Terms of
Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you," or "your") and Zimm Automated Research Center LLC ("ZARC," "we," "our," or "us"), a Pennsylvania limited liability company, governing your access to and use of WaterDoc, including its web interface, mobile interface, API, and all related services (collectively, the "Service").

By accessing or using WaterDoc in any way — including browsing, submitting scans, creating an account, or clicking "I Agree" — you confirm that you:

• Are at least 18 years of age, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction if higher
• Have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms in their entirety
• Have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract
• Are not prohibited from using the Service under any applicable law

If you do not agree to any part of these Terms, you must immediately cease all use of WaterDoc. Use of the Service by anyone under 18 is strictly prohibited.

WaterDoc is an AI-powered water quality analysis tool that uses computer vision, artificial intelligence models, and publicly available reference data to generate general assessments of water conditions based on user-submitted images and observations.

WaterDoc is designed and intended solely for informational, educational, and hobbyist purposes. It is not a scientific instrument, certified testing device, licensed professional advisory service, or replacement for laboratory water analysis of any kind.

The AI model powering WaterDoc is provided by Anthropic, PBC ("Anthropic"). ZARC is an independent company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic.

• AI-generated water quality analysis is inherently limited, experimental, and may be inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or entirely wrong
• WaterDoc cannot detect pathogens, bacteria, viruses, parasites, cyanotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, radioactive materials, or any contaminant invisible to a camera
• Visual analysis of water images cannot substitute for certified laboratory testing under any circumstances
• A high WaterDoc health score does not mean water is safe for any purpose whatsoever
• A low WaterDoc health score does not comprehensively identify or enumerate all hazards present
• You assume full, complete, and sole responsibility for every decision made based on WaterDoc output
• ZARC bears no responsibility of any kind for any outcome resulting from your use of or reliance on WaterDoc analysis

If you do not accept each of these risks completely and unconditionally, you must stop using WaterDoc immediately.

WaterDoc does not provide medical advice, public health guidance, environmental certification, or safety assessments of any kind. Specifically and without limitation:

• WaterDoc cannot detect waterborne pathogens including but not limited to E. coli, Salmonella, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Legionella, hepatitis A, norovirus, or any other bacteria, virus, or parasite
• WaterDoc cannot detect harmful algal bloom toxins including cyanotoxins, microcystins, or saxitoxins
• WaterDoc cannot detect heavy metals including lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, or chromium
• WaterDoc cannot detect agricultural runoff, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer contamination, or pharmaceutical residues
• WaterDoc cannot detect industrial pollutants, petroleum products, PFAS compounds, or any chemical contamination
• A positive WaterDoc analysis or high health score under no circumstances indicates that water is safe for human use

For any determination of water safety affecting human health, you must consult a certified water testing laboratory, licensed environmental professional, and/or applicable government public health or environmental agencies.

WaterDoc may be used to assess water conditions for aquariums, ponds, and other aquatic environments. However, the following limitations apply absolutely and without exception:

• WaterDoc cannot accurately measure, detect, or assess dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, hardness, alkalinity, salinity, temperature, or any other quantitative water chemistry parameter
• WaterDoc analysis does not guarantee the safety or suitability of water conditions for any fish, invertebrate, aquatic plant, coral, amphibian, reptile, or any other living organism
• Species-specific water requirements vary significantly and WaterDoc cannot account for individual animal health, age, acclimation history, or genetic factors
• A positive WaterDoc assessment does not confirm that water is appropriate or safe for your specific animals
• WaterDoc recommendations for aquatic animal care do not constitute veterinary advice

You assume full and sole responsibility for the health and welfare of any animals in water bodies you assess using WaterDoc.

WaterDoc scan results are generated solely for the personal, informational use of the individual user who submitted the scan. Results reflect only conditions visible in the submitted image at that moment and may not reflect current conditions.

• If you share WaterDoc results with any other person, you do so entirely at your own risk and assume full legal and ethical responsibility
• ZARC bears no liability to any third party who relies upon shared WaterDoc scan results or community map data
• Community map data is entirely user-contributed and unverified. ZARC does not validate, certify, or guarantee the accuracy of any community-submitted scan
• You must clearly communicate to anyone with whom you share results that WaterDoc output is AI-generated, unverified, and not a substitute for professional testing
• You may not represent WaterDoc results as certified, professional, scientific, or official assessments to any third party
• Results may become outdated immediately after submission — water conditions change rapidly

WaterDoc may display product recommendations, affiliate links, and sponsored placements in scan results and other areas of the Service. You acknowledge and agree that:

• WaterDoc may earn affiliate commissions when you purchase products through links displayed in the Service
• Certain product placements may be paid sponsorships or brand partnerships
• Sponsored recommendations do not constitute professional endorsement or a guarantee that any product will resolve any water quality issue
• ZARC is not responsible for the quality, safety, or effectiveness of any third-party product recommended within the Service
• All purchasing decisions are made solely at your own risk and discretion

This limitation applies to all damages without exception, including but not limited to:

• Personal injury, illness, or death resulting from any reliance on WaterDoc analysis
• Illness, injury, or death of any animal, fish, or aquatic organism
• Property damage, environmental harm, or contamination
• Economic loss, lost revenue, lost profits, or business interruption
• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages
• Any loss arising from inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading AI-generated analysis
• Any loss arising from third-party reliance on shared or community-submitted results
• Any loss arising from Service downtime, data loss, unauthorized access, or security incidents
• Any loss arising from Anthropic API failures, outages, or changes to the underlying AI model

In jurisdictions that do not allow the exclusion of certain damages, ZARC's total aggregate liability shall be limited to the greater of: (a) the total amount you paid ZARC in the twelve months preceding the event; or (b) fifty U.S. dollars ($50.00).

• Warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement are expressly disclaimed
• Any warranty that AI-generated analysis will be accurate, complete, reliable, or suitable for any use is expressly disclaimed
• Any warranty regarding the accuracy or completeness of third-party reference data incorporated into the Service is expressly disclaimed
• Any warranty regarding the continued availability of any feature, including free tier scan credits, is expressly disclaimed

• Free tier scan credit allotments are provided at ZARC's sole discretion and may be changed or eliminated at any time without notice
• Paid subscription fees are billed in advance and are non-refundable except where required by applicable law
• Unused credits in any period do not roll over unless explicitly stated in your plan description
• ZARC reserves the right to modify pricing, features, and plan availability at any time with reasonable notice
• Continued use of a paid plan after a price change constitutes acceptance of the new pricing

11.1 — What We Collect

• Images you submit for analysis
• GPS or location data associated with your scans, if location services are enabled
• Scan metadata including timestamps, water type classifications, and user-submitted observations
• AI-generated analysis results, health scores, and detected conditions
• Account information if you create a WaterDoc account

11.2 — How We Use Your Data

• To provide, operate, and improve the WaterDoc Service
• To populate and maintain the community water quality map, subject to your opt-out election
• To expand and refine WaterDoc's reference database and AI analysis accuracy
• Anonymized or aggregated scan data may be used for research and commercial purposes including data licensing

11.3 — Anthropic API Data Flow

Images and associated data you submit to WaterDoc are transmitted to Anthropic's servers for AI processing via the Anthropic Claude API. Your data may be subject to Anthropic's data handling and privacy policies in addition to these Terms. By using WaterDoc, you expressly consent to this transmission and processing.

11.4 — Image Metadata

Images you submit may contain embedded metadata including GPS coordinates, device identifiers, and timestamps. You are solely responsible for reviewing and managing any metadata contained in images before submission.

11.5 — Data Retention and Deletion

You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data by contacting ZARC. Anonymized or aggregated data derived from your scans may be retained indefinitely for research purposes even after account deletion.

11.6 — No Sale of Personal Data

ZARC does not sell your personal identifying information or raw images to third parties for advertising targeting purposes. Aggregated, anonymized datasets derived from scan data may be licensed to third parties for research or commercial purposes.

12.1 — Scope of the Dataset

ZARC collects and aggregates data from user submissions to build the ZARC Enclosed Aquatic Dataset (the "Dataset"). The Dataset includes anonymized and aggregated records derived from:

Active = directly submitted by user. Passive = captured automatically during normal use. Inferred = derived by ZARC systems from active and passive data.

12.2 — Anonymization Standard

Before inclusion in the Dataset, all records are stripped of personally identifiable information including your name, email address, account identifiers, precise GPS coordinates, and device identifiers. ZARC applies commercially reasonable anonymization practices. You acknowledge that perfect anonymization of granular longitudinal data cannot be guaranteed, and you consent to this residual risk as a condition of using the Service.

12.3 — Dataset Commercialization

ZARC expressly reserves the right to license, sell, or otherwise commercially exploit the Dataset, in whole or in part, in anonymized and aggregated form. Potential Dataset customers include, without limitation: public and private aquariums; aquatic product manufacturers; academic and scientific research institutions; veterinary and aquatic health organizations; fish breeding operations; commercial aquaculture facilities; insurance providers; conservation organizations; government agencies; and other ZARC products within the ZARC product family.

You will not receive compensation, royalties, or any other consideration for the use of your anonymized data in the Dataset, regardless of any commercial value it may generate for ZARC.

12.4 — Your License Grant to ZARC

By submitting any content, data, images, or records to WaterDoc, you grant ZARC a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, sublicensable license to use, store, process, reproduce, modify, aggregate, anonymize, and create derivative works from your submitted content for any purpose consistent with these Terms, including operating and improving the Service, building and commercializing the Dataset, training AI models, and developing new products within the ZARC product family.

12.5 — Voluntary Contribution Upgrade

ZARC may offer opt-in programs inviting users to submit richer data in exchange for service benefits such as extended scan credits or premium feature access. Participation is entirely voluntary and subject to any additional terms presented at the time of enrollment.

12.6 — Research Partnerships

ZARC may enter into formal research partnerships with academic institutions, veterinary organizations, conservation bodies, or government agencies under data use agreements. ZARC makes no representation that such agreements will be entered into and is under no obligation to pursue or maintain any particular research partnership.

13.1 — ZARC Product Family

WaterDoc is a product of Zimm Automated Research Center LLC (ZARC). ZARC develops and may in the future release additional products under the ZARC brand. Each ZARC product will have its own terms of service. However, data rights granted in Section 12.4 extend to ZARC as an entity and are not limited to the WaterDoc Service alone.

13.2 — Shared Infrastructure

WaterDoc data may be processed, stored, or analyzed using infrastructure shared with other ZARC products, including database infrastructure, AI analysis pipelines, anonymization systems, and the ZARC Dataset platform. Use of shared infrastructure does not mean your data is visible to users of other ZARC products. Data is logically segregated by product.

13.3 — Cross-Product Dataset Enrichment

With your consent, anonymized and aggregated data from WaterDoc may be combined with anonymized data from other ZARC products to produce enriched cross-domain datasets. Any such combination will be performed only on anonymized data and disclosed in an updated version of these Terms at the time of combination.

13.4 — No Cross-Product Account Linking Without Consent

ZARC will not link your WaterDoc account identity to your account on any other ZARC product without your explicit consent at the time of such linking. Account consolidation features, if offered, will be clearly presented as opt-in.

13.5 — Future Products

You acknowledge that ZARC may launch products in the future that use data infrastructure, AI models, or reference datasets developed in whole or in part using WaterDoc data contributions. The existence of such products does not create any obligation for ZARC to compensate you or provide you access to those products. Your acceptance of these Terms constitutes your informed consent to this possibility.

By using WaterDoc, you agree that you will not:

• Use the Service as the sole basis for any safety-critical decision affecting human health, animal welfare, or environmental conditions
• Represent WaterDoc output as certified, professional, scientific, or official water quality assessment to any person or organization
• Submit images or data you do not have the legal right to share
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, scrape, or extract data or algorithms from the Service
• Use the Service to generate false, fabricated, or misleading water quality reports
• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law or regulation
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or attempt to circumvent any rate limits, credit limits, or security measures

All WaterDoc and ZARC software, source code, algorithms, branding, visual design, logos, and trademarks are owned exclusively by Zimm Automated Research Center LLC. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or commercially exploit any ZARC intellectual property without express prior written permission.

You retain ownership of images and original data you submit. By submitting content, you grant ZARC a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to use, store, process, reproduce, and create derivative works from your submitted content solely for the purposes of operating, improving, and promoting the Service.

WaterDoc incorporates data from third-party sources including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), FishBase, NOAA Fisheries, and other public databases. ZARC makes no representations regarding the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any third-party data.

ZARC shall not be liable for any delay, failure, or interruption of the Service resulting from causes beyond ZARC's reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, internet failures, third-party API failures (including Anthropic API unavailability), cyberattacks, or any other event outside ZARC's reasonable control.

ZARC reserves the right to modify, suspend, or permanently discontinue WaterDoc or any part of the Service at any time without liability. ZARC may update these Terms at any time; the effective date will be revised accordingly. Your continued use of WaterDoc after any modification constitutes unconditional acceptance of the revised Terms.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ZARC and its members, managers, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your use of or reliance on WaterDoc or any output generated by the Service
• Your violation of any provision of these Terms
• Your violation of any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right
• Any harm caused to a third party as a result of your sharing of WaterDoc results
• Any misrepresentation you make regarding the nature or reliability of WaterDoc output

These Terms shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

18.1 — Informal Resolution

Before initiating any formal proceeding, you agree to contact ZARC in writing and allow 30 days for informal resolution.

18.2 — Binding Arbitration

Any unresolved dispute shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, in Pennsylvania. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding.

18.3 — Class Action Waiver

You irrevocably waive any right to participate in any class action, collective action, or representative proceeding against ZARC. All disputes must be brought in your individual capacity only.

18.4 — Time Limitation on Claims

Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service must be brought within one (1) year after the cause of action accrues. Claims not brought within this period are permanently barred.

19.1 — Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, it shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

19.2 — Entire Agreement

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and ZARC regarding WaterDoc and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings relating to the subject matter herein.

19.3 — Assignment

You may not assign any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without ZARC's prior written consent. ZARC may freely assign these Terms, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

For questions about these Terms, data deletion requests, or dispute notices: