Terms of Service

Hearth is software for making, sending, and RSVPing to real gatherings. You own what you create. You’re responsible for your own event and your own guests — Hearth is the tool, not the host. Be decent to other people. Don’t use Hearth for anything illegal. Events are ephemeral, so keep your own copies of anything you want forever. During the beta, Hearth is free and doesn’t process card payments.

Hearth (“Hearth,” “we,” “us”) provides a platform for hosts to create event invites and for guests to respond, coordinate, and stay in touch. Hearth is not the organizer of any event. Hosts run their own events; Hearth only provides the software they use to invite people. We are not responsible for what happens at, or as a result of, any event.

You must be at least 13 years old to use Hearth, and old enough to form a binding agreement where you live (or have your parent or guardian’s permission). Don’t create an account for a child. You’re responsible for everything done under your account.

Hosts sign in with a magic link sent to their email — there’s no password. Keep access to your email account secure, because whoever can open that link can access your Hearth account. Guests can RSVP without any account; we recognize a returning guest by a device token stored in their browser.

You keep ownership of everything you put into Hearth — event details, photos, chat messages, lists, and so on. To actually run the service, you grant Hearth a limited, non-exclusive license to store, display, and transmit that content for the purpose of operating Hearth for you and the people you invite (for example, showing your invite to your guests, or delivering a reminder email). This license ends when the content is deleted. We don’t use your content to advertise, and we don’t sell it.

You’re responsible for the content you post and for having the right to post it. Don’t upload things you don’t have permission to share.

An invite link is a capability — whoever holds it can view the invite and RSVP. That’s the point (guests don’t need accounts), but it means you should share links with people you actually want at your event. For sensitive events, use the host controls (capacity, approval, and — where available — access gates). Sharing a link is your choice and your responsibility.

Chat, photo albums, and shared lists are user content. You agree not to use Hearth for anything illegal, harassing, hateful, infringing, deceptive, or abusive, and to follow our Acceptable Use Policy. We may remove content and suspend or terminate accounts that break these rules.

During the beta, Hearth is free and does not process card payments. Two things to understand:

Honor-system payments. If a host lists a payment handle (Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, Zelle) for a ticketed or paid event, any money you send goes directly from you to the hostthrough that third-party service. Hearth never touches those funds and is not a party to the transaction. If something goes wrong with an honor-system payment, that’s between you and the host.

Card payments (when available).When Hearth adds card payments, they’ll be handled by a third-party processor (Stripe), and the host is the merchant and organizer of record — responsible for delivering their event, setting and honoring their own refund terms, and their own taxes. Hearth charges platform fees (for example, a fee to publish an event and a small per-ticket fee), which are described at the point of purchase and in our Refund Policy. We’ll update these terms and our Privacy Policy before collecting any payment information.

Events on Hearth are ephemeral by design. After an event ends we keep it for a short window and then permanently delete it — details, RSVPs, contacts, chat, and photos. This is a privacy feature, not a bug. Keep your own copiesof anything you want to keep; you can export your data any time from Account settings. We aren’t liable for content that’s deleted as part of normal ephemerality.

Hearth runs on third-party providers (including Supabase, Vercel, Resend, mapping services, and — for payments, when available — Stripe). Your use of Hearth also involves their services; see our Privacy Policy for who sees what.

The Hearth name, logo, look and feel, and software are ours. These terms don’t give you rights to them beyond using the service as intended.

Hearth is offered on an “as is” and “as available” basis, and during the beta especially, things may change or break. To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim warranties of any kind — including that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or fit for a particular purpose. We are not responsible for events, hosts, guests, honor-system payments, or anything that happens between the people who use Hearth.

To the fullest extent the law allows, Hearth is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, and our total liability for any claim relating to the service is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim, or US $50. Some places don’t allow these limits, in which case they apply to you only as far as the law permits.

You agree to indemnify Hearth for claims arising out of your content, your events, your guests, or your misuse of the service — to the extent that’s allowed where you live.

You can stop using Hearth and delete your account at any time from Account settings. We may suspend or end access for anyone who violates these terms or the Acceptable Use Policy, or where we need to for legal or safety reasons.

We may update the service and these terms. If we make a material change, we’ll notify hosts by email; material changes take effect 30 days after notice. Continuing to use Hearth after that means you accept the update.

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the state in which Hearth is operated, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, and disputes will be handled in that jurisdiction — except where the law where you live gives you the right to bring a claim elsewhere.

Questions about these terms? Email hello@hearth.rsvp.