Terms of service

Agreement to these terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and SparqKids Inc. ("we," "us," or "our"), a Delaware corporation, and govern your use of sparqkids.co and discovery.sparqkids.co, and our mobile app once it launches (together, the "Site"). By using the Site or creating an account, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

Who can use SparqKids

SparqKids is intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live, to create an account. SparqKids is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly allow children to create accounts or collect personal information from them.

Your account

You sign in without a password, using Google or a one-time link sent to your email. You are responsible for keeping access to your email secure and for activity that happens through your account. Let us know at hello@sparqkids.co if you think your account has been used without your permission.

When you create an account, you agree to provide accurate information, including your name, email address, city and state, and, if you choose to add it, the number of children in your household and their age ranges, and to keep that information up to date. Any information you provide about your children is provided by you, as their parent or guardian, for your own family's use of the Site — by providing it, you represent that you are the parent or legal guardian of any children described in your account.

You can delete your account at any time from your account page, which permanently removes your email, profile, and the account information described above.

Acceptable use

Please use SparqKids lawfully and respectfully. You agree not to misuse or disrupt the Site or its security, access it through automated means such as scraping or bots without our written permission, copy or resell our content for a competing service, create multiple accounts to manipulate reviews or ratings, or use the Site to harass or harm others or violate their rights. We may suspend or remove access that violates these Terms.

Your content

SparqKids lets you save places to lists, write reviews of playgrounds, check in to parks, RSVP to local events, and generate calendar files for events you're interested in. In this version, reviews are text only; a future update may let you attach photos. You are responsible for anything you submit, and you confirm you have the right to share it.

Do not submit content that is unlawful, that infringes someone else's rights, or that includes another person's personal information without their consent. If your content includes a photo of a child, you confirm you are that child's parent or guardian, or that you have the consent of the child's parent or guardian to share the image publicly.

If you make a list shareable, you're choosing to make its name, your notes, and the places in it visible to anyone with the link. Reviews, ratings, and photos, once that feature is available, will be visible to anyone using the Site.

You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to store, display, reproduce, and otherwise use your content to operate and promote SparqKids, including featuring it on the Site or in our own marketing. You can delete content you've submitted at any time, and we may also remove content that violates these Terms or that we're asked to take down, for example a photo of a child posted without a parent's consent. Email hello@sparqkids.co to make that kind of request.

We may also ask you to choose a display name to appear alongside contributions like reviews. It doesn't need to be your real name, but we may reject or change a display name that impersonates someone else, is offensive, or is confusingly similar to a brand or business name.

Content on SparqKids

The reviews, photos, descriptions, and other content we publish are for general information about local places for families. Conditions at a playground or other space, such as equipment, supervision, hours, fees, or amenities, can change and may not be reflected in our content. We work to keep information accurate but cannot guarantee it. Always use your own judgment, and supervise your children, when visiting any place.

Events, RSVPs, and calendar files

SparqKids lists local family events, primarily from public libraries across the San Francisco Bay Area. You can RSVP to an event within the Site to keep track of your plans. If an event requires registration, you'll register directly on the event host's own website or system — SparqKids does not handle that registration on your behalf, and we are not responsible for the event, its host, or that registration process.

If you generate a calendar file (.ics) for an event, it's created for you to add to your own calendar app. We are not connected to your calendar account and do not access, read, or store your existing calendar.

Notifications

By creating an account, you agree to receive service-related communications from us, such as email reminders about events you have saved or RSVP'd to. You can turn these off from your account settings. If you use our mobile app once it's available, you may also receive push notifications, which you can turn off in your device settings or within the app. You can separately opt in or out of our newsletter at any time.

Our intellectual property

The SparqKids name, logo, site design, and the content we create are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Site for your own non-commercial use. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from our content without our permission, except as these Terms or the law allow.

Third-party services and links

The Site relies on third-party services, for example maps, sign-in, and event hosting, and may link to other websites, such as a place's own page, a map provider, or a library's event registration page. We do not control those services or sites and are not responsible for their content, availability, or practices. Your use of a third-party service or site is subject to that provider's own terms and privacy policy.

Copyright and takedown

We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe content on the Site infringes your copyright, email us at hello@sparqkids.co with a description of the work, where it appears on the Site, and your contact information, and we will review it and remove infringing material where appropriate.

Disclaimers

SparqKids is in active development and is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that any information on it, including reviews, listings, or event details, whether written by us, other users, or a third party such as a library, is accurate or complete. Features may change, and the Site may sometimes be unavailable.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, SparqKids Inc. and its founders will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data or goodwill, arising from your use of the Site, from any place you choose to visit, or from any event you attend, which is at your own risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim relating to the Site will not exceed one hundred US dollars (US$100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless SparqKids Inc. and its founders from any claims, losses, or expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising from content you submit, your use of the Site, or your violation of these Terms or of someone else's rights.

Ending your use

You may stop using SparqKids and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or end your access if these Terms are violated or if we discontinue the Site. Provisions that by their nature should survive, such as the content license you grant, the disclaimers, the limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution, will continue to apply after your use ends.

Resolving disputes

If you have a concern, please contact us first at hello@sparqkids.co so we can try to resolve it informally.

If we're not able to resolve a dispute informally within 60 days, you and SparqKids Inc. agree that it will be resolved through binding, individual arbitration rather than in court, except that either of us may bring an individual claim in small claims court instead. This means both you and SparqKids Inc. are giving up the right to a jury trial and to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or representative proceeding against the other.

Arbitration will be administered by JAMS under its rules then in effect. It will take place in San Mateo County, California, though you may request that it be conducted by phone, video, or written submissions instead, consistent with the arbitration provider's consumer rules.

You can opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing hello@sparqkids.co within 30 days of first creating your account and letting us know. If you opt out, or for any dispute not subject to arbitration, the dispute will instead be brought in the state or federal courts located in California, as described below.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. For any dispute not subject to arbitration, you agree it will be brought only in the state or federal courts located in California, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.

Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms as SparqKids grows. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify account holders. If you keep using the Site after a change takes effect, you accept the updated Terms.

General

If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Our not enforcing a provision is not a waiver of it. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms without our consent; we may transfer ours in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us about the Site.

Contact us

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at hello@sparqkids.co .