Terms of Service

Effective Date: March 02, 2026

Note: SearchCans is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google, Bing, or any other third-party search engine in any way. SearchCans provides web-scraped data collected from publicly available sources. All trademarks and copyright are the property of their respective owners.

1. Account Registration and Use

1.1 Target Audience and Account Creation

The Services are intended for use by businesses and developers, including individual developers. You must provide true, accurate, and complete information to create an account. You represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age or have reached the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction.

1.2 Account Security and Multiple Accounts

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account information, including your password and API Key. You are solely responsible for all activities that occur under your account. You are expressly prohibited from registering or using more than one (1) account at any point in time to circumvent usage limits or for any fraudulent purposes. You acknowledge and agree that the Company is entitled to record your service usage behavior and log data, and these records will be used for auditing, security monitoring, and dispute resolution.

1.3 Account Termination

(a) Termination for Cause: The Company reserves the right to immediately terminate or suspend your account without prior notice if your conduct violates these Terms, applicable laws, or poses a legal or security risk to the Company. In such cases, all remaining credits are forfeited and no refund will be issued, notwithstanding any unexpired Refund Window under Section 4.3.

(b) Termination Without Cause: The Company may terminate your account for any reason by providing thirty (30) days' written notice to your registered email address. In such cases, you may continue to use your remaining credits during the notice period. After the notice period expires, any unused credits are forfeited.

(c) User-Initiated Termination: You may delete your account at any time through your dashboard settings. Upon self-deletion, all unused credits are immediately forfeited. Any pending or future refund eligibility under Section 4.3 is permanently waived upon account deletion.

(d) Survival: Sections 2 (Usage Restrictions), 3 (Data License), 4.3–4.5 (Refund, Chargeback, and Legal Consequences Policies), 5 (Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability), and 6 (General Provisions) shall survive any termination or expiration of these Terms.

2. Usage License and Prohibited Activities

Permission is granted to use the materials (information or software) and the API Key on the SearchCans website and Services as long as your use case requires. This constitutes the grant of a license, not a transfer of title, and under this license, you may not:

2.1 Usage Restrictions

• Modify, copy, prepare derivative works of, decompile, or reverse engineer any materials and software contained on the SearchCans website or Service.
• Remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials.
• Attempt to circumvent any restrictions or limits placed on your SearchCans API key or account.
• Mirror the materials on any other server as-is with no value-added.

2.2 Fraudulent Activity and Abuse

You shall not engage in any fraudulent, deceptive, or illegal activity, including but not limited to:

• Maliciously utilizing the refund or dispute mechanisms of payment service providers (such as Stripe Chargebacks) to circumvent service fees, after having used or planning to use the Services.
• Submitting false or misleading payment information or refund justifications.

Any breach of this Section 2 will be considered a material breach of these Terms, and the Company shall have the right to immediately terminate your account and Services without a refund.

3. Data License and API Responsibility

As part of the Services, SearchCans collects and generates Data by aggregating information from publicly available web pages (via Search API) or by fetching specific URLs directed by You (via Reader API).

3.1 Third-Party Content

Data accessible through SearchCans may contain third-party content (such as text, images, and videos). This content remains the sole responsibility of the third-party originators or publishers of such content. In some cases, public-domain content accessible to SearchCans may also be subject to intellectual property rights. If this is the case, you may not use it unless you are licensed to do so or are otherwise permitted by law. You acknowledge that it is your sole responsibility to verify the copyright status of any content and to ensure your use complies with all applicable laws (including but not limited to intellectual property laws, data privacy regulations, and the local laws of your jurisdiction).

3.2 User Obligations

Unless applicable by law or expressly permitted by the owner, you will not, and will not permit your end users or others acting on your behalf to, do any of the following with the Data returned from the API:

• Misrepresent the ownership or the source of the Data.
• Obscure, remove or change any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices.
• Falsify or delete any author attributions, legal notices, or other labels of the origin or source of material.

3.3 Reader API Specific Disclaimer (User-Directed Fetching)

You acknowledge that when using the Reader API (or any URL-to-Markdown/Text services), SearchCans acts solely as a passive transmission channel and infrastructure provider. You expressly agree that:

• User Control: You retain full control over and responsibility for the URLs you submit to the Service.
• No Liability for Content: SearchCans assumes no responsibility for the content, accuracy, legality, or copyright compliance of any data fetched via the Reader API.
• Authorization: You represent that you have the authority to access the URLs you submit and will not bypass authentication mechanisms or violate terms of target sites.

3.4 SERP API Specific Disclaimer (Search Engine Results)

You acknowledge that the SERP API retrieves data from third-party search engines (e.g., Google, Bing) in real-time. You expressly agree that:

• Gateway Only: SearchCans acts as a real-time gateway and does not own, control, create, or verify the data returned by upstream search engines.
• Accuracy & Availability: Search engines frequently update their layouts, algorithms, and anti-bot measures. SearchCans does not guarantee 100% success rate, parsing accuracy, or that specific results will appear. We are not liable for service interruptions caused by upstream changes.
• Compliance: You bear full responsibility for your use of the search data. SearchCans disclaims all liability for any copyright infringement, privacy violations, or other legal issues arising from your use of the scraped SERP data.

3.5 Data Retention and Logging Policy

SearchCans is committed to data minimization:

• No Data Persistence: We do not retain, store, cache, or archive the actual payload data (such as SERP HTML/JSON results or Reader API converted text) generated by your requests. Once the data is delivered to you, it is discarded from our systems.
• Usage Logging: You acknowledge and agree that we reserve the right to retain usage logs and metadata (e.g., timestamps, API keys used, request parameters, URLs accessed, and status codes) for the purposes of billing, security auditing, fraud prevention, and service optimization.

4. Fees, Payment, and Refunds

4.1 Payment Model

The Services offer two billing tracks: (1) Elastic Credit Packs — pre-paid credit packages you can purchase at any time, and (2) Predictable Monthly Plans (coming soon, subject to availability at the Company's sole discretion) — recurring subscriptions with a fixed monthly credit allocation. The Company makes no commitment regarding the features, pricing, or launch date of products designated as "coming soon." Each package or plan includes a defined number of API credits and a specified number of Parallel Lanes (concurrent request slots).

4.2 Lane Stacking & Concurrency

You may purchase multiple credit packages simultaneously to increase your total concurrent request capacity ("Lane Stacking"). The following rules apply:

• Additive Concurrency: Parallel Lanes from eligible plans are combined. For example, purchasing two (2) $99 plans yields 6 total lanes (3 + 3).
• Eligibility: Lane Stacking applies to all plans except the $18 Standard tier, which provides a fixed 2-lane allocation regardless of quantity purchased.
• FIFO Consumption: When multiple orders are active, credits are consumed in First-In-First-Out order. The oldest order's credits are used first.
• Automatic Lane Detachment: When an order's credits are fully depleted or expire, its associated Parallel Lanes are immediately and automatically removed from your total concurrency. You are responsible for monitoring your credit balance and purchasing additional packages before lanes are detached.
• No Guaranteed Availability: The Company reserves the right to modify lane allocations, stacking eligibility, or concurrency limits at any time.

4.3 Refund Policy

(a) Eligibility Window. You may request a refund of a credit package purchase only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

1. The refund request is submitted in writing (via email to support@searchcans.com or through the dashboard) within seven (7) calendar days from the date of purchase as recorded in the Company's payment system ("Refund Window");
2. Less than ten percent (10%) of the total credits included in the applicable order have been consumed at the time the request is received by the Company.

(b) Definition of "Consumed." For the purpose of calculating the 10% usage threshold, a credit is deemed "consumed" when any API request is successfully processed against your account, regardless of whether the request originates from a single active order or from multiple concurrently active orders under Lane Stacking. Because the system processes requests using all available infrastructure provisioned to your account — including all stacked Parallel Lanes — any API activity during the Refund Window contributes to the usage calculation across all active orders.

(c) Refund Amount. If a refund is approved, the Company will refund the original purchase price of the eligible order, less a processing and infrastructure de-provisioning fee equal to 5% of the order value (or the actual payment processor fees incurred, whichever is greater). Refunds will be issued to the original payment method within 10 business days.

(d) Non-Refundable Circumstances. No refund will be issued under any of the following circumstances, without limitation:

• The refund request is submitted after the 7-calendar-day Refund Window has expired;
• 10% or more of the order's credits have been consumed (as defined in Section 4.3(b));
• The account has been terminated for cause under Section 1.3(a);
• The credits have expired under Section 4.6;
• Dissatisfaction with the Service, changes in your business needs, or failure to use credits before expiration, where the Refund Window has lapsed or the usage threshold has been met.

(e) One Refund Per Order. Each credit package order is eligible for at most one (1) refund request. Refund eligibility is evaluated on a per-order basis.

(f) Company Discretion. The Company reserves the right to deny any refund request if it reasonably determines that the request is part of a pattern of abuse, or if the account has exhibited usage patterns inconsistent with legitimate evaluation (including but not limited to high-volume automated requests during the Refund Window).

4.4 Fraudulent Claims & Chargeback Policy

Given the limited refund window and strict eligibility requirements described in Section 4.3, and the immediate provisioning of infrastructure upon payment, any attempt to circumvent this policy is treated with zero tolerance:

• Initiating a chargeback, payment dispute, or claim reversal with your bank or payment provider after having received access to the Services constitutes Chargeback Fraud and a material breach of these Terms.
• The Company reserves the right to immediately suspend or terminate your account, revoke all remaining credits, and pursue recovery of all amounts owed.
• You shall be liable for the full cost of the Services, any chargeback processing fees, investigation costs, and all associated legal fees and collection costs.

4.5 Legal Consequences

Any unauthorized chargeback will be deemed a material breach. If a User initiates a chargeback after receiving the Services, the User shall be liable for the full cost of the Services, any chargeback processing fees incurred by the Company, and all associated attorneys' fees and collection costs. The Company may also report fraudulent activity to relevant authorities and credit agencies.

4.6 Credit Validity and Expiration

All purchased API credits are valid for six (6) months from the date of purchase ("Validity Period"). Upon expiration:

• Forfeiture: All unused credits are permanently forfeited with no refund (the Refund Window under Section 4.3 applies only within 7 calendar days of purchase), credit, or extension.
• Lane Detachment: Any Parallel Lanes associated with expired credits are automatically detached from your account.
• Monitoring: You may view your credit balance and expiration dates at any time in your dashboard.

It is your sole responsibility to monitor your credit balance and use credits before expiration. The Company is under no obligation to send expiration reminders, although it may do so at its discretion. Credits cannot be transferred between accounts, sold, or exchanged for cash.

5. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

5.1 Disclaimer of Warranties

The Services are provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. The Company does not guarantee, represent or warrant that your use of its service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free. Specifically regarding the Reader API and SERP API, the Company makes no warranty regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any data retrieved from third-party sources.

5.2 Limitation of Liability

In no event shall SearchCans, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, suppliers or licensors be liable for any consequential loss suffered or incurred by you or any third party, nor for any amounts exceeding the total fees actually paid to the Company by you in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim. This limitation applies even if notified of the possibility of such damages. "Consequential loss" includes any indirect loss, real or anticipated loss of profit, loss of benefit, loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of data, or loss of goodwill.

5.3 Service Level Objective

SearchCans targets a 99.99% monthly uptime for its API endpoints ("Service Level Objective" or "SLO"). This target is a commercially reasonable goal and NOT a guarantee or warranty.

Uptime is calculated as: (Total minutes in month − Unplanned downtime minutes) / Total minutes in month × 100%.

The following are excluded from downtime calculations:

• Scheduled maintenance windows announced at least 24 hours in advance;
• Force majeure events as defined in Section 6.6;
• Failures caused by factors outside our reasonable control, including upstream search engine outages, DNS failures, or internet backbone disruptions;
• Issues resulting from your equipment, software, or network connections;
• Abuse or excessive usage that violates these Terms.

Failure to meet this SLO does not constitute a breach of these Terms and does not entitle you to any refund, credit, or other remedy unless separately agreed in a written Enterprise Service Agreement.

5.4 Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless SearchCans, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your use of the Services, including any data retrieved via the SERP API or Reader API;
• Your violation of these Terms or any applicable law or regulation;
• Your infringement of any intellectual property or other rights of any third party;
• Any content, URLs, or queries you submit to the Services;
• Any dispute between you and a third party regarding data obtained through the Services.

This indemnification obligation shall survive termination of these Terms and your account.

6. General Provisions

6.1 Marketing Materials

The Company may use your company name and your company logos in case studies, marketing materials, or other write-ups, unless you request otherwise.

6.2 Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

6.3 Dispute Resolution and Binding Arbitration

Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, shall be submitted to Seattle, Washington, United States, for final and binding decision by one arbitrator appointed by JAMS pursuant to its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures. Judgment on the Award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. YOU AND THE COMPANY AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

6.4 Modifications

SearchCans reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time at its sole discretion. For material changes, we will provide at least thirty (30) days' prior notice by posting the updated Terms on our website and/or sending an email to your registered address. Non-material changes (such as formatting, typographical corrections, or clarifications that do not alter your rights or obligations) may be made without prior notice. By continuing to access or use the Services after the effective date of any modifications, you agree to be bound by the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, your sole remedy is to stop using the Services and delete your account before the changes take effect.

6.5 Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at: support@searchcans.com

6.6 Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations under these Terms (except for payment obligations) if such delay or failure results from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, natural disasters, pandemics, war, terrorism, riots, government actions, embargoes, sanctions, labor disputes, power failures, internet or telecommunications outages, cyberattacks (including DDoS attacks), upstream search engine policy changes or outages, or failures of third-party infrastructure providers. If a force majeure event continues for more than sixty (60) consecutive days, either party may terminate these Terms upon written notice without liability (except for fees already owed for Services rendered).

6.7 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable while preserving its original intent.

6.8 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and SearchCans regarding the Services and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations, warranties, and understandings, whether written, oral, or electronic.

6.9 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the Company. The Company may freely assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets without your consent or notice.