Terms of Service

The Short Version

Use Phantom Trace and the West Michigan Mystery Machine site to plan, document, and share your paranormal investigations. Be safe. Be respectful. Don’t break the law or trespass. We provide the tools "as is" — we’re a small team and can’t guarantee uptime, data permanence, or that your photo really has a ghost in it.

The legal version follows. By using our services, you agree to it.

Who We Are

"We," "us," and "DawnForge Labs" refer to DawnForge Labs, operating from Muskegon, Michigan. "Services" means the Phantom Trace mobile app, the West Michigan Mystery Machine website (westmichiganmysterymachine.com), and any associated APIs, AI features, or related tools.

Eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years old to use the Services.
• You must provide accurate information when creating an account.
• You are responsible for keeping your account credentials safe.
• You may not share, sell, or transfer your account to anyone else.

Acceptable Use

When using the Services, you agree NOT to:

• Trespass on private property, restricted sites, or any location where you are not welcome.
• Use the Services in any way that violates local, state, or federal law.
• Endanger yourself, your team, or any third party while conducting investigations.
• Upload evidence that infringes anyone else’s rights (copyright, privacy, image rights).
• Upload illegal, harmful, harassing, or sexually explicit content.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, scrape, or otherwise abuse our APIs or AI endpoints.
• Attempt to exceed rate limits, overload our infrastructure, or interfere with other users.
• Impersonate another person, organization, or law enforcement agency.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account that violates these rules, with or without notice.

Safety & Field Investigations

Paranormal investigation often involves visiting unfamiliar locations, sometimes at night, sometimes in remote areas. The Services are a tool — they are not a substitute for common sense, local knowledge, or proper safety precautions.

• Always investigate with a partner or team. Never go alone to an unknown location at night.
• Tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to return.
• Obtain permission before entering any private or restricted property.
• Follow all posted signs, local ordinances, and law enforcement instructions.
• Carry adequate water, light, communication, and first-aid gear.
• If a location feels unsafe — physically, structurally, or otherwise — leave.

You are solely responsible for your own safety and the safety of your investigation team. We are not liable for any injury, loss, or damage that occurs during use of the Services.

Your Content

You retain full ownership of any photos, videos, sensor logs, case notes, or other content you upload (your "Content"). By uploading Content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to store, display, and process it solely for the purpose of operating the Services on your behalf (for example, running AI analysis on a photo you submitted).

We do not use your Content to train AI models or build advertising profiles, and we do not share it with third parties except as described in our Privacy Policy.

AI Features

• AI features (trip generation, location intelligence, photo evidence analysis, report drafting) are powered by a self-hosted AI server operated by DawnForge Labs.
• AI output is provided for entertainment, research, and brainstorming purposes only. It may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading. Do not rely on AI output as legal, medical, safety, or factual advice.
• AI analysis of evidence (e.g., "anomalies detected in this photo") is speculative. No AI feature is a scientific instrument or proof of paranormal activity.
• AI features may be rate-limited, paused, or removed at any time without notice.

Subscriptions & Payments

Where you bought Pro decides who took the payment and who handles a refund. Those are not the same on every platform, and we cannot refund money we never received.

Bought inside the iPhone or iPad app

• Your purchase is an Apple In-App Purchase. Apple processes the payment and charges your Apple Account. We never see your card details and we do not hold the funds.
• It renews automatically until you cancel. Cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, under Settings › your name › Subscriptions on your device. Deleting the app does not stop billing.
• Refunds are handled by Apple, not by us. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. We cannot issue, approve or deny a refund for an App Store purchase, and writing to us will only delay it.
• Use of the iOS app is also governed by Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement.

Bought inside the Android app

• Your purchase is a Google Play in-app purchase. Google processes the payment and charges your Google account.
• Manage or cancel it under Subscriptions in the Google Play Store app.
• Refunds are handled by Google Play under its own policy. Requests go through the Play Store, not through us.

Bought on this website

• Payment is processed by Stripe. Charges appear on your statement under a DawnForge Labs or Stripe descriptor.
• It renews automatically until cancelled. Cancel any time from your account page; it takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
• Refunds are handled by us, case by case. Email jon@DawnForgeLabs.com within 14 days of the charge.

Applies everywhere

• Spectral Tokens are one-time purchases. They do not expire, have no monetary value outside the Services, and are non-refundable except where the platform that sold them requires otherwise.
• A subscription bought on one platform unlocks Pro on all of them, on the same account. You only ever need to buy it once.
• Prices may change. Active subscribers are notified by email at least 30 days before any change takes effect.

Closed Alpha Testing

If you are participating in the Phantom Trace closed alpha program:

• The app is pre-release software. Expect bugs, crashes, missing features, and data loss.
• Do not rely on the alpha build for mission-critical investigations.
• Feedback is appreciated — email it to jon@DawnForgeLabs.com.
• We may reset alpha accounts, wipe alpha data, or end the alpha program at any time.
• Pro features may be enabled for alpha testers at our discretion and revoked when the alpha ends.

Service Availability

• The Services are provided "as is" and "as available."
• We make no guarantees about uptime, data permanence, or AI accuracy.
• We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Services at any time.
• Planned maintenance and unplanned outages can and will happen.

Account Termination

• You can delete your account at any time by emailing jon@DawnForgeLabs.com.
• We may suspend or terminate your account for violation of these Terms, illegal activity, or to comply with a legal request.
• On termination, your access to the Services ends and your Content may be deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy retention rules.

Disclaimers

The Services are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or that any paranormal activity actually exists at the locations listed in our database. Our hotspot data is sourced from publicly reported folklore, news, and historical accounts; we make no claim that hauntings are real or that any specific phenomenon is verifiable.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, DawnForge Labs, its founders, employees, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including without limitation: loss of profits, data, goodwill, personal injury, property damage, trespass charges, or any other intangible loss, arising out of or related to your use of the Services.

Our total cumulative liability for any claim arising out of or related to the Services is limited to the amount you have paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or $50 USD, whichever is greater.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless DawnForge Labs from any claim, demand, damages, or expense (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising out of your use of the Services, your Content, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Muskegon County, Michigan.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you via email or an in-app notice. Continued use of the Services after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach out to:

DawnForge Labs
Muskegon, Michigan
jon@DawnForgeLabs.com