# CrossCheck - Terms and agreements **Version:** 1.1 (May 2026) This file is the canonical text for the CrossCheck **terms of use** and **acceptance** language. The interactive site at [atom.builders/crosscheck](https://atom.builders/crosscheck/) summarizes the same points and requires you to confirm you have read and accept these terms before using the tools. --- ## 1. What CrossCheck is CrossCheck (the protocol, this repository, the `index.html` interactive page, prompts, exports, and related materials) is provided for **educational and academic purposes** only: to support **media and information literacy**, to help you practice questioning claims you encounter online, and to encourage you to consult **original primary sources** yourself. CrossCheck is **not** a commercial fact-checking service, a regulated research product, or a substitute for your own judgment. --- ## 2. Not professional advice Nothing in CrossCheck or in any AI output you obtain while following it constitutes: - Medical advice, mental-health counseling, diagnosis, or treatment - Financial, investment, tax, accounting, insurance, or legal advice - Emergency guidance (if you may have a medical emergency, call your local emergency number) CrossCheck does **not** verify claims to a professional, clinical, or regulatory standard. Do not use these materials or any AI output in place of a qualified clinician, attorney, accountant, financial advisor, or other licensed expert. --- ## 3. No warranty The materials are provided **"as is"** without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. There is **no guarantee** of accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Large language models can **hallucinate** citations, statistics, and confident-sounding conclusions. You are responsible for verifying anything important against authoritative primary sources. --- ## 4. Your responsibility - You alone are responsible for how you use prompts, AI responses, exported records, and any conclusions you draw. - **Re-running** CrossCheck or reading someone else's exported report is still not a substitute for professional advice when your situation requires it. Independent re-validation is welcome; it does not transfer liability. - Links to third-party AI tools and databases are for convenience only and do **not** imply endorsement or that those services have reviewed your situation. --- ## 5. License to the materials The CrossCheck **documentation and code** in this repository are licensed under **CC BY 4.0** unless otherwise noted. See the [`LICENSE`](LICENSE) file. Using the licensed materials does not waive Section 2 or 3 of this document regarding how you use AI tools or interpret outputs. --- ## 6. Use of the interactive page By checking the acceptance box on the interactive page (or by using the page's prompts and controls in a way that bypasses that control), you acknowledge that: 1. You have had a reasonable opportunity to read this file (or the on-page summary at `#terms`). 2. You accept these terms and the **no warranty** and **not professional advice** limitations. 3. Your use is **at your own risk**. If you do not agree, do not use the interactive tools on the site. --- ## 7. Privacy (browser, API, and community feed) - **Main form (`index.html`).** The page may store **non-personal** settings and draft paste fields in your browser's **local storage** (for example, tool selections or pasted summaries) so your work can resume. Third-party AI services you use have their own terms and privacy policies. - **What the server stores when you use the optional publish / community features.** If you choose to publish a completed CrossCheck record, the site stores that **structured record** (the claim text, pasted threads, and related fields you submitted) plus operational metadata needed to run the feed (for example, a **hashed** client IP and a short user-agent string for abuse control). We do **not** build profiles, sell data, or use your text for model training through this software. - **Thumbs on Shared runs.** Optional thumbs-up / thumbs-down on approved posts are stored in the site database as **aggregate counts** and at most **one current vote per publication per pseudonymous viewer bucket** (peppered IP hash when available, otherwise a session-derived hash), so the same viewer can change their mind but cannot stack multiple votes. We do **not** use those tallies for advertising profiles. - **Review / takedown requests.** If you ask for moderator review of a public post, we record a **single row** keyed by a **hashed network identifier** and the publication id so the same network cannot spam that button. That row is for abuse prevention only, not for marketing. If you do not want any server-side storage, do not use publish or the community browse APIs; use export and copy only. --- ## 8. Changes Version **1.1** expanded the privacy section to describe the optional community API (publish, browse, persisted thumbs with hashed viewer buckets, and minimal records for review-request abuse control). We may update this file from time to time. The interactive page may require acceptance of a new **version** string before unlocking tools. Continued use after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. --- ## 9. Contact For questions about this repository, open an issue on the project host (for example [github.com/AtomBuilders/crosscheck](https://github.com/AtomBuilders/crosscheck)).