Terms of Service

By accessing or using Pal8 (the "Service"), including our mobile app, website (pal8.app), and voice AI assistant, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. Please read them carefully.

If you do not agree with these Terms, do not use the Service. We may update these Terms from time to time, and your continued use of the Service after any changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. When we make material changes, we will notify users through the app or by email.

Pal8 is a restaurant discovery platform that helps you find restaurants and explore their menus. The Service includes restaurant browsing, personalized recommendations based on AI-built taste profiles, a voice AI menu assistant, push notification campaigns from restaurants, and QR code scanning at participating restaurants.

Pal8 lets you browse menus and, at participating restaurants, place pickup orders that you pay for in-app. Pal8 itself does not prepare, cook, handle, or deliver food, and Pal8 is not the seller of any food item. When you place an order, the order and the sale of food are between you and the restaurant. Payment is processed by Square, Inc. ("Square") directly into the restaurant's own Square account; Pal8 does not hold, receive, or disburse your payment and charges you no separate platform or service fee for ordering. The restaurant is solely responsible for accepting, preparing, fulfilling, and (where applicable) refunding your order.

Restaurant information such as menus, prices, hours, and availability is provided by our restaurant partners and may not always be current or accurate.

You must be at least 13 years old to use Pal8. If you are under 18, you represent that a parent or guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf.

Account creation uses Apple Sign In or Google Sign In — we never see or store your Apple or Google password. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account.

Please keep your information accurate and current. One account per person — do not share accounts or create multiple accounts.

Pal8 uses artificial intelligence to power several features, including voice-based menu conversations, personalized restaurant and dish recommendations, taste profile analysis, and restaurant insights. These AI features are powered by third-party AI service providers. Specifically:

• Groq processes voice audio (transcription via Whisper) and generates conversational responses about restaurant menus.
• Groq analyzes conversation patterns to build your taste profile (likes, dislikes, dietary preferences).
• Google Gemini assists with menu data extraction during restaurant onboarding. This does not process consumer data.
• Square processes your payment when you place a pickup order in the app. When you place an order, your account email address and the name and phone number you provide for pickup, along with your order details (items, quantities, modifiers, kitchen notes, and item prices), are sent to Square to process your payment and send you a payment receipt; Square calculates the authoritative total. Square processes this information as an independent payment processor under its own privacy policy (squareup.com/legal). Pal8 does not store your card or payment-method details — you enter them directly on Square's secure payment page.
• Expo delivers push notifications to your device using a device-specific push token.
• Resend delivers transactional and marketing emails to your email address.

When you use the voice AI assistant, your voice audio is transmitted to Groq's servers for real-time processing. Audio is processed ephemerally and is not stored by Pal8 or Groq after transcription. The text transcript of your conversation is stored to improve your taste profile and provide personalized recommendations.

AI-generated responses, recommendations, and taste profiles are algorithmic and may not always be accurate. You should not rely solely on AI recommendations for dietary, allergen, or health-related decisions.

You may use the Service without the voice AI feature — browsing, search, and favorites all work without AI data processing. An in-app consent prompt is displayed before your first voice AI session. You may decline and still use all non-voice features.

Pal8 provides menu information including allergen tags, dietary labels, ingredient lists, and nutrition estimates. This information is provided by restaurant partners or estimated using AI and may not be accurate, complete, or current. Menu data may be outdated, incomplete, or incorrectly tagged.

Pal8 does not guarantee the accuracy of any allergen, ingredient, dietary, or nutrition information.

If you have food allergies, intolerances, or dietary restrictions that could affect your health or safety, you must verify all information directly with the restaurant before consuming any food. Pal8 is not responsible for allergic reactions, illness, or any health consequences resulting from reliance on information provided through the Service.

AI-generated dietary and allergen recommendations are estimates and should never be treated as medical advice. Kosher, halal, and other certification information displayed in the app reflects what restaurant partners or Pal8 staff have reported — always verify certifications directly with the restaurant or certifying agency.

The voice AI feature requires microphone access on your device. Voice audio is recorded only while you are actively using the voice assistant, indicated by a visual recording indicator.

Audio is transmitted in real time to our servers and then to Groq for transcription — it is not stored as audio after processing. Text transcripts of voice conversations are stored in association with your session and are used to build your taste profile, improve recommendations, and generate anonymized analytics for restaurant partners.

You can delete your account and all associated data — including taste profiles and conversation transcripts — at any time through the app's Profile settings.

When using the Service, you agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other accounts, or our servers.
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers.
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access the Service.
• Abuse, manipulate, or circumvent the voice AI through prompt injection, jailbreaking, or adversarial inputs.
• Harass, abuse, or send offensive content through any feature of the Service.
• Impersonate another person or entity.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, with or without notice.

Restaurant partners ("Owners") access additional features through the Owner Dashboard at pal8.app, subject to a separate subscription agreement.

Subscription plans (PAL8 at $179/month and PAL8+ at $299/month) are billed through Stripe. Subscription terms, cancellation, and refund policies are governed by the subscription agreement presented during checkout.

Restaurant partners are responsible for the accuracy of their menu data, pricing, hours, allergen information, and certifications. Pal8 is not liable for errors in restaurant-provided information.

Placing an order. When you place a pickup order, you authorize Square to charge your selected payment method for the order total, including any tax and tip. Order totals shown before payment are estimates; the authoritative total is calculated by Square at checkout.

Cancellations. You may cancel an unpaid order at any time before payment, and an unpaid order expires automatically thirty (30) minutes after it is created. After payment, you may cancel your order through the app and receive an automatic full refund (including any tip) at any time until the restaurant accepts it. Once the restaurant accepts your order and begins preparing it, you can no longer cancel it through the app, and any cancellation or refund must be requested directly from the restaurant. If the restaurant does not accept your paid order within fifteen (15) minutes (or, for an order scheduled for a later pickup time, by shortly after that pickup time), the order is automatically cancelled and you are automatically refunded in full.

Refunds. Automatic refunds — those triggered when you cancel an order before the restaurant accepts it, or when the restaurant fails to accept a paid order in time — are issued in full, including any tip, back to your original payment method. All refunds are processed by Square and are not instant: a refund is requested immediately but remains pending until Square and your card network or payment provider settle it, which can take several days for card payments (and is typically faster for some methods, such as Cash App Pay). We notify you when a refund completes; if a refund fails, our system automatically retries it, and we will let you know if you need to contact the restaurant. Outside the automatic-refund situations above — for example, after the restaurant has accepted your order, or for an order the restaurant has already completed — any refund is at the restaurant's discretion. Pal8 is not a party to the sale and does not control whether, when, or how much a restaurant refunds in those cases. Disputes about food, fulfillment, pricing, or discretionary refunds must be resolved with the restaurant.

Promotional discounts. If you apply a restaurant's single-use promotional discount to an order, the discount is confirmed when you pay. If that order is cancelled (by you before acceptance, or automatically because the restaurant did not accept it in time), the discount is returned to you and can be used again. If a paid order is instead refunded after the restaurant has accepted it — whether in full or in part — the promotional discount is treated as used and is not returned.

When you place an order, your account email address and the name and phone number you provide for pickup are sent to Square to process your payment and send you a payment receipt. Your order details (the items, quantities, any modifiers, your kitchen notes, and item prices) are also sent to Square to set up payment; Square calculates the authoritative total. Square processes this information as an independent payment processor under its own privacy policy (squareup.com/legal). Pal8 does not store your card or payment-method details.

The Pal8 name, logo, app design, voice AI technology, taste profile algorithms, and all related intellectual property are owned by Pal8 LLC or its licensors. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service, and you may not reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of the Service.

Your taste profile data and conversation transcripts belong to you — you can delete them at any time. However, anonymized and aggregated data derived from your usage may be retained for analytics, and may be sold, licensed, or otherwise disclosed to third parties — such as consumer brands, food companies, and market researchers — for trend and market-research purposes. This data is aggregated and de-identified and does not identify you individually. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy at https://pal8.app/privacy. The Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information, including voice data, location data, and taste profile data.

By using the Service, you consent to the collection and use of information as described in the Privacy Policy.

You may delete your account at any time through Profile → Delete Account in the mobile app. Account deletion permanently removes your profile information, taste profiles, favorites, notification history, and campaign rewards.

Conversation transcripts associated with your sessions are anonymized — your identity is removed — but the anonymized data may be retained for aggregate analytics.

Account deletion is irreversible. After deletion, you may create a new account, but your previous data cannot be recovered.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Pal8 and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: your use of the Service; your violation of these Terms; your violation of any third-party rights; or any content you submit through the Service.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Connecticut, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.

To the extent any lawsuit or court proceeding is permitted under these Terms, you and Pal8 agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Connecticut for such purpose.

Pal8 is an independent platform. Restaurant partners are independent businesses, not employees, agents, or contractors of Pal8.

Pal8 does not control, and is not responsible for:

• The quality, safety, or legality of food served by restaurants.
• The accuracy of menu information, pricing, or hours provided by restaurants.
• The conduct, actions, or omissions of restaurant owners, employees, or staff.
• The fulfillment of any offers, promotions, or campaigns created by restaurants through the Service.
• Compliance with health codes, food safety regulations, or any other applicable laws by restaurants.

Any disputes regarding food quality, service, pricing, or the dining experience must be resolved directly with the restaurant.

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, services, or content that are not owned or controlled by Pal8. Pal8 has no control over and assumes no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party services.

This includes but is not limited to: Apple Sign In, Google Sign In, Stripe (subscription billing for restaurant partners), Square (payment processing for consumer pickup orders and POS integration for restaurant partners), Expo (push notification delivery), Resend (email delivery), and the third-party AI services listed in Section 4.

Your use of third-party services is governed by those services' own terms and privacy policies. You acknowledge and agree that Pal8 shall not be responsible or liable for any damage or loss caused by or in connection with the use of any third-party services.

We do not guarantee that the Service will be available at all times. The Service may be subject to interruptions, including for maintenance, upgrades, or factors beyond our control.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice, and to modify features, algorithms, AI models, recommendation systems, and any aspect of the Service's functionality at any time.

We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

Pal8 shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under these Terms due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to: natural disasters, pandemics, wars, terrorism, riots, government actions, power failures, internet or telecommunications failures, cyberattacks, third-party service outages (including AI providers, hosting, or payment processors), or any other force majeure event.

By creating a Pal8 account, you consent to receive electronic communications from us, including push notifications, emails, and in-app messages. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

You may opt out of marketing communications at any time through your app settings, but transactional communications (account security, terms updates) may still be sent.

We may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service at any time, for any reason, including violation of these Terms, with or without notice. You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time.

Upon termination: your right to use the Service ceases immediately; you remain liable for any obligations incurred prior to termination; and Pal8 may retain anonymized and aggregated data as described in these Terms.

The following sections survive termination: Section 4 (AI Disclosure), Section 5 (Allergen Disclaimer), Section 9 (Intellectual Property), Section 12 (Disclaimer of Warranties), Section 13 (Limitation of Liability), Section 14 (Indemnification), Section 15 (Governing Law), Section 16 (Arbitration), Section 17 (Class Action Waiver), Section 18 (Statute of Limitations), Section 19 (Assumption of Risk), Section 20 (No Relationship with Restaurants), Section 21 (No Medical Advice), Section 26 (Release of Claims), and any other section that by its nature should survive.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy at https://pal8.app/privacy and any subscription agreement for restaurant partners, constitute the entire agreement between you and Pal8.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable while preserving its original intent.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not be considered a waiver of those rights. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations under these Terms without restriction. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship is created between you and Pal8 as a result of these Terms or your use of the Service.

If you believe that content available through the Service infringes your copyright, you may submit a notice to [email protected] containing: identification of the copyrighted work; identification of the infringing material; your contact information; a statement of good faith belief; a statement of accuracy under penalty of perjury; and your physical or electronic signature.

We will respond to valid DMCA notices in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Pal8 collects your device's location data (GPS coordinates) when you grant location permission, solely to show nearby restaurants and personalize your experience. Location data is used to display restaurants near you, rank recommendations by proximity, and associate your taste profile with geographic preferences.

You may revoke location permission at any time through your device settings. Without location access, you can still browse restaurants by manually selecting a location or zipcode.

Pal8 does NOT track your location in the background, sell your location data, share your precise location with restaurants or third parties, or use location data for advertising. Location data associated with your account is deleted when you delete your account.

• Account data (name, email, preferences) is retained for the duration of your account and deleted upon account deletion.
• Voice audio is processed in real time and is NOT retained after transcription.
• Conversation transcripts are retained for the duration of your account. Upon account deletion, transcripts are anonymized (your identity is removed) and the anonymized data may be retained for aggregate analytics.
• Taste profiles are retained for the duration of your account and deleted upon account deletion.
• Push notification tokens are retained for the duration of your account and deleted upon account deletion.
• Session metadata (timestamps, device info) may be retained in anonymized form for analytics and service improvement.

We will permanently destroy all personal data associated with your account within 30 days of receiving a valid deletion request.

Pal8 is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete it immediately.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided personal information to Pal8, contact us at [email protected] and we will take steps to remove the information. Users between 13 and 18 may use the Service with parental or guardian consent as described in Section 3.

The Service is operated from the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, you acknowledge that your data will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using the Service, you consent to such transfer, storage, and processing.

We make no representations that the Service is appropriate or available for use in locations outside the United States. If you access the Service from other jurisdictions, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

If you provide Pal8 with any feedback, suggestions, ideas, improvements, or recommendations regarding the Service ("Feedback"), you hereby assign to Pal8 all rights, title, and interest in such Feedback. Pal8 is free to use, disclose, reproduce, license, distribute, and otherwise exploit the Feedback in any manner without obligation, restriction, or compensation to you.

This includes, without limitation, incorporating Feedback into the Service, AI models, algorithms, or any other Pal8 product or service.

From time to time, Pal8 may offer beta, preview, or experimental features ("Beta Features"). Beta Features are provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranty of any kind, and may contain bugs, errors, or inaccuracies and may be modified or discontinued at any time without notice.

Your use of Beta Features is at your sole risk, and the limitations of liability in these Terms apply with full force to Beta Features. Pal8 makes no commitments regarding the availability, functionality, or future release of any Beta Feature.

Pal8 owes you no fiduciary duty. Nothing in these Terms or your use of the Service creates a fiduciary relationship, partnership, joint venture, agency, franchise, or employment relationship between you and Pal8.

Pal8's recommendations, suggestions, and AI-generated content do not constitute advice of any kind and should not be treated as a fiduciary obligation.

All rights and remedies provided in these Terms are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by law. No single or partial exercise of any right or remedy shall preclude the further exercise of that right or remedy or the exercise of any other right or remedy.

You represent and warrant that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. government embargo, and that you are not listed on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You agree to comply with all applicable export and import laws and regulations in your use of the Service.

If you are a U.S. government entity or accessing the Service on behalf of a U.S. government entity, the Service constitutes "commercial computer software" and "commercial computer software documentation" as those terms are defined in 48 C.F.R. §2.101, and is provided with RESTRICTED RIGHTS. Use, reproduction, and disclosure are subject to the restrictions set forth in these Terms.

We may provide notices to you via the email address associated with your account, via push notification, via in-app messaging, or by posting notices on the Service. You are responsible for maintaining a current email address and checking notifications.

Notices sent by email are deemed received 24 hours after sending. Notices posted on the Service are deemed received upon posting. Push notifications are deemed received upon delivery to your device. Legal notices to Pal8 must be sent to [email protected] with "Legal Notice" in the subject line.

For questions, concerns, or notices regarding these Terms of Service:

• Email: [email protected]
• Pal8 LLC, Connecticut, United States