Terms of Service

Version: 1.0 Effective from: 2026-10-09 Provider: Paul Bengart, Keplerstraße 4A, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany

Section 1 Scope of Application

(1) These Terms of Service (hereinafter "Terms") govern the use of the software-as-a-service platform Choicery, available at https://choicery.ai and https://app.choicery.ai, between Paul Bengart, Keplerstraße 4A, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany, e-mail info@choicery.ai (hereinafter the "Provider" or "Choicery"), and its customers (hereinafter the "Customer").

(2) These Terms apply in relation to: a) entrepreneurs within the meaning of Section 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB), legal entities under public law and special funds under public law (together "business customers" or "B2B customers"); and b) consumers within the meaning of Section 13 BGB ("consumers").

Provisions that apply exclusively to one of the two groups are marked as such. The special provisions for consumers are summarised in Section 18 and take precedence over the general provisions.

(2a) Precedence of the consumer provisions where the classification is unresolved. The Provider does not classify the Customer upon free registration. As long as the Customer has not been classified as a business customer under paragraph 2b, the Provider treats the Customer as a consumer; in that case the protective provisions of Section 18 (in particular the right of withdrawal, the statutory warranty for defects without shortening, the obligation to provide updates under Section 327f BGB, the termination button under Section 312k BGB, no deemed consent to contract amendments) apply in full.

(2b) Classification upon paid upgrade. Before booking a paid plan, the Customer chooses whether to conclude the contract "Myself, as a private individual (consumer)" or "A company, institution or other organisation". If the Customer chooses "Myself, as a private individual (consumer)", the Customer is treated as a consumer. If the Customer chooses "A company, institution or other organisation", the named organisation (company, university, public authority, association or other institution) becomes the Provider's contracting party; the person acting warrants that they are authorised to conclude the contract on behalf of the organisation and remains the Workspace-Owner under Section 4(2). The Customer is obliged to provide truthful information. The Customer notifies the Provider of any subsequent change of classification in text form (for example e-mail).

(3) These Terms apply exclusively. Deviating terms and conditions of the Customer, including purchasing conditions, supplier portal requirements or clauses transmitted by way of order forms, do not become part of the contract in relation to business customers, even if the Provider does not expressly object to them or renders services without reservation.

(4) Order of precedence. In the event of conflicts, the order of this list applies; the document named earlier takes precedence: 1. individually negotiated Order Forms and Enterprise contracts; 2. the Data Processing Agreement (DPA) for its subject matter, the processing of personal data on behalf of the Customer; 3. these Terms; 4. the policies named in paragraph 5.

Individual contractual agreements take precedence over these Terms (Section 305b BGB). Mandatory requirements of data protection law, including the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, remain unaffected by the order of precedence.

(5) Policies. The following policies, in the version applicable at the time the contract is concluded, form part of this contract: a) Acceptable Use Policy; b) Support and Maintenance Policy; c) Data Act Exit and Switching Policy; d) Data Processing Agreement (DPA) with its annexes Subprocessors and Recipients and Technical and Organisational Measures; the annexes apply in their current version, and changes are announced under Section 8 DPA or Section 17 respectively; e) Retention and Deletion Policy.

The Privacy Policy and the Privacy Information for Survey Participants are information under Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and do not form part of the contract. The Export Format Register describes the current export formats and data structures (Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act)), is updated on an ongoing basis and likewise does not form part of the contract. Amendments to the policies are governed by Section 17, changes to the list of sub-processors by Section 10(3). All documents are available under Legal and can be saved and printed.

(6) Contract language. The language of the contract is German. The English version is provided for information; in the event of discrepancies, the German version prevails.

(7) Minimum age. Accounts may be opened only by natural persons who have reached the age of 18. The Customer ensures that all workspace members are of full age.

Section 2 Subject Matter of the Service

(1) Choicery provides a software platform for the creation, execution and evaluation of quantitative market research studies, in particular for choice-based conjoint analyses (CBC, CBC Shop), MaxDiff, Anchored MaxDiff, DR-CBC and BW-CBC, together with the associated statistical methods (hierarchical Bayes estimation, Latent Class, TasteNet, Interaction Search, market simulation) and export functions (including CSV, JSON, Excel, SPSS, PDF and replication packages).

(2) The precise scope of functions and the limits of the respective plan (for example the number of projects, respondents and seats) follow from the service description and plan overview valid at the time of the order at https://choicery.ai. The plans are designed for normal use. If use deviates significantly from this, the Provider may suggest a suitable plan, for example by way of a notice in the application. The Provider is entitled to develop the scope of functions further, provided that this does not impair the principal purpose of the contract; paragraph 7 applies to the removal of essential functions.

(3) Nature as a tool. Choicery provides statistical analysis methods, documented in terms of methodology, as a tool. The creation of valid studies (design, sample, question wording, recruitment), the professional interpretation of the results and their business application are the sole responsibility of the Customer. The Provider does not warrant the suitability of the results for specific business decisions or their transferability to real market outcomes.

(4) Beta functions. Functions marked in the platform as "Beta", "Preview" or "Experimental" are not part of the contractually owed service. They are provided additionally and free of charge and may be changed or discontinued at any time. There is no entitlement to availability, freedom from errors or continuation. Functions that are included in the service description of the booked plan without such a marking cannot subsequently be removed from the owed service by means of a beta marking. Section 12(5) applies to defects of beta functions.

(5) Excluded fields of application. The platform is not designed for safety-critical applications in which failures, delays or incorrect calculations may lead to personal injury, serious environmental damage or existence-threatening financial losses. These include in particular: medical diagnostics, clinical studies involving patient care, pharmaceutical approval studies, aerospace, nuclear or weapons technology, traffic control, life-support systems. Use in these fields is not the subject matter of the contract; the Customer bears the responsibility for the decision to use the platform for such a purpose.

(6) AI-based estimation methods. The results of the platform's AI-based estimation methods (in particular TasteNet) are estimates; their interpretation and use are the responsibility of the Customer (paragraph 3). To the extent that estimation results can be attributed to individual participants in a study, the Customer, as controller, decides on their use; the Acceptable Use Policy prohibits the profiling of sensitive characteristics and automated individual decisions within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR.

(7) Changes to functions. The Provider announces the removal of essential functions of the booked plan at least 30 days before it takes effect, in text form. In that case the Customer may terminate the contract with effect from the date on which the change takes effect; the Provider draws attention to this in the announcement. Paragraph 4 applies to beta functions, and Section 13(7) to the Free Trial. In relation to consumers, Sections 327e and 327r BGB additionally apply.

Section 3 Conclusion of Contract and Payment Processing via Polar

(1) The presentation of the plans on the website does not constitute a binding offer but an invitation to submit an offer.

(2) Registration. By submitting the registration, the Customer makes an offer to conclude the usage contract. The contract is concluded as soon as the Provider activates the account or confirms the registration by e-mail. The Provider stores the version of the Terms and of the DPA accepted by the Customer and the time of acceptance as evidence of the contract. The Customer can retrieve and save the contract documents before and after the conclusion of the contract under Legal.

(3) Free Trial. The Provider provides a free plan ("Free Trial") with a limited scope of functions without a fixed term and without the provision of payment details. The scope follows from the plan overview at the time the contract is concluded. The Free Trial may be terminated under Section 8(1); Section 4(9) applies to inactive accounts. The Free Trial does not convert automatically into a paid plan; a paid plan comes into existence exclusively through a separate, express order by the Customer under paragraph 4.

(4) Paid plans via Polar. The Customer acquires paid plans (Pro, Academic, Enterprise) via the reseller Polar Software, Inc., 548 Market Street PMB 61301, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401, USA (registered address 3500 South DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901, USA; hereinafter "Polar"), which acts as Merchant of Record. The Customer's contracting party for the purchase, payment, invoice, value added tax, withdrawal and refund is Polar; the Polar Buyer Terms apply to these. The use of the platform in the booked scope is governed by these Terms, which to that extent apply as terms of use.

The contract for the paid plan is concluded upon completion of the checkout at Polar. The Customer completes the checkout via a button that clearly indicates the obligation to pay. The Provider activates the booked plan as soon as Polar confirms completion. The Provider forwards terminations and declarations of withdrawal concerning the paid plan that it receives, in particular via the termination and withdrawal functions, to Polar without undue delay. To the extent that Polar processes account, checkout and subscription data for the Provider, Polar is the Provider's processor (paragraph 5).

(5) Data from Polar. The Provider receives from Polar the subscription ID, the booked plan, the subscription status, the end of the current billing period, the customer identifier at Polar and the Customer's e-mail address and, for each order, the order and invoice number, the reason (purchase, first payment, renewal, plan change), the status, whether it is paid, the amounts with currency including tax, discounts and refunds, the times of order and payment and the related identifiers of checkout and product. The Provider stores this information as its own overview of payments and reconciles it with Polar regularly. The Provider does not receive payment instrument data (in particular card data). For the purchase, payment, invoice, value added tax, withdrawal and refund, Polar acts as an independent controller within the meaning of the GDPR. For the account, checkout and subscription data that Polar processes for the Provider in order to provide the plan, Polar is the Provider's processor under the Polar Data Processing Addendum, which forms part of the Polar Master Services Terms. Since Polar is established in the USA, the transfer to Polar is based on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses in accordance with the Polar Data Processing Addendum. The processing of payment data is governed by the Polar Privacy Policy.

(6) Classification and contract confirmation. Before being redirected to Polar, the Customer makes the classification under Section 1(2b). Provision of the paid plan begins as soon as Polar confirms completion of the checkout. The Polar Buyer Terms apply to the withdrawal from the purchase (Section 18(2)). After the conclusion of the contract, the Customer receives from the Provider a confirmation of the contract in text form containing the booked service, the price, the billing period, the renewal and the means of termination.

Section 4 Rights of Use and Accounts

(1) The Provider grants the Customer, for the term of the contract, a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to use the platform as intended in the booked scope.

(2) Account structure. The Customer designates a natural person as account holder ("Workspace-Owner"). This person is responsible towards the Provider for: a) the administration of the workspace members and their roles (Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer); b) the revocation of access rights when employees leave; c) all actions carried out under the account login.

(3) One account per person. Each person uses their own account. Access credentials may not be passed on, not even within the Customer's own organisation. If several persons work with the platform for the Customer, each of them receives their own account; this also applies to freelancers and commissioned service providers.

(4) Prohibited uses are governed by the Acceptable Use Policy.

(5) Rights of the Customer in its data. The Customer permanently retains all rights in the content it places on the platform (study designs, attributes, levels, logos, texts, response data) and in the analysis results, simulations, exports and replication packages generated from it. These rights continue after the end of the contract and are independent of the time-limited access to the platform. For the term of the contract, the Provider receives the right to store and process this content and to reproduce it to the extent technically necessary for the provision of the contractual services. The Provider does not use this content or the responses for purposes of its own or for the training of models. Bug fixing, security and aggregated usage statistics without content (paragraph 6) remain permitted.

(6) Usage statistics. The Provider evaluates aggregated usage statistics without reference to persons or studies (for example the number of estimations started, the distribution of sample sizes) for capacity planning and product improvement. Which functions a user account uses is processed by the Provider as controller in accordance with the Privacy Policy, for no longer than 90 days with a reference to the account; every user can object to this in their profile. Study content and response data are not evaluated for this purpose, and the Customer does not receive any evaluation per person.

(7) The Provider names the Customer as a reference customer or uses its logo only with the Customer's prior express consent in text form.

(8) Account and paid plan. The account relationship and a paid plan are separate components of the contract. The termination, expiry, downgrade or suspension of a paid plan ends only the paid scope of service; the account and the Customer data stored in it are not automatically deleted as a result. After the end of a paid plan, the Provider may restrict write access, the publication of new surveys, analysis runs and other paid functions to the scope of the Free Trial; export, termination, data protection and legally required data retrieval options remain available in accordance with these Terms, the Retention and Deletion Policy and the Data Act Exit and Switching Policy.

(9) Inactive free accounts. The Provider may terminate free accounts that have not been used for at least 6 months (no sign-in and no project or survey activity) by e-mail with 30 days' notice. If the Customer signs in within this period, the termination lapses. Before the period expires, the Customer may export its data; thereafter the account is deleted without a data retrieval period under Section 8(6)(a) following. This does not apply as long as a paid contract, a legally required right of data retrieval, a legal hold, an active dispute or another lawful reason for retention stands in the way.

(10) Replication packages and open-source components. Replication packages generated by the platform contain the Customer's data, scripts of the Provider (Python, Julia) and third-party components under open-source licences; the third-party components are governed exclusively by their respective licences; the dependencies used are listed in the package; their licence terms follow from the respective projects. In the Provider's scripts, the Customer receives a non-exclusive right, unlimited in time, to use, modify and pass them on together with its own data; paragraph 5 remains unaffected. The content and structure of the packages are described in the Export Format Register. The Customer is responsible for the runtime environment (Python, Julia, dependencies) on its own systems.

Section 5 Obligations of the Customer

(1) The Customer is obliged: a) to keep access credentials secret and to protect them against unauthorised access; b) to report any suspected misuse of its account without undue delay to security@choicery.ai or info@choicery.ai; c) to back up its study content, response data and results regularly itself via the export functions provided (Section 12(3)); d) when sending invitations to surveys, to ensure that it is permitted to contact the recipients and to comply with the applicable rules against unsolicited advertising and on data protection, in particular Section 7 of the German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG), the GDPR and, for recipients in the USA, the CAN-SPAM Act and the TCPA; not to send unsolicited advertising e-mails (spam); e) when surveying natural persons, to fulfil the data protection information obligations towards the respondents on its own responsibility, insofar as the Customer is the controller within the meaning of the GDPR; f) to upload only content in which it holds the necessary rights and which does not infringe the rights of third parties; g) not to place on the platform or collect with it any special categories of personal data (Article 9 GDPR), any data relating to criminal convictions and offences (Article 10 GDPR), any protected health information within the meaning of HIPAA, any payment card or social security numbers and any data subject to FERPA or GLBA; not to conduct studies specifically with minors and not to collect data from persons under 16 years of age (EU/EEA) or under 13 years of age (USA); the processing of such data may be agreed exclusively by way of an Enterprise contract after approval by the infrastructure providers; h) to fulfil on its own responsibility its own notification obligations under Articles 33 and 34 GDPR in the event of a personal data breach affecting the Customer; i) to comply with the minimum technical requirements on the Customer side described in the Support and Maintenance Policy, in particular to keep available a suitable Internet connection, current browsers and a regularly updated end device; j) before the start of each survey, to provide the participants with the information under Article 13 GDPR, in particular to name the controller; the Provider's Privacy Information for Survey Participants describes only the technical processing by the platform and does not replace the Customer's information.

(2) Indemnification. The Customer indemnifies the Provider against all claims of third parties arising from unlawful use of the platform by the Customer or its workspace members, from the infringement of third-party rights by the Customer's content or from the breach of obligations under paragraph 1. This includes the reimbursement of necessary costs of legal defence. This does not apply to the extent that the Customer is not responsible for the infringement, and does not apply to claims based on a breach of obligation by the Provider. The Provider informs the Customer without undue delay of claims asserted and, on request, leaves the defence to the Customer; neither party concludes, without the consent of the other, a settlement that obliges the other party to an acknowledgement, a cease-and-desist undertaking or a payment.

Section 6 Confidentiality

(1) Both parties treat all information of the respective other party that is marked as confidential or is confidential by its nature as confidential during the term of the contract and for three years after the end of the contract. Study content and results of the Customer are always deemed confidential.

(2) For trade secrets within the meaning of the German Trade Secrets Act (GeschGehG) and for personal data, the confidentiality obligation applies without limitation in time.

(3) Excluded is information that is publicly known, was already lawfully known to the receiving party before receipt, was developed independently by it or must be disclosed by reason of a statutory or official order; in that case the disclosure is to be limited to the extent required. Section 10(7) applies to requests by authorities or courts of a third country; obligations under the DPA remain unaffected.

Section 7 Prices and Payment

(1) Prices. The prices follow from the plan overview valid at the time of the order at https://choicery.ai. The prices displayed include statutory value added tax. The final price applicable to the Customer, including all taxes, is displayed in the ordering process at Polar before the binding order.

(2) Billing. Paid plans are billed monthly in advance via Polar. The billing month begins with the activation of the plan. Payment falls due at the start of each billing month and is collected via the means of payment stored with Polar.

(3) Automatic renewal. The paid plan renews for a further month in each case until the Customer terminates it. Termination is possible at any time with effect from the end of the current billing month (Section 8(1)), online via the termination function or by e-mail to info@choicery.ai. Before the first debit, the Customer is shown in the ordering process the price, the billing period, the automatic renewal and the means of termination; the contract confirmation under Section 3(6) contains the same information.

(4) Announcement of price changes. The Provider announces price changes for a running paid plan at least 30 days before they take effect, in text form.

(5) Effectiveness of price changes. In relation to consumers and business customers alike, a price change becomes part of the contract only if the Customer expressly agrees to it or if the Provider terminates the paid plan with effect from the end of a billing month, at the earliest from the announced effective date, and submits a new offer at the changed prices to the Customer. Mandatory statutory rights of the consumer remain unaffected.

(6) Free Trial. The Free Trial (Section 3(3)) is free of charge and does not convert automatically into a paid plan. If a paid plan ends, the account is downgraded to the scope of the Free Trial under Section 4(8); Section 4(9) remains unaffected.

(7) Taxes and invoices. As Merchant of Record, Polar collects the value added tax, sales tax or comparable consumption taxes attributable to the purchase, remits them to the competent authorities and shows them on the invoice. Invoices are issued by Polar and made available to the Customer electronically; the Customer agrees to electronic transmission. For plans sold via Polar, the Provider does not issue its own invoices and does not show value added tax.

(8) Outstanding payments. Access to paid functions requires an active subscription status confirmed by Polar. If a payment is due and has not been received, the Provider may suspend the paid scope; the account falls back to the free scope (Section 4(8)). Polar sends reminders of outstanding payments. Sentence 2 applies accordingly if Polar reports an expired subscription, a chargeback, a suspicion of fraud or a comparable payment status.

(9) A suspension under paragraph 8 does not affect existing payment obligations or the Customer's statutory rights. Exports within the scope of the free plan remain possible.

(10) Default. To the extent that, by individual agreement, charges are to be paid not via Polar but directly to the Provider, the statutory default interest under Section 288 BGB applies in the event of late payment; in relation to business customers, additionally the lump sum under Section 288(5) BGB. The right to claim further damages is reserved.

Section 8 Term of Contract, Termination and Data Retrieval

(1) Term and ordinary termination. The contract is concluded for an indefinite period. A paid plan may be terminated by either party at any time with effect from the end of the current billing month; there is no notice period. The Customer may end the Free Trial at any time by deleting its account; the Provider may terminate the Free Trial with 30 days' notice in text form. In no case does the notice period exceed two months (Article 25(2)(d) of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act)).

(2) Termination for cause. The right to terminate for cause remains unaffected. Good cause exists for the Provider in particular in the event of: a) repeated or serious violations of the Acceptable Use Policy that the Customer fails to remedy despite a request with a reasonable deadline, or a single violation so serious that the Provider cannot reasonably be expected to continue the contract; b) the absence of an active payment status under Section 7(8) for more than 30 days, or a delay of more than 30 days in paying charges under Section 7(10); c) the rejection of an application to open insolvency proceedings over the Customer's assets for lack of assets; mandatory provisions of insolvency law remain unaffected.

(3) Form of termination. Terminations require at least text form. The Customer may terminate via the termination function, when signed in on the "Plan & Billing" page or by e-mail to info@choicery.ai. The Provider confirms receipt and the effective date of termination without undue delay in text form.

(4) Switching to another provider (Articles 23 et seq. Data Act). Customers in the European Union to whom the Data Act applies (Article 1(3) Data Act) may at any time, in accordance with the Data Act Exit and Switching Policy, request switching to another provider or to their own infrastructure. The procedure, periods, transitional and data retrieval periods and the Provider's support are governed by the Policy. The contract ends upon successful switching; switching is not deferred until the end of a billing month. The Provider does not levy any switching charges (Article 29 Data Act). The export formats are described in the Export Format Register.

(5) Expiry of the paid month. In the event of termination or switching, the billing month already paid runs to its end; no pro rata refund is made. The Provider does not levy any charges or contractual penalties for early termination. The right of withdrawal of consumers (Section 18(1) and (2)) and refunds by Polar under the Polar Buyer Terms remain unaffected.

(5a) Deletion of the account while a paid plan is running. If the Customer deletes its account while a paid plan is running, it thereby also terminates the plan; the deletion dialog expressly points this out. Before the deletion, the Provider cancels the subscription at Polar with effect from the end of the current billing month and confirms the termination in text form. Access to the account ends with the deletion request. If the Customer cancels the deletion during the grace period (paragraph 6 letter c), it may continue to use the cancelled plan until the end of the paid billing month; thereafter the scope of the Free Trial applies (Section 4(8)). The subscription does not renew; the Customer may book a paid plan again. No pro rata refund is made for the remaining part of the paid billing month. Statutory rights of withdrawal, in particular the right of withdrawal of consumers (Section 18(1) and (2)), remain unaffected.

(6) Data retrieval and deletion after the end of the contract. After the end of a paid plan, Section 4(8) applies; the account and the data are retained. After the end of the contract as a whole (deletion of the account by the Customer, termination of the contract by either party or successful switching under paragraph 4), the following applies: a) The Customer may retrieve its data via the export functions for 30 days free of charge (data retrieval period); during this time, access to the account remains open for exports and downloads. If the Customer deletes its account itself, letter c applies instead. b) After expiry of the data retrieval period, the Provider deletes the Customer's data from the active systems within 30 days at the latest. In backups (Section 12(3)), the data are deleted when the retention period of the backups expires. On request, the Provider confirms the deletion in text form. The Data Processing Agreement continues to apply until the deletion has been completed. c) If the Customer deletes its account itself, the account is locked upon the deletion request and a grace period of 30 days begins. During this period, the Customer may sign in and cancel the deletion; the contract then continues and the account is available to the Customer again as before the deletion request, including the export functions available under the applicable plan. Statutory rights to obtain data remain unaffected. The grace period replaces the data retrieval period under letter a. If the Customer does not cancel the deletion, the account is permanently deleted without undue delay after the grace period expires, and within 30 days at the latest. The Customer may instead choose immediate deletion; in that case there is no grace period, and the account is permanently deleted no later than 30 days after the request. d) Excluded from deletion are data that the Provider must retain on the basis of statutory retention obligations, for the defence or enforcement of legal claims or on the basis of a legal hold; details follow from the Retention and Deletion Policy.

(7) Responses during the term of the contract. The Provider does not automatically delete response data during the term of the contract. Responses remain stored until the Customer deletes them, the project or the account, or until the contract ends. Responses deleted by the Customer are first moved to the project's bin, from which they can be restored; they are permanently deleted once the Customer deletes them in the bin or empties the bin. Imported responses are permanently deleted immediately, without the bin.

Section 9 Provision, Maintenance and Support

(1) Point of delivery. The Provider owes the provision of the platform up to the network interface of the data centre of its hosting provider (point of delivery). The Customer's Internet connection, local networks, end devices, operating systems, browsers, browser extensions, firewalls, proxy or VPN configurations and third-party services integrated by the Customer lie outside the Provider's area of responsibility, unless the Provider has expressly assumed responsibility for them.

(2) No availability guarantee. The Provider endeavours to ensure continuous availability of the platform but does not guarantee any specific availability and does not grant credits (service credits) for downtime. The Customer's statutory warranty rights (Section 12) and the Provider's liability (Section 13) remain unaffected.

(3) Support and Maintenance Policy. Support channels, response times, maintenance and the handling of disruptions are described in the Support and Maintenance Policy. Information on response times consists of best-effort targets and not of committed deadlines.

(4) Maintenance. The Provider may announce planned maintenance work that leads to an interruption in advance and carries it out where possible outside usual business hours. Security-related emergency maintenance may take place without prior announcement.

(5) Support. Support is provided in German and English by e-mail to info@choicery.ai and via the contact form on working days (Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays in the State of Saxony-Anhalt).

Section 10 Data Protection and Sub-processors

(1) The Provider processes personal data in accordance with the Privacy Policy and the Privacy Information for Survey Participants. The technical and organisational measures and the retention and deletion periods are each described in a separate document. The Provider's data protection contact is privacy@choicery.ai (Paul Bengart).

(2) Processing on behalf of the Customer. To the extent that the Customer processes personal data of third parties (in particular of survey participants) with the platform, the Customer is the controller and the Provider is the processor within the meaning of Article 4(8) and Article 28 GDPR. If the Customer itself acts on behalf of a third party, the Provider is a sub-processor; the Customer obtains the authorisation of the third party required for this. The Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is concluded in electronic form upon acceptance of these Terms (Article 28(9) GDPR) and forms part of this contract; for its subject matter it takes precedence over these Terms (Section 1(4)).

(3) Sub-processors. The current list of the sub-processors and other recipients engaged by the Provider is available under Subprocessors and Recipients. The Provider informs the Workspace-Owner by e-mail in advance of intended additions or replacements as soon as it becomes aware of the change, as a rule at least 14 days before it takes effect, and documents them in the change history of the list. The Customer may object on data protection grounds within 14 days of receipt of the information. If the parties do not reach agreement, either party may terminate the contract with effect from the date on which the change takes effect, or upon receipt of the termination if that date has already passed. If a replacement is required at short notice, for example for security reasons or because a sub-processor discontinues its service, the Provider may carry it out and inform the Customer afterwards; objection and termination are then governed by sentences 3 and 4. Section 8(6) applies to the retrieval and deletion of data; charges already paid are refunded only to the extent required by law.

(4) Polar is the Merchant of Record and an independent controller for the purchase, payment, invoice, value added tax, withdrawal and refund; to the extent that Polar processes account, checkout and subscription data for the Provider, it is the Provider's processor under the Polar Data Processing Addendum (Section 3(5)). Polar does not receive any survey or response data.

(5) Liability towards data subjects under Article 82 GDPR is not limited by these Terms; Section 13 applies in the relationship between the Customer and the Provider.

(6) Security incidents. The Provider informs the Customer without undue delay of personal data breaches affecting the Customer's data and supports the Customer in fulfilling its obligations under Articles 33 and 34 GDPR to the extent set out in the DPA. Security incidents may be reported to security@choicery.ai.

(7) Access requests from third countries. The Provider complies with requests by public authorities or courts of a third country for access to the Customer's data only if there is a legal basis for this under Article 32(2) or (3) Data Act (in particular an international agreement such as a mutual legal assistance treaty); Article 48 GDPR remains unaffected. In that case the Provider discloses only the minimum permissible and informs the Customer before disclosure, unless the request serves law enforcement purposes and the information would jeopardise their effectiveness (Article 32(4) and (5) Data Act).

(8) Place of processing. The Provider operates the platform and the database in data centres in Germany. Recipients established outside the European Economic Area and the respective transfer basis are set out in the list under paragraph 3.

Section 11 Notice Procedures (DSA and DMCA)

(1) Application. To the extent that Choicery qualifies as a hosting service within the meaning of Article 3(g)(iii) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act, DSA), the Provider fulfils the obligations under Articles 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17 DSA.

(2) Notice channel (Article 16 DSA). Notices of allegedly illegal content may be submitted via the notice form or by e-mail to abuse@choicery.ai. A complete notice contains in particular: a) a sufficiently substantiated explanation of the reasons why the notifying person considers the content to be illegal; b) the exact electronic location of the content (URL and, where applicable, further identifiers); c) the name and e-mail address of the notifying person, except in the case of notices concerning content allegedly constituting a sexual offence within the meaning of Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU; d) a statement confirming the good-faith belief of the notifying person that the information provided is accurate and complete.

(3) Confirmation of receipt. The Provider confirms receipt of complete notices without undue delay by electronic means.

(4) Decision and statement of reasons (Article 17 DSA). The Provider examines notices in a timely, diligent, objective and non-discriminatory manner and decides on the further course of action (for example blocking, removal, restriction of visibility, no action). The decision is taken by a natural person; it is not made solely by automated means. If the Provider takes a measure against the Customer or a user, it provides a clear and specific statement of reasons that contains at least the measure taken, the factual and legal basis, an indication of whether automated means were used and information on the available means of redress.

(5) Criminal offences involving a threat to life or safety (Article 18 DSA). If the Provider becomes aware of information giving rise to a suspicion that a criminal offence involving a threat to the life or safety of a person or persons has taken place, it informs the competent law enforcement or judicial authorities of the Member State concerned.

(6) Point of contact. The single point of contact for the authorities of the Member States, the Commission, the European Board for Digital Services and for users within the meaning of Articles 11 and 12 DSA is abuse@choicery.ai. Communication is possible in German and English.

(7) US copyright notices (17 U.S.C. § 512). Notices of alleged copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act are to be addressed to the Designated Agent: Paul Bengart, Keplerstraße 4A, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany, telephone: +49 160 92087997, e-mail abuse@choicery.ai. A notice must contain the information under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3). The Provider removes or disables access to the content complained of, informs the Customer and forwards the notice to the Customer. The Customer may submit a counter-notification under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g); the Provider forwards it to the notifying person and restores the content after expiry of the statutory period, unless the notifying person provides evidence that court proceedings have been initiated. The Provider terminates, in appropriate circumstances, accounts through which copyright is repeatedly infringed.

(8) Responsible disclosure. Security researchers may report vulnerabilities to security@choicery.ai; further details are contained in the security.txt file at https://app.choicery.ai/.well-known/security.txt. Penetration tests or active vulnerability scans against the platform are permitted only with the Provider's prior approval in text form.

Section 12 Warranty for Defects

(1) The statutory provisions apply to material defects and defects of title (in relation to consumers, Sections 327 et seq. BGB), unless otherwise provided below.

(2) The Provider may also remedy a defect by means of an update or a reasonable workaround. Damages on account of a defect are governed by Section 13.

(3) Data backup. The Provider backs up the platform regularly; the measures are described in the Technical and Organisational Measures. No specific recovery time and no specific recovery point are agreed; the restoration of individual projects or data records is not the subject matter of the contract. The Customer exports its data regularly itself (Section 5(1)(c)). Responses deleted by the Customer can be restored in the product until the Customer empties the project's bin (Section 8(7)).

(4) Limitation period in relation to business customers. Claims of business customers on account of defects become time-barred 12 months after the date on which the business customer became aware of the defect or would have become aware of it but for gross negligence. This shortening does not apply to claims for damages arising from injury to life, body or health, from intentional or grossly negligent breach of obligation, under the German Product Liability Act (ProdHaftG), from a guarantee assumed or from fraudulently concealed defects; in these respects the statutory periods apply. In relation to consumers, the statutory periods apply.

(5) Beta functions (Section 2(4)) are excluded from the warranty for defects in relation to business customers. In relation to consumers, the rights in respect of defects under Sections 327i et seq. BGB for digital products remain unaffected.

Section 13 Liability

(1) The Provider is liable without limitation: a) in the event of intent and gross negligence; b) for damage arising from injury to life, body or health; c) under the German Product Liability Act; d) within the scope of a guarantee assumed.

(2) In the event of a slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations, that is obligations whose fulfilment is a prerequisite for the proper performance of the contract in the first place and on whose observance the Customer may regularly rely), the Provider's liability is limited to the damage foreseeable at the time of the conclusion of the contract and typical of the contract.

(3) Otherwise, the Provider's liability is excluded.

(4) Nature as a tool. The Provider does not warrant statistical significance in the specific case of application, the suitability of the results for specific business decisions or their transferability to real market outcomes (Section 2(3)).

(5) The Provider's no-fault liability for defects already existing at the time of the conclusion of the contract under Section 536a(1), first alternative, BGB is excluded.

(6) The limitations of liability in this Section also apply to the personal liability of the Provider's legal representatives and vicarious agents.

(7) Free Trial. For the free plan (Free Trial, Section 3(3)), the Provider is liable only for intent and gross negligence; liability under paragraph 1(b) to (d) remains unaffected, and paragraph 2 does not apply. Beta functions (Section 2(4)) within a paid plan do not fall under this paragraph. There is no entitlement to availability, to specific functions or to the continuation of the Free Trial; the Provider may change its scope with a reasonable period of notice, and Section 8(1) applies to its termination. Mandatory statutory rights of consumers, in particular under Sections 327 et seq. BGB, remain unaffected.

Section 14 Subcontractors

(1) The Provider is entitled to engage subcontractors for the provision of the service. The current list of hosting and infrastructure subcontractors is available under Subprocessors and Recipients; Section 10(3) applies to sub-processors.

(2) The Provider is liable for the fault of its vicarious agents under Section 278 BGB within the framework of the liability provisions under Section 13.

(3) Failures attributable exclusively to force majeure (Section 15) do not give rise to liability, irrespective of the subcontractor engaged.

Section 15 Force Majeure

(1) Neither party is liable for delays or non-performance to the extent that these are attributable to force majeure. Force majeure includes in particular natural disasters, pandemics, war, terrorism, civil unrest, strikes (including at subcontractors), lockouts, official orders, embargoes, Internet backbone failures and large-scale power outages, as well as large-scale cyberattacks on subcontractors or on the Provider's infrastructure, provided that they occurred despite reasonable protective measures. Disruptions at subcontractors are deemed force majeure only if they are themselves based on an event under sentence 2.

(2) The affected party informs the other party without undue delay of the event and its expected duration. If the event lasts longer than 30 days, both parties are entitled to terminate for cause.

Section 16 Account Suspension

(1) The Provider is entitled to temporarily suspend the Customer's access in the event of: a) a reasonable suspicion of a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy; b) a significant load on the infrastructure caused by unapproved load tests, mass requests or automated requests outside the documented limits; c) security-related threats originating from the account (compromised password, unusual activity patterns).

Section 7(8) and (9) apply exclusively to the suspension of the paid scope on account of outstanding payments.

(2) The suspension is limited to the extent necessary. During a suspension, the Provider provides an export on request, unless legal reasons stand in the way. The Customer is informed of the suspension and its reason without undue delay and may comment, unless the information must temporarily be withheld for reasons of security, fraud or abuse. The suspension is lifted as soon as its reason has ceased to exist.

(3) In the event of proven serious violations or continuing good cause under Section 8(2), the Provider is entitled to terminate for cause. Mandatory rights of consumers remain unaffected.

Section 17 Amendments to these Terms

(1) The Provider is entitled to adapt these Terms and the policies named in Section 1(5) to the extent that this is necessary for valid reasons (for example a change in the legal situation, case law of the highest courts, a change of subcontractors, technical development, alignment of the policies with one another). The Customer is notified of amendments at least 30 days before they take effect, in text form.

(2) Excluded from deemed consent. Amendments that concern the principal service, the remuneration payable by the Customer, the liability provisions (Section 13) or the data protection provisions (Section 10) apply only with the Customer's express consent. For this purpose, the Provider requests the Customer's consent separately. If no consent is given, the Provider may terminate the contract with effect from the end of the current billing month or, in the case of the Free Trial, with 30 days' notice. Price changes are governed exclusively by Section 7(4) and (5), and changes to the list of sub-processors by Section 10(3).

(3) In relation to business customers, the following applies to all other amendments: if the business customer does not object within 30 days of receipt of the notification, the amendments are deemed accepted. The Provider expressly points this out in the notification. In the event of an objection, the business customer may terminate for cause with effect from the date on which the amendment takes effect; otherwise the Provider may terminate the contract with effect from that date.

(4) In relation to consumers, deemed consent is not applied. Amendments are announced to consumers in text form; they become part of the contract only if the consumer expressly agrees to them. If the consumer does not agree, the contract continues on the previous terms; the Provider may, however, terminate it with effect from the end of the current billing month or, in the case of the Free Trial, with 30 days' notice. In relation to consumers, Section 327r BGB applies to changes to the platform itself.

(5) Documentation. Each amendment is documented under Legal with the version number and the date on which it takes effect.

Section 18 Special Provisions for Consumers

To the extent that the Customer is a consumer within the meaning of Section 13 BGB, the following deviating and supplementary provisions apply. In the event of conflict, they take precedence over the general provisions.

(1) Right of withdrawal towards the Provider. For the usage contract with the Provider concluded upon registration (Section 3(2)), the consumer has a right of withdrawal in accordance with the statutory provisions (Sections 312(1a), 312g and 355 BGB). Details follow from the withdrawal instructions (Annex 1); the model withdrawal form is attached as Annex 2.

(2) Withdrawal for the paid plan. The consumer acquires the paid plan from Polar (Section 3(4)). The withdrawal from this purchase, its effects and the refund are governed by the Polar Buyer Terms; mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected. The consumer may also declare the withdrawal towards the Provider, in particular via the withdrawal function (paragraph 3); the Provider forwards the declaration to Polar without undue delay. Upon withdrawal, the paid scope ends; the account falls back to the scope of the Free Trial (Section 4(8)).

(3) Withdrawal function (Section 356a BGB). The consumer may also declare withdrawal via the withdrawal function and submits the declaration there via the button "Widerruf bestätigen" (on the English page: "Confirm withdrawal"). The Provider confirms receipt without undue delay in text form, stating the content of the declaration of withdrawal and the date and time of its receipt.

(4) Contract confirmation. The Provider makes the confirmation of the contract, including these Terms and the withdrawal instructions, available to the consumer by e-mail without undue delay after the conclusion of the contract (Section 312f BGB).

(5) Warranty for defects and rights in respect of defects for digital products. The statutory rights in respect of defects under Sections 327 et seq. BGB apply without shortening to the provision of the platform to consumers. The limitation period of 12 months provided for in Section 12(4) does not apply in relation to consumers.

(6) Obligation to provide updates (Section 327f BGB). During the period of provision, the Provider provides updates that are necessary to maintain the conformity of the platform with the contract, including security updates, and informs the consumer of these updates. Since the platform is provided as a web application, updates are installed without any action on the part of the consumer.

(7) Dispute resolution. The Provider is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board within the meaning of the German Consumer Dispute Resolution Act (VSBG).

(8) Termination button (Section 312k BGB). The consumer may terminate a paid plan via the termination button. The button leads to a confirmation page on which the consumer can state the type of termination, the reason for termination in the case of termination for cause, their identification details and the date of termination. The Provider confirms receipt of the termination, the date and time of receipt and the date of termination without undue delay in text form. Termination by e-mail to info@choicery.ai remains possible in addition.

(9) Consumers habitually resident in the USA. For consumers habitually resident in the USA, the following applies in addition: the paid plan renews automatically month by month until it is terminated; the price, billing period, renewal and means of termination are displayed before the order and repeated in the contract confirmation (Section 7(3)). Termination is possible at any time online via the termination function and takes effect at the end of the current billing month. Refunds are governed by the Polar Buyer Terms. Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the state of habitual residence remain unaffected. These Terms contain no arbitration clause and no class action waiver.

Section 19 Export Control and Sanctions

(1) The Customer warrants that neither the Customer itself nor its organisation, its workspace members or persons controlling it are listed on sanctions lists of the European Union, the United Nations or the United Kingdom or on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) of the US Department of the Treasury, to the extent that these sanctions apply to the respective party.

(2) The Customer further warrants that it is not established in a territory subject to comprehensive sanctions or embargoes of the European Union or the United Nations (currently in particular Russia, Belarus, and Crimea and the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk) and that it does not use the platform for purposes prohibited under the export control or sanctions law applicable to it or to the Provider. The Customer notifies the Provider without undue delay of any change in these circumstances.

(3) The Provider may suspend the service in whole or in part or terminate the contract for cause to the extent that the continued provision of the service would violate export control or sanctions law applicable to it. The Provider informs the Customer of the suspension and its reason, unless a statutory prohibition on notification stands in the way.

(4) No provision of this contract obliges either party to conduct that violates Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 (EU Blocking Statute).

Section 20 Final Provisions

(1) Choice of law. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. In relation to consumers, this choice of law applies only to the extent that the consumer is not thereby deprived of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the state in which the consumer has their habitual residence (Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 (Rome I)).

(2) Place of jurisdiction. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this contract is Magdeburg if the Customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany. The Provider is also entitled to sue the Customer at the Customer's general place of jurisdiction. In relation to consumers, the statutory place of jurisdiction applies.

(3) Text form and individual agreements. Amendments and supplements to this contract require at least text form. This also applies to the waiver of this text form requirement. Individual contractual agreements take precedence in any event (Section 305b BGB).

(4) Severability clause. Should individual provisions of this contract be invalid or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The statutory provision takes the place of the invalid or unenforceable provision.

(5) Assignment. The Customer may transfer rights under this contract only with the Provider's prior consent in text form; this does not apply to monetary claims and does not apply in relation to consumers insofar as Section 308 no. 9 BGB precludes it; Section 354a of the German Commercial Code (HGB) remains unaffected. The Provider may transfer rights and obligations under this contract to a legal successor in the context of a transfer of its business; it announces this to the Customer at least 30 days in advance in text form, and the Customer may terminate the contract with effect from the date of the transfer.

(6) Notices. Notices from the Provider to the Customer are sent by e-mail to the address of the Workspace-Owner stored in the customer account or by way of a notice in the customer account; the Customer keeps this address up to date. Notices from the Customer to the Provider are sent by e-mail to info@choicery.ai or via the contact form; data protection matters to privacy@choicery.ai, security reports to security@choicery.ai and notices of illegal content to abuse@choicery.ai.

(7) Feedback. The Provider may use suggestions for improvement, error reports and other feedback from the Customer on the platform for the further development of the platform without remuneration and without naming the Customer. Confidential information, study content and data of the Customer (Section 4(5), Section 6) are excluded from this.

(8) Survival. Sections 6, 13, 19 and 20, the Customer's rights of data retrieval under Section 8(6) and the rights in its data under Section 4(5) continue to apply after the end of the contract.

Annex 1 Withdrawal Instructions (for Consumers)

Note: The following withdrawal instructions concern the usage contract with the Provider (Section 3(2)). You acquire the paid plan via our reseller Polar Software, Inc. (Merchant of Record). Your contracting party for the purchase, payment, invoice, value added tax, withdrawal and refund is Polar; the Polar Buyer Terms apply. The use of Choicery is governed by these Terms. You may also declare a withdrawal from the purchase towards us, for example via the withdrawal function; we forward it to Polar without undue delay. This note does not form part of the following withdrawal instructions.

Withdrawal Instructions

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Paul Bengart, Keplerstraße 4A, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany, telephone: +49 160 92087997, e-mail: info@choicery.ai) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

You can also exercise your right of withdrawal online at https://app.choicery.ai/withdraw-contract?lang=en. If you use this online function, we will send you without undue delay, on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail), an acknowledgement of receipt containing information on the content of the declaration of withdrawal and the date and time of its receipt.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

Annex 2 Model Withdrawal Form

Note: If your withdrawal concerns the purchase of the paid plan from Polar, you may also send this form to us; we forward the withdrawal to Polar without undue delay. This note does not form part of the model withdrawal form.

(Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.)

• To Paul Bengart, Keplerstraße 4A, 39104 Magdeburg, Germany, telephone: +49 160 92087997, e-mail: info@choicery.ai:
• I/We () hereby give notice that I/We () withdraw from my/our () contract of sale of the following goods ()/for the provision of the following service (*)
• Ordered on ()/received on ()
• Name of consumer(s)
• Address of consumer(s)
• Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper)
• Date

(*) Delete as appropriate.