These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are an agreement between you and ShakeResponse LLC, a California limited liability company ("ShakeResponse," "we," "us," or "our"). They govern your use of the shakeresponse.com website, the monitoring dashboard, and the alerts and estimates we provide (together, the "Service"). The Model Disclaimer and Privacy Policy are part of these Terms.

1. Accepting These Terms

You accept these Terms when you check the acceptance box at sign-up or create an account (or, if you browse or access public parts of the Service without an account, by using the Service). If you use the Service for an organization, you confirm that you have authority to bind it, and "you" means both you and that organization. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility and Your Account

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract.
• Give us accurate account information and keep your email address current. Password resets, billing notices, and email alerts go to that address.
• Keep your password confidential. You are responsible for activity on your account. Tell us promptly if you believe it has been compromised.
• Accounts are personal. Do not share login credentials or resell access to the Service without our written agreement.

3. What the Service Is, and What It Is Not

After the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports an earthquake, ShakeResponse estimates the ground shaking at each property you register, first from the reported magnitude and location and then, if USGS publishes one within 24 hours, from the USGS ShakeMap. Where a FEMA HAZUS fragility curve exists for the building's type, it estimates a damage state (Green, Yellow, Orange, or Red); for other buildings, the colour reflects estimated shaking measured against your alert threshold. Its sole purpose is informational: to facilitate your post-earthquake inspection priorities, nothing more. There are no guarantees in the Service other than those expressly required by applicable law. How the model works and where it falls short are described in the Model Disclaimer. In summary:

• Estimates, not measurements. No sensor is installed at your property and no one has inspected it. The estimate is based on the USGS magnitude and location and, when available, the USGS ShakeMap, which blends seismic-station recordings with models. Neither is shaking measured at your site. For a large quake on a long fault, the first estimate measures distance from the epicenter, so it can understate shaking far along the fault until USGS publishes a ShakeMap, if it does.
• After the fact, not before. Alerts are sent after an earthquake has happened. ShakeResponse is not an earthquake early warning system and does not replace official alerts such as ShakeAlert-powered MyShake or Wireless Emergency Alerts.
• Not an emergency service. If anyone may be hurt or a building may be unsafe, call 911 and follow the instructions of emergency officials.
• Not an inspection or professional advice. The Service (including any customer support or optional software-onboarding assistance) does not provide civil or structural engineering, inspection, insurance, legal, or other professional services. Our personnel never inspect or evaluate buildings, select structural classifications or fragility curves for your properties, or make safety or occupancy determinations. A Green estimate does not mean a building is safe. A Red estimate does not mean it has failed. Have a licensed structural engineer or building official confirm actual conditions before you make any decision about occupancy, repair, or safety.
• Calibrated for California. The shaking model uses coefficients calibrated for California. Estimates for properties elsewhere are less reliable.
• Preliminary data and revisions. USGS often revises an earthquake's magnitude and location after the first report. If a revision within 24 hours of an earthquake changes our estimate for one of your properties, we send an updated alert, whether the estimate went up or down. We also re-score when USGS publishes a ShakeMap or a new ShakeMap version within 24 hours, and send an updated alert if it changes our estimate. Later revisions and ShakeMap versions are not reflected. Some revisions may not produce an update, for example if the epicenter moves more than 300 km from a property or a re-check fails.
• Which earthquakes. We evaluate earthquakes of magnitude 3.5 or greater that USGS reports within 300 km (about 186 miles) of a registered property. For a large quake, shaking can reach farther: if USGS publishes a ShakeMap within 24 hours, we also score properties up to 600 km (about 373 miles) away that the ShakeMap covers. Smaller or more distant earthquakes are not evaluated.

4. Your Responsibilities for Alerts

Whether an alert reaches you depends on settings and devices that only you control. You are responsible for:

• Property details: entering each property's location, building type, and any fragility data you upload accurately, and keeping them up to date. Estimates are only as good as those inputs.
• Alert thresholds and building type: choosing your building type and reviewing your intensity (MMI) threshold. For buildings with a HAZUS structural type, the damage estimate comes from FEMA's default fragility curve for that type, or from a curve you upload. Single-family homes, duplexes and mobile homes entered by use are assumed to be typical construction for that use; if yours is different, choose its structural type. Estimated shaking at or above your threshold produces at least a Yellow alert. For other buildings, the threshold alone decides. A higher threshold means fewer alerts. An event that stays Green and below your threshold will not trigger an alert.
• Notification channels: allowing notifications in your browser or device, keeping those subscriptions active, and making sure our emails are not filtered as spam. If a browser reports that a push subscription has expired, we stop sending to it. You need to re-enable notifications to resume.
• Acknowledgments: when you acknowledge a property's alert, its displayed damage state resets to Green. Acknowledging does not turn off future alerts for that property. It does mean the dashboard no longer shows the earlier estimate as current.
• Testing: using the Earthquake Event Simulator in your dashboard to confirm that alerts reach you. Test again after you change devices, browsers, or settings.

5. Activity and Delivery Records

We keep timestamped records of actions that affect your alerts. These include adding, editing, or deleting a property; changing thresholds or fragility data; acknowledging an alert; and subscribing to or unsubscribing from notifications. We also record which channels delivered each alert. We keep these records so we can operate the Service, answer your questions, and resolve disputes, as described in our Privacy Policy. Absent contrary evidence, these timestamped records are presumptively accurate evidence of your account settings and our alert dispatches. You may ask us for a copy of the records about your account.

6. Beta Service

The Service is currently in an invite-only beta. During the beta, features may change or be removed, the Service may be interrupted, and data may occasionally need to be reset. We will try to warn you first. Payments in the beta run in test mode, and no real card is charged. We will tell you before live billing begins, and the Subscription terms in Section 7 will then apply to any paid plan you choose.

7. Plans, Subscriptions, and Automatic Renewal

Plans. The Basic plan is free and covers one property. The Pro plan covers up to ten properties and adds email alerts, alert history, and CSV export. Enterprise plans are priced by quote. Current features and prices are listed on our Pricing page.

• Consent and confirmation. Before we charge you, we ask you to agree to these automatic renewal terms in a separate step from accepting these Terms. We keep a record of that consent for at least three years, or one year after your subscription ends, whichever is longer. After you subscribe, we email you a confirmation that repeats these terms and explains how to cancel.
• How to cancel. You can cancel online at any time. Sign in, open your dashboard, and click Cancel subscription. You can also send us this pre-filled cancellation email from your account email address, or use this pre-filled contact form and enter your account email address. You do not need to add anything to either, and we will confirm your cancellation by email.
• Renewal reminders. Between 15 and 45 days before each annual renewal, we will email you a reminder with the renewal date, the amount, and how to cancel.
• Price changes. If the Pro price changes, we will email you at least 15 days and no more than 30 days before the new price takes effect, along with instructions on how to cancel. The new price applies from your next renewal. You can cancel before then.
• Refunds. Fees are not refundable for a partial year, except where the law requires a refund or we choose to give one. If you are charged for a renewal you did not intend, use our contact form or email us at legal@shakeresponse.com within 30 days of the charge and we will refund it, provided you have not actively logged in to use Pro-only dashboard features (such as CSV export or adding properties beyond the Basic limit) since that renewal.
• Failed payments and downgrades. If a payment fails and is not resolved, or your subscription ends, your account returns to the Basic plan. Properties you already registered stay in your account and keep being monitored. You will not be able to add more until you are back within the Basic limit or you resubscribe.
• Taxes. Prices do not include taxes. You are responsible for any sales, use, or similar taxes that apply.
• Payment processing. Stripe processes payments under its own terms. We do not store full card numbers.

8. Enterprise Customers

If your organization signs an order form or other written agreement with us, that agreement controls wherever it conflicts with these Terms. Otherwise, these Terms apply. You are responsible for your authorized users and for the accuracy of any facility data you import in bulk.

9. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• use the Service to break the law or to infringe anyone's rights;
• register properties or upload data you have no right to use;
• probe, scan, or test the Service's security, or get around its access controls or plan limits, except as part of a responsible disclosure you report to us promptly;
• overload the Service, or scrape or bulk-download it by automated means, including our map-tile and geocoding endpoints;
• reverse engineer the Service, except where the law allows it despite this restriction;
• present ShakeResponse estimates to other people as measurements, inspections, certifications, or official warnings; or
• use the Service to build a competing product.

10. Your Content

You keep ownership of the property information, fragility curves, and other data you submit ("Your Content"). You give us a non-exclusive license to host, process, and display Your Content only as needed to provide, secure, and improve the Service. You confirm that you have the rights needed to grant this license. We may use aggregated, de-identified data that does not identify you or your properties to improve our models and the Service.

11. Our Intellectual Property and Feedback

The Service belongs to us and our licensors, including its software, design, the ShakeResponse name and logo, and the way estimates are compiled and presented. These Terms give you a limited, personal, non-transferable right to use the Service while your account is active. They give you no other rights. If you send us suggestions or feedback, we may use them freely and without obligation to you.

12. Third-Party Data and Services

The Service relies on outside sources, including earthquake data from the USGS, fragility methods from FEMA's HAZUS, map data from OpenStreetMap contributors, and payment processing by Stripe. We do not control these sources and are not responsible for their accuracy, availability, or delays. Browser push, mobile notification, and email delivery run over networks and devices we do not control. ShakeResponse is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the USGS, FEMA, or any government agency.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE, ALL ALERTS, AND ALL ESTIMATES ARE PROVIDED STRICTLY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES TO FACILITATE INSPECTION PRIORITIES — NOTHING MORE — ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES THAT ARE INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION, OR MODIFICATION UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. THIS INCLUDES DISCLAIMING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR GUARANTEE THAT ANY ALERT WILL BE SENT, DELIVERED, OR DELIVERED ON TIME. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR GUARANTEE THAT ANY ESTIMATE WILL MATCH A BUILDING'S ACTUAL CONDITION, OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. EARTHQUAKES ARE FORCES OF NATURE, AND NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE HOW THE GROUND WILL SHAKE OR HOW A BUILDING WILL RESPOND.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:

• WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST DATA, LOSS OF USE, PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF RELIANCE ON AN ESTIMATE FOR OCCUPANCY, RE-ENTRY, OR SAFETY DECISIONS, OR FROM AN ALERT THAT WAS LATE, INACCURATE, OR NOT DELIVERED, OR FROM A DECISION YOU MADE, OR DID NOT MAKE, BASED ON AN ESTIMATE; and
• OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) $100.

These limits apply whatever the legal theory, even if we were told such damages were possible. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for fraud, willful injury, gross negligence, violation of law, or any other liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including California Civil Code Section 1668. If your state does not allow a particular exclusion or limitation, it applies to you only to the extent your state allows.

15. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, if you use the Service on behalf of a business, organization, or commercial or rental property operation, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ShakeResponse LLC, and its owners, officers, employees, and agents, against third-party claims, losses, liabilities, and reasonable legal fees that arise from (a) Your Content, (b) your breach of these Terms, or (c) your misuse of the Service (including presenting our estimates to tenants, employees, or others as measurements, safety determinations, or inspections). If you are an individual consumer using the Service solely for personal, family, or household purposes, you are responsible for losses and third-party claims arising from (a), (b), or (c) to the extent permitted by law, without an upfront duty to defend. We will tell you promptly about any such claim and cooperate reasonably, at your expense. This section does not apply to claims caused by our own breach, gross negligence, or willful misconduct.

16. Suspension and Termination

• By you: you can stop using the Service at any time. To cancel a paid plan, follow Section 7. To delete your account and its data, use our contact form or email us at legal@shakeresponse.com from your account email address. We may keep activity and delivery records as our Privacy Policy allows, for example to resolve disputes.
• By us: we may suspend or close your account if you materially breach these Terms, if the law requires it, or if your use puts the Service or other users at risk. Where practical, we will give you notice and a chance to fix the problem first. If we close a paid account without cause, we will refund the unused part of your current term.
• Discontinuing the Service: if we shut down the Service, we will give you at least 30 days' notice where practical and refund any prepaid fees for the unused part of your term.
• Sections 5, 10 through 15, and 17 through 19 continue to apply after these Terms end.

17. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights, including your right to go to court.

• Talk to us first. Before starting a formal proceeding, send a written description of the dispute and the outcome you want to legal@shakeresponse.com or through our contact form. Both sides will try in good faith to resolve it within 60 days.
• Binding individual arbitration. If the dispute is not resolved, you and we agree to resolve any claim relating to these Terms or the Service by binding arbitration on an individual basis. The American Arbitration Association (AAA) will administer it under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, or its Commercial Arbitration Rules for business customers. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this agreement to arbitrate. For consumer claims, we will pay any filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees beyond what you would have paid to file in court. The arbitration may take place by video or by document submission, or in person in the county where you live.
• Exceptions. Either of us may bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies. Either of us may also go to court over infringement or misuse of intellectual property. Nothing in this section stops you from bringing an issue to a government agency's attention.
• No class actions. To the fullest extent the law allows (and subject to the "Public injunctive relief" paragraph below), claims may be brought only on an individual basis, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not combine more than one person's claims.
• Public injunctive relief. This section does not waive your right to seek public injunctive relief under California law. Any such request will be decided in court after the individual arbitration is finished, and that court proceeding will be paused until then.
• 30-day opt-out. You can opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing legal@shakeresponse.com, or by sending a message through our contact form, within 30 days after you first accept these Terms. Include your name, your account email address, and a clear statement that you are opting out. Opting out does not affect the rest of these Terms.
• Severability. If the class-action waiver is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim must be heard in court, not in arbitration. If any other part of this section is found unenforceable, the rest still applies.

18. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, and by the Federal Arbitration Act for Section 17. Any claim that is not arbitrated will be heard in the state or federal courts located in California, and both of us agree to those courts' jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, you keep any protections that the law of your state of residence does not allow to be waived.

19. General Terms

• Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Model Disclaimer, the Privacy Policy, and any Enterprise order form, are the entire agreement between you and us about the Service.
• Severability and waiver. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest of these Terms still applies. Not enforcing a provision is not a waiver of it.
• Assignment. You may not transfer these Terms without our consent. We may transfer them as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Your rights will continue as described here.
• Events outside our control. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control. This includes earthquakes and their aftermath, power or network outages, and failures of USGS or other third-party services.
• Notices. We may send you notices by email or through the Service. You may send legal notices to us at legal@shakeresponse.com or through our contact form.
• California consumers. Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, you may contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by phone at (800) 952-5210.

20. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will change the "Last updated" date above. For material changes, we will email you or notify you in the Service at least 30 days before they take effect. If you keep using the Service after a change takes effect, you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree, stop using the Service and cancel any paid plan before then. Changes do not apply to disputes you notified us about before the change. Changes to Section 17 do not take away an arbitration opt-out you already made, and if we make a material change to Section 17, you may opt out of that change within 30 days after it takes effect by following the opt-out instructions in Section 17.

21. Contact Us

ShakeResponse LLC
1401 21st St, Ste R
Sacramento, CA 95811

For billing, cancellation, help with your account, legal notices, or anything else, use our contact form and choose the topic that fits best, or email us at legal@shakeresponse.com.

See also: our Model Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.