Terms of Service

Preamble

Welcome to HistoryBytes. These Terms of Service (hereinafter "Terms") govern the contractual relationship between HistoryBytes GmbH, Wasserfallstraße 249, A-5440 Torren, Austria (hereinafter "Provider", "we", or "us") and the users of our website and the mobile application "HistoryBytes" (hereinafter "User" or "you").

By registering an account or purchasing digital content, you fully agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Subject Matter and Scope of Services

1.1 Services

HistoryBytes offers a learning and entertainment platform for historical content. The services include access to multimedia learning units ("Info Cards"), interactive quiz modules, and competitive modes.

1.2 Founder VIP Deal & Lifetime Access

The "Founder Deal" grants the user a so-called "Lifetime Access".

• Definition: "Lifetime Access" explicitly refers to the economic lifetime of the HistoryBytes product. As long as the service is operated by HistoryBytes GmbH, the user will have access to the seasons included at the time of purchase as well as future seasons, without incurring any further subscription fees.
• Discontinuation of Service: Should the operation of HistoryBytes have to be permanently discontinued for economic, technical, or legal reasons, the obligation to provide the service ends. There is no entitlement to a pro-rata refund after the statutory withdrawal period has expired.
• Quota: The Founder Deal is strictly limited to 1,500 units in two tranches. There is no legal entitlement to purchase the deal at a specific price once the quota has been exhausted.

1.3 Content Updates (Seasons) and Modifications

We aim to release one new "Season" per month.

Reservation of Performance: This does not constitute a strict performance guarantee. The provider reserves the right to adjust release intervals to ensure the highest content and visual quality ("Visual Integrity").

Right to Modify: The provider is entitled to update, expand, or – provided it is reasonable for the user taking the provider's interests into account – modify or remove the provided content at any time.

1.4 Subscriptions (Regular Use)

In addition to the limited Founder Deal, HistoryBytes offers regular subscription models across different terms (including monthly, yearly, and a Family option for multiple users). The current prices are shown to you transparently within the app or the respective app store prior to purchase and are authoritative there.

Price Changes: We reserve the right to adjust prices for new purchases, for example due to inflation, increased costs, or country-specific market conditions. For existing, already-running subscriptions, price changes only apply from the next renewal onward and only within the information and consent requirements set out in the respective app store terms (Apple/Google).

1.5 Regional Availability and Market Discontinuation

Due to extreme currency fluctuations, regulatory changes, or other significant market conditions in individual countries, we reserve the right to discontinue individual subscription models or the service as a whole for specific countries or regions, or to adjust the options available there. Any such regional discontinuation will be carried out with reasonable advance notice where practically possible, and via the notification mechanisms provided by the respective app store. Existing Lifetime or Founder Deal entitlements remain unaffected as long as the service continues to be offered in principle; existing subscriptions are subject to the cancellation and refund rules of the respective app store. Mandatory statutory consumer protection rights remain unaffected by this provision.

2. Competitive System and Performance Data

2.1 Asynchronous Matchmaking

To guarantee immediate playability worldwide without waiting times, HistoryBytes uses an asynchronous matchmaking system. In duel modes, the user competes against the stored performance data (response times, error rates) of real profiles ("Ghost Profiles").

2.2 Data Usage for Competitions

By participating in competitions, the user agrees that their achieved performance values may be used in anonymized form as opponent data for other users. Personal data will not be visibly disclosed to third parties in this process.

3. Registration and User Account

3.1 Account Information: The user undertakes to provide truthful information upon registration. The use of third-party logins (Apple, Google) does not release the user from responsibility for their account information.

3.2 Account Security: Access credentials must be kept confidential. The user is liable for all activities carried out via their account, provided they are responsible for the misuse.

4. Payment Terms (In-App Purchases)

4.1 Payment Processing: All paid content is exclusively purchased via the in-app purchase systems of the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. There is currently no direct purchase option via our website or an external payment provider. The purchase contract for the respective service is concluded directly with Apple or Google; the terms and conditions of the respective store additionally apply.

4.2 Prices and Taxes: The prices displayed in the respective app store at the time of the order apply, inclusive of the applicable statutory value-added tax in the user's country of residence, to the extent automatically accounted for by the store.

4.3 Auto-Renewable Subscriptions: In particular, the following applies to subscriptions:

• Payment will be charged to your iTunes or Google Play account at confirmation of purchase.
• The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
• The account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period.
• Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase.

5. Virtual Currencies and Items (Coins, Boosters, Masteries)

5.1 Acquisition and Use: In HistoryBytes, users can earn or purchase virtual currencies (e.g., "Coins") as well as virtual items and upgrades (e.g., "Boosters", "Masteries") through game progress. These are exclusively for use within the application.

5.2 No Monetary Value: Virtual currencies and items have no real-world monetary value. Under no circumstances can they be exchanged, sold, or cashed out for real money, real goods, or services.

5.3 Rights of Use & Modifications: The user does not acquire ownership of these virtual goods, but rather a limited, personal, non-transferable, and revocable right of use. The provider explicitly reserves the right to modify, reduce, or remove the value, function, or availability of virtual goods at any time for reasons of game balancing or game mechanics.

5.4 Randomized Elements (Booster Packs): Where virtual goods or currencies can be used to unlock randomized content (e.g., Booster Packs), the cards contained are selected fully at random from the available pool on an equal-probability basis. All available cards have an equal chance of being drawn.

6. Right of Withdrawal for Digital Content

Expiration of the Right of Withdrawal: According to § 18 Para. 1 No. 11 FAGG (Austria) and Art. 16 lit. m of the EU Consumer Rights Directive, the right of withdrawal for contracts regarding the supply of digital content expires prematurely if the execution of the contract (activation of the content) has begun with your express consent, and you have acknowledged that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal.

As all purchases are processed via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, this express consent takes place within the respective store's own purchase process. Please refer to our separate Right of Withdrawal notice for details on this right and its premature expiration.

7. Intellectual Property and Visual Integrity

Texts, didactic concepts, sound design, and software code of HistoryBytes are protected by copyright. The visual image assets are largely generated using artificial intelligence; due to the absence of human creative authorship, these may not be protected by copyright in the classical sense. However, the compilation, curation, and arrangement of all content as a whole (a database within the meaning of § 76c of the Austrian Copyright Act, UrhG) as well as the application itself are subject to database and/or copyright protection.

Regardless of the copyright status of individual content, it is contractually strictly prohibited to:

• Reproduce image assets or texts using scraping, bots, or manual extraction.
• Use HistoryBytes content to train artificial intelligence models (e.g., LLMs, image generators).
• Violate the visual integrity of the application through technical modifications.

8. Liability and Availability

8.1 Availability: We strive for an annual average service availability of 99%.

8.2 Limitation of Liability: The provider is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence. For slight negligence, liability is limited to foreseeable, typical contractual damages.

9. Limitation Period for Claims

Claims arising from or in connection with this contract must, to the extent legally permissible, be asserted within twelve months of the user becoming aware of the claim or the circumstances giving rise to it; otherwise, they shall be excluded. This period does not apply to claims arising from intent or gross negligence, damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health, or to statutory warranty claims and other mandatory consumer protection rights, which remain unaffected by this provision.

10. Final Provisions

These Terms shall be governed by Austrian law, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If you are a consumer, any mandatory statutory consumer protection regulations of the country in which you have your habitual residence shall remain unaffected by this choice of law.

The place of jurisdiction for all disputes is, as far as legally permissible, Salzburg, Austria.