Terms of Service

GutWell  ·  Effective date: [PLACEHOLDER — TO BE SET AT PUBLICATION]  ·  Last updated: [PLACEHOLDER — TO BE SET AT PUBLICATION]  ·  Language: English

DRAFT — NOT YET IN EFFECT. This document has not been reviewed by a qualified lawyer. All items marked [PLACEHOLDER] must be resolved before publication. This draft does not constitute legal advice.
Impressum / Legal Notice (DDG): German law (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG) requires a separate Legal Notice (Impressum) stating the operator's full legal name, service address, and contact details, easily accessible from the App and Site. These Terms are not a substitute. [PLACEHOLDER — IMPRESSUM TO BE CREATED AND PUBLISHED SEPARATELY BEFORE LAUNCH]

1. Introduction and Acceptance

Welcome to GutWell. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the GutWell website ("Site") and, once available, the GutWell iOS application ("App"), operated by [PLACEHOLDER — FULL LEGAL NAME OF OPERATOR], an individual operator based in the Federal Republic of Germany ("we", "us", or "our").

By accessing the Site or, once available, downloading or using the App, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site or App.

We will provide reasonable advance notice of material changes to these Terms via in-app notification or email before they take effect. Where applicable law requires your express consent to a change, we will request it. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you may stop using the service and delete your account.

A German-language version of these Terms will be made available before publication in German-speaking markets. [PLACEHOLDER — GERMAN TRANSLATION TO BE ADDED BEFORE LAUNCH]

2. Website and App — Scope of These Terms

These Terms apply to both the GutWell website and the GutWell App. Where provisions relate specifically to the App, they apply only once the App is publicly available.

Joining the GutWell waitlist does not create a paid subscription, guarantee admission to a beta programme, or guarantee a specific launch date. Waitlist registration is governed by the Privacy Policy.

The App is currently in development and has not yet been released on the App Store. References to App features describe planned functionality and are subject to change.

3. Eligibility and Age Requirement

You must be at least [PLACEHOLDER — MINIMUM AGE — LEGAL REVIEW REQUIRED] years old to use GutWell. By using the Site or App, you confirm that you meet this requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

GutWell is not directed at children. If we become aware that personal data has been collected from a person below the applicable minimum age, we will delete it promptly.

4. What GutWell Is

GutWell is a personal gut-health tracking and coaching tool. When available, the App is planned to include:

GutWell does not diagnose conditions, reliably identify trigger or safe foods, predict health outcomes, or provide clinically validated measurements. Features may be modified, added, or removed over time.

5. Medical Disclaimer

GutWell is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Everything in the App — including the Gut Score, AI-generated meal analyses, pattern summaries, guidance, and suggestions — is for personal tracking and general wellness awareness only. Nothing in the App should be understood as:

If you have a medical condition, persistent or unusual symptoms, or any health concern, please consult a qualified healthcare provider. In a medical emergency, contact the relevant emergency services immediately.

6. AI-Generated Content and Its Limitations

GutWell uses third-party AI services, including services provided by Google, to generate meal analyses. By using the photo analysis feature, you acknowledge that:

Information about what data is sent to third-party AI services, how it is processed, and applicable transfer arrangements is set out in our Privacy Policy.

7. Your Right to Challenge and Correct AI Analyses

GutWell is built on the principle that you are always in control of your own data and analysis.

You have the right to disagree with, correct, or disregard any AI-generated analysis. If the AI misidentifies your meal, makes incorrect assumptions, or provides guidance that does not fit your situation, you may:

Where you provide corrections, these and the resulting revised analysis are stored as part of your meal history. GutWell does not intentionally use submitted content or corrections to train its own general-purpose AI model. Processing by third-party AI providers depends on the provider configuration, contractual terms, and data-processing arrangements described in the Privacy Policy.

GutWell is designed to support your own thinking — not to replace it.

8. Context-Aware Guidance

GutWell can optionally adapt meal guidance to your real-life situation. When you provide information about your current state or planned activities — such as working, studying, driving, travelling, exercising, attending a social event, managing a stressful day, or preparing for sleep — this information may be included in the analysis request to make guidance more relevant.

By providing contextual information, you acknowledge that:

9. Your Account

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure, for all activity that takes place under your account, and for ensuring that information you provide is accurate. If you suspect unauthorised access to your account, contact us immediately at [PLACEHOLDER — SUPPORT EMAIL].

10. Submitted Content and Photos

You must have the right to submit any content — including meal photographs — that you upload to GutWell. You must not submit content that infringes another person's privacy, copyright, or other rights.

You retain all applicable rights in the information and content you submit to GutWell. We process personal data only as described in the Privacy Policy and as necessary to provide, secure, and improve the service. We do not claim ownership of your personal health data.

By submitting content for analysis, you grant us only the limited rights necessary to process that content and provide the requested features.

11. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

12. Intellectual Property

The App, Site, their design, content, features, and associated intellectual property are owned by the operator of GutWell or licensed to the operator and are protected by applicable law. Nothing in these Terms transfers any intellectual property rights to you.

We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the App on your own device for personal, non-commercial purposes in accordance with these Terms.

You retain all applicable rights in the information and content you submit to GutWell. We process it only as described in the Privacy Policy and as necessary to provide, secure, and improve the service.

Feedback: If you voluntarily share feedback, suggestions, or ideas about GutWell, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual licence to use that feedback to improve the service. Feedback does not include your personal health data. We will not identify you publicly in connection with any feedback without your consent.

13. Subscriptions and Billing

GutWell plans to offer optional premium features available via in-app subscription, processed through Apple's App Store. [PLACEHOLDER — CONFIRM SUBSCRIPTION TIERS, FREE TRIAL TERMS, AND BILLING PARTNER BEFORE PUBLICATION. DO NOT HARDCODE PRICES.]

When subscriptions are available, the following will apply:

If you are a consumer in the European Union, you may have a statutory right of withdrawal for digital services. [PLACEHOLDER — CONFIRM WITHDRAWAL RIGHT TREATMENT FOR EU CONSUMERS IN THE CONTEXT OF APPLE'S IN-APP PURCHASE FLOW — LEGAL REVIEW REQUIRED]

14. Account Deletion and Data Export

You may delete your account at any time from Profile → Delete Account within the App. Following deletion, your personal data will be removed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

You may export a copy of your personal data at any time using the Export My Data function in Settings, which generates a file shared via your device's share sheet. For further assistance with data export or portability requests, contact [PLACEHOLDER — SUPPORT EMAIL] and we will respond without undue delay and, in principle, within one month. Where permitted by applicable data-protection law, this period may be extended where necessary due to the complexity or number of requests, and we will inform you of any such extension.

15. Service Availability and Changes

We aim to provide a reliable service but do not guarantee that the Site or App will be available at all times without interruption. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue features or the service as a whole, and will provide reasonable notice where appropriate.

Nothing in this section affects your mandatory statutory rights as a consumer, including any rights arising from paid subscriptions.

16. Disclaimer of Warranties

GutWell is provided "as is" and "as available", to the extent permitted by applicable mandatory law. We do not warrant that the App will be uninterrupted or error-free, that AI-generated analyses will be accurate or appropriate, or that use of the App will produce any particular health outcome.

Your mandatory statutory rights as a consumer, including rights of conformity under applicable German and EU consumer law, remain unaffected. Nothing in this section limits rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

17. Limitation of Liability

RELEASE BLOCKER: No Terms, Privacy Policy, or Impressum page containing unresolved placeholders may be presented as final, used for App Store submission, or published as legally complete.

[PLACEHOLDER — A COMPLETE LIMITATION-OF-LIABILITY CLAUSE COMPATIBLE WITH MANDATORY GERMAN AND EU CONSUMER LAW MUST BE PREPARED OR REVIEWED BY A QUALIFIED GERMAN LAWYER BEFORE PUBLICATION.]

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where exclusion or limitation is prohibited by applicable law, including liability for:

Your mandatory statutory rights as a consumer are not affected.

18. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, without prejudice to any mandatory consumer protection rights applicable in the country where you habitually reside.

If you are a consumer, the mandatory consumer jurisdiction rules of your country of habitual residence remain unaffected. We do not impose exclusive German court jurisdiction on consumers located outside Germany.

For business users, disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of [PLACEHOLDER — GERMAN CITY WHERE OPERATOR IS BASED — OWNER CONFIRMATION REQUIRED], Germany.

[PLACEHOLDER — CONFIRM CONSUMER DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM UNDER APPLICABLE GERMAN AND EU LAW — LEGAL REVIEW REQUIRED]

19. Apple App Store

GutWell is distributed through Apple's App Store. The following applies to your use of the App:

20. Account Suspension and Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site or App in the following circumstances:

Where a breach is capable of remedy, we will where reasonable provide notice and an opportunity to remedy it before taking action. Where immediate action is necessary to protect the service or other users, we may act without prior notice.

If your account is terminated other than for cause, we will provide reasonable notice and, where applicable, a proportionate refund of any prepaid subscription fees in accordance with your statutory rights.

21. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. The remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.

22. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and the operator of GutWell regarding your use of the Site and App and supersede all prior agreements on the same subject.

23. Contact