Terms of Service

1. Who we are and what you agree to

DebateNow ("the Service") is operated by DebateNow ("we", "us"). By creating an account, joining a debate, or otherwise using the Service on the web or in the iOS app, you accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not accept them, do not use the Service.

We may update these Terms. When we do, we revise the date above and, for material changes, give notice in the app or by email. Using the Service after a change means you accept the new version.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use DebateNow. If the law where you live sets a higher age for online services or for consent to process your data, you must meet that age. By using the Service you confirm that you do, and that nothing bars you from entering this agreement.

3. Your account

You sign up with a handle, a display name, and either a password (on the web) or Sign in with Apple (on iOS). An email address is optional. You are responsible for what happens under your account, so keep your credentials private and tell us at noreply@yuzi.nl if you suspect someone else has access.

Use a handle and display name you have the right to use. Do not impersonate another person, and do not pick a name that misleads other debaters about who you are.

4. How a debate works

You post a challenge with your side and proposed times, or you accept the open side of someone else's challenge and lock a time. At the agreed time both of you join a live voice room carried over LiveKit and debate in six timed turns. After the round each of you rates the other on clarity, argument, and civility. The debate finishes once both ratings are in.

The voice is live and peer to peer. We do not record or store debate audio. Solo Practice, where you rehearse against a clock on the web, can record and play back locally in your own browser. That recording never leaves your device and we never receive it.

5. Conduct: argue the point, not the person

DebateNow runs on one rule above the rest. Attack the argument, never the human making it. When you use the Service you agree to:

• Debate in good faith and let your opponent finish their turn.
• Keep it civil. No harassment, threats, hate speech, or slurs aimed at anyone or any group.
• Skip content that is illegal, defamatory, or that shares another person's private information.
• Leave the Service alone at the seams: no scraping, no probing for security holes, no flooding it with automated traffic, no working around the free-tier limits.

Break these and we may remove content, suspend live access, or close the account. The peer-rating civility score exists to keep this self-policing, and we read reports that come in at noreply@yuzi.nl.

6. Your content is public by design

DebateNow is built to be watched. Your handle, display name, the challenges you post, the debates you complete, the ratings you receive, your streaks, and your standing all appear on public surfaces: profiles, the board, The Record archive, The Standings, and shareable links. Other people, signed in or not, can read them. Do not put anything in a motion, a rating note, or a profile field that you would not want seen in public.

You keep ownership of what you write. By posting it you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, and distribute it across the Service so the public surfaces above can work.

7. DebateNow Pro, billing, and trials

The free tier covers browsing, spectating, solo practice, and up to three live debates a month. DebateNow Pro removes the cap and unlocks direct challenges and full stats. Each plan opens with a 7-day free trial.

On the web, Pro is a Stripe subscription, billed monthly or yearly. On iOS, Pro is an Apple subscription bought through the App Store. Either way the subscription renews automatically at the displayed price until you cancel. Cancel on the web through the Stripe billing portal we link from your account, and on iOS through Apple Subscriptions in Settings. Cancel at least 24 hours before a period ends to avoid the next charge.

Apple takes payment on iOS and we never see your full card details. Stripe takes payment on the web and stores the card; we receive only the metadata described in the Privacy Policy. Beyond the refund rights your local law gives you, and beyond what Apple grants for App Store purchases, payments are non-refundable. We may change prices, and when we do the new price applies from your next renewal after we tell you.

8. The Service comes as is

We work to keep DebateNow running, but we provide it "as is" and "as available". We do not promise it will be uninterrupted, that a scheduled opponent will show up, that the voice connection will hold, or that any debate or rating will meet your hopes. To the extent the law allows, we disclaim warranties we have not written into these Terms.

9. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, DebateNow is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service, including lost data or lost opportunities. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is capped at the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or USD 50.

10. Ending your access

You can stop using DebateNow and request deletion at any time, as the Privacy Policy explains. We can suspend or close an account that breaks these Terms or puts other debaters or the Service at risk. When an account closes, the public record of completed debates may remain, since other participants took part in them and rely on that history.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the law of the country where the DebateNow operator is established, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any mandatory consumer protections of the country you live in remain unaffected, and you may bring a dispute in your local courts where consumer law gives you that right.

12. Contact

Questions about these Terms go to DebateNow at noreply@yuzi.nl.