Terms of Service
Terms for using Sarath Search, its AI answers, media features, accounts, and developer APIs.
Draft: do not treat as final legal advice
Items marked [CONFIRM: …] need owner input. Have an Indian lawyer review the completed notice before launch.
1. Acceptance and who may use Sarath Search
These Terms govern your use of the Sarath Search website, search and answer features, optional account tools, and developer APIs (the “Service”). By using it, you agree to these Terms. If you disagree, do not use the Service. The Privacy Policy explains how information is handled.
You must have legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are under 18, use the Service only with the involvement and permission of a parent or legal guardian, and provide any verifiable consent required by applicable law before personal data is processed. An account must be created by a person eligible to do so. You are responsible for the accuracy of information you provide.
We may update these Terms as the Service or law changes. We will update the date and version and provide notice of material changes when the notice feature is implemented. Continued use after a change takes effect means you accept it to the extent permitted by law.
2. The Service and third-party content
Sarath Search provides web search, news discovery and reading, image and video search, maps, AI answers, weather and delayed market information, music or radio links, podcast discovery, and optional developer tools. The features and providers available can change, be limited by region, or be temporarily unavailable. We may maintain, modify, suspend, or discontinue a feature where reasonably needed for operation, safety, legal compliance, or product changes.
Results, articles, media, maps, and linked material come from publishers, public feeds, providers, or indexed pages. Those parties remain responsible for their material. A result does not mean Sarath Search endorses or verifies a site. Some readers display publisher-feed content and link to the original source.
The Service is provided on an “as available” basis. We do not promise uninterrupted access, a particular ranking, completeness, freshness, provider availability, or that a linked page will remain reachable.
3. Accounts and developer API access
Some developer features require an account. Keep credentials private, use a secure password, and report suspected unauthorized access. You are responsible for activity through your account unless applicable law provides otherwise. Additional limits or verification may apply.
API keys are credentials. Keep each key confidential, do not publish it in client-side code or public repositories, and do not share it in a way that lets another person act as you. If a key is exposed or no longer needed, revoke it and create a replacement through the available controls. We may limit, suspend, or revoke API access to protect the Service, enforce published limits, or respond to abuse.
Follow the documented API endpoints, authentication method, and limits for your plan. Limits and pricing may change with notice where required. API access does not grant ownership of third-party results or permission to resell them. [CONFIRM: current API rate limits, pricing, usage logging, and whether any paid API plan is available.]
4. Acceptable use
Use the Service lawfully and do not interfere with other users or systems. Do not bypass authentication, limits, access controls, or provider restrictions; attack systems without authorization; introduce malware; overload endpoints; or misrepresent automated traffic as human activity.
Do not violate privacy, intellectual-property, consumer-protection, or other rights; facilitate fraud, harassment, exploitation, or unlawful conduct; or distribute content prohibited by law. Do not scrape beyond documented limits, evade restrictions, or build a competing index where law or provider terms prohibit it.
Do not remove source attribution or present third-party material as your own. Do not use automated methods to generate fake searches, inflate usage, or interfere with measurement and security controls. We may investigate suspected violations and restrict access when reasonably necessary. Where appropriate, we will provide a reason and a way to contact us, subject to security and legal requirements.
5. Content, licences and intellectual property
Sarath Search and its original software, interface, brand, and documentation are owned by or licensed to [CONFIRM: legal entity/owner]. These Terms do not transfer ownership. Do not copy, modify, distribute, reverse engineer, or commercially exploit protected parts except where law permits or we authorize it.
Publishers retain rights in articles, images, video, audio, marks, and pages. Results and summaries do not grant a licence to republish them. Follow provider terms and obtain permission when required. An in-app reader is not a substitute for the publisher’s page.
You retain rights in information you submit, such as a site-submission note. You give us a limited, non-exclusive licence to receive, review, store, and use that submission only as needed to operate the requested feature, assess inclusion, protect the Service, or meet legal obligations. Do not submit confidential information or material you lack permission to share.
6. AI features and informational data
AI-generated answers are probabilistic and can be incorrect, incomplete, outdated, or misleading. An answer may depend on the selected model, retrieved passages, provider availability, and query wording. The model label identifies the model reported by the service; it does not guarantee correctness or endorsement. Check the source links and use your own judgment before acting.
AI answers are general information, not medical, legal, financial, tax, safety, or other professional advice. Do not rely on them to make a decision that requires a qualified professional. Weather, maps, news, and other feeds can be delayed or unavailable. Market prices may be delayed, incomplete, or inaccurate and are informational only; they are not an offer, recommendation, or investment advice.
The Service may change models or providers, including the model available by default. Your selected model may fail or be rate-limited. We will report an unavailable selected model rather than silently represent a different model as the one that answered. Your use of external providers is also subject to their terms and privacy notices.
7. Third-party services, links and media
The Service links to third-party websites and may load a video player, audio stream, podcast feed, or other embedded feature. Those services are operated independently. Their availability, content, security, accessibility, and privacy practices are outside our control. Opening a link or loading an embed may send information directly to that third party.
8. Complaints, takedowns and grievances
If a result, link, or submission violates your rights or applicable law, contact [CONFIRM: complaint email and process] with the relevant URL and reason. Do not include passwords, full card numbers, or unrelated sensitive data. We may ask for clarification or forward a notice to the relevant provider.
We will review notices fairly and act as required by applicable law. We may remove or restrict a link or feature while reviewing a credible legal, safety, or security concern. A counter-notice or appeal route, if available, will be explained in the response. We may restrict repeat abuse of the complaints process.
Grievance Officer: [CONFIRM: name, email, and postal contact]. Response timeframe: [CONFIRM the operational process and required response periods]. Nothing in these Terms limits a right or remedy that cannot legally be limited.
9. Payments, taxes and refunds
Some account, subscription, or API features may involve payment. A price, billing interval, tax treatment, payment provider, cancellation method, and refund policy must be shown clearly before you place an order. Payment details may be handled by the payment provider; Sarath Search does not ask you to post a full payment-card number in a search query or support request.
[CONFIRM: whether paid plans or checkout are currently available; provider and merchant of record; displayed prices and GST/tax handling; cancellation and refund terms; treatment of manual UPI payment requests.] If no paid offering is active, this section should be removed or replaced with a clear statement before publication. Nothing here creates a charge by itself.
10. Disclaimers and limits
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Service is provided without warranties that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure in every circumstance, or suitable for a particular purpose. We do not warrant the accuracy, legality, freshness, availability, or completeness of third-party content or AI output. Your statutory consumer rights remain unaffected where they cannot lawfully be excluded.
To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profits, data, goodwill, or business opportunity arising from use of the Service, a third-party provider, or reliance on an answer. We are not responsible for events outside our reasonable control. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that applicable law does not allow us to exclude, including liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, or other non-excludable responsibility.
[CONFIRM with Indian counsel: whether to include a monetary cap, what cap is lawful for this service and user category, and any consumer-law wording required.] If a cap is approved, it should be clear, fair, and consistent with mandatory protections.
11. Suspension, termination and governing law
The Service and these Terms are subject to Indian laws that apply to the relevant feature and parties. Depending on the Service’s role and the provision in question, these may include the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, consumer-protection laws and rules, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 as its provisions come into force. We do not claim that every law or provision applies identically to every feature.
You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or end access when reasonably necessary to address security, abuse, non-payment, legal requirements, or material breach of these Terms. Where practical and lawful, we will give notice and an opportunity to resolve the issue. Account closure does not necessarily erase records that must be retained for legal, security, or dispute purposes; see the Privacy Policy.
These Terms are governed by Indian law, subject to mandatory consumer protections and other non-waivable rights. First try to resolve disputes through the contact below. Courts at [CONFIRM: city and state, India] have jurisdiction only to the extent legally valid. No arbitration clause applies unless separately reviewed and agreed.
12. Contact
Service: Sarath Search. Operator: [CONFIRM: legal entity or owner name]. Address: [CONFIRM: registered or service address, city, state, India]. General support: [CONFIRM: working contact email]. Privacy and grievance contact: [CONFIRM: Grievance Officer name and email].