Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By using Khos, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you may not use our service.

2. Description of Service

Khos provides email aliasing and forwarding services that allow users to create disposable email addresses to protect their primary email from spam, data breaches and unwanted communications. Our service includes:

• Email alias creation and management
• Email forwarding to your primary inbox
• Spam and virus scanning (Pro users only)
• Tracker blocking and enhanced privacy features (Pro users only)
• Email quarantine and blocking capabilities (Pro users only)
• Custom domain support (Business and Enterprise users only)
• Advanced filtering and analytics (Pro users only)
• Reply functionality through reply.khos.io
• Automatic email header modification for privacy
• Real-time email processing and delivery

3. User Accounts and Registration

To use our service, you must register for an account. You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account information
• All activities that occur under your account
• Providing accurate and complete information during registration
• Updating your information to keep it current and accurate
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account

4. Service Plans and Usage Limits

Khos offers two service plans with different features and limitations:

5. Rate Limiting and Usage Policies

To ensure fair usage and prevent abuse, the following rate limits apply to all users:

• Alias Creation: Maximum 15 aliases per hour per account
• IP-based Limiting: Maximum 15 aliases per hour per IP address
• Reserved Aliases: Certain aliases are reserved and cannot be created by any user
• Misleading Aliases: We reserve the right to delete or replace any alias that uses a name that may be misleading or that may be interpreted as khos.io official/support team or other
• Abuse Prevention: We monitor for suspicious activity and may temporarily or permanently restrict accounts that violate these limits

6. Email Security and Content Policies

Our service includes various security features with different availability based on your plan:

• Spam Filtering: Pro users can enable advanced spam detection and automatic quarantine
• Virus Scanning: Pro users can enable virus detection and automatic quarantine of infected emails
• Tracker Blocking: Pro users can enable automatic removal of tracking pixels and links
• Enhanced Privacy Mode: Pro users can enable additional privacy protections
• Email Quarantine: Pro users can review and manage quarantined emails
• Blocked Senders: Pro users can block specific email addresses or domains

7. Data Retention and Privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy and have implemented the following data practices:

• Email Content: We do not permanently store email content beyond what is necessary for forwarding
• Temporary Storage: Emails are temporarily cached for up to 7 days only when necessary to ensure reliable delivery
• Metadata Retention: Email metadata (sender, recipient, timestamps) is not permanently stored
• EU Storage Option: Pro users can choose to store metadata in EU data centers
• Data Deletion: You can request deletion of your data at any time
• Analytics: We may collect anonymized usage statistics to improve our service
• User Notification: We will notify you before complying with any legal requests for your data, unless legally prohibited

8. Prohibited Uses and Content

You agree not to use our service for any illegal purposes or to conduct any unlawful activity, including but not limited to:

• Fraud, phishing or other deceptive practices
• Spamming or sending unsolicited bulk emails
• Harassment, threats or abuse of other users
• Violation of any applicable laws or regulations
• Attempting to circumvent our security measures or rate limits
• Creating aliases that impersonate others or infringe on trademarks
• Using the service to distribute malware, viruses or other harmful content
• Creating aliases that violate third-party terms of service
• Using the service to collect personal information without consent

9. Service Availability and Uptime

While we strive to provide uninterrupted service, we do not guarantee 100% uptime. Service may be interrupted due to:

• Scheduled maintenance and updates
• Third-party service outages (Cloudflare, Supabase, etc.)
• Force majeure events beyond our control

We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of planned maintenance and minimize service disruptions. During service interruptions, emails may experience temporary delays, but they will eventually arrive at their destination.

10. Subscription and Payments

Pro plan subscriptions are billed monthly, quarterly or annually. By subscribing, you agree to:

• Pay the fees associated with your selected plan
• Automatic renewal unless cancelled before the next billing period
• Price changes with 30 days' notice
• No refunds for partial billing periods
• Immediate access to Pro features upon successful payment

Chargebacks and Payment Disputes: Any chargeback or payment dispute filed against us will result in immediate suspension of your account. If the chargeback is resolved in our favor, you may request account reactivation. If resolved in your favor, your account will remain terminated and you forfeit all access to the service and data.

Fraudulent Payments: We reserve the right to terminate accounts immediately if we detect fraudulent payment activity, including but not limited to: use of stolen credit cards, payment fraud or attempts to circumvent payment systems.

11. Cancellation and Termination

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Upon cancellation:

• Your account remains active until the end of your current billing period
• Pro features will be disabled at the end of the billing period
• Your aliases will continue to work but you cannot create new ones beyond free limits
• You can reactivate your subscription at any time

We reserve the right to terminate or suspend access to our service immediately, without prior notice, for violations of these terms or for any other reason at our sole discretion.

Termination for Violations: Upon termination for violation of these terms, you immediately forfeit all access to the service, including but not limited to: all email aliases, custom domains, email forwarding and any stored data. We are under no obligation to preserve or return your data upon termination for violations.

Data Deletion: When an account is terminated for violations, chargebacks or fraudulent activity, we may immediately delete all associated data including aliases, email history and account information without prior notice or opportunity to export data.

12. Service Discontinuation

We reserve the right to discontinue the Khos service at any time, including but not limited to situations where:

• The service becomes financially unsustainable
• We are unable to maintain the service due to technical or operational constraints
• Legal or regulatory changes make continued operation impractical
• We decide to focus on other business priorities

In the event of service discontinuation, we will provide at least 90 days' notice to all users via email and on our website. During this notice period, you will have the opportunity to export your data and migrate to alternative services. We will not be liable for any damages resulting from service discontinuation.

13. Intellectual Property

The Khos service, including its design, functionality and content, is protected by intellectual property laws. You may not:

• Copy, modify or distribute our service or any part thereof
• Reverse engineer or attempt to extract source code
• Use our trademarks or branding without permission
• Create derivative works based on our service

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Khos shall not be liable for:

• Any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages
• Loss of data, profits or business opportunities
• Service interruptions or downtime
• Email delivery failures or delays
• Third-party actions or content
• Damages exceeding the amount paid for the service in the 12 months preceding the claim
• Loss of emails due to forwarding failures or technical issues
• Damages resulting from user's reliance on email delivery
• Loss of business or personal opportunities due to email issues
• Damages from third-party service outages (AWS, Supabase, Cloudflare, etc.)
• Security breaches or unauthorized access to user accounts
• Damages from users' violation of these terms

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Khos from any claims, damages or expenses arising from your use of the service, violation of these terms or infringement of any rights of another party.

16. Force Majeure and Emergency Situations

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance under these terms due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to:

• Natural disasters, pandemics or acts of God
• War, terrorism or civil unrest
• Government actions, regulations or legal changes
• Internet outages or infrastructure failures
• Third-party service provider failures
• Cyber attacks or security incidents
• Economic crises or market disruptions
• Labor disputes or strikes

In such circumstances, we will make reasonable efforts to restore service and notify users of any significant impacts.

17. Governing Law and Disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Portugal. Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of the service will be resolved through:

• Good faith negotiation first (30-day period)
• Binding arbitration administered by a neutral arbitration institution if negotiation fails
• Arbitration will be conducted in Lisbon, Portugal or Delaware, United States, at our discretion
• Individual claims only (no class actions or collective arbitration)
• Each party bears their own costs unless the arbitrator decides otherwise

18. Warrant Canary and Transparency

We maintain a warrant canary to provide transparency about legal requests we receive. Our warrant canary is updated regularly and states that we have not received any secret legal requests that would prevent us from updating it, including:

If we are legally prohibited from updating our warrant canary, we will remove it entirely rather than post false information. The absence of our warrant canary may indicate that we have received such requests.

19. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify or replace these terms at any time. If a revision is material, we will provide at least 30 days' notice prior to any new terms taking effect. By continuing to access or use our service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms.

20. Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

21. Official Communications and Anti-Phishing Notice

For your security and protection against phishing attempts:

• Official Email Domain: All official Khos communications will ONLY originate from @team.khos.io email addresses
• User Alias Domain: Emails from @khos.io addresses are user-created aliases and are NOT official Khos communications
• Authorized Senders: Official emails will come from:
  • support@team.khos.io - Customer support and assistance
  • security@team.khos.io - Security-related communications
  • hey@team.khos.io - Account notifications and product updates
  • billing@team.khos.io - Payment and subscription information or related notifications
  • verifications@team.khos.io - Automated confirmations
• Report Suspicious Emails: If you receive an email claiming to be from Khos from any domain other than @team.khos.io, it is likely fraudulent. Report it to security@team.khos.io
• No Requests for Passwords or OTP Codes: We will never ask you to provide your password or OTP (One-Time Password) codes via email
• Verify Links: Always verify that email links direct to khos.io or team.khos.io domains before clicking

22. Contact Information

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

• General inquiries: support@team.khos.io
• Privacy inquiries: privacy@team.khos.io
• Legal inquiries: legal@team.khos.io
• Security reports: security@team.khos.io