Terms of Service

1. Eligibility and acceptance

You must be at least 13 years old to use Detective Redstring (and at least the age of digital consent in your country if you are in the EEA or the UK). If you are under 18, you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms. By creating an account or using the game, you accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

2. The service

Detective Redstring is a single-player detective game in which you examine crime scenes, collect clues, interrogate AI-performed witnesses, and make an accusation. We may add, change, or remove features, cases, and content over time. Some content is free and some requires a purchase or subscription, as described below.

3. Your account

• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account.
• Provide accurate information and keep it up to date.
• Do not share your account or let others use it, and tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorized use.
• You may close your account at any time from Profile → Your data in the game.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• reverse engineer, scrape, or otherwise attempt to extract a case’s hidden solution, ground truth, or prompts, or to obtain the game’s content other than by playing;
• access the service through automated means, or interfere with, overload, or disrupt the service or its security;
• circumvent, disable, or defeat any paywall, entitlement, rate limit, or usage restriction;
• submit content that is unlawful, infringing, or abusive, or attempt to manipulate the AI into producing harmful, infringing, or policy-violating output;
• use the service to violate any law or the rights of others, or resell or commercially exploit the service without our permission.

5. AI-generated content

The game uses artificial intelligence to generate witness dialogue, scene narration, hints, and imagery. All characters, statements, and events are fictional. AI output can be inaccurate or unexpected, and it is provided for entertainment only — it is not factual information about real people and is not professional advice of any kind. Your inputs to the AI are governed by our Privacy Policy.

6. Intellectual property and your content

The game and everything in it — including the cases, characters, artwork, audio, text, software, and the Detective Redstring name and logo — is owned by us or our licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and play the game for your own non-commercial entertainment, subject to these Terms.

You keep ownership of the text and notes you create in the game (such as your questions to witnesses and your corkboard notes). You grant us a worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, process, and display that content solely to operate and improve the game for you. You are responsible for what you submit and confirm you have the right to submit it.

7. Purchases and subscriptions

Merchant of Record

Payments are processed by Lemon Squeezy, which acts as the Merchant of Record (the authorized reseller) for purchases of Detective Redstring. This means Lemon Squeezy handles the transaction, collects applicable taxes, and appears on your payment statement. When you make a purchase, you also agree to Lemon Squeezy’s buyer terms and privacy policy for the payment itself. We never receive or store your full card details.

What you can buy

• Free case. Case 001 is free to play.
• Monthly membership — US$19.99 per month (founding members: US$14.99 per month). Full access while your subscription is active.
• Annual membership — US$149 per year. Full access while your subscription is active.
• Single case — US$24.99, a one-time purchase granting permanent access to that case.

Prices are in US dollars and exclude taxes, which are calculated and collected by Lemon Squeezy at checkout. We may change prices; any change applies to future billing periods and we will give you reasonable notice.

Founding member rate

The founding monthly rate of US$14.99 is available to the first 500 members and is locked for as long as your subscription remains continuously active. If your subscription lapses or is cancelled, the founding rate may no longer be available.

Cancellation

You can cancel your membership at any time through the customer portal (reachable from the game’s membership screen, which opens Lemon Squeezy’s hosted portal). When you cancel, you keep access until the end of the period you have already paid for, and you will not be charged again. Cancelling does not automatically delete your account; you can delete your account separately from Profile → Your data.

Refunds and your withdrawal right

Except where required by law, payments are non-refundable and we do not provide refunds or credits for partial periods. If you believe you were charged in error, contact us and we will work with you and Lemon Squeezy to resolve it.

EU/UK consumers: you normally have a 14-day right to withdraw from a purchase of digital content. Because access to the game is provided immediately, by starting to play during that period you request immediate performance and acknowledge that you lose your 14-day right of withdrawal once access begins. This does not affect your other statutory rights.

8. Termination

You may stop using the game and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you materially breach these Terms, if required by law, or to protect the service or other players. If we terminate your account without cause and you have paid for a period you can no longer use, we will provide a pro-rated refund for the unused portion where required by law. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and dispute resolution) will survive.

9. Disclaimers

The game is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the game will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that AI-generated content will be accurate. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions, so some of these may not apply to you.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Detective Redstring and its operators will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, profits, or goodwill, arising from your use of the game. Our total liability for any claim relating to the game is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or US$50. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded by law, including your non-excludable statutory consumer rights.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your misuse of the game, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party, to the extent permitted by law.

12. Disputes

Nothing in these Terms deprives you of the protection of the mandatory consumer-protection laws of your country of residence, and you may always bring a claim in the courts of the place where you live if the law of that place gives you that right. Before filing a formal dispute, please contact us at support@detectiveredstring.com so we can try to resolve it directly.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date and, where appropriate, notify you in the game or by email. Changes are not retroactive, and your continued use of the game after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

14. General

These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the game. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at support@detectiveredstring.com.