Terms of Service

Quick Reference: What's Allowed and What's Not

The full terms follow below, but here's a clear summary table for quick reference. For questions about any item, see the relevant section or use our contact page.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Stopwatch.now (the "Service"), whether or not you have created an account, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms") and our Privacy Policy. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must stop using the Service immediately. Continued use constitutes acceptance.

These Terms were last updated on January 1, 2024. Changes are described in Section 8 below.

2. Description of Service

Stopwatch.now provides free online timing tools accessible through a web browser. The Service includes:

• Stopwatches - standard and lap-timing stopwatches with millisecond precision.
• Countdown timers - customisable countdowns with audio and visual alerts.
• Speciality timers - egg timers, interval timers, Pomodoro timers, chess clocks, classroom timers, and many more.
• Clocks - world clock, alarm clock, and time zone converters.
• Chance and game tools - spin wheels, random name pickers, dice rollers, and coin flippers.
• Accounts (optional) - free user accounts for saving favourites and preferences.

No download is required. All tools run in your browser. The Service is provided free of charge for personal and educational use. We reserve the right to introduce premium features in the future, but core timing functionality will remain free.

Timer accuracy depends on your browser's JavaScript engine and your device's clock. We aim for millisecond-level accuracy but cannot guarantee this across all devices and browser configurations, particularly in background tabs where browsers may throttle JavaScript timers.

3. Account Creation and Responsibility

3.1 Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. If you are under 18, your parent or guardian must agree to these Terms on your behalf. All timing tools are available without an account, so users under 13 can use the service without registering.

3.2 Account security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials. You must not share your account with others or use another person's account without their permission. If you suspect your account has been compromised, contact us immediately and change your password.

3.3 Accurate information

You agree to provide accurate information when creating your account, including a valid email address. A valid email is required to reset your password - without it, account recovery is impossible.

3.4 Account termination

We reserve the right to suspend or permanently terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in abuse, or appear to be created for automated or fraudulent purposes. We will ordinarily notify you by email before termination unless the violation is severe or involves illegal activity.

You may delete your own account at any time from Account Settings. See our Privacy Policy for what happens to your data on deletion.

4. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in a way that does not infringe the rights of others. The following are prohibited:

4.1 Technical abuse

• Automated scraping, crawling, or downloading of Service content or data at a rate that burdens our infrastructure.
• Attempting to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system or network connected to the Service.
• Introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs, or any other malicious or harmful code.
• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service or its servers.
• Sending automated requests to create accounts, submit forms, or interact with the Service without prior written permission.

4.2 Content and conduct

• Impersonating any person or entity, or falsely claiming affiliation with Stopwatch.now.
• Using the Service for any illegal purpose under the laws of your jurisdiction.
• Harassing, threatening, or abusing other users of the Service.
• Attempting to commercially resell access to the Service or use it to provide a competing product.

If you become aware of misuse of the Service, please report it via our contact form. We investigate all reports promptly.

5. Intellectual Property

5.1 Our property

The Service, including its design, code, written content, timer algorithms, sound assets, and visual assets, is owned by Stopwatch.now and its licensors. This content is protected by copyright, trade mark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, redistribute, sell, create derivative works from, or publicly display our content without prior written permission.

5.2 Fair use and personal use

You may take screenshots of timer displays for personal, non-commercial use (for example, to document a timed activity). You may embed our timers via iframe in non-commercial contexts (such as a personal blog or school intranet), provided you retain any visible attribution and link back to the original page.

5.3 Feedback licence

If you submit feature ideas, bug reports, or other feedback to us via our contact form or by email, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use that feedback to improve the Service. We are not obliged to implement suggestions, and feedback is not confidential unless explicitly agreed in writing.

5.4 Open source components

Parts of the Service are built on open-source libraries. Those libraries remain subject to their own licences (commonly MIT or BSD). Our use of open-source software does not grant you any rights to our proprietary code.

6. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

6.1 "As is" service

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or accurate at all times. In particular, timer accuracy is a best-effort function of browser JavaScript and device hardware.

6.2 No reliance for critical timing

You must not rely on Stopwatch.now for any application where timer inaccuracy could cause harm, injury, or financial loss. For example: medical procedures, legal time-keeping, competitive sports officiating, or industrial process control. In these contexts, use certified timing equipment.

6.3 Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Stopwatch.now and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, data, or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with your use of or inability to use the Service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total liability for any claim arising from these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us (if anything) in the 12 months before the claim arose. Since the Service is free, this limit is zero in most cases.

6.4 Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Stopwatch.now and its operators from any claims, losses, or damages arising from your violation of these Terms or your use of the Service in a manner that harms others.

7. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with applicable law. Any disputes that cannot be resolved informally shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts. We strongly prefer to resolve any disputes informally first - please contact us before pursuing legal action and we will make every effort to resolve the issue quickly and fairly.

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms.

8. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "last updated" date at the top of this page.
• Send an email notification to registered users at least 14 days before the changes take effect.
• Display a notice on the site for at least 14 days.

Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the new Terms. If you disagree with any change, you may delete your account as described in Section 3.4. We also recommend reading our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy periodically, as they may be updated separately.

9. Miscellaneous

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force. Our failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of that right. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service.

For help using the Service, visit our Help Centre. To learn more about who we are, see our About page.

10. Contact

Questions about these Terms of Service?

• Email: [email protected]
• Contact form: Contact Stopwatch.now
• Response time: Within 5 business days for general questions; within 30 days for formal legal requests.