Locus Terms of Service

Effective date: October 12, 2026

1. Platform and Service Provider

Welcome to Locus.

Locus (the “Platform” or “we”) is an online intelligent assistance service for researchers, students and prospective doctoral applicants. It provides academic background analysis, research direction exploration, doctoral opportunity searches and application assistance tools.

Official website: https://app.locusairesearch.com/.

Locus is operated by an individual. Operator: Hou Fangyu; country/region of operation: China; correspondence address: Fengxiang East Street, Yangsong Town, Huairou District, Beijing, China (北京市怀柔区杨宋镇凤翔东大街). In these Terms, “we” refers to that operator and “you” refers to a user of Locus.

Customer support, billing, refunds and security contact: alexneely936@gmail.com

These Terms apply to the Platform's free services, paid memberships and related digital features.

Please read these Terms and the Privacy Policy before using the Platform. Where separate consent is legally required, we will request it separately.

We respect and protect your rights under applicable law. These Terms do not exclude or restrict consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

2. Services and Limitations

Locus is a digital service supporting academic research and doctoral opportunity exploration. Features include research direction generation, school and position searches, academic background analysis and AI-assisted targeting, ranking references, opportunity combinations, favorites and results display. Available features depend on the descriptions displayed at the time and your account permissions.

Results assist research and decision-making only. They are not commitments by a school, supervisor or recruiting organization, and do not guarantee admission, employment, scholarships, rankings or any particular quality of AI output. Positions, deadlines and application requirements may change. Verify them against original announcements from the relevant school, supervisor or recruiter.

The service may depend on third-party models, search, cloud computing and communications services. We will take reasonable steps to address failures, but do not promise that any model, interface or feature will remain unchanged indefinitely. Material changes to paid plans must be explained as required by law; these Terms cannot unilaterally release us from service obligations already promised.

3. Accounts and Security

The service is available only to users aged 18 or older. You must have appropriate authorization when using it on behalf of an organization.

Provide a usable email address and protect your login credentials. Do not impersonate others, share or resell account access, or circumvent authentication or usage limits. Contact the email address above if you notice account irregularities.

Registration may require an email verification code. Existing accounts continue through their existing login flow. Free and paid plan limits follow the rules clearly displayed at the time of purchase and use. The Privacy Policy describes the handling of account information and research materials.

4. Membership Plans

The Waffo plans proposed for this integration are one-time purchases. There is no automatic renewal or recurring charge. Expiration does not trigger another automatic charge.

These are operator-confirmed Waffo plan prices. Waffo payments are not yet enabled, and publication of these Terms does not make that checkout available for actual payments. Available plans and taxes follow the checkout actually enabled. Completed orders are governed by their saved order terms; those terms are not changed retroactively.

Lifetime membership does not mean the lifetime of a natural person or an obligation to operate indefinitely. It means access to the corresponding Pro benefits while Locus remains operational. Access ends if the service permanently closes, but refunds, compensation and other obligations arising under law or contract remain applicable.

For lifetime memberships, closure compensation is measured from membership activation, not the Platform's launch date. The operator has confirmed the following standards:

• If activation occurred less than one year before closure, compensation is calculated as “the amount actually paid for the order × days remaining in the first year ÷ 365.” The first year is treated as 365 days.
• If at least one year has elapsed since activation, the cash refund is 5% of the amount actually paid for the order, plus additional Claude API or Gemini API service usage credits of equal value to that cash refund. Credit value is calculated in CNY and converted to USD-denominated AI usage credits using the CNY/USD exchange rate; it is not converted at a fixed rate of “CNY 1 = USD 1.” Both cash and additional credits are provided; credits do not replace cash.
• Gifted credits remain usable until two months after the Platform stops operating and expire thereafter. The applicable exchange rate and credit access point will be explained when credits are converted. These credits do not constitute an official provider account balance, API key or subscription.

Calculations use the amount actually paid for the order, not the product's listed price at closure. Settlement arrangements will be explained in the closure notice and must not reduce these compensation standards. Closure must be announced in advance as required by law, and outstanding service obligations must be addressed. Statutory requirements prevail over contractual limitations. Credits for other products cannot be imposed in place of a legally required monetary refund.

5. Payment and Activation

Pay through the channels actually enabled on the page. The proposed Waffo Pancake checkout is provided by a third party and remains in isolated testing. We do not ask you to provide customer support with a full card number, CVV, security password or account verification code.

The server must retain the order's price, currency and access period. Benefits can be activated only after the server confirms successful payment. Browser redirects, payment screenshots or clicking “I have paid” are not sufficient for automatic activation. If you have been charged but benefits are missing, provide your account email and order number and avoid making another purchase unnecessarily.

Tax inclusion, invoicing and the payment recipient follow actual checkout disclosures. Price changes do not alter paid orders; prices for new purchases must be clearly displayed before checkout.

6. Expiration, Repeat Purchases and Termination

After a fixed-duration plan expires, the account follows the then-applicable free plan, without further automatic charges. Membership expiration does not automatically close the account or delete data. If a fixed-duration membership remains active, another fixed-duration purchase extends access from its existing expiration date; otherwise, access is calculated from activation. Accounts with lifetime membership are not permitted to purchase another membership.

You may request account closure or exercise data rights through the contact email. For accounts suspected of unlawful conduct, fraud or serious breaches of security rules, we may impose necessary restrictions as permitted by law and provide appropriate explanations or appeal channels. Account restrictions do not automatically remove statutory rights.

7. Refund Policy

Commercial refund eligibility: submit a request within 168 hours (7 days) after the order's payment becomes effective, provided that, following this purchase, the account has not used any of these three categories: AI research direction generation, AI search or AI-assisted targeting. If any category has been used following this purchase, a commercial refund based on non-use is generally unavailable. Usage before this purchase, including earlier free usage, is not grounds for rejecting a non-use refund for this purchase.

AI operations that fail or time out without completing normally do not count as usage, even if partial results have already been displayed, and are not grounds for rejecting this refund. Effective payment is determined by the server-verified successful payment record for that order, not browser redirects or page refreshes. Each order's usage must be checked from its own effective payment time; the account's entire history cannot replace post-purchase records. Usage must not be presumed without adequate records.

These limitations do not exclude statutory cancellation or refund rights, duplicate charges, unauthorized charges, failure to deliver, material service defects or other legally required refunds. Such requests will not be rejected solely because the service is digital or AI has been used.

Email your request from your account email to alexneely936@gmail.com, including the order number, purchase date and reason. Do not send full card details or passwords. After confirming eligibility, we will submit the refund to the payment channel within 7 calendar days, using the original payment route where the channel permits, and inform you of the result. Actual receipt depends on the payment channel and bank and is distinct from the submission date. This is a manual request-and-review process, not a statement that automatic refunds have already been implemented.

8. Billing Disputes

For questions about amounts, orders or benefits, contact alexneely936@gmail.com with necessary order information. We encourage reconciliation first, but prior contact is not a condition restricting your right to seek assistance from payment institutions, regulators or courts.

9. Inputs, Outputs and Intellectual Property

You must be entitled to submit resumes, research materials and other inputs. You grant us limited permission necessary to provide the requested service. Third-party processing, retention and data rights are described in the Privacy Policy.

You may use generated outputs to the extent allowed by applicable law and your agreements with third parties. AI outputs may not be unique, eligible for copyright protection or free from third-party rights. Rights in Locus branding, interfaces and software remain with their respective rights holders.

We do not promise that all suppliers never use data for training without verifying their policies. Training-related rules must follow confirmed data processing arrangements and the Privacy Policy.

10. Acceptable Use

10.1 Content Standards and Prohibited Categories

This section covers prompts, uploaded materials, generated results and their distribution through Locus. You must not generate, request, upload or distribute the following content through the Platform, whether presented as text, images, audio or another format. This rule does not imply that the Platform offers all these media features:

• Pornography / NSFW: pornography, explicit sexual acts, adult material intended for sexual stimulation, and non-consensual intimate content.
• Violence / gore: extreme gore, abuse, incitement or glorification of violence, promotion of terrorism, extremism or mass harm, and instructions for making weapons of mass destruction.
• Hate speech: degradation, dehumanization, discrimination, threats or incitement to hatred or violence based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or other identity characteristics.
• Child-unsafe content (CSAM): any sexualization, sexual exploitation or abuse material involving minors, grooming or other content endangering children, including synthetic or fictional material.
• Deepfakes / impersonation: unauthorized imitation of a real person's identity, appearance or voice, non-consensual deepfakes, false endorsements, or impersonation of people or organizations to mislead, defraud or violate rights.
• Copyright / trademark infringement: copying, adapting or distributing protected works without authorization or a legal basis, counterfeiting trademarks, or generating other content that infringes copyright, trademark or related rights.

Do not use prompts to bypass safety restrictions or falsely present generated content as a person's or rights holder's official work, opinion or authorization.

10.2 Reporting and Human Review

Report suspected violations to alexneely936@gmail.com with the subject “Content report.” Include the relevant page or result identifier, time, reason and necessary evidence. For copyright or trademark complaints, explain your rights. Do not attach or redistribute child sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate imagery, passwords or unnecessary personal information.

The operator conducts human review in response to reports or identified warning signs: receive the report, assess the risk, check necessary relevant records, decide on action and provide feedback where contact is possible and legally permitted. Child safety, imminent physical danger and serious unlawful conduct receive priority. Review is limited to information necessary to handle the report. Reporter information is protected under the Privacy Policy and is not unnecessarily disclosed to the reported party. Malicious reports and fabricated evidence are prohibited.

The Platform does not promise real-time human or automated review of every input and output, or that third-party model safety restrictions will detect every violation. Report-based human review is not comprehensive input and output content screening.

10.3 Enforcement and Appeals

Depending on verified conduct, severity, impact and recurrence, we may lawfully issue warnings requiring correction, stop providing the relevant content, restrict the relevant service, or suspend or terminate account access. Necessary protective measures may precede further review where serious risks arise. Suspected crimes or matters subject to mandatory reporting are referred to the appropriate authorities as required by law. Enforcement does not automatically remove statutory refund or other consumer rights.

You may contest a decision by emailing the address above with the subject “Content enforcement appeal,” identifying the notice and providing additional evidence. The operator will reconsider the original decision and additional materials, correct established errors and explain the outcome where legally permitted.

10.4 Other Usage Requirements

Do not use the service for unlawful activities, fraud, harassment, or infringement of privacy or intellectual property. Do not distribute malware, attack the Platform, bypass authentication, forge payment notifications, abuse resources or extract large amounts of data you are not authorized to access. Do not misrepresent AI results as official conclusions of schools, supervisors or licensed professionals.

Do not submit third-party personal information or confidential materials you are not entitled to disclose. In academic activities, follow the rules of schools, journals and research institutions, and independently verify citations and facts.

11. Privacy

The Privacy Policy URL is https://app.locusairesearch.com/privacy . Please also read its explanation of personal information processing.

12. Liability and Service Changes

AI and search results may be inaccurate, incomplete or outdated. The Platform does not guarantee particular admission or career outcomes. Liability is subject to applicable law; obligations that cannot legally be excluded remain applicable, and intentional misconduct, gross negligence or other non-excludable liabilities are not covered by a blanket disclaimer.

Material changes will be announced reasonably in advance through the website or usable registered email addresses. Where renewed consent is legally required, it will be requested separately rather than inferred solely from continued use. Changes to or termination of paid services must be handled in accordance with law.

13. Applicable Law and Contact

Country of operation: China. These Terms are governed by the law of the People's Republic of China, and disputes are handled in accordance with law. Other applicable mandatory consumer and data protection rights are not diminished by that choice.

Customer support, refunds, privacy and security: alexneely936@gmail.com. The operator's name and correspondence address appear in Section 1.