Terms of Service

Effective Date: September 10, 2026 (originally published February 28, 2026)

Welcome to Bossword! These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Bossword mobile application and the website at bossword.app (collectively, the "Service"), operated by Sparrowstep LLC ("Sparrowstep," "we," "us," or "our").

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use Bossword.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use Bossword. If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian's consent to use the Service. By using Bossword, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements.

2. Your Account

• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and any activity that occurs under it.
• You must provide accurate information when creating your profile.
• You may not create more than one account per person.
• You may not transfer or share your account with anyone else.
• If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at hello@bossword.app.

3. What Bossword Is

Bossword is a crossword puzzle time tracking application. Users can record their daily solve times, view personal statistics, compete in leagues, tournaments and daily races, and appear on community leaderboards. A free account unlocks the community features; an optional paid subscription tier ("Bossword Elite") adds a small set of extras and supports the app.

4. Free and Paid Features

• Without an account: Time tracking and personal statistics are available with no account at all. Data is stored locally on your device.
• Free account: Creating a free account adds cloud backup and sync, your Bossword profile, and the community features — leagues, tournaments, chat, leaderboards and rankings.
• Bossword Elite: A paid subscription that adds a set of extra features (currently: daily races, importing your entire solve history, performance graphs, hosting your own tournaments, listing leagues on the public board, and a gold profile identity) and supports the app's development.
• Auto-renewal: Bossword Elite is an auto-renewing subscription purchased through Apple's App Store (or Google Play, where available). Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each billing period unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it renews. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your device's account settings (on iOS: Settings → your Apple ID → Subscriptions).
• Free trials and promotional offers: If your subscription includes a free trial or promotional period, it converts to a paid subscription at the end of that period unless you cancel before it ends.
• Billing and refunds: All billing is handled by Apple or Google under their terms. Refund requests must be made through them; we cannot issue refunds for purchases made through their stores.
• If your subscription ends: When your Elite subscription expires (including after any billing grace period), you lose access to the Elite-only features listed above. Nothing else changes: your account, your data, your statistics, and your membership in every league and tournament are untouched, and you can keep competing on the free tier.
• We may change the features available in each tier at any time, subject to the limit in Section 15: a reduction will not apply to a subscription period you have already paid for.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use Bossword to:

• Harass, bully, threaten, or intimidate other users
• Post content that is hateful, violent, sexually explicit, or illegal
• Impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity
• Spam other users with unwanted messages or league invitations
• Submit fraudulent or fabricated solve times
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other users' accounts, or our systems
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated tools to access the Service
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or the servers and networks connected to it

We reserve the right to remove content and suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, at our sole discretion.

We have zero tolerance for objectionable content or abusive behavior. You can report a user, a chat message, or a league from within the app, and you can block any user. We review every report and act on it within 24 hours — removing the offending content and suspending or terminating the account of the offending user as warranted. You can also report abuse to us at hello@bossword.app.

6. User Content

You retain ownership of any content you post on Bossword (profile information, chat messages, league names). By posting content, you grant Sparrowstep a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, display, and distribute that content solely for the purpose of operating and providing the Service.

You represent that you have the right to post any content you share and that it does not violate any third party's rights.

7. Leagues, Tournaments, Races and Leaderboards

Bossword facilitates competitive crossword puzzle time tracking through leagues, tournaments, daily races and community leaderboards. However:

• Sparrowstep does not independently verify solve times. Times you type in are taken on trust. Community leaderboards additionally require a time shared directly from the publisher's own app, which we treat as a stronger signal but do not guarantee.
• Submitting fabricated times is a violation of Section 5, and we may remove times or standings we believe to be fraudulent.
• League, tournament, race and leaderboard standings are provided for entertainment purposes.
• We are not responsible for disputes between league members.
• League creators are responsible for managing their leagues, including invitations and membership.
• Leaving a league is permanent. To keep league records complete and fair for the remaining members, a member who leaves a league — whether by choice or by account deletion — cannot rejoin that league. Their past results remain part of the league's history — attributed to "Deleted User" if the account was deleted. To compete with the same group again, a new league must be created. (An expiring Elite subscription does not remove you from any league.)
• If a league's owner deletes their account, ownership of the league passes automatically to its longest-tenured remaining member. (An owner who wants to hand off a league while keeping their account can transfer ownership in the league's settings.)

8. Privacy

Your use of Bossword is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and protect your information. By using the Service, you consent to the practices described in the Privacy Policy.

9. Intellectual Property

The Bossword name, logo, and all related designs, software, and content provided by Sparrowstep are the property of Sparrowstep LLC and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from any part of the Service without our prior written consent.

Bossword is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with any crossword puzzle publisher. All crossword puzzle names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

10. Third-Party Services

The Service may contain links to or integrations with third-party services (such as app stores or push notification providers). We are not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of any third-party services. Your use of those services is governed by their own terms and policies.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information provided through the Service.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SPARROWSTEP LLC AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUE, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM:

• YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE;
• ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE;
• ANY LEAGUE COMPETITION FACILITATED THROUGH THE SERVICE;
• UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE, OR ALTERATION OF YOUR DATA.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Sparrowstep LLC and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of another person or entity.

14. Account Deletion and Termination

• You may reset your account at any time through the app's settings, which erases all local data and signs you out.
• You may permanently delete your account at any time in the app (Settings → Account → Delete Account). This deletes your login, profile and personal data from our servers; solve times and chat messages you contributed to leagues, tournaments and races remain part of those competitions' records, attributed to "Deleted User", as described in our Privacy Policy.
• You may also request deletion by contacting us at hello@bossword.app.
• We may suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including violation of these Terms.
• Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 11, 12, 13, and 16) will survive.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated Terms at bossword.app/terms and revise the Effective Date at the top — that date is always the authoritative version marker.

If the changes are material, we will give you reasonable advance notice by a method we believe will reach you, such as a notice in the app or an email to the address on your account. Changes take effect on the Effective Date, and your continued use of the Service on or after that date constitutes your acceptance of them.

If you do not agree with a change, stop using the Service; you may delete your account at any time (see Section 14). A change to what a paid tier includes will not reduce the features of a subscription period you have already paid for — reductions apply from your next renewal onward.

16. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

17. General

• If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
• Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.
• These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Sparrowstep regarding the Service. For apps distributed through the Apple App Store, Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement also applies to your use of the app itself.

18. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at:

Sparrowstep LLC
Email: hello@bossword.app