Terms & Conditions

Welcome to First Words. These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and Storylined, Inc. ("we," "us," or "our") governing your use of the First Words platform, including our app, website, and services (the "Platform").

By accessing or using First Words, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you should not use the Platform.

1. Accounts

To use First Words, you must create an account ("Account") by providing a username and a valid email address.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your Account and may not use another person's Account without permission.

You may request deletion of your Account at any time by contacting us at info@firstwords.com. We will make reasonable efforts to process deletion requests in a timely manner.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any Account at our discretion, without prior notice.

2. Eligibility & Mature Content

First Words is intended for adult users. You must be at least 18 years old to access or use the Platform.

By creating an Account, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age. We may request verification of age at any time.

As a platform for creative expression, First Words may include fictional works that contain mature themes, including but not limited to profanity, sexual content, and depictions of violence. By using the Platform, you acknowledge and accept that you may encounter such content.

First Words is not intended for minors. If we become aware that a user is under 18, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate the Account.

3. Author Consent

By publishing content on First Words, you agree to the following:

• I confirm that I will publish only my original work to the First Words platform.
• I confirm that I have the necessary rights and permissions to post any excerpts, including from larger works.
• I confirm that I have the rights to all content I publish and that it does not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.
• If I use AI tools, I remain fully responsible for the originality and legality of my content.
• I understand that content shared on First Words may be viewed, shared, or redistributed by other users, and I choose to share my work at my own discretion.
• I acknowledge that First Words and Storylined, Inc. are not responsible for unauthorized use of my content by other users, and I agree to hold the platform harmless for such misuse.
• I understand that First Words does not claim ownership of my work, and that I retain all rights to my content.
• I understand that First Words does not use my content to train artificial intelligence models.

4. Author Verification

When publishing or seeking author access on First Words, you may be asked to provide information about your work, such as your author name, pen name, book title, ISBN, ASIN, publisher, publication status, or other identifying details.

We may use this information to help verify your identity, your relationship to the work, your eligibility to publish, or your right to share excerpts on the Platform. Providing false, misleading, or unauthorized information may result in rejection, removal of content, suspension, or termination of your Account.

Verification does not guarantee that content will remain available on the Platform, does not transfer ownership of any work, and does not make First Words responsible for confirming all rights associated with the work.

5. Content

The Platform includes content you post ("Your Content"), content posted by other users ("Member Content"), and content provided by us ("Our Content").

Creative Expression
First Words is a platform for creative expression. Users may share a wide range of written works, including fiction, non-fiction, memoir, essays, and other narrative or literary forms.

Content may explore a broad range of themes, perspectives, and subject matter, and reflects the views of individual authors.

6. Prohibited Content

First Words supports creative expression, including works that may contain mature themes. However, you may not post content or use the Platform to share, promote, request, or facilitate material that is unlawful, exploitative, abusive, or harmful.

Prohibited content includes, but is not limited to, content that involves sexual exploitation or abuse of minors; non-consensual sexual content; credible threats or incitement of real-world violence; doxxing or sharing another person’s private information without permission; instructions for committing crimes or causing physical harm; malware, scams, or phishing; or content that infringes intellectual property or privacy rights.

We may remove or restrict content that we determine, in our discretion, violates these standards or creates legal, safety, or platform integrity concerns.

Your Content
You are responsible for Your Content and confirm that you have the rights to share it.

By posting content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, distribute, and promote your content solely for the purpose of operating and improving the Platform.

You may delete your content or Account at any time. Upon deletion, we will remove your content from active display on the Platform, but copies may persist in backups or where content has been shared by other users.

Member Content
Content posted by other users belongs to them. You may not copy, reproduce, exploit, use commercially, or present another user's content as your own without permission.

We may terminate your Account for violations of these Terms.

Our Content
All Platform materials, including design, branding, software, text, graphics, logos, and other materials, are owned or licensed by Storylined, Inc.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, or exploit Our Content without permission.

7. Reader Experience

As a reader, you acknowledge that you may encounter fictional works that include mature themes, including but not limited to profanity, sexual content, and depictions of violence.

Content reflects the views of individual authors, not First Words or Storylined, Inc. You are responsible for your own engagement with content on the Platform.

8. Reader Use of Content

You may not copy, reproduce, republish, or distribute content without permission, except as allowed by the Platform.

You may share content using First Words features, provided you do not alter the work or remove attribution.

You may not use content commercially without permission, and you may not present another author's work as your own.

Where First Words enables remixing, responding to, or building upon existing content, you agree to properly attribute the original author and follow Platform guidelines.

9. User Conduct (Comments & Interactions)

When interacting with others, including through comments, messages, or other communications, you agree not to:

• Harass, threaten, or abuse other users.
• Engage in hate speech or targeted attacks.
• Promote or incite real-world harm or illegal activity.
• Share defamatory or knowingly false statements.
• Send spam, scams, or malicious content.
• Violate the intellectual property or privacy rights of others.

These rules apply to user interactions, not to fictional works shared on the Platform.

We reserve the right to remove content or restrict accounts that violate these standards.

10. Reporting and Moderation

Users may report content, accounts, comments, or other activity that they believe violates these Terms, infringes their rights, or is otherwise unlawful or harmful. Reports may be submitted through the Platform, where available, or by contacting us at info@firstwords.com.

We may review, remove, restrict, disable, or refuse to display any content or Account at our discretion, including content that we believe violates these Terms, creates legal risk, harms other users, or interferes with the operation or integrity of the Platform.

We are not obligated to monitor all content before it appears on the Platform, but we reserve the right to moderate content and user activity as needed.

11. Platform Use Restrictions

You agree not to access non-public areas of the Platform, scrape, copy, reverse engineer, or interfere with the security or functionality of the Platform.

12. Privacy

Your use of the Platform is subject to our Privacy Policy.

13. Communications

We may send you notifications related to your Account or Platform activity. You may opt out of non-essential communications.

14. Promotional Content

Authors and authorized representatives may use First Words to share and promote works they own, created, represent, or otherwise have the legal right to promote.

Users are responsible for complying with any advertising, endorsement, or disclosure laws that apply to content they post, including comments or recommendations.

First Words may label, restrict, remove, or require additional disclosure for promotional content at our discretion.

15. Disclaimers

THE PLATFORM, OUR CONTENT, AND MEMBER CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.

We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service, the accuracy or reliability of content, or the conduct of other users. Your use of First Words is at your own risk.

16. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Storylined, Inc. is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Platform.

If liability is established, our total liability will not exceed one hundred dollars ($100).

17. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Storylined, Inc. harmless from any claims arising from your use of the Platform, Your Content, or your violation of these Terms.

18. Copyright Complaints (DMCA)

If you believe that content on First Words infringes your copyright, you may send a copyright complaint to us at info@firstwords.com.

Your notice should include your contact information, a description of the copyrighted work, the location of the allegedly infringing content on the Platform, a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law, and a statement that the information in your notice is accurate.

We may remove or restrict access to content that is alleged to infringe copyright and may terminate Accounts of repeat infringers where appropriate.

If we designate a copyright agent with the U.S. Copyright Office, copyright notices may also be submitted to that designated agent using the contact information listed in the Copyright Office directory.

19. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Platform means you accept the updated Terms.

20. General Terms

If any provision of these Terms is invalid, the remaining provisions remain in effect.

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Storylined, Inc. regarding your use of First Words.

You may not transfer your rights under these Terms.

21. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California.

22. Contact

Storylined, Inc.
info@firstwords.com

Effective date
The Terms were last updated on: May 22, 2026.