Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Cantonese.hk (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, please do not use the Service.

These Terms apply to all visitors, users, and registered account holders. If you are accessing the Service on behalf of a company or organisation, you confirm you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

2. Accounts & Registration

To access certain features, you must register for an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete registration information
• Maintain the security of your password and not share it with others
• Notify us immediately at hello@cantonese.hk if you suspect unauthorised access to your account
• Take responsibility for all activity under your account

You must be at least 13 years of age to create an account. Accounts created by automated means are prohibited.

3. Pro Subscription & Billing

Cantonese.hk offers a free tier and an optional Pro subscription. By subscribing to Pro you agree to the following:

• Billing: Subscription fees are charged at the beginning of each billing period (monthly or annual). All charges are processed securely via Stripe.
• Auto-renewal: Your subscription renews automatically unless you cancel before the renewal date.
• Cancellation: You may cancel at any time from your account settings. You retain Pro access until the end of the current billing period — no pro-rata refunds are provided for partial periods.
• Refunds: We offer a 14-day refund for first-time Pro subscribers who have not made significant use of Pro features. Contact us at hello@cantonese.hk to request a refund within 14 days of your first charge.
• Price changes: We may change subscription pricing with at least 30 days' notice. Existing subscribers will be notified by email.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to misuse the Service. Prohibited activities include:

• Using automated tools, bots, or scripts to scrape, index, or copy content at scale
• Attempting to access accounts, systems, or data you are not authorised to access
• Uploading, transmitting, or sharing content that is illegal, abusive, defamatory, or infringes third-party rights
• Reselling, sublicensing, or commercially exploiting any part of the Service without our written consent
• Circumventing access restrictions or subscription paywalls through technical means
• Using the AI features to generate content that is harmful, deceptive, or violates applicable law

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules without prior notice.

5. Intellectual Property

The Cantonese.hk platform, including its interface design, course content, lesson text, audio recordings, and software, is owned by or licensed to Cantonese.hk. All rights are reserved.

The dictionary data is sourced from CC-Canto and CantoDict, which are made available under open licences. These licence terms are honoured and attribution is maintained.

You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from our proprietary content without explicit written permission.

6. User-Generated Content

The Service allows users to submit content such as mnemonics and reading annotations ("User Content"). By submitting User Content, you:

• Confirm you own or have the right to submit that content
• Grant Cantonese.hk a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display and use that content within the Service
• Accept that User Content may be visible to other users (e.g. public mnemonics)

We do not claim ownership of your User Content. You may request deletion of your User Content at any time by contacting us.

We reserve the right to remove User Content that violates these Terms or is reported as inappropriate.

7. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without any warranty of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or completely secure
• Dictionary definitions, Jyutping, or other linguistic data are always accurate or complete
• AI-generated content (practice dialogues, grammar breakdowns, story generation) is linguistically perfect or pedagogically optimal

Language learning results depend heavily on your own effort and practice. We make no guarantee of fluency or proficiency outcomes.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Cantonese.hk and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Service.

Our total liability to you for any claim arising under these Terms shall not exceed the amount you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or €50, whichever is greater.

9. Termination

You may delete your account at any time from your account settings. Upon deletion, your personal data will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, with or without notice depending on the severity of the violation.

Sections 5 (Intellectual Property), 7 (Disclaimers), and 8 (Limitation of Liability) survive any termination of these Terms.

10. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Hong Kong SAR. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Hong Kong, unless applicable consumer protection law in your jurisdiction provides otherwise.

If you are an EU resident, you may also use the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform.

11. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify registered users by email and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

12. Contact

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

• Email: hello@cantonese.hk
• Website: cantonese.hk/contact