Terms of Service

1. Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of ForageIQ — the website at mycology.technology, the ForageIQ web application, the ForageIQ mobile apps for iOS and Android, and any related services (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account, signing in, or using any part of the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

2. What ForageIQ is — and isn't

ForageIQ is a decision-support tool. It surfaces environmental data (precipitation, soil temperature, drought status, snowmelt, fire history, phenology windows) to help you decide whether and where to go foraging. It produces tier scores, heatmaps, AI-written conditions narratives, and trip itineraries.

ForageIQ is nota species identification tool. It does not analyze photos of mushrooms. The MyCodex feature is an honor-system field guide and badge tracker — marking a species as "Found" in the app is a personal log entry and is not an identification or verification by us.

3. Identification & consumption — your responsibility

You agree that:

• You are solely responsible for identifying any mushroom you pick and for deciding whether to consume it.
• You will verify identification with a qualified expert — a mycologist, a local mycological society, or an experienced forager who has physically examined the specimen — before eating any wild mushroom.
• You will not rely on photo ID apps, AI tools, or any single source (including ForageIQ) to determine edibility.
• You understand that many edible species have toxic or deadly look-alikes, that individual sensitivities vary, and that even correctly identified edibles can cause illness.
• You will keep a raw sample of any wild mushroom you consume so it can be examined if symptoms develop.

See our Safety Guide for the deadly species you should learn first, post-fire hazards, poisoning symptoms, and Poison Control contacts.

4. Liability waiver & assumption of risk

Foraging involves real, serious risks: misidentification can cause illness, organ damage, or death. Burn areas have additional hazards including widow-makers, stump holes, and post-fire debris flows. Backcountry travel involves exposure, navigation, and wildlife risks.

You knowingly and voluntarily assume all risks associated with using ForageIQ to plan, locate, identify, harvest, or consume wild mushrooms — and with traveling to and being present in the areas the Service references.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you waive, release, and discharge ForageIQ, its operator (Tim Jansen / HyphAi), and any contributors, from any and all claims, demands, damages, costs, expenses, or causes of action arising out of or related to your use of the Service or your foraging activities, including but not limited to claims arising from misidentification, illness, injury, property damage, trespass, citation, or death.

5. AI-generated content

Conditions narratives, trip plans, and other AI-generated text are produced by third-party language models (currently Anthropic Claude) using the data sources described in How It Works. They may contain errors, hallucinations, or omissions. AI output is shown with a "verify in field" disclaimer because that disclaimer is real: verify everything before acting on it. AI output is not professional advice — mycological, medical, legal, or otherwise.

6. No medical, legal, or professional advice

ForageIQ provides foraging conditions data for informational purposes only. Nothing in the Service constitutes medical advice, legal advice, or professional foraging instruction. If you suspect mushroom poisoning, call 1-800-222-1222 (US Poison Control) immediately, or 911 in an emergency. For legal access questions, check with the relevant land-management agency before each trip.

7. Land access & permits

ForageIQ shows public-land overlays and permit information as a convenience, not as legal authorization. You are responsible for verifying current rules with the specific National Forest, BLM district, state agency, or tribal authority before entering any area, and for obtaining any required permits. Tribal lands are not public lands. ForageIQ is not liable for trespass, citations, or any consequences of unauthorized access.

8. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Scrape, redistribute, or commercially resell ForageIQ data without written permission
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the Service
• Submit prompts designed to bypass safety guardrails on the AI features
• Use the Service to harass other foragers, harm wildlife, or violate any law
• Share your account credentials or use another user's account
• Attempt to disrupt the Service or other users' access to it

9. Subscriptions, billing & refunds

ForageIQ Pro is billed through Stripe on a monthly or annual basis. You can cancel at any time from your account settings, and your Pro features remain active through the end of the current paid period. We do not offer pro-rated refunds for unused time. We may change pricing for future billing periods with at least 30 days' notice. During the alpha period, Pro features may be made available without charge — this does not entitle you to free Pro access in any future period.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ForageIQ, its operator, and any contributors from any claims, damages, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of (a) your use of the Service, (b) your foraging activities, (c) your violation of these Terms, or (d) your violation of any third-party right, including any law or regulation.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that data is accurate, complete, current, or uninterrupted.

In no event shall ForageIQ, its operator, or any contributors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenues, data, or use, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service — even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Our aggregate liability for any claim relating to the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid to us in the twelve months before the claim arose, or (b) US$100.

12. Governing law & disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Colorado, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any disputes shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Denver, Colorado, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force.

13. Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted here with an updated "Last updated" date. Continued use of the Service after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Contact

Questions or concerns about these Terms? support@mycology.technology