Terms of Service

1. Agreement and scope

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between CarterPeak LLC d/b/a Defuse ("Defuse," "we," "us," or "our") and the business identified in the applicable Defuse account ("Customer"). They govern Customer's access to and use of usedefuse.com, the Defuse application, telephone numbers, AI voice services, dashboards, summaries, transcripts, support, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

By creating an account, selecting a subscription, clicking an acceptance control, or using the Service, Customer accepts these Terms. The Service is offered only for business use in the United States and is not intended for personal, household, or consumer purchasing purposes.

The Acceptable Use Policy at /acceptable-use and, when Defuse processes personal data for Customer, the Data Processing Addendum at /dpa are incorporated into these Terms. The Privacy Policy at /privacy describes Defuse privacy practices. An order form or separately signed agreement controls over these Terms only to the extent it expressly says so.

2. The Service

Defuse provides an AI-powered telephone supervisor that receives calls transferred by Customer personnel, interacts with callers using a customer-configured voice and authority description, records and transcribes calls, generates structured summaries, and makes call information available through an authenticated dashboard. Defuse may provide a dedicated telephone number for Customer's use with the Service.

Defuse is an artificial intelligence system, not a person. AI output is probabilistic and may be incomplete, inaccurate, inconsistent, or outside Customer's intended instructions. Defuse does not guarantee that the Service will correctly interpret every caller, follow every configured instruction, achieve a particular resolution, or remain uninterrupted.

Unless an order form states otherwise, the Service is provided without a service-level agreement, uptime commitment, guaranteed response time, or guaranteed telephone availability. The Service depends on third-party telephony, hosting, database, email, payment, and AI providers.

3. Accounts and configuration

Customer is responsible for maintaining accurate account and billing information, protecting account credentials, limiting access to authorized personnel, and all activity occurring through its account. Customer must promptly notify Defuse of suspected unauthorized access.

Customer selects the AI supervisor name and voice and writes the authority and resolution rules used by the Service. Customer is solely responsible for ensuring that those instructions are clear, lawful, internally approved, and appropriate for its business. Customer must test its configuration before transferring live callers and after making material changes.

Customer may not configure the Service to make a false claim that the AI supervisor is human. If asked whether it is an AI system or a real person, the Service is designed to answer truthfully. Customer remains responsible for any additional disclosure required by applicable law.

4. Caller notice, recording, and consent

Each call handled by Defuse is recorded and transcribed. The Service provides a recording notice near the beginning of the transferred interaction and informs the caller that continuing constitutes agreement to recording. Customer may not disable, obscure, contradict, or direct Defuse to omit that notice.

Customer is responsible for determining and satisfying all laws applicable to its calls, including laws concerning recording, interception, transcription, artificial-intelligence disclosure, privacy notices, consent, and cross-state communications. Customer must obtain any consent and give any notice required before or during a transfer. Defuse strongly recommends that Customer tell the caller before transfer that the caller will interact with an AI supervisor and that the transferred call will be recorded and transcribed.

Customer must not transfer a caller who has refused legally required recording or transcription consent. If a caller objects after transfer, Customer is responsible for providing a reasonable human alternative. Contractual allocation of responsibility under these Terms does not eliminate obligations that applicable law independently imposes on either party.

5. Customer commitments and follow-up

The Service communicates proposed resolutions and commitments but does not itself issue credits, process refunds, change accounts, dispatch technicians, create enforceable tickets in Customer systems, or perform other follow-up unless an order form expressly includes such an integration.

Customer is solely responsible for performing every commitment made within the authority Customer configured, including any promised timing. Customer must promptly review summaries, correct operational errors, contact callers when human follow-up is requested or promised, and ensure its personnel understand the scope of the AI supervisor's authority.

Customer acknowledges that presenting the Service as its supervisor may cause callers reasonably to understand the Service as acting on Customer's behalf. Customer is responsible for the consequences of Customer's configuration, transfer practices, and decision to honor, modify, or reject any stated resolution.

6. Fees, usage, and overages

Customer will pay the subscription fees shown at checkout, on the pricing page, or in an order form. Subscriptions renew monthly until cancelled. Defuse uses Stripe to process payments and does not receive or store complete payment-card numbers.

Each plan includes a stated number of minutes. Usage beyond the included minutes is charged at $0.65 per minute. Customer may select a maximum authorized overage in account settings. When the selected maximum is reached, Defuse may suspend call handling until the next billing period or until Customer increases the authorized maximum. Customer understands that a suspended Defuse number may not answer transferred calls.

Defuse usage records control for billing purposes absent manifest error. Customer authorizes Defuse and its payment processor to charge subscription fees, authorized overages, applicable taxes, and other disclosed charges. Defuse may change prices on at least 30 days' notice, effective at the next renewal after the notice period.

7. Renewal, cancellation, and refunds

Customer may cancel through the Service or by contacting support. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the then-current paid billing period. Except where required by law or expressly approved by Defuse, charges are non-refundable and Defuse does not provide prorated refunds.

After the subscription ends, Defuse will keep Customer's call data available for export for 30 days and then delete it in accordance with the Privacy Policy and DPA, subject to legal requirements and limited backup or security retention. Customer is responsible for exporting needed data during that period.

A telephone number supplied by Defuse remains part of the Service and is not owned by Customer. Unless Defuse agrees otherwise in writing, Defuse may release the number 14 days after the subscription ends. Customer must stop routing calls to the number before release.

8. Customer Data and privacy

"Customer Data" means information submitted by or for Customer to the Service, including configuration content, caller numbers, recordings, transcripts, summaries, and related metadata. As between the parties, Customer retains its rights in Customer Data. Customer grants Defuse a limited right to host, transmit, reproduce, analyze, and otherwise process Customer Data as necessary to provide, secure, support, and improve the Service and comply with law.

For call data processed on Customer's behalf, Customer is the controller or business and Defuse is the processor or service provider, as those terms are used in applicable privacy laws. Defuse is independently responsible for account administration, billing, website analytics, fraud prevention, security, and its own legal compliance.

Defuse may create and use aggregated or de-identified information that is not reasonably capable of being associated with Customer or an individual to operate, secure, measure, and improve the Service, develop business insights, and report overall usage. Defuse will not attempt to re-identify such information except to test whether de-identification is effective.

9. Support access and security

Defuse personnel do not routinely review Customer transcripts or recordings. Authorized personnel may access Customer Data when reasonably necessary to investigate a support request, diagnose an incident, maintain security, comply with law, or protect the Service. Such access is subject to confidentiality and access-control obligations.

Defuse maintains reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the Service. No security measure is perfect, and Defuse does not warrant that unauthorized access, loss, or misuse will never occur. Customer is responsible for securing its own systems, credentials, exports, and notification recipients.

10. Third-party services

The Service uses third parties for hosting, database and authentication, voice and telephony, AI processing, transactional email, analytics, and payments. Defuse may replace providers or modify technical architecture. Third-party interruptions, changes, errors, or acts may affect the Service.

Customer's use of a third-party product that it connects to Defuse is governed by Customer's agreement with that provider. Defuse is not responsible for third-party products, carrier behavior, telephone-network availability, or Customer systems.

11. Acceptable use

Customer must comply with the Acceptable Use Policy. Without limiting that policy, Customer may not use the Service unlawfully; for emergency communications; to process prohibited regulated data; to deceive callers about AI when disclosure is required; to conduct debt collection; to make consequential eligibility decisions; or to harass, discriminate against, defraud, or harm any person.

Defuse may investigate suspected misuse and may suspend or limit the Service when reasonably necessary to protect callers, Defuse, its providers, or other customers; comply with law; prevent security harm; or enforce these Terms.

12. Intellectual property

Defuse and its licensors own the Service, software, models, workflows, designs, documentation, trademarks, and all related intellectual-property rights. Except for the limited right to use the Service during an active subscription, no rights are granted to Customer.

If Customer provides suggestions or feedback, Customer grants Defuse a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free right to use that feedback without restriction or compensation. Defuse will not identify Customer publicly as the source without permission.

13. Confidentiality

Each party may receive non-public information that a reasonable person would understand to be confidential. The receiving party will use such information only to perform or exercise rights under the agreement, protect it using reasonable care, and disclose it only to personnel and providers who need to know and are subject to confidentiality obligations. These duties do not apply to information that is public without breach, already lawfully known, independently developed, or lawfully received without restriction.

A party may disclose confidential information when legally required if it gives advance notice where permitted and reasonable assistance at the disclosing party's expense.

14. Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." DEFUSE DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, AND THAT AI OUTPUT WILL COMPLY WITH CUSTOMER INSTRUCTIONS OR PRODUCE A PARTICULAR RESULT.

DEFUSE DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL, MEDICAL, FINANCIAL, INSURANCE, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. CUSTOMER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HUMAN REVIEW, CONFIGURATION, FOLLOW-UP, AND DETERMINING WHETHER THE SERVICE IS SUITABLE FOR ITS OPERATIONS.

15. Indemnification

Customer will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Defuse, its affiliates, providers, personnel, and agents from third-party claims, damages, penalties, costs, and reasonable attorneys' fees arising from or relating to: (a) Customer's configuration or use of the Service; (b) Customer Data; (c) recording, consent, disclosure, privacy, or communications-law violations attributable to Customer; (d) commitments or representations made to callers on Customer's behalf; (e) Customer's failure to perform an authorized resolution or follow-up; (f) prohibited or regulated data submitted through Customer's use; or (g) Customer's breach of these Terms or applicable law.

Defuse will promptly notify Customer of an indemnified claim and permit Customer to control the defense, provided Customer may not settle a claim in a manner that admits wrongdoing by Defuse or imposes non-monetary obligations on Defuse without written consent. Defuse may participate with counsel at its own expense.

16. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, BUSINESS, OR DATA, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DEFUSE'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THE AGREEMENT WILL NOT EXCEED THE FEES CUSTOMER PAID OR PAYABLE TO DEFUSE FOR THE SERVICE DURING THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY.

The exclusions and cap do not limit Customer's payment obligations, Customer's indemnification obligations, or liability that applicable law does not permit a party to limit. The allocations in this section are an essential basis of the bargain.

17. Suspension and termination

Defuse may suspend the Service for nonpayment, when Customer reaches its authorized overage maximum, for an actual or suspected security threat, for material breach, or when reasonably necessary to comply with law or prevent harm. Where practicable, Defuse will provide notice and an opportunity to cure.

Either party may terminate for a material breach that remains uncured 10 days after written notice, or immediately if cure is not reasonably possible. Upon termination, Customer's right to use the Service ends. Provisions that by their nature should survive will survive, including payment, ownership, confidentiality, disclaimers, indemnification, liability limits, disputes, and general terms.

18. Governing law and disputes

New Hampshire law governs the agreement without regard to conflict-of-law principles. The parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state courts located in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, and the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EACH PARTY KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WAIVES TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE AGREEMENT OR SERVICE.

19. Changes to these Terms

Defuse may update these Terms. Defuse will provide reasonable advance notice of material changes by email, in-product notice, or another reasonable method. Material changes will apply prospectively on the stated effective date. Continued use after that date constitutes acceptance. If Customer does not agree, its remedy is to stop using and cancel the Service before the change takes effect.

20. General terms

Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control. Customer may not assign the agreement without Defuse's written consent. Defuse may assign it in connection with an affiliate reorganization, financing, merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. The parties are independent contractors; the agreement does not create an agency, partnership, fiduciary, franchise, or employment relationship between Customer and Defuse.

If any provision is unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary and the remainder will remain effective. A waiver must be written and is not a continuing waiver. Headings are for convenience. The agreement is the complete agreement concerning the Service and supersedes prior discussions on that subject.

21. Contact and notices

Questions and notices may be sent to support@usedefuse.com or CarterPeak LLC d/b/a Defuse, 221 Main Street, Suite N, Nashua, NH 03060. Defuse may send notices to the account email address. Customer is responsible for keeping that address current.