This Acceptable Use Policy (the "AUP") sets out concrete examples of what you may and may not do with the SHEAF service. It supplements, and forms part of, our Terms of Service (the "Terms"). Capitalised terms used here have the meaning given in the Terms.
This AUP gives examples; it is not exhaustive. If conduct is harmful, abusive, or contrary to the spirit of the Terms, it may breach this AUP even if it is not listed below. Questions: legal@usesheaf.io.
1. Who this applies to
This AUP applies to everyone who accesses the Service, on every tier — Free, Basic, Pro, and Enterprise — and to anyone using the SHEAF website, iOS application, desktop web application, or API. It applies whether or not you have an account.
2. Permitted use
You may use the Service for:
- Personal research, study, reading, and academic writing;
- Internal research, knowledge-management, and writing within a single business or institution, within the seat limits of your plan;
- Incorporating AI Outputs generated for your own account into your own work product, where you verify them and do not redistribute the Service or its outputs as a competing offering.
3. Prohibited use — concrete examples
The following are examples of conduct that is not permitted. This list illustrates the prohibitions in sections 6 and 7 of the Terms; it does not replace or narrow them.
3.1 Bulk scraping and automated extraction
- Writing a script, bot, crawler, or headless browser to page through the daily feed, knowledge graph, or API and download papers, scores, embeddings, or metadata in bulk;
- Using the API beyond its published rate limits, or rotating accounts, IP addresses, or API keys to evade rate limits, usage limits, or billing controls;
- Harvesting SHEAF-generated scores, rankings, concept links, or literature-review text to build or seed a separate dataset, index, or product;
- Any automated paper-extraction or recommendation tool that re-uses SHEAF data or outputs to offer a service that competes with SHEAF.
3.2 Account sharing and credential misuse
- Sharing one account's login or API key across multiple people to avoid paying for additional seats;
- Reselling, sub-licensing, renting, or otherwise giving third parties access to your account or to the Service;
- Operating a single seat as a shared "service account" behind which many end users consume the Service.
3.3 Reverse engineering and copying
- Reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise attempting to derive the source code, model prompts, scoring logic, or ranking algorithms of the Service;
- Copying, framing, mirroring, or creating derivative works of the Service, the Site, or their components, except as the Terms expressly permit.
3.4 Training competing AI / building competing products
- Using the Service, its data, or its AI Outputs to train, fine-tune, evaluate, or develop any AI model, recommender, or machine-learning system;
- Using the Service or its outputs to design, build, or operate a product or service that competes with SHEAF.
3.5 Security and integrity
- Attempting to access another user's account, data, or any part of the infrastructure you are not authorised to access;
- Probing, scanning, or testing the vulnerability of the Service without our prior written permission, or otherwise interfering with or overloading the Service;
- Uploading or transmitting malware, or content that is unlawful, infringing, defamatory, harassing, or that violates a third party's rights.
4. Confidentiality during the beta period
While the Service is in its beta / early-access period, you agree not to publish screenshots, performance benchmarks, or feature lists of non-public features without our prior written consent, as set out in section 10 of the Terms.
5. Enforcement
If we believe you have breached this AUP, we may — with or without notice, depending on severity — throttle or suspend your access, revoke API keys, terminate your account under section 17 of the Terms, and, where warranted, pursue legal remedies. We will act proportionately to the breach.
6. Reporting abuse
If you become aware of conduct that breaches this AUP, please report it to legal@usesheaf.io.
7. Governing law
This AUP forms part of the Terms and is governed by the laws of England and Wales, with the courts of England and Wales having jurisdiction as set out in section 19 of the Terms.