Terms of Use

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern access to The Defend Foundation's public website, including Get Help, My Case, Take Action, Guides, Stay Safe, the Privacy Center, the Join the Defend Network application, educational materials, and other services made available by the Foundation on it (collectively, the "Services"). Additional terms may apply to separately governed programs. If you do not agree with these Terms, do not use the Services.

The Foundation provides public-interest digital safety information, tools, and resources intended to help people prevent, understand, navigate, and remediate digital harm. Content is provided for general informational and educational purposes. The Foundation is not a law firm, financial institution, credit bureau, insurance company, law-enforcement agency, emergency response service, or substitute for qualified professional advice. Use of the Services does not create an attorney-client, fiduciary, or other professional relationship.

The Services may be in development, beta, or subject to change. We take reasonable steps to verify information against authoritative sources and provide reliable tools, but information may contain errors, omissions, or outdated material; functionality may be interrupted, unavailable, or produce unexpected results. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, uninterrupted availability, security, or suitability of any content or feature. Verify important information with the relevant official source and consult qualified professionals when appropriate. We may modify, suspend, restrict, or discontinue features, subject to applicable law.

You remain responsible for deciding whether and how to act on information provided through the Services, including decisions involving account security, financial matters, privacy rights, legal deadlines, reporting, and contact with third parties. Do not rely solely on the Services for time-sensitive, legally consequential, or emergency decisions. Contact appropriate institutions or emergency services directly when needed.

My Case is a user-directed tool. It does not require an account. What you enter stays in your browser for the session you are using and is not sent to or stored by the Foundation; a Case File is retained by you if you print it or save it as a PDF. Because the Foundation does not keep your information, it cannot preserve, retrieve, or recover a session or a Case File for you. The Foundation does not transmit, submit, or independently verify a user's Case File. Users are responsible for safeguarding copies and for reviewing the information before sharing it.

Take Action, Guides, Stay Safe and the Privacy Center do not require an account. What you enter in Take Action and your answers in a Guide stay in your browser tab and are not sent to or stored by the Foundation, so the Foundation cannot preserve, retrieve, or recover them for you. The Foundation does not contact, submit anything to, or act on your behalf with any organization: when a step involves an outside organization, you go there and share your own information, as described in our Privacy Policy.

You may tell the Foundation about your organization's or your professional interest in the Defend Network by submitting the Join the Defend Network application. Submitting an application does not make you or your organization a member, participant, partner, or verified provider of the Defend Network, and it does not create an account, a listing, verification, endorsement, or any agreement, relationship, or obligation for you or the Foundation. The Foundation decides whether and when to follow up. Any participation would be subject to separate terms and to the Foundation's verification requirements. Provide only accurate information that you are authorized to share. The Foundation handles personal information in an application as described in our Privacy Policy, but it does not treat the content of an application as confidential business information, so do not include confidential, proprietary, or sensitive information.

The Services may link to government agencies, financial institutions, security providers, nonprofits, and other third parties. Third parties operate under their own terms, privacy policies, eligibility rules, and practices. Unless expressly stated otherwise, references, links, listings, or referrals do not constitute endorsement, certification, guarantees of quality, or assurances of results. The Foundation is not responsible for third-party content, services, decisions, availability, or security, to the extent permitted by law.

You agree not to misuse the Services, interfere with their operation, attempt unauthorized access, bypass or automate around their human verification, scrape or overload systems in violation of applicable law or posted restrictions, submit malicious content, submit false or misleading information, impersonate others, infringe rights, or use the Services to facilitate unlawful conduct. Do not submit passwords, authentication codes, full payment-card numbers, government identifiers, or other sensitive information through our contact form or the Network application unless the Foundation expressly requests it through an appropriately designated secure process.

Unless otherwise indicated, Foundation-created site content, design, software, and marks are owned by or licensed to the Foundation and protected by applicable law. You may use publicly provided educational materials for personal, noncommercial purposes subject to any displayed license or attribution requirements. Government and third-party materials retain their respective ownership and usage conditions. No rights in Foundation names or marks are granted by these Terms. Open-source components remain subject to their applicable licenses.

Our Privacy Policy describes how we handle information associated with the Services. By contacting us or submitting a Network application, you agree that we may respond to you, subject to applicable law. Do not treat the public website as a confidential reporting channel unless expressly designated.

The Foundation's website and systems do not receive or process payment-card or bank-account numbers. Where the website offers online donations, they are made through an independent third-party donation provider identified at the point of donation, under that provider's own terms and privacy policy. The Donate page shows whether online donations are currently available. If you contact us about supporting our work, we use your message to respond to you.

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ACCURACY. Nothing in these Terms excludes rights or warranties that cannot lawfully be excluded.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE FOUNDATION AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, PERSONNEL, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, DATA, OPPORTUNITIES, OR GOODWILL ARISING FROM USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES. Nothing here limits liability where prohibited by law, including liability that cannot be excluded for fraud, willful misconduct, or other non-waivable obligations.

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Foundation from third-party claims arising from your unlawful use of the Services, infringement of third-party rights, or material violation of these Terms. This provision does not require indemnification for the Foundation's own unlawful conduct and is subject to applicable consumer-protection limits.

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in our Services, legal obligations, or operations. We will post the date of the latest update and provide additional notice when required by law. Continued use after an update takes effect constitutes acceptance to the extent permitted by law. We may restrict access for misuse or security reasons.

These Terms are governed by California law, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

Questions about these Terms: Contact Us.