Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using Urban Biome services ("the Service"), you accept and agree to be bound by the terms and provisions of this agreement.

If you do not agree to abide by the above, please do not use this service.

2. Service Description

Urban Biome provides free environmental analysis tools including:

• Urban Biome Explorer - Interactive temperature, vegetation, and water analysis
• Urban Biome Sightings - Wildlife and biodiversity tracking tool
• Environmental trend visualization and assessment
• Point-and-click environmental health assessment

All tools are currently provided free of charge. We may introduce paid features in the future, which will be clearly communicated.

3. Donations and Support

Urban Biome is supported by voluntary donations through Open Collective. Donations are entirely optional and do not affect your access to the Service.

Donations are used to support the development and maintenance of our environmental analysis tools. Open Collective provides transparent financial tracking of all contributions.

Donation refunds are handled by Open Collective according to their policies.

4. User Accounts

Some features may require you to create an account. You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use

5. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Service
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers
• Reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works without permission
• Use the Service to transmit viruses, malware, or other harmful code
• Scrape or harvest data in an automated manner without permission
• Upload, post, or submit any content (including photos, observations, and notes) that is unlawful, abusive, harassing, threatening, defamatory, obscene, hateful, or otherwise objectionable
• Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or organisation

We operate a zero-tolerance policy for objectionable user-generated content and abusive behaviour. You can report content or another user from within the Sightings app, or by emailing info@urbanbiome.co.uk. We review reports and may remove content, and suspend or terminate accounts, at our discretion and without notice. We aim to act on reports of objectionable content within 24 hours.

6. Data and Privacy

We take your privacy seriously. Our collection and use of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

You retain ownership of any data you upload to the Service. We process your data solely to provide the Service and as described in our Privacy Policy.

7. Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content, features, and functionality are owned by Urban Biome Ltd and are protected by international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

Environmental data and satellite imagery used in the Service may be subject to third-party licenses and attribution requirements.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied.

Environmental data and analysis provided by the Service are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as the sole basis for important decisions. Professional consultation may be required for specific use cases.

9. Field Activities and Site Visits

Sightings, jobs, and site locations shown in the Service (including in the Sightings app) are submitted by users and volunteers. Urban Biome does not inspect, verify, or take responsibility for the accuracy, accessibility, ownership, or safety of any location, tree, structure, or piece of green infrastructure recorded in the Service.

If you choose to travel to, inspect, or carry out maintenance or any other job or activity at a location referenced in the Service, you do so entirely at your own risk. You are solely responsible for:

• Assessing whether it is safe and lawful for you to enter or work at a site, including any physical hazards present
• Confirming you have the right to access the site, including where it may be on private land
• Complying with any health and safety, insurance, or other requirements that apply to the activity you undertake

Urban Biome Ltd is not liable for any injury, death, loss, or damage arising from a site visit or from any job or maintenance activity carried out in connection with the Service, except where such liability cannot be excluded by law (see Section 10).

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Urban Biome Ltd shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of your use of the Service, including any site visit or job undertaken in connection with the Service.

As the Service is provided free of charge, our total liability for any claims shall be limited to the amount of any donations you have made, if applicable.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under English law.

11. Service Availability

We strive to maintain reliable service availability but cannot guarantee uninterrupted access. We may temporarily suspend the Service for maintenance, updates, or other operational reasons.

We reserve the right to modify or discontinue the Service at any time with reasonable notice where possible.

12. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may terminate or suspend your access to the Service for violation of these Terms or for any other reason at our discretion.

13. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, without regard to conflict of law principles.

14. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated through the Service or via email where possible.

Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

15. Contact Information

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at: