Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated August 22, 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of Shai’s mobile app, web app, and website (together, the “Service”), operated by Shai Connect LLC, doing business as “Shai” (“Shai,” “we,” “us”). By creating an account or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. The service

Shai connects people (“Users”) with independent advisors (“Experts”) for paid text questions, recorded voice answers, and live video calls. Shai operates the platform, processes payments, and provides discovery and messaging tools — Shai is not a party to, and does not supervise, the substance of any conversation between a User and an Expert.

2. Eligibility and accounts

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service, including to hold a payment method on file. The Service is not directed at, and is not intended for use by, anyone under 18. We ask for your date of birth when you create an account and refuse any that doesn’t meet this minimum. That date is self-reported — we don’t verify it against an identity document — so if we learn an account belongs to someone under 18, we will terminate it.

You’re responsible for the accuracy of the information on your account and for all activity that happens under it, including keeping your login credentials confidential. One account per person — accounts aren’t transferable.

You can permanently delete your account and associated data at any time from Settings in the app, without needing to contact support.

3. Educational use only — not professional advice, not for emergencies

Anything an Expert tells you through the Service — in a text answer, a voice note, or a video call — is offered for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not professional advice (legal, medical, financial, tax, immigration, or otherwise), and using the Service does not create an attorney-client, doctor-patient, financial-advisory, or other professional relationship, even where an Expert happens to hold a relevant license. Shai’s “Verified” badge reflects that an Expert completed our identity/background review process — it is not a certification of professional credentials or of the accuracy of anything they say. Always confirm anything important with a qualified, licensed professional before acting on it.

Shai is not an emergency or crisis service, and Experts are not standing by to respond immediately. If you or someone else is in danger, or you’re experiencing a medical or mental-health emergency, contact local emergency services or a crisis hotline directly instead of using the Service.

4. Experts are independent

Experts set their own rates, availability, and the content of their answers. They are independent contractors and are not employees, agents, or representatives of Shai. Shai does not control, and is not responsible for, the quality, timeliness, or accuracy of any Expert’s response.

5. Payments, fees, and refunds

Payments are processed by Stripe. When you send a question or book a call, your payment method is authorized for the amount shown, but you are not charged yet. If the Expert answers your question or accepts your booking, the authorized amount is captured and the transaction completes. If they don’t respond in time, the authorization is released automatically and you are never charged.

If a booked call is canceled before it happens, the hold is released or refunded and you’re not charged for it. Outside of these automatic cases, a completed transaction (an answered question, a delivered voice note, a call that took place) is final, because Shai has already paid the Expert for the work delivered — but you can always contact us, and we’ll review specific cases at our discretion, including a call that failed to connect because of a problem on Shai’s end, or an Expert violating Section 6 below.

If you dispute a charge directly with your bank or card issuer instead of contacting us first, we may suspend your account while that dispute is investigated. Experts keep a share of each transaction and Shai retains a platform fee, disclosed to Experts before they publish their rates.

6. Prohibited conduct and content

You agree not to use the Service to:

Post, request, or exchange sexual, pornographic, or otherwise 18+ content, whether or not payment is involved — this includes any sexual content involving, or presented as involving, a minor, which we remove immediately and report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and law enforcement;
Harass, threaten, or incite violence against anyone, or discriminate based on a protected characteristic;
Encourage or promote self-harm, or otherwise endanger someone’s safety;
Share illegal content, or use the Service to facilitate an illegal transaction;
Misrepresent your identity, qualifications, or professional credentials, or impersonate another person or Shai itself;
Share someone else’s private information without their consent, or infringe someone’s intellectual property;
Send spam, run a scam, or solicit for something unrelated to giving or getting advice through Shai;
Attempt to move a paid conversation off-platform to avoid Shai’s fees;
Post a fake or manipulated review or rating; or
Interfere with, scrape, or reverse-engineer the Service.

We may remove content, and suspend or terminate accounts, that violate this section — including immediately and without notice for content involving minors or other 18+ content — and we may report unlawful conduct to law enforcement and cooperate with any resulting investigation. You can report an Expert from their profile in the app, and you can reach us at hello@shaiet.app about anything else — we review every report. If you believe content infringes your copyright specifically, see our Copyright policy instead.

7. Your content

You keep ownership of the questions, messages, and other content you submit through the Service. By submitting it, you grant Shai a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, transmit, and display that content as needed to operate the Service — for example, delivering your question to the Expert you sent it to. You’re solely responsible for content you submit and confirm you have the right to share it.

Your name, photo, and public profile information may appear in Shai’s marketing (on the site, in the app, and in ads) to represent your presence on the platform. Everything Shai itself owns — the Shai name, logo, and app — is covered separately in our Copyright policy.

8. Third-party services

Payments, identity verification, and live calls on Shai rely on third-party providers (currently including Stripe and Daily.co). Your use of those features is also subject to that provider’s own terms, which we encourage you to read.

9. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

The Service is provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind. Shai doesn’t warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any Expert’s advice will be accurate, complete, or suitable for your situation. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Shai and its officers, employees, and affiliates aren’t liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, or for any loss arising from your reliance on anything an Expert tells you, and Shai’s total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the amount you paid Shai in the 12 months before the claim arose.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Shai harmless from any claim arising from your use of the Service, your content, or your violation of these Terms.

11. General provisions

Force majeure. Shai isn’t responsible for a delay or failure caused by something reasonably outside our control.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms. Shai may assign them — for example, as part of a merger or acquisition.
Severability. If part of these Terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still stands.
Entire agreement. These Terms (with our Privacy Policy and Copyright policy) are the whole agreement between you and Shai about the Service.
No waiver. Us not enforcing a part of these Terms one time doesn’t mean we’ve given it up.
International use / sanctions. Shai serves users and Experts across borders. You confirm you’re not located in, or a resident of, a country or region subject to comprehensive U.S. or EU sanctions, and aren’t on a restricted-party list. [To be reviewed with counsel — the specific compliance program depends on the jurisdictions Shai actually operates in.]

12. Governing law and disputes

[Placeholder — governing law, jurisdiction/venue, and whether disputes are resolved by arbitration or in court are business decisions tied to where Shai is incorporated and operates. To be completed with counsel before publishing.]

13. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service if you violate these Terms. You can stop using the Service, and delete your account, at any time.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we’ll notify you (for example, in the app or by email) before they take effect. Continuing to use the Service after that means you accept the updated Terms.

15. Contact us

Questions about these Terms: hello@shaiet.app.