Ferzia

Terms of Service

Effective date: 2026-05-27 · Last updated: 2026-09-04
This is the initial draft of our Terms of Service, pending review by external legal counsel.
These Terms of Service ('Terms') are a contract between you and Covenant Alpha Pty Ltd, trading as Ferzia ('Ferzia', 'we', 'us') and govern your use of the Ferzia app, web app, and related services (the 'Service'). By creating an account or using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. For questions, email [email protected].

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are between 13 and the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may only use the Service with the consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.

2. Your account

You are responsible for keeping your password and login methods secure.
You are responsible for everything that happens under your account.
You must give us accurate registration information and keep it up to date.
One account per person. Do not impersonate others, sell or transfer your account, or share login credentials.
We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these Terms (see section 11).

3. Subscriptions and payments

Ferzia offers free features and membership plans as described in the app. Availability, prices, and entitlements may vary by platform and are shown before purchase.
Pricing and billing: the in-app subscription page and the App Store / Google Play listing show the current price, billing interval, and what each tier includes.
Payment processor: all payments are processed by our third-party payment processor and/or by the Apple App Store / Google Play platform. We never receive your full card number.
Auto-renewal: subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless you cancel beforehand. You can cancel at any time through your App Store / Google Play account or via Settings → Account → Membership in the app.
Refunds: purchases made through the App Store or Google Play are governed by those platforms’ refund policies. For purchases billed by Ferzia directly on the web, refund requests should be sent to [email protected]; we handle them on a case-by-case basis as required by applicable consumer law.
Free trials and promotions: where offered, terms specific to the trial or promotion will be shown at signup and apply in addition to these Terms.
Price changes: if we change the price of a subscription, we will notify you in advance and you will be able to cancel before the new price takes effect.

4. The Service

You may use the Service for personal, non-commercial chess study, play, and improvement. You may not:
Use the Service to cheat in any game played on Ferzia, Lichess, chess.com, or anywhere else (see section 5).
Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service, except to the limited extent permitted by law.
Scrape, harvest, or bulk-export data from the Service except through documented APIs.
Use the Service to send spam, malware, or unlawful content.
Use the Service to harass, threaten, or abuse other users.
Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system or network associated with the Service except under a separately agreed security-research program.
Resell, rent, or lease the Service or any part of it.
Use the Service in violation of applicable laws or third-party rights.
We may add or change features, suspend or remove features, or impose usage limits at any time.

5. Fair play

Ferzia is built around honest chess. In games played on Ferzia against humans or bots, you must rely on your own thinking. You may not consult chess engines, opening databases (during play), other people, or any external source of assistance during a live game.
In analysis, review, training, and counselor features outside of live play, engine assistance is part of the Service — that is its intended use.
We use automated and manual detection methods to enforce fair play. Violations may result in warnings, rating resets, game forfeits, account suspension, or permanent termination.

6. Counselor features and disclosures

Game review, the chat counselor, plan generation, and weekly reports are powered by third-party processing providers. These features:
Are intended for educational and training purposes only.
May produce incorrect, incomplete, or biased output. You should not rely on counselor output for medical, legal, financial, or other professional advice.
Usage limits vary by membership plan. Some product counters may be described as unlimited, subject to fair-use, safety, and rate controls.
Fair use: To keep these features fast, reliable, and affordable for everyone, all tiers — including paid tiers described as having 'higher limits' — are subject to fair use. We may apply reasonable limits on the volume, frequency, and rate of requests, and may throttle, queue, or temporarily pause access for usage that is automated, abusive, or far outside normal personal study (for example, scripted or bulk requests, or activity that would degrade the Service for other users). In normal personal use you will not encounter these limits; they affect only a small number of accounts in extreme cases. We may adjust these limits over time, and where we make a material reduction to a paid tier’s limits we will give reasonable notice.
Some inputs you provide to these features (such as game PGNs and your messages) are sent to a third-party provider for processing. See the Privacy Policy for details, including data retention by the third-party provider.

7. Your content

You retain ownership of the games you play, the messages you send to the counselor, the support tickets you file, and any other content you create on the Service ('Your Content').
By submitting Your Content, you grant Ferzia a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, copy, transmit, display, and process Your Content as needed to provide and improve the Service, including by sending it to a third-party provider where the relevant feature requires that.
You are responsible for Your Content and represent that you have the rights necessary to submit it.

8. Our intellectual property

The Service — including software, branding, design, copy, audio, counselor personas, and the look and feel — is owned by Ferzia or our licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a personal, limited, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service in accordance with these Terms. We reserve all other rights.
Third-party assets (including chess pieces, fonts, and engine code) are used under their respective open-source licences; see the in-app About screen for attributions.
Historical player bots and simulations: The Service may offer playable chess bots inspired by historical or deceased players, including references to their names, games, playing styles, or estimated playing strengths. These are educational AI simulations, not authentic performances, official reproductions, endorsements, or affiliations with any player, estate, federation, or rights holder. Any rating shown for such a bot is an estimated bot rating for gameplay and does not represent an official historical Elo or FIDE rating.

9. Third-party services

The Service relies on third-party providers, including our AI processing provider, payment processors, app stores, sign-in providers, and cloud hosting and delivery providers. Your use of those providers’ offerings may also be subject to their own terms. We are not responsible for the actions, content, products, or services of third parties.

10. Beta and experimental features

We may label some features as 'beta', 'experimental', 'early access', or similar. Those features are provided 'as is', may change without notice, and may be removed at any time.

11. Suspension and termination

You can stop using the Service at any time. You can delete your account via Account → Account details → Delete Account in the app.
We may suspend or terminate your account, with or without notice, if:
You breach these Terms.
We are required to do so by law.
We reasonably believe continued access would harm other users, third parties, or the Service.
If your account is terminated for breach, paid subscription fees are non-refundable except where required by law.

12. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND 'AS AVAILABLE' WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.
Ferzia does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or that generated content will be accurate.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any warranty, guarantee, right, or remedy that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable consumer-protection law (including, where applicable, the Australian Consumer Law).

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:
Ferzia will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill arising out of or related to the Service.
Ferzia’s total aggregate liability arising out of or related to these Terms and the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid to Ferzia in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) AUD $100.
These limitations apply even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose, and they do not apply to liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

14. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Ferzia and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with (a) your use of the Service, (b) your violation of these Terms, or (c) Your Content.

15. Changes to the Service or these Terms

We may modify the Service or these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes to these Terms, we will notify you in-app or by email and update the 'Last updated' date above. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of an updated version constitutes acceptance of the changes. If you do not accept the changes, you must stop using the Service.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You and Ferzia agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in New South Wales for any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service, except where applicable consumer-protection law gives you the right to bring proceedings in your local courts.

17. Miscellaneous

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Ferzia concerning the Service.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect.
No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

18. Contact

Covenant Alpha Pty Ltd, trading as Ferzia [email protected]