Terms of Use

These Terms and Conditions of Use, hereinafter referred to as the "Terms", govern access to and use of the website available at www.plotshelf.com, hereinafter referred to as the "Website", and the PlotShelf mobile application, hereinafter referred to as the "Application".

The Website and the Application are made available by Nuno Melo, an individual who may be contacted at nunomelodev@gmail.com, hereinafter referred to as the "Provider" or "PlotShelf".

The Website and the Application are jointly referred to as the "Services".

PlotShelf is a digital tool intended to organise and track reading activity. Among other features, it allows or may allow users to record books, reading periods and sessions, notes, quotations, reviews, goals, lists and statistics; consult bibliographic information; organise visual bookshelves; import or export data; and create content for sharing through external applications.

PlotShelf is not a social network, bookstore, public content publishing platform, editorial service, cloud storage system or professional literary recommendation or advisory service.

Installing, accessing or using the Website or the Application implies that the user has read, understood and accepted these Terms.

Whenever the applicable law requires an express declaration of consent, such consent shall be requested through an appropriate mechanism before the relevant feature is purchased or activated.

If the user does not agree to these Terms, they must refrain from using the Services and from purchasing any paid subscription.

The PlotShelf Privacy Policy and, where applicable, Cookie Policy supplement these Terms and should be read together with them.

The Application may be used by persons aged 13 or over.

Minors must use the Application with the knowledge and authorisation of their parents, legal guardians or other persons holding parental responsibility, in accordance with the applicable law.

A paid subscription may only be purchased by a person with the legal capacity to enter into the relevant agreement or by a minor who has been duly authorised or represented by their legal guardian.

The age, capacity and authorisation requirements established by the Apple App Store or Google Play Store terms also apply.

The legal guardian who authorises a minor to use the Application must supervise such use and, to the extent permitted by law, assumes responsibility for the purchase of paid features.

An agreement relating to a Premium subscription is concluded electronically when the user completes the purchase or begins the free trial through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Before completing the purchase, the user may consult the essential features of the plan, its price, the subscription frequency, the existence of automatic renewal and the applicable free trial conditions.

The user may review the information entered and correct any errors through the mechanisms provided by the relevant digital store.

The purchase confirmation, purchase history and subscription management options are made available through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, depending on the platform used.

The Provider does not directly retain complete payment details or the agreement associated with the user's digital store account.

These Terms are available in Portuguese, English and Spanish. In the event of any inconsistency between the different language versions, the Portuguese version shall prevail to the extent permitted by law and without prejudice to the user's mandatory consumer rights in their country of residence.

PlotShelf offers a free version and a paid version, referred to as the Premium version.

The free version may be subject to functional limitations and may display advertising.

Depending on the plan and the version of the Application, Premium features may include:

• Additional themes;
• Advanced statistics;
• Use of the Application without advertising;
• Data export;
• Data import.

The specific features included in each plan, together with the applicable limitations, duration and price, shall be those displayed in the Application and in the relevant digital store before purchase.

PlotShelf may introduce new features or plans, change the composition of the plans available for future purchases and, in the future, offer a lifetime purchase option.

Any change affecting an existing subscription shall comply with the applicable legislation governing digital content and services. Users shall not be deprived of features already purchased without a valid reason, appropriate prior notice and recognition of any rights available to them under the applicable law.

If a plan described as "lifetime" is made available in the future, this description shall mean access for as long as the Application remains commercially operated and technically available, unless different conditions are expressly presented before purchase.

Subscription prices are displayed before purchase in the currency applicable to the user's account and territory, including any legally applicable taxes.

Purchases and subscriptions are processed exclusively through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Payment methods, charges, invoicing, currency conversion, purchase validation and certain refund procedures are managed by the relevant digital store in accordance with its own terms and conditions.

PlotShelf does not receive or retain complete bank card details or the details of any other payment instrument used.

PlotShelf may receive technical and transactional information from the relevant digital store where strictly necessary to validate the subscription, recognise the user's entitlement to Premium features, manage the purchase status and provide support.

Each purchase grants the user a personal, limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable licence associated with the digital store account through which the purchase was made.

Monthly and annual subscriptions may include a seven-day free trial, provided this option is displayed to the user at the time of purchase.

Eligibility for the free trial may depend on the conditions established by the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, including whether the same account holder has previously used a free trial.

Unless the subscription is cancelled before the end of the free trial, it shall automatically convert into a paid subscription and the price corresponding to the selected plan shall be charged.

Before starting the free trial, the user shall be informed of its duration, the price applicable after the trial ends and the existence of automatic renewal.

Monthly and annual subscriptions automatically renew for successive periods equivalent to the plan purchased unless they are cancelled before the applicable renewal date.

Renewal shall be charged through the payment method associated with the user's Apple or Google account.

The subscription price may change. Any price change shall be communicated and applied in accordance with the rules of the relevant digital store and the applicable law.

If the user does not accept a price change, they may cancel the subscription before the next renewal date.

The user may cancel the automatic renewal of their subscription at any time through the subscription settings of their Apple or Google account.

Cancellation does not result in a refund for a subscription period that has already begun. As a general rule, the user shall retain access to the Premium features until the end of the period already purchased.

Uninstalling or deleting the Application does not cancel the subscription.

To prevent a subsequent charge, cancellation must be completed before the renewal time indicated by the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

As Premium features constitute digital content or digital services made available immediately after purchase, the consumer may be asked to expressly consent to the performance of the agreement beginning during the statutory withdrawal period and to acknowledge that, where legally applicable, such consent results in the loss of the right of withdrawal.

Refund requests are processed and assessed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, in accordance with the terms of the platform used and the applicable law.

Unless otherwise required by applicable law, refunds are not granted for subscription periods that have already begun, renewals that were not cancelled in due time or failure to use the Application.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or restricts any mandatory rights granted to consumers under the applicable law.

PlotShelf grants the user a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable and non-transferable licence to install and use the Application on authorised devices solely for personal and lawful purposes.

This licence does not transfer any ownership rights in the Application, Website or their respective content to the user.

Unless expressly permitted by mandatory law, the user must not:

• Copy, reproduce, sell, sublicense or commercially exploit the Services;
• Circumvent security mechanisms or restrictions on access to Premium features;
• Remove notices of authorship, trademarks or intellectual property rights;
• Reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Application;
• Systematically extract or reuse databases or content;
• Use automated systems capable of adversely affecting the operation of the Services;
• Use the Application for fraudulent or unlawful purposes or in any manner that infringes the rights of third parties.

The Application, Website and their respective components, including software, code, architecture, structure, interfaces, visual identity, distinctive signs, original texts, illustrations, proprietary databases and design, are protected by the applicable intellectual property legislation.

These elements belong to the Provider or their respective owners and licensors.

Making the Services available does not grant the user any right of ownership, reproduction, distribution, adaptation or commercial exploitation, except for the limited right of use expressly provided for in these Terms.

Bibliographic content, covers, summaries, images and other elements obtained from third parties remain the property of their respective owners and are subject to the applicable terms and licences.

The user retains ownership of the data and content entered into the Application, including notes, quotations, reviews, lists, ratings and reading records.

The user is responsible for the lawfulness of such content and must ensure that its use does not infringe copyright, personality rights, confidentiality obligations or any other rights of third parties.

Personal records are designed to remain on the user's device unless a clearly identified feature involves a different operation or the user chooses to export or share the data.

PlotShelf does not operate as a cloud archiving or backup service.

The user is responsible for keeping appropriate backup copies of their data. Uninstalling the Application, deleting its data, losing or replacing the device, device failure or an incorrect import may result in the permanent loss of information.

Import and export features must be used with due care. PlotShelf does not guarantee compatibility with files that have been modified, corrupted, created using unsupported versions or generated by third-party applications.

The processing of personal data is governed by the PlotShelf Privacy Policy.

The Application may allow users to create or share reviews, images, statistics or other content through social media platforms, WhatsApp, messaging applications or other external services.

Sharing is not automatic and always depends on a voluntary action by the user.

Before sharing any content, the user must review the information included and ensure that it does not contain personal data, confidential information or protected content that they do not wish to disclose.

Once content is sent to an external service, its processing, retention, access and disclosure shall be subject to the terms and policies of that third party.

PlotShelf does not control and is not responsible for the operation of external services or for any subsequent use of the content by its recipients.

The Application may obtain book covers, titles, authors, identifiers, summaries, publication dates, genres and other bibliographic metadata through Open Library, public sources, external providers or information entered by the user.

PlotShelf may use other sources or providers in the future, including ISBNdb.

Content supplied by third parties belongs to its respective owners and is used in accordance with the applicable licences, conditions and restrictions.

The display of bibliographic information in PlotShelf does not mean that the Provider is its author, owner or publisher and does not constitute validation of its accuracy.

Bibliographic information may contain omissions, duplicates, outdated information or inaccuracies. Users should verify it against appropriate sources whenever accuracy is relevant.

The availability of searches and metadata may depend on an internet connection, application programming interfaces and external systems. Such features may therefore be changed, restricted or interrupted for reasons outside PlotShelf's reasonable control.

Potential inaccuracies or infringements of rights may be reported to nunomelodev@gmail.com, identifying the relevant content, its location and the grounds for the request.

The free version of the Application may display advertising provided by PlotShelf or third-party advertising networks.

A Premium subscription may remove advertisements displayed directly by PlotShelf. This does not necessarily apply to editorial references, embedded content or third-party elements that are not advertising controlled by PlotShelf.

The display of advertising and any related processing of personal data shall be carried out in accordance with the applicable law and the Privacy Policy.

The Website or Application may include affiliate links to bookstores or other retailers in the future.

Where applicable, PlotShelf may receive a commission for purchases made through those links, without this necessarily increasing the price paid by the user.

Commercial or promotional links shall be clearly identified where required by law.

Any purchase made through an external link is entered into directly between the user and the third-party retailer.

PlotShelf is not a party to that agreement and is not responsible for the retailer's prices, availability, delivery, quality, legality, warranties, returns or policies.

PlotShelf shall seek to keep the Services available, functional and secure but does not guarantee that they will operate permanently, without interruption or without errors.

The Services may be suspended or restricted as a result of maintenance, updates, technical failures, connectivity problems, security incidents, changes involving third-party providers, legal requirements or circumstances beyond the Provider's reasonable control.

The user must install, within a reasonable period, any updates necessary for the security, conformity and operation of the Application.

Where required by law, the user shall be informed that an update is available and of the possible consequences of failing to install it.

PlotShelf may modify the Services to introduce improvements, comply with technical or legal requirements, strengthen security, prevent misuse or reflect changes in third-party services.

Changes that adversely affect an existing subscription shall be communicated and implemented in accordance with the rights granted to consumers under the applicable digital content and services legislation.

PlotShelf undertakes to provide digital content and services in conformity with the relevant agreement and shall be liable for any lack of conformity in accordance with the applicable legislation, including Portuguese Decree-Law No. 84/2021 of 18 October, where applicable.

In the event of a lack of conformity, consumers may be entitled to have conformity restored, receive a proportionate price reduction or terminate the agreement, subject to the requirements, time limits and conditions established by law.

To report a technical issue, the user should contact nunomelodev@gmail.com and, where possible, indicate the Application version, device, operating system and a description of the problem, together with proof of purchase where relevant.

No provision of these Terms excludes or restricts any consumer rights, statutory guarantees or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded.

PlotShelf is a personal organisation tool. Statistics, reading-time estimates, recommendations, ratings and similar content are provided for information purposes only and depend on the data entered by the user, the technical criteria applied and information supplied by third parties.

To the extent permitted by law, the Provider shall not be liable for loss or damage arising from:

• Use of the Services in breach of these Terms;
• Incorrect or incomplete information supplied by the user or third parties;
• The unavailability of external services, systems or providers;
• Loss of data caused by uninstallation, deletion, device failure, loss of the device or lack of an appropriate backup;
• The use of modified, incompatible or corrupted import files;
• Decisions made exclusively on the basis of estimates, statistics or recommendations displayed by the Application.

The Provider does not exclude or restrict liability in cases of wilful misconduct, gross negligence, death or personal injury, infringement of mandatory consumer rights, failure to comply with personal data protection obligations or in any other circumstances where liability cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

The user may stop using the Application at any time.

Stopping use or uninstalling the Application does not automatically cancel an active subscription. The subscription must be cancelled through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

The Provider may restrict or suspend access to the Services where there are reasonable indications of fraud, a serious breach of these Terms, a security risk, unlawful use or a legal obligation requiring such action.

Any suspension shall be proportionate and implemented without prejudice to the user's statutory consumer rights.

The permanent discontinuation of a continuously supplied paid service shall be communicated with reasonable notice whenever possible and shall comply with any applicable rights to a refund, termination or other legal remedies.

The Provider may update these Terms for legal, regulatory, technical, operational or security reasons or to reflect the development of the Services.

The updated version shall be made available on the Website or in the Application, together with the date of the latest update.

Where a material change affects an existing contractual relationship, the user shall be informed within a reasonable period through a durable medium or another appropriate method.

Where required by law, renewed consent shall be requested or the consumer shall be granted the right to terminate the agreement without additional charges.

Continued use of the Application shall not be interpreted as a waiver of mandatory consumer rights.

Communications concerning the Services may be provided through the Application, Website, relevant digital store or contact details associated with the relevant platform.

For technical support, the exercise of contractual rights, legal notices or questions concerning these Terms, users may contact:

Provider: Nuno Melo
Email: nunomelodev@gmail.com
Website: www.plotshelf.com

Consumers may submit complaints directly to the Provider by contacting nunomelodev@gmail.com.

Where legally applicable, consumers may also submit a complaint through the Portuguese Electronic Complaints Book, available at www.livroreclamacoes.pt.

In the event of a consumer dispute, consumers may refer the matter to a legally competent consumer alternative dispute resolution entity.

An up-to-date list of Portuguese consumer alternative dispute resolution entities is available through the Portuguese Consumer Portal at www.consumidor.gov.pt.

The use of an alternative dispute resolution mechanism does not prevent the consumer from bringing proceedings before a competent court.

The former European Online Dispute Resolution Platform has been discontinued and is therefore not referenced in these Terms.

These Terms and any agreement entered into under them are governed by Portuguese law.

The choice of Portuguese law does not deprive consumers of the protection granted by the mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which they habitually reside, where such provisions apply under the relevant rules of private international law.

Any dispute shall be submitted to the courts determined by the applicable jurisdiction rules.

Where the user is a consumer, no provision of these Terms restricts the right to bring proceedings before the court having territorial jurisdiction under the applicable law.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision shall be excluded or restricted only to the extent strictly necessary, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Any tolerance or failure by the Provider to exercise a right shall not constitute a waiver of that right.

Section headings are included solely for ease of reference and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms.

These Terms must be interpreted together with the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy where applicable, the information provided before purchase and the terms and conditions of the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.