within 30 days.
• EU/UK consumers: you may have a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal from a paid subscription, except where you have begun using digital content during that period with your express consent. Contact us to exercise this right.

Failed Payments

• If a payment fails, Stripe may retry the charge. If payment continues to fail, your subscription may be suspended or canceled.
• You are responsible for keeping a valid payment method on file with sufficient funds.

Price Changes

• We may change subscription prices. New prices apply to renewals after at least 30 days' notice sent to your account email.
• If you do not agree to a price change, you can cancel before it takes effect.

Account Sharing

• Premium subscriptions are for individual use only. Do not share account credentials or Premium access with anyone else.
• We may suspend or terminate accounts that appear to be shared without refund.

Advertising

• Free-tier users see ads served by Google AdSense, including interstitial ads displayed when starting a puzzle.
• We do not control the specific ad creative shown by Google. If you encounter an ad that violates Google's policies or appears malicious, please report it to us so we can flag it.
• You agree not to interfere with, block (other than through standard browser tools you personally use), automate clicks on, or otherwise manipulate the ads served through the Service.
• How Google uses information from sites that use its services is described in Google's privacy policy. You can adjust your ad personalization preferences at Google Ads Settings.
• Subscribe to Premium to remove ads.

Social Features and Public Information

• Leaderboards, ranking, achievements, and friends' activity feeds display your display name and puzzle statistics publicly or to friends.
• By using these features you understand that other users can see this information. You may limit visibility by changing your display name, removing friends, or deleting your account.
• Do not use friend requests, display names, or any other social feature to harass, stalk, or abuse other users.

User Submissions and Feedback

• The Service lets you submit bug reports, feedback, and similar communications (collectively, "Submissions").
• You retain ownership of your Submissions, but you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and create derivative works of them for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Service.
• You represent that your Submissions are your own and do not infringe anyone else's rights.
• Do not include sensitive personal information (such as government IDs or full card numbers) in bug reports.

Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Violate any applicable law or regulation.
• Infringe our intellectual property rights or anyone else's intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights.
• Use bots, scrapers, headless browsers, automated tools, or any other means to access, copy, or interact with the Service or its content at scale or to gain an unfair advantage on leaderboards.
• Cheat in any puzzle, exploit bugs to inflate scores or achievements, or otherwise manipulate the leaderboards.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service.
• Interfere with, disrupt, or place undue load on the Service, our servers, or our networks.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or data.
• Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or other harmful code.
• Use the Service to harass, threaten, defame, impersonate, or harm any person, including through your display name or friend interactions.
• Use the Service for any commercial purpose (including resale, redistribution, or competitive analysis) without our prior written consent.
• Click, manipulate, or invite others to interact with ads in violation of Google's policies.
• Sell, trade, or transfer your account to another person.

We may investigate and take any action we consider appropriate against violations, including removing content, restricting features, or terminating accounts.

Intellectual Property

Our Content

• All puzzles, games, text, graphics, logos, software, designs, and the compilation of content available through the Service ("Our Content") are owned by The Daily Solver or our licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

Limited License

• Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Service for personal, non-commercial use.

Restrictions

• You may not copy, distribute, sell, lease, or publish Our Content.
• You may not remove or alter copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices.
• You may not create derivative works based on our puzzles or Our Content.
• You may not frame, mirror, or republish any part of the Service without our prior written authorization.

Trademarks

• "The Daily Solver," the logo, and related names and designs are our trademarks. You may not use them without our prior written permission.

Privacy

• Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use personal information. It is incorporated into these Terms by reference.
• By using the Service, you agree to the Privacy Policy.

Termination

By You

• You may delete your account at any time from account settings.
• When you delete your account, your subscription is canceled (without refund for unused time), and your data is deleted within 30 days, except for records we must retain for legal or accounting reasons.
• Account deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed.

By Us

We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without notice, if:

• You violate these Terms.
• We suspect fraud, cheating, or abuse on your account.
• We are required to do so by law or by a law enforcement request.
• Continued operation of the Service poses a security, legal, or technical risk.
• Your account is inactive for an extended period.

If we terminate your account for violating these Terms, you are not entitled to a refund.

Effect of Termination

• Your right to use the Service ends immediately.
• Licenses granted to you under these Terms terminate.
• Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including Intellectual Property, Acceptable Use, Disclaimers, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, and Dispute Resolution) will continue in effect.

Disclaimers

• The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and accuracy.
• We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that puzzles will always be available.
• While we strive for accuracy in puzzles and solutions, we do not warrant that all puzzles are error-free. If you find an error, please report it through the bug reporter.
• We are not responsible for the content, products, or services of third-party sites or services that may be linked from the Service.

Limitation of Liability

• To the maximum extent permitted by law, The Daily Solver and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including lost profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or related to your use of or inability to use the Service.
• Our total liability for all claims arising out of or related to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose, or (b) US $100.
• Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation of certain warranties or liabilities. In those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law, and nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless The Daily Solver and our officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, and licensors from any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use of the Service.
• Your violation of these Terms.
• Your violation of any law or third-party rights.
• Any Submission you provide and our use of it as permitted by these Terms.

Governing Law and Disputes

Governing Law

• These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and, to the extent applicable, the state in which we are domiciled, without regard to conflict-of- laws principles.

Informal Resolution First

• Before filing any formal claim, you agree to contact us at support@thedailysolver.com and try in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for at least 60 days.

Venue

• Subject to any applicable mandatory law, you agree that any legal action arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be brought exclusively in the federal or state courts of the United States, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Class Action Waiver

• You and The Daily Solver agree to bring claims against the other only in your or its individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, or representative proceeding, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Geographic Restrictions and Export Controls

• The Service is operated from the United States. We make no representation that the Service is appropriate or legal in every location.
• You must comply with all applicable export and re-export control laws, including U.S. Export Administration Regulations and sanctions programs.
• You represent that you are not located in, or a national of, any country subject to U.S. embargo, and that you are not on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

Changes to These Terms

• We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated Terms with a new "Last Updated" date.
• If we make material changes, we will provide notice by email (if you have an account) or by a prominent notice on the site, at least 30 days before they take effect.
• Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service and may cancel your subscription.

General

• Entire agreement: these Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements.
• Severability: if any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect.
• Waiver: our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of that provision or any other.
• Assignment: you may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms freely, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• Force majeure: we are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control, such as natural disasters, war, civil unrest, pandemics, labor disputes, or failures of third-party services.
• No agency: nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, employment, joint venture, or agency relationship between you and us.

Contact

Acknowledgment

By using The Daily Solver, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.