Terms of Service

HER-STEMisphere is a women-focused STEM community. The Services are intended for individuals who identify as women (including cis and transgender women) and are interested in STEM education, careers, or leadership. By joining, you confirm that:

• You meet the intended audience criteria for this community
• You are at least 18 years old
• You will provide accurate account information and keep it updated
• You will not create an account for another person without permission or impersonate anyone
• You have read and agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy

HERStem verification (government ID) is required before full access to the Services and for a Verified Member badge. Submissions are reviewed manually by authorized administrators. We may suspend or remove accounts that misrepresent eligibility or abuse the community. Verification does not guarantee membership forever and may be revoked if fraud or abuse is discovered. Our community criteria include cis and transgender women.

You are responsible for your account credentials and for activity that occurs under your account. Keep your password confidential and notify us promptly at support@herstemisphere.com if you suspect unauthorized access. We may refuse registration, reclaim usernames, or disable accounts that violate these Terms.

HER-STEMisphere may offer a free community plan and paid memberships (for example Student and Standard plans). Current pricing and features are described in the app and on our website and may change over time. Taxes may apply based on your location and storefront.

• Free plan. The Free plan is permanent HERspace community access. It is not a time-limited trial. Free members may browse, post, like, and comment, but cannot message or use mentor, Growth Hub, state community, event, or AI features until they upgrade and complete HERStem verification where required.
• Student membership. Student pricing may require a valid .edu or university email and is subject to eligibility checks. Providing false student credentials is a violation of these Terms. If you sign in with Apple’s Hide My Email or another relay address, you may need to add a university email to qualify for Student pricing.
• Paid subscriptions. Purchases made through the Apple App Store or Google Play are billed by those stores and governed by their payment terms. Subscriptions are auto-renewing for the selected period (for example monthly) until you cancel. Your store account will be charged at confirmation of purchase and for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period unless canceled. Manage or cancel in your device’s subscription settings (iOS: Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions; Android: Google Play → Payments & subscriptions). Refunds are handled primarily through Apple or Google according to their policies. Unless required by law or store policy, fees are non-refundable once charged.
• Access. We use subscription status (including via RevenueCat) to unlock membership features. Loss of a valid entitlement may reduce feature access. Deleting your HER-STEMisphere account does not cancel store billing — cancel the subscription in Apple or Google separately.

You agree to use HER-STEMisphere respectfully and lawfully. You must not:

• Harass, threaten, stalk, dox, discriminate against, or sexually exploit anyone
• Post hate speech, graphic violence, child sexual abuse material, or content that promotes self-harm or illegal activity
• Impersonate another person, organization, or HER-STEMisphere staff
• Share others’ personal data without consent, or post private communications without permission
• Upload malware, scrape the Services without authorization, or attempt to bypass security or access controls
• Use the Services for spam, unauthorized advertising, or commercial solicitation outside allowed features
• Interfere with other members’ use of the Services or with platform operations
• Misuse verification, mentorship, messaging, or anonymous posting features

HER-STEMisphere reserves the right to remove content, limit features, or suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules or our Community Safety standards. Report concerns through Help & Support in the app, the in-app report tools, or by emailing support@herstemisphere.com. We may preserve and report illegal content to appropriate authorities, including the NCMEC CyberTipline where applicable.

You retain ownership of content you create (posts, comments, messages, mentor profiles, and similar materials) (“Your Content”). By submitting Your Content, you grant HER-STEMisphere a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, display, reproduce, and distribute Your Content as needed to operate and promote the Services, including moderation and technical delivery.

You represent that you have the rights to Your Content and that it does not infringe others’ rights or violate law. HERspace anonymity hides your identity from other members; it does not prevent admins from reviewing authorship for safety and enforcement, and it does not waive your responsibility for what you post.

We may remove or restrict Your Content that violates these Terms or that we reasonably believe creates legal or safety risk.

If you believe content on the Services infringes your copyright, send a notice that substantially complies with 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3) to:

• DMCA Agent / Copyright: support@herstemisphere.com
• Subject line: DMCA Notice — HER-STEMisphere
• Operator: HER-STEMisphere
• Also see herstemisphere.com/dmca

Include: your contact information; a description of the copyrighted work; the location of the allegedly infringing material; a statement of good-faith belief; a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act; and your physical or electronic signature. We may remove or disable access to material and terminate accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. You may also use in-app report tools and select the Copyright reason where available.

Mentorship matching, mentor directories, Growth Hub resources, scholarships, STEM news, and career tools are provided for informational and community purposes. HER-STEMisphere does not guarantee job offers, admissions outcomes, funding awards, or specific mentor matches. Mentors and members interact independently; relationships and advice shared between members are not professional employment, legal, medical, or financial advice from HER-STEMisphere unless explicitly stated in writing. Meet safely (public places when meeting offline; do not send money to people you do not know).

HER AI Career Coach (powered by OpenAI) provides AI-generated STEM career coaching based on your prompts and conversation history. Responses may be incomplete, inaccurate, or a poor fit for your situation. The Coach is a helpful guide — not a substitute for mentors, counselors, or licensed legal, medical, financial, or career professionals. You are responsible for how you use any suggestions. Do not share sensitive personal information (such as government ID numbers, exact home addresses, or financial account details) in Coach chats.

HERStem verification is required to access the full Services and to strengthen community trust. You must only submit documents you are authorized to use. We handle verification images as described in our Privacy Policy, including deletion of ID images from file storage after a verification decision, and limited retention of status and audit metadata. If a submission is rejected, you may re-upload a clearer valid government ID. Verification does not guarantee membership forever and may be revoked if fraud or abuse is discovered.

The Services — including the HER-STEMisphere name, logos, branding, app design, software, and original content we publish — are owned by HER-STEMisphere or our licensors and protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from our materials except as expressly allowed by these Terms or with our prior written consent. Third-party news headlines, scholarship listings, and linked resources remain owned by their respective providers; we do not endorse third-party offers and listings may change or expire.

The Services may integrate or link to third parties (app stores, payment processors, authentication providers, scholarship or news sites, and AI providers). Your use of those services may be subject to their own terms. HER-STEMisphere is not responsible for third-party content, availability, or practices.

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HER-STEMISPHERE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT CONTENT WILL ALWAYS BE ACCURATE OR AVAILABLE.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HER-STEMISPHERE AND ITS OFFICERS, FOUNDERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATED TO THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO HER-STEMISPHERE FOR THE SERVICES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (USD $100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS; IN THOSE CASES, OUR LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless HER-STEMisphere and its team from claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of your use of the Services, Your Content, or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

You may stop using the Services at any time. You may delete your account in the app or website Settings, or follow the instructions at /delete-account. Deleting your account removes access and queues deletion of associated personal data as described in the Privacy Policy; some records (for example safety reports or billing metadata) may be retained as needed for legal compliance. Cancel any Apple App Store or Google Play subscription separately so you are not billed after account deletion. We may suspend or terminate access immediately if you violate these Terms, create safety risk, fail to pay required fees, or if we discontinue the Services. Provisions that by nature should survive (including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and indemnity) will survive termination.

We may update the Services and these Terms from time to time. We will post revised Terms on this page and update the effective date. Material changes may also be communicated in the app or by email. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where mandatory consumer protections in your place of residence apply. Courts located in Delaware will have exclusive venue for disputes that cannot be resolved informally, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

• These Terms are the entire agreement between you and HER-STEMisphere regarding the Services and supersede prior agreements on the same subject.
• If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect.
• Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.
• You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• Headings are for convenience only.

Questions about these Terms:

• Support: support@herstemisphere.com
• General: hello@herstemisphere.com
• Operator: HER-STEMisphere
• Website: https://herstemisphere.com