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Ask HN: Should I write Terms and Conditions for a free-to-use service?

6 points by rmedaer ↗ HN
I'm gonna start a small project which provide very simple service for free. However I currently don't want to commit on SLA and I don't want either to provide warranty.

Should I write a kind of disclaimer or Terms and Conditions to protect my self ? Should I ask consent to users before they can use the service ?

2 comments

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Beldin
Yes. You should cover your legal ass. Make sure you're not responsible for illegal stuff users might try to do with your service (to the extent possible by law).
02020202
nah, no need. but it is always good to have ToS so you have something to point users to. but when you write it, write it in inclusive manner, not exclusive. most people burn themselvs with it. in other words, by default, you guarantee nothing that is not specifically listed. that way you know excatly what your responsibilities are and what penalties, if any, you are liable for. same goes for users and their responsibilities and penalties. but be careful with agreements and changes made to it later on and getting NEW consent from users. again, if it is free, it is waste of time, but it "might" be handy.

ps: even if it is free, be careful if you are handling user data. if the service onyl provides your own data and does not receive or store any user input, then there not much to worry about...although you might damage user data even if they were not submitted into your system so...think about your needs and ymmv.