Terms of Service

Updated: March 29, 2026

1. Overview

Please read these Terms of Service ("Terms") carefully before using Laterpress products and services. By using Laterpress, you agree to be bound by these Terms, including the User Commitments, arbitration agreement, class-action waiver, and limitations of liability described below.

You may not access or use Laterpress if you are under 18 years of age, if you lack the authority to agree to these Terms, or if agreeing would conflict with any other obligations you may have.

2. Account Creation

You must provide accurate and complete information when creating an account. Impersonation of any person or entity may result in suspension or termination of your account at Laterpress's sole discretion.

3. Ownership

3.1 Your Content

You retain ownership of all content you create and upload to Laterpress. By using the platform, you grant Laterpress a nonexclusive license to store, display, and deliver your content in accordance with your account configuration.

If you enable the optional "Author Community" functionality, you grant Laterpress additional rights to promote your content via recommended and purchased lists.

3.2 Laterpress's Creations

Laterpress owns its website, brand, logo, name, content, and code. You may only use the Laterpress name and logo to promote content you distribute through the platform.

4. Using Laterpress the Right Way

You bear responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account. The following uses are prohibited:

  1. Illegal Conduct — Fraudulent or threatening activities of any kind.
  2. Malicious Code or Spam — Distributing malware, attempting unauthorized access, or sending spam.
  3. Disruption of Service — Interfering with or disrupting Laterpress products or services.
  4. Scraping or Mining — Crawling, scraping, or cataloguing Laterpress content in violation of the applicable robots.txt directives. Laterpress serves robots.txt files on its domains and author subdomains; any automated access that disregards those directives is unauthorized.
  5. Solicitation — Targeting Laterpress users on behalf of competing businesses.
  6. Unauthorized Access — Decompiling, reverse engineering, or otherwise attempting to derive the source code of Laterpress products.

5. Reporting Security Issues

If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it to protect@laterpress.com with the subject line "Reporting a security vulnerability." No bug bounties are currently offered.

6. User Commitments

The following commitments represent binding agreements between Laterpress and our users. Unlike other sections of these Terms, which we may update at any time, this User Commitments section can only be modified in accordance with the Change Process described in Section 6.6 below.

These commitments apply to products and services offered through the laterpress.com website, its subdomains, and any mobile applications that serve laterpress.com content. They do not apply to separately branded products or services that Laterpress may develop on other domains.

6.1 No Fees on Direct Sales

Users may publish and sell digital books on Laterpress without paying any fee retained by Laterpress on direct sales.

Direct sales are sales not attributable to optional paid features that Laterpress may offer (such as referral or discovery features). Direct sales remain subject to fees charged by third-party services (such as payment processors), and Laterpress may pass through costs it incurs for refunds and fraud on such sales.

This commitment remains in effect for as long as Laterpress offers a way to sell digital books.

What this means in practice: If you join Laterpress today because we take 0% on direct sales, that won't change on you. We may charge for optional features that help you grow your readership, and we may introduce new product categories with their own pricing. But your ability to sell digital books directly to your readers at 0% commission is not going anywhere.

6.2 No Advertising Marketplace

Laterpress will not offer functionality for users or third parties to purchase advertisements that promote content above other content on the platform.

What this means in practice: We will never build a system where authors bid against each other for visibility. Discovery on Laterpress is not for sale. This commitment does not restrict other commercial arrangements — for example, referral features where the platform earns a share of sales it helps generate, or partnerships with individual authors to co-create or promote content.

6.3 Minimal Content Removal

Laterpress may only remove user-published content when we reasonably believe one or more of the following grounds apply:

  1. Illegal or contractually prohibited — The content or its hosting violates applicable law or a contract.
  2. Inactive or unauthorized accounts — The content was published by an account that has been inactive for 12 months or was created in violation of these Terms.
  3. Discontinued functionality — The content is tied to a product or feature we choose to discontinue.
  4. Pornography — The content is pornographic (primarily intended for sexual gratification) or includes pornographic imagery. This ground exists because third-party services we rely on (such as payment processors) prohibit processing payments for such content.
  5. Illegal sexual depictions — The content depicts or promotes illegal sexual conduct, including but not limited to non-consensual acts, incest, pedophilia, or bestiality.
  6. Doxing — The content reveals personal identifying information about living people that is not widely known.
  7. Spam — The content or the publishing account is spammy, duplicative, or machine-generated at scale.
  8. Platform risk — The content or its hosting poses a substantial risk to the platform's ability to operate in a stable, cost-effective, or legally compliant way.
  9. Third-party service compliance — The content or its hosting would endanger our ability to use third-party services we depend on.

This commitment governs removal of content from the platform. It does not restrict our ability to exclude content from recommendations, community features, or other discovery mechanisms.

6.4 Data Portability

Users may export their content, subscriber data, and payment account information from Laterpress at any time using tools we provide for that purpose. We will not design our systems to create lock-in or make it difficult for users to leave.

6.5 Transparency

Once per calendar year, Laterpress will publish a report on its website documenting, in aggregate, how much content was removed from the platform and the grounds for removal.

6.6 Change Process

Any modification to this User Commitments section (Section 6) requires all of the following:

  1. Written notice. We must notify all users of the proposed change at least 90 days before it takes effect. Notice will be sent by email and published on our website.
  2. Published explanation. At the time of notice, we must publish a written explanation of why the change is being made.
  3. Grandfathering. If a change materially reduces a commitment, existing users at the time of notice will continue to receive the benefit of the prior commitment for 12 months from the date the change takes effect. The exception is Section 6.1 (No Fees on Direct Sales): if that commitment is ever modified, existing users at the time of notice will retain the benefit of the prior commitment for as long as Laterpress continues to offer a way to sell digital books.

Changes required to comply with applicable law or a court order are exempt from the notice and grandfathering requirements above, but Laterpress will still publish an explanation of the change as soon as reasonably practicable.

This Change Process applies only to Section 6. All other sections of these Terms may be updated in accordance with Section 15.

What this means in practice: We considered a direct user-voting process for changes to these commitments, but chose not to implement one. With the rise of AI agents that can convincingly approximate human interactions, verifying that votes come from real users is an unsolved problem — and a vote that can be gamed is worse than no vote at all. Instead, we chose protections that don't depend on identity verification: long notice periods, mandatory public explanations, and grandfathering that lets you keep what you signed up for. If we ever propose a change you disagree with, you have 90 days to decide and your existing terms are protected.

7. Intellectual Property Infringement

Laterpress respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects its users to do the same.

7.1 DMCA Notices

If you believe content hosted on Laterpress infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our designated agent at copyright@laterpress.com containing:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized agent.
  2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed.
  3. Identification of the infringing material and information sufficient to locate it on the platform.
  4. Your contact information (address, telephone number, and email).
  5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  6. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.

7.2 Counter-Notifications

If you believe your content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notification to copyright@laterpress.com containing: (a) your physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the removed material and its prior location; (c) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed by mistake or misidentification; and (d) your name, address, and telephone number, along with consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court in your district (or New York County, NY if you are outside the United States).

7.3 Repeat Infringers

Laterpress will terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

7.4 Misuse

Frivolous or bad-faith takedown requests are prohibited and may result in liability under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). Laterpress may send DMCA notices on your behalf for content scraped from the platform without authorization.

8. Responsibility for User-Generated Content

You are solely responsible for all content you create, upload, publish, or distribute through Laterpress, including its legality, accuracy, and appropriateness. Laterpress does not endorse, verify, or assume responsibility for any user-generated content and disclaims all liability for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any third-party content or links that users include in their works. Your reliance on any user-generated content is at your own risk.

9. Disputes Between Users and Third Parties

You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Laterpress users and any third parties. Laterpress has no obligation to become involved in disputes between users, or between users and any third party. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you release Laterpress, its officers, employees, agents, and successors from any and all claims, demands, losses, damages, rights, and actions of any kind — including personal injuries, death, and property damage — that arise from or relate to any such disputes. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code § 1542, which provides: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."

10. Taxes

Users are solely responsible for all applicable taxes and duties related to their use of Laterpress.

11. Refunds

Fees paid to Laterpress, including AI subscription fees, are non-refundable. Authors set their own reader refund policies. Laterpress may initiate refunds only when illegal activity is suspected.

12. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Laterpress provides its services on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. Laterpress does not warrant that the services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, that any defects will be corrected, or that the services or the servers that make them available are free of viruses or other harmful components. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from Laterpress or through the services creates any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms.

13. Limitation of Damages

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Laterpress, its officers, directors, employees, agents, or licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including but not limited to loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses — arising out of or related to your access to or use of (or inability to access or use) the services, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), statute, or any other legal theory, and whether or not Laterpress has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Laterpress's aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or the services shall not exceed the greater of $100 or the total amounts you have paid to Laterpress in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

The limitations in this section apply even if any limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.

14. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Laterpress, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and service providers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your violation of these Terms; (b) your use of the services; (c) your content; or (d) your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights.

15. Changes to Laterpress and Termination

Laterpress may modify, update, suspend, or discontinue any part of the services at any time, with or without notice, and without liability to you or any third party. We may update these Terms from time to time; the "Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the most recent changes took effect. Your continued use of the services after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. Changes to the User Commitments (Section 6) are subject to the Change Process described in Section 6.6.

You may terminate your account at any time by contacting us. Laterpress may suspend or terminate your account at any time for any reason, including violation of these Terms. Upon termination: (a) your right to use the services ceases immediately; (b) you remain liable for all obligations incurred before termination; and (c) Laterpress will make your content available for export for a reasonable period (not less than 30 days) after termination, consistent with the Data Portability commitment in Section 6.4, unless the account was terminated for illegal activity.

16. Disputes

17. Miscellaneous

18. Optional Product Terms

18.1 Author Community Features

Optional features that promote stories across Laterpress or via affiliate programs, including Recommended Sections, Top Lists, and Affiliate Links. These features are enabled by default and can be disabled via Settings.

Fee structure:

18.2 Laterpress AI Terms

Optional AI features for brainstorming, plotting, drafting, and editing. Explicit opt-in is required.

Key provisions:

AI Subscriptions and Credits:

Promotional Credits: Available once per user at Laterpress's discretion; may be revoked for abuse.

Warranty Disclaimer: AI outputs carry no warranty. Outputs may be hallucinated, inaccurate, or outdated. Use is at your sole risk.

Questions? Contact legal@laterpress.com