Terms and Conditions

1. Service Purpose and Public Access

Ling·STEP (the "Service") is an educational platform designed for language learning. Anyone can freely access and use the Service for learning purposes. However, certain content may be restricted due to YouTube platform policies, including video availability, age restrictions, and regional limitations.

The Service does not sell or charge for access to YouTube original content (videos, audio, or subtitles). However, we offer an optional paid subscription service (Basic Plan) for enhanced learning features. The subscription fee is for AI analysis technology, learning tools, and server resource usage—not for the original content itself.

2. Subscription Service and Payment Policy

In addition to the free plan, the Service offers a Basic Plan subscription. Basic Plan subscribers can access AI-generated learning materials (summaries, vocabulary, grammatical analysis, etc.) and expanded personal learning library features. Subscription payments are securely processed through the Paddle payment system. Subscription payments automatically renew monthly until canceled. Users can cancel their subscription anytime in account settings, and upon cancellation, they will retain access until the end of the current billing period before automatically reverting to the free plan.

3. Refund Policy

All users may request a refund within 14 days from the payment date, and full refunds are available for requests made within this period. Refund requests must be submitted to lingstep.helpdesk@gmail.com and will be processed promptly upon receipt and verification. Refunds are not available after the 14-day period has elapsed. However, if technical errors or payment-related issues occur during service use, individual support can be provided through the operations team.

4. Disclaimer for AI-Generated Analysis

Learning materials provided by the Service, including summaries, translations, and grammatical analyses, are automatically generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The Service does not guarantee the complete accuracy, appropriateness, or integrity of the analysis information and assumes no legal liability for any outcomes resulting from using this information for learning.

5. Copyright, Attribution, and YouTube Data Notice
  • Copyright Attribution: All copyrights for videos, thumbnails, and subtitles belong to the respective uploaders, original copyright holders, and YouTube.
  • YouTube API Data Usage Notice: This Service accesses public metadata (titles, channel names, thumbnails, public subtitles, etc.) through the YouTube API. This data is used solely for language learning analysis and display purposes, and is not permanently stored, redistributed, or shared with third parties. For more information, please refer to the Google Privacy Policy.
  • Regulatory Compliance: This Service complies with the YouTube Terms of Service, API Services Terms, and Google Privacy Policy.
6. Site Usage and Embed Policy
  • Official Player Usage: The Service plays YouTube videos exclusively through YouTube's official embed method for language learning purposes.
  • Download and Storage Prohibition: The Service does not download or store YouTube video or audio files, and performs real-time analysis based on publicly available subtitles and metadata. Users may not download, extract, or permanently store embedded content or data through any means (including scraping, repackaging, or plugins). The Service does not store or cache video or audio files on servers during the analysis process and performs real-time processing centered on public subtitles and metadata.
  • Advertisement and Player Manipulation Prohibition: Ling·STEP does not arbitrarily block, hide, or modify advertisements included in YouTube videos, and fully complies with YouTube platform advertising and access restriction policies. Additionally, users must not modify or hide YouTube player functions (including buttons and UI), or separate, extract, or enable background playback of audio and video.
7. Nature and Scope of Learning Materials
  • Nature of Materials: Analysis results generated by Ling·STEP (summaries, vocabulary, grammatical breakdowns, etc.) are not substitutes for or derivative works of the original content, but rather educational interpretive information utilizing public subtitles and metadata.
  • Usage Restrictions: Users may use these materials only within the scope of personal learning and may not reproduce, distribute, sell, or create derivative works for third parties without explicit permission from the original copyright holder.
8. Full Text Disclosure Restrictions

The Service provides only the minimum necessary excerpts for educational purposes. Full text provision of original works (complete lyrics/scripts/subtitles, etc.) and bulk exports (CSV, etc.) are avoided, and are provided only within the scope of permission from rights holders when necessary.

9. Fair Use and Regional Laws

Analysis, quotation, and similar uses may be restricted according to regional copyright laws and fair use principles. The same usage may have different permissible scopes depending on the country, and users must comply with the laws of their country of residence/use.

10. Third-Party Rights and User Responsibility
  • Third-Party Rights: Music copyrights, portrait rights, trademark rights, and other rights within videos belong to their respective rights holders, and users must separately obtain permission for use of such rights.
  • User Responsibility: Users are entirely responsible for any legal issues arising from links, text, annotations, etc. that they input, upload, or share.
  • Infringement Reporting: Rights holders may report infringement claims (including materials/URLs/evidence) to lingstep.helpdesk@gmail.com. The Service will promptly review and take blocking/deletion measures. Repeat violators may have their access restricted.
11. Prohibited Activities

Automated crawling/scraping, inducing downloads, circumventing access controls, bypassing copyright protection measures, uploading/distributing illegal copies, and violating terms/laws are prohibited. Users may not directly upload third-party files (SRT, MP4, etc.).

12. Data Retention and Privacy Protection

Only minimal logs (including partially masked IPs) are retained for service quality improvement and abuse prevention purposes, and are securely destroyed when the reasonably necessary retention period has elapsed. Data may be provided to law enforcement agencies only in accordance with lawful requests.

13. Non-Affiliation and Non-Endorsement Notice

Ling·STEP is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by YouTube or any rights holders. All trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.

14. External API and Platform Dependencies

The Service depends on external platforms such as the YouTube API. The Service is not responsible for functional limitations/interruptions due to external causes such as API policy changes, discontinuation, or errors.

15. Age Restrictions and Other Provisions
  • Age Restrictions: Children under 14 years of age may not use the Service without consent from a legal guardian.
  • Terms Changes: Changes to these terms will be posted on this page.
16. License Information (Summary)
  • The Service displays content within the public scope using YouTube embed and API.
  • Analysis results are educational supplementary materials and are not substitutes for the original content.
  • Commercial reuse requires permission from the original copyright holder.
  • Upon infringement reports, content will be blocked after reasonable review.