SpareSeat

Terms of Service

Last updated: July 15, 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and SpareSeat LLC (entity formation pending) (“SpareSeat”, “we”, “us”). They govern your access to and use of the SpareSeat website, applications, and services (the “Platform”). By creating an account or using the Platform, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy and Refund & Cancellation Policy, which are incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

1. What SpareSeat is (and is not)

SpareSeat is a marketplace that connects people who manage digital subscription family plans (“Hosts”) with people who wish to occupy an available seat on such a plan (“Members”). SpareSeat facilitates discovery, coordination, messaging, and payment processing between Hosts and Members.

  • SpareSeat is not a party to the arrangement between a Host and a Member, and does not own, operate, resell, or provide access to any third-party subscription service. The Host is the seller of each seat; SpareSeat provides the marketplace platform and acts as the Host’s limited payment collection agent as described in Section 7 only.
  • SpareSeat is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC, YouTube, or any other subscription service provider. All third-party trademarks belong to their respective owners.
  • Third-party subscription services are governed by their own terms. You are solely responsible for reviewing and complying with the terms of any third-party service you use, including any eligibility or household requirements. SpareSeat makes no representation that any particular sharing arrangement is permitted by a third-party service’s terms, and you assume all risk of adverse action by a third-party service (including removal from a plan or account suspension).

2. Eligibility

  • You must be at least 18 years old and reside in the United States.
  • You must provide accurate account information and keep it current.
  • You may not use the Platform if we have previously suspended or banned your account, or if applicable law prohibits you from doing so.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for your account credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use at admin@spareseat.app. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, harm other users, or create legal or safety risk for the Platform.

4. Member terms

  • Joining a group starts a recurring monthly subscription (currently $5.40/month, plus any applicable taxes) billed by our payment processor, Stripe, until you cancel or your membership otherwise ends.
  • After successful payment, your Host is expected to send your plan invitation within the service-level window described in our Refund & Cancellation Policy. If they do not, you receive an automatic refund for that period.
  • You must confirm receipt of your invitation truthfully. Falsely disputing a received invitation is a violation of these Terms.
  • Host-initiated removal. Hosts may remove you from their group at any time for a legitimate reason (such as a group policy violation, a family member needing the slot, or reducing the number of hosted seats). If you are removed, your subscription is cancelled immediately and you receive a prorated refund for any unused days in your current billing period. The reason provided by the Host is logged on the Platform. If you believe a removal was made in bad faith, you may open a dispute through the Platform or contact us.
  • Voluntary cancellation. You may cancel at any time from your dashboard. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. No pro-rata refund is issued for voluntary cancellations, and no cancellation fees apply.

5. Host terms

  • Hosts represent that they control the family plan they list and have the authority to issue invitations to its seats, and that listing the plan does not violate their agreement with the underlying service provider.
  • Seat count. When creating a group, Hosts specify the number of seats they are offering to the marketplace (1 to 5). Hosts may adjust this count after creation — increasing it to open new slots or decreasing it to reserve slots for personal use — provided the new count is not less than the number of currently occupied seats.
  • Hosts must send plan invitations to paying Members within the service-level window and maintain those Members’ access for each billing period they have paid.
  • Removing a Member. Hosts may remove an active Member through the Platform by providing a reason. Removal immediately cancels that Member’s subscription and triggers a prorated refund for the unused portion of the Member’s current billing period. The refund amount is deducted from the Host’s payout for that seat. Hosts are also responsible for promptly removing the Member from the third-party subscription plan. Misuse of the removal feature (e.g., bad-faith removals, removing Members to avoid payout obligations, or retaliation for disputes) may result in reliability score penalties, payout holds, or account termination.
  • Host payouts (currently $4.50 per occupied seat per month, multiplied by the number of active seats) are processed through Stripe Connect and require completed identity verification. Payouts may be withheld, delayed, or reversed where a Member did not receive access, a dispute is pending, a Host-initiated removal triggered a Member refund, or we reasonably suspect fraud.
  • Refund responsibility and offset. Refunds, credits, and chargebacks arising from a Host’s failure to provide or maintain a Member’s access — including refunds triggered by Host-initiated removals — are the Host’s responsibility. The Host authorizes SpareSeat to deduct such amounts first from any payouts currently being held, and then from future payouts. The Host remains personally liable for any remaining balance.
  • Hosts are independent users of the Platform, not employees, agents, or contractors of SpareSeat (except for the limited payment collection agency described in Section 7). Hosts are responsible for their own tax obligations on payouts received.

6. Fees and pricing

SpareSeat retains the difference between the Member price and the Host payout as a platform fee (currently $0.90 per seat per month). Current pricing is displayed at the point of purchase. We may change pricing prospectively with at least 30 days’ advance notice; price changes apply from your next billing period.

7. Payments — limited payment collection agency

Agent-of-payee model. Each Host, by accepting these Terms at group creation and consenting to the agent authorization in the group-creation flow, appoints SpareSeat as the Host’s limited agent solely for the purpose of collecting payments from Members on the Host’s behalf. A Member’s payment to SpareSeat constitutes payment directly to the Host for the applicable period and fully extinguishes the Member’s payment obligation to the Host for that period, regardless of whether or when SpareSeat remits those funds to the Host. SpareSeat’s obligation to remit collected funds is subject to these Terms, including the offset rights in Section 5 and the payout terms in the Refund & Cancellation Policy.

All payments are processed by Stripe. SpareSeat does not store full payment card details. By subscribing you authorize recurring charges to your payment method. Failed payments may be retried per the Refund & Cancellation Policy; continued failure results in loss of your seat. Payouts to Hosts are subject to Stripe Connect’s terms and policies.

8. Reliability scores and platform integrity

We maintain reliability scores reflecting users’ track records on the Platform (e.g., timely invitations, successful payments, dispute outcomes, and removal history). Scores are calculated at our discretion, are not portable outside the Platform, and may affect your visibility, matching priority, and eligibility to participate. We may adjust the scoring methodology from time to time without notice.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms;
  • circumvent the Platform’s payment flow (e.g., soliciting or making off-platform payments for seats discovered on SpareSeat);
  • create fake accounts, fake groups, or manipulate reliability scores, reviews, or removal records;
  • misuse the Host removal feature — for example, removing Members in bad faith, in retaliation for legitimate disputes, or to avoid payout obligations;
  • harass, threaten, or defraud other users, including in group chat;
  • post unlawful, infringing, or abusive content;
  • scrape, reverse engineer, or interfere with the Platform’s operation; or
  • resell seats or use the Platform for commercial arbitrage at scale.

10. Content and messaging

You retain ownership of content you post (such as chat messages) and grant SpareSeat a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, display, and process it solely to operate the Platform. We may review, moderate, and remove content at our discretion, and may post automated system messages in group chats, to protect and operate the Platform.

11. Disputes between users

The Platform provides a dispute process for issues such as invitations not received, access lost mid-period, or bad-faith Member removals. We will review disputes in good faith and may, at our discretion, issue refunds, withhold payouts, adjust reliability scores, or remove users from the Platform. Our determination of a Platform dispute is final, subject to any non-waivable rights you may have under applicable law.

12. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Platform at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access, with or without prior notice, if you violate these Terms, create legal or safety risk, or if we discontinue the Platform. We will generally provide advance notice for non-urgent suspensions. Upon any termination, Sections 13–17 survive.

13. Disclaimers

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, SPARESEAT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY THIRD-PARTY SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE, THAT ANY HOST OR MEMBER WILL PERFORM THEIR OBLIGATIONS, OR THAT PLAN ACCESS OBTAINED THROUGH A GROUP WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR IMMUNE FROM REMOVAL BY THE THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDER.

14. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SPARESEAT WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE PLATFORM OR THESE TERMS. SPARESEAT’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE PLATFORM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO SPARESEAT IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50.00). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU IN FULL.

15. Indemnification

You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless SpareSeat and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Platform; (b) your content; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any third-party service’s terms or rights; or (e) your violation of any applicable law.

16. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform that is not resolved informally within 30 days of written notice will be submitted to binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, except that either party may pursue claims in a small claims court of competent jurisdiction. YOU AND SPARESEAT EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. Arbitration will proceed remotely or in the county of your residence. This agreement to arbitrate is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. [This clause requires review by counsel before launch.]

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes we will give at least 14 days’ advance notice by email or in-app before changes take effect. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, stop using the Platform before the effective date.

18. Miscellaneous

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Refund & Cancellation Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and SpareSeat regarding the Platform and supersede all prior agreements on this subject. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary; the rest continues in full force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver. You may not assign your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign ours without restriction in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms: admin@spareseat.app