Terms of Service

Effective Date: October 18, 2026  |  Last Updated: October 18, 2026

Welcome to WildSeen (application identifier com.helson.wildseen), operated by Zijian Zhao, operating as Helson ("WildSeen", "we", "us", or "our"). These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding End User License Agreement ("EULA") between you and WildSeen governing your download, access, and use of the WildSeen mobile application and related cloud services (collectively, the "Service").

By downloading, accessing, or using WildSeen, or by tapping "Agree & Continue" during registration or subscription checkout, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Service.

1. Description of the Service

WildSeen is a nature exploration and wildlife observation application that enables users to:

• Photograph or import images of plants, birds, insects, fish, aquatic organisms, and wild animals to receive AI-assisted species identification and educational species profiles;
• Build and organize a personal Collection of species and field observations, with local device storage and optional cloud synchronization and photo backup;
• Explore personal observation maps (My Map) and nearby public wildlife sightings (Explore → Discover);
• Optionally share wildlife observations with the community in the Discoveries feed and interact through likes, bookmarks, and comments; and
• Earn nature exploration achievements and naturalist titles.

2. Critical Wildlife, Plant & Fungi Safety Disclaimer

• Informational & Educational Use Only: All species identifications, confidence percentages, common and scientific names, species dossiers, and community comments in WildSeen are provided strictly for general informational, educational, and recreational nature-journaling purposes.
• No Medical, Toxicological, or Botanical Advice: WildSeen does not provide professional botanical, mycological, toxicological, veterinary, or medical advice. Many toxic or lethal plants, mushrooms, and venomous animals closely resemble harmless species. If you or anyone else experiences a suspected poisoning, allergic reaction, bite, or sting, seek emergency medical attention or contact your local poison control center immediately.
• Respect Wildlife & Field Safety: When using WildSeen outdoors, always remain aware of your physical surroundings, terrain, weather, and traffic. Do not trespass on private property, disturb nesting or protected species, or violate local conservation or wildlife protection laws. You assume full responsibility for your personal safety and lawful conduct in the field.

3. Eligibility, Accounts & Guest Mode

• Eligibility: You must be at least 13 years old (or the minimum legal age of digital consent in your country) to create a WildSeen account. If you are under 18, you represent that you have permission from a parent or legal guardian.
• Guest Mode: You may use local features of WildSeen without registering an account. Please note that data stored only in Guest Mode resides solely on your device and cannot be recovered by us if your device is lost, reset, or the app is uninstalled.
• Registered Accounts: You may register using Email & Password, Email Verification Code, Sign in with Apple, or Google Sign-In. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities occurring under your account.
• Account Deletion: You may permanently delete your account at any time inside the app via Profile → Settings → Account → Delete account or by following the instructions on our Account & Data Deletion page.

4. WildSeen+ Subscriptions, Billing & Cancellation

4.1 WildSeen+ Membership Benefits

WildSeen offers free access to core collection features with a daily free quota for AI species identifications and up to 1 GB of manual cloud photo storage. Upgrading to an optional WildSeen+ auto-renewable subscription (Monthly or Annual) unlocks:

• Unlimited AI species identifications for personal, non-commercial use (subject to fair-use anti-abuse protections);
• Up to 10 GB of cloud photo storage;
• Automatic photo backup over Wi-Fi;
• Original-quality cloud photo backup; and
• An ad-free experience.

4.2 Billing & Automatic Renewal

• Store Payment Processing: All WildSeen+ subscriptions are purchased through and billed by your platform store—either the Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). Prices vary by region and currency and are clearly displayed on the subscription screen prior to purchase confirmation.
• Confirmation of Purchase: Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account (iOS) or Google Play account (Android) at confirmation of purchase.
• Auto-Renewal: Your subscription automatically renews at the end of each billing cycle (monthly or annually, depending on the plan selected) unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period.
• Renewal Charge: Your Apple ID or Google Play account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the applicable subscription rate.
• Free Trials (If Offered): Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription to that publication, where applicable.

4.3 Managing, Switching & Cancelling Subscriptions

• How to Cancel: You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time in your device's store account settings (in iOS: Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions; in Android: Google Play Store → Profile → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions, or via Profile → Manage subscription inside WildSeen). Deleting your WildSeen account or uninstalling the app does not automatically cancel an active store subscription.
• Effect of Cancellation: Cancelling stops future automatic renewals. You will retain full access to WildSeen+ features until the end of your current paid billing period.
• Cloud Storage After Expiration: If your WildSeen+ subscription expires and your cloud storage usage exceeds the 1 GB free tier limit, your existing backed-up photos remain safely stored and accessible, while new automatic photo uploads are paused until your storage usage is below 1 GB or you renew WildSeen+.
• Restore Purchases: If you reinstall WildSeen or switch devices using the same store account, you can restore your active entitlement at no additional charge by tapping Restore on the WildSeen+ screen.
• Refunds: Because payments are processed directly by Apple or Google, refund requests are subject to the applicable policies of the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

5. User-Generated Content & Community Rules ("Discoveries")

5.1 Ownership & License to WildSeen

• You Own Your Photos & Observations: You retain full copyright and ownership of the wildlife photos, captions, and observation records you capture or upload to WildSeen.
• License for Operating the Service: By storing content in Cloud Backup or publishing an observation or comment to the public Discoveries feed, you grant WildSeen a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable license to host, store, resize/optimize, reproduce, and display that content within the Service solely for the purpose of operating, providing, and improving WildSeen. This license ends when you delete the specific observation/post or delete your account.

5.2 Community Guidelines & Prohibited Content (Zero-Tolerance Policy)

WildSeen has zero tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users. When sharing observations, captions, avatars, nicknames, or comments in Discoveries, you agree not to post, upload, or transmit any content that:

• Depicts, promotes, or facilitates wildlife abuse, animal cruelty, illegal poaching, or the unlawful capture/trade of endangered or protected species;
• Contains nudity, sexually explicit material, graphic violence, hate speech, harassment, bullying, threats, or defamation;
• Deliberately misidentifies toxic or dangerous species with the intent to mislead or harm other users;
• Infringes the copyright, trademark, privacy, or publicity rights of any third party (only share photos that you took yourself or have the legal right to share); or
• Contains spam, commercial solicitations, malicious links, or deceptive content.

5.3 Reporting, Blocking & 24-Hour Content Moderation

WildSeen provides in-app reporting tools (tap the menu on any discovery card and select Report) to flag spam, inappropriate/objectionable content, abusive behavior, or misidentified species, as well as moderation controls to hide or block offending content. We review and act on all reported objectionable content within 24 hours by removing the offending content and ejecting or permanently banning the user who provided the offending content. We reserve the right—without prior notice—to review, filter, hide, or remove any User-Generated Content and to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

6. Acceptable Use & Fair-Use Policy

You agree to use WildSeen only for lawful, personal, and non-commercial purposes. You must not:

• Use automated scripts, bots, scrapers, or proxies to call WildSeen's AI identification or backend APIs, or share a single WildSeen+ account among multiple individuals or commercial workflows;
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to extract the source code, database schemas, or API keys of the app;
• Bypass or attempt to circumvent daily AI identification quotas, rate limits, subscription entitlement checks, or security controls; or
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of our servers or third-party service providers.

7. Intellectual Property

Excluding your User-Generated Content, the WildSeen application, including its visual design, software code, logos, trademarks, achievement badge artwork, taxonomic database structure, and generated field dossiers, is owned by Zijian Zhao (operating as Helson) and protected by applicable copyright, trademark, and intellectual property laws. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the WildSeen app on your personal mobile device in accordance with these Terms.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WILDSEEN IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT SPECIES IDENTIFICATIONS WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DATA STORED EXCLUSIVELY ON YOUR LOCAL DEVICE WILL BE FREE FROM LOSS.

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL WILDSEEN OR ZIJIAN ZHAO (HELSON) BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, ILLNESS, PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR LOSS OF DATA ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH: (A) YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY AI SPECIES IDENTIFICATION OR SPECIES INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE APP; (B) YOUR ENCOUNTERS WITH WILD PLANTS, FUNGI, OR ANIMALS IN THE FIELD; OR (C) YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING UNDER THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR WILDSEEN+ IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR TEN U.S. DOLLARS ($10.00). NOTHING IN THESE TERMS EXCLUDES LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED UNDER APPLICABLE CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW.

10. Apple App Store Additional Terms

If you downloaded WildSeen from the Apple App Store, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Acknowledgement: These Terms are concluded between you and Zijian Zhao (operating as Helson) only, and not with Apple Inc. ("Apple"). Zijian Zhao (Helson), not Apple, is solely responsible for the WildSeen app and its content.
• Scope of License: The license granted to you for WildSeen is limited to a non-transferable license to use the app on any Apple-branded products that you own or control and as permitted by the Usage Rules set forth in the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions.
• Maintenance & Support: Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to WildSeen.
• Warranty: In the event of any failure of WildSeen to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any) for the app to you; to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the app.
• Product Claims: Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims by you or any third party relating to WildSeen or your possession and/or use of WildSeen, including product liability claims, legal/regulatory compliance claims, or consumer protection claims.
• Intellectual Property Rights: In the event of any third-party claim that WildSeen or your possession and use of WildSeen infringes that third party's intellectual property rights, Zijian Zhao (Helson), not Apple, will be solely responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of any such intellectual property infringement claim.
• Legal Compliance: You represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a "terrorist supporting" country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• Third-Party Beneficiary: Apple and Apple's subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and upon your acceptance of these Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof.

11. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms from time to time. When we make material updates, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and notify you as appropriate. Your continued use of WildSeen after updated Terms become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

12. Contact Information