Terms of Service — Certs.social
Last updated: April 1, 2026
1. About Certs.social
Certs.social is operated by the Hypercerts Foundation ("Hypercerts Foundation", "we", "our", or "us"), a Delaware nonstock corporation that develops and maintains open infrastructure for the hypercerts ecosystem.
The Certs.social services consist of two components:
- certs.social – a web application used to create and manage AT Protocol identities and configure related services.
- certified.one – infrastructure that operates AT Protocol Personal Data Servers (PDS) that store and serve identity records and associated user data.
These services provide identity and data hosting infrastructure for the AT Protocol ecosystem.
Certs.social is not a social media platform. We do not operate feeds, rank content, recommend posts, or curate speech. Applications that display or process user data are operated independently by third parties.
2. Nature of the services
Certs.social is part of an evolving technical ecosystem built on the AT Protocol, an open and developing standard.
Features, interoperability, and functionality may change as the protocol evolves. The Hypercerts Foundation does not guarantee that the services will remain compatible with all future versions or implementations of the protocol.
The services are provided as technical infrastructure for identity and data hosting, not as a platform for transactions or agreements between users.
The Hypercerts Foundation is not a party to any agreements, interactions, or transactions between users or between users and third-party applications.
3. Agreement to these Terms
By creating an account, accessing certs.social, or using certified.one, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and the Certs.social Privacy Policy (together, the "Agreement").
If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the services.
You must be at least 16 years old, or the minimum age required to consent to data processing under applicable law in your jurisdiction.
4. AT Protocol identity and user responsibility
Certs.social provides tools and infrastructure that allow users to operate an AT Protocol identity.
You retain ownership of the content, records, and data associated with your account. The Hypercerts Foundation does not claim ownership of user content.
Users are solely responsible for:
- all data stored through their Personal Data Server
- any records published under their identity
- ensuring their use of the services complies with applicable laws
You determine which applications or services may access your data.
Because the AT Protocol operates as a federated network, data published through your Personal Data Server may be made available to other servers and applications as part of normal protocol operation. This includes replication, caching, indexing, and display by third-party services you interact with.
The Hypercerts Foundation is not responsible for how third-party services process, display, or use such data.
5. Group and organization accounts
For group or organization accounts, the users designated in the interface as "owners" (the "Account Controller") manage access to the account. Each user is responsible for the content they create or submit. Being designated as an "owner" does not by itself make a user responsible for content created by other users; however, content published under a shared account is attributed to that account, and those who control the account may share responsibility for its use. Certs.social (operated by Hypercerts Foundation) provides hosting infrastructure only and is not the publisher of user content, but may remove or restrict content to comply with legal obligations or these Terms.
6. Intellectual property
The Hypercerts Foundation retains all rights, title, and interest in the services, including all software, interfaces, trademarks, and other intellectual property associated with Certs.social.
Nothing in these Terms grants you any right, title, or interest in the Hypercerts Foundation's intellectual property, except the limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the services in accordance with these Terms.
User content remains the property of the user, as described in Section 4.
7. Acceptable use
You may use Certs.social only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not interfere with the operation or stability of the services.
You agree not to:
- use the services in violation of applicable laws or regulations
- attempt unauthorized access to accounts, infrastructure, or systems
- introduce malware or otherwise disrupt network functionality
- store or distribute material that is illegal to possess or transmit
- infringe intellectual property or privacy rights of others
- generate excessive automated traffic that disrupts or degrades the services
- conduct denial-of-service attacks or similar infrastructure abuse
- scrape, crawl, or access infrastructure in a manner that interferes with system performance or stability
The Hypercerts Foundation may implement technical measures such as rate limiting, automated abuse detection, traffic filtering, or temporary access restrictions in order to protect the stability and security of the services.
Where necessary to comply with law or protect infrastructure integrity, the Hypercerts Foundation may restrict access to certain data, limit functionality, or suspend accounts.
8. Infrastructure and service operation
certified.one hosts Personal Data Servers that store AT Protocol identity records and related user data.
The infrastructure supporting these servers is currently hosted on cloud infrastructure located within the European Union.
To operate the services, we may rely on specialized third-party providers for operational tasks such as:
- system monitoring
- communications
- analytics
- technical support
Some of these providers may process limited data outside the European Union. Such processing occurs in accordance with applicable data protection laws and appropriate safeguards.
9. Third-party services
The services may interact with or reference third-party applications, websites, or services.
These services are operated independently and governed by their own terms and policies. The Hypercerts Foundation does not control and is not responsible for the operation or content of third-party services.
Your use of such services is at your own discretion.
10. Privacy and data protection
Personal data is processed in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where applicable.
Our Privacy Policy explains:
- what personal data we process
- the purposes for processing
- where data is stored
- how long it is retained
- the rights available to individuals
11. Handling unlawful data and legal orders
The Hypercerts Foundation does not routinely monitor all information stored on Personal Data Servers.
However, we may take action where necessary to:
- comply with legal obligations
- respond to orders from competent authorities
- protect the stability or security of the infrastructure
- address clearly unlawful data when required by law
Such actions may include restricting access to specific records or suspending accounts.
The Hypercerts Foundation may rely on automated systems or third-party services to assist in identifying or responding to unlawful content, infrastructure abuse, or security threats.
The Hypercerts Foundation is not responsible for content moderation decisions made by third-party applications that access data through the AT Protocol. Moderation policies applied by other services are outside our control and do not reflect actions taken by the Hypercerts Foundation.
Reports of illegal content may be submitted in accordance with the notice-and-action procedure described in our DSA Compliance Page.
Reports and legal notices may also be sent to: legal@hypercerts.org
12. Availability, modification, and discontinuation
Certs.social services are provided on a best-effort basis.
Maintenance, system updates, or security work may result in temporary interruptions.
The Hypercerts Foundation may modify, suspend, or discontinue all or part of the services at any time. Where reasonably possible, we will provide advance notice of material changes or service discontinuation.
13. Data persistence in federated systems
Because the AT Protocol operates as a federated network, data published through the services may be copied, cached, or stored by other servers or applications.
The Hypercerts Foundation cannot guarantee that data removed from its infrastructure will also be removed from third-party systems.
14. Account security
You are responsible for protecting your account credentials and authentication information.
If you believe your account has been compromised, you must notify us promptly at legal@hypercerts.org.
Access to accounts may be temporarily restricted while security investigations are conducted.
Because AT Protocol identities rely on cryptographic credentials, recovery of accounts may not be possible if credentials are permanently lost.
15. Termination
Termination by you
To delete your account, contact us at support@hypercerts.org.
Termination by the Hypercerts Foundation
The Hypercerts Foundation may suspend or terminate your account if:
- you breach these Terms of Service
- your use of the services poses a risk to the stability, security, or integrity of the infrastructure
- we are required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal order
- the services are discontinued in accordance with Section 12
Where reasonably possible, we will provide notice before terminating an account. In cases involving security threats, legal obligations, or infrastructure abuse, immediate action may be taken without prior notice.
Effect of termination
Upon termination, your access to the services will cease. The Hypercerts Foundation will delete your account data from its infrastructure within a reasonable period, subject to any legal retention obligations.
As described in Section 13, data previously published through the AT Protocol may continue to exist on third-party servers or applications. The Hypercerts Foundation cannot ensure deletion of such data from federated systems.
Survival
Sections 5 (intellectual property), 12 (data persistence), 15 (feedback), 16 (disclaimer of warranties), 17 (limitation of liability), 18 (indemnification), 19 (consumer protections), and 23 (governing law) survive termination of these Terms.
16. Feedback
If you provide suggestions, ideas, or feedback regarding the services, the Hypercerts Foundation may use such feedback for any purpose, without restriction or compensation.
17. Disclaimer of warranties
The services are provided "as is" and "as available."
The Hypercerts Foundation makes no representations or warranties regarding the reliability, availability, or accuracy of the services.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
You understand that your use of the services is at your own discretion and risk.
18. Limitation of liability
Nothing in these Terms limits liability where such limitation is prohibited by law.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Hypercerts Foundation is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from the use of the services.
Where liability cannot be excluded, the Hypercerts Foundation's total liability arising out of or relating to the services is limited to:
- the amount paid by you for the services during the 12 months preceding the claim, or
- USD 100, if the services were used free of charge.
19. Indemnification
To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Hypercerts Foundation from claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:
- your use of the services in violation of these Terms
- data you store or publish through the services
- your violation of applicable laws or the rights of third parties
This indemnification obligation does not apply to consumers where prohibited by applicable consumer protection law.
20. Consumer protections
If you use the services as a consumer, you may have mandatory rights under applicable consumer protection laws. Nothing in these Terms limits those rights.
21. Validity and waiver
If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions will continue to apply.
The failure of the Hypercerts Foundation to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision.
22. Changes to these Terms
The Hypercerts Foundation may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify users of material changes by posting a notice on certs.social and, where practicable, by email or other direct communication at least 30 days before the changes take effect.
The updated Terms will indicate the date of the most recent revision. Your continued use of the services after the effective date of the updated Terms constitutes acceptance of the changes, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
If you do not agree with the updated Terms, you may close your account in accordance with Section 15.
23. Transfer of rights
Users may not transfer their rights or obligations under these Terms without the prior written consent of the Hypercerts Foundation.
The Hypercerts Foundation may assign or transfer its rights or obligations as part of organizational restructuring or transfer of the services.
24. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, regardless of conflict of laws rules.
Any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms will be resolved exclusively in the federal or state courts located in San Francisco County, California, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
If you are a consumer in the European Union, this section does not affect any mandatory consumer protections or jurisdictional rights available to you under the laws of your country of residence.
25. Entire agreement
These Terms of Service and the Certs.social Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and the Hypercerts Foundation regarding the services and supersede all prior understandings, communications, or agreements relating to the subject matter.
26. Contact
For all inquiries — including support, legal notices, Digital Services Act communications, and privacy matters: