Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and Hillstone Ventures LLC ("BlackKarat," "we," "us," or "our") governing your use of the BlackKarat mobile app (the "App") and our website at blackkaratapp.com (the "Site"). The App and the Site are referred to together as the "Services." By downloading, installing, or using the App, or by using the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. If you are below the age of legal majority where you live, you may use the Services only with a parent or legal guardian's permission and supervision; that adult must review and agree to these Terms. An app-store content rating does not replace this eligibility requirement. If you submit a business claim or act for an organization, you represent that you are authorized to do so.

License to Use the Services

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Services for their intended directory and business-management purposes. No ownership of the Services or their content is transferred to you. You must follow applicable app-store rules and third-party license terms. For an App downloaded from Apple's App Store, Apple's Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement also applies; these Terms do not replace any mandatory platform protections or your rights under applicable law.

Your Account

Accounts exist in the App; the Site does not require one, and you can use the Site's forms without registering. If you have an account, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity that occurs under it. Notify us immediately at support@blackkaratapp.com if you suspect unauthorized access. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, are used fraudulently, or are inactive for an extended period.

Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes. You will not submit false, misleading, discriminatory, abusive, or fraudulent content or ownership claims; impersonate another person or business; harass, defame, or threaten anyone; publish another person's private information without authorization; upload content you do not have the right to share; send spam or malicious code; attempt unauthorized access, circumvent access controls, or interfere with the Services; or scrape, harvest, or resell directory or user data at scale without permission. Restrictions on reverse engineering apply only to the extent permitted by law.

Your Dealings with Businesses and Third Parties

BlackKarat is a discovery directory, not the seller, employer, agent, guarantor, or payment intermediary for businesses you find here. Purchases, appointments, services, refunds, and disputes with those businesses are between you and the relevant business. Confirm ownership information, qualifications, prices, availability, accessibility, and safety directly before relying on a listing. Ratings and reviews attributed to external sources are those sources' content, not BlackKarat's assessment. External links, maps, and directions are conveniences, not guarantees; third-party sites and services have their own terms and privacy policies. Nothing in a listing is legal, medical, financial, or other professional advice.

Business Listings and Data Accuracy

Business information we publish — including names, addresses, hours, ratings, photos, and descriptions — is compiled from publicly available sources, business owner submissions, and owner claims, and is provided for informational purposes only. This applies wherever that information appears, in the App or on the Site. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or current availability of any listing. Always confirm details (hours, availability, etc.) directly with a business before visiting.

How Ownership Listings Are Sourced

BlackKarat labels each listing according to what supports it, and every label means something specific:

• Owner Confirmed — the business owner claimed the listing and our team approved that claim.
• Verified by BlackKarat — a member of our team confirmed the listing directly and is recorded as having done so.
• Identified as Black-Owned — one or more publicly available sources explicitly describe the business as Black-owned. We retain those sources and display them on the listing.

We do not infer ownership from a business name, its owner's name or appearance, its location, its category, or any cultural association. A listing that we cannot support with one of the bases above is not published.

Where the Site names or features individual businesses, those businesses are drawn from the same directory and held to the same standard. The specific basis for a given business is shown on its listing in the App, not on the Site.

Sourced listings reflect statements made by third parties, not independent confirmation by BlackKarat. Those third-party sources may themselves be inaccurate or out of date.

No Certification, Endorsement, or Affiliation

A BlackKarat listing — and any mention of a business anywhere in the Services, including a feature or example shown on the Site — is not a certification, credential, accreditation, or endorsement of any kind, and it does not indicate that a business has applied for, paid for, or consented to inclusion. BlackKarat is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the businesses that appear in the Services unless expressly stated. Business names and marks appear for identification purposes only and remain the property of their owners. Nothing in the Services should be read as a statement about the personal characteristics of any individual owner beyond what our cited sources state.

Paid Placements and Advertising

Paid placement sales are currently disabled. If we open sales for a market, eligible businesses may purchase promotional placement through the advertise page on the Site. Available inventory, placement scope, prices, and billing terms will be presented before purchase. Paid placements are labeled as sponsored where they appear. We do not guarantee a number of impressions, taps, leads, visits, sales, or any other commercial result unless expressly agreed in writing.

Buying a placement affects where a listing appears. It does not affect whether a business is listed, the ownership basis shown on its listing, or how we review any submission, claim, or report. Payment does not create "Owner Confirmed" or "Verified by BlackKarat" status, and it is not an endorsement by BlackKarat.

Where offered as a recurring subscription, a placement is billed through Stripe and renews at the disclosed interval and price until canceled. You authorize those recurring charges when you purchase. We provide at least 60 days' notice before a subscription price change takes effect and any additional notice required by law. Taxes and additional charges, if applicable, will be disclosed before purchase.

You may cancel by contacting support@blackkaratapp.com or using any cancellation method provided with your purchase. Cancellation stops future renewals, and your placement runs through the paid period unless removed under these Terms. Amounts already paid are non-refundable except where required by law or stated at purchase; if we remove or suspend a placement for a reason unrelated to your conduct, we will refund the unused portion. If a purchased placement is not delivered, contact us for investigation and an appropriate refund or credit. Account deletion is not a substitute for canceling any separate subscription. Mandatory cancellation, refund, and consumer-protection rights remain in effect.

For Business Owners: Corrections and Removal

If you own or represent a business that appears in the Services and believe its listing is inaccurate — including the basis on which it appears — you may request a correction or removal at any time. No account or purchase is required. Contact us at support@blackkaratapp.com or visit our listing request form. We aim to respond to verified owner requests within three (3) business days and will correct or remove the listing promptly where warranted. This is the fastest and most complete remedy available for a listing dispute, and we ask that you use it before pursuing other action.

AI-Generated Content

Some business descriptions in the App are generated by an AI language model based on a business's public website content. AI-generated content may contain inaccuracies and should not be relied on without verification. Owners may request corrections through a claim or our listing request form; other users may also report inaccurate content without claiming a business.

Submitting Listings, Claims, and Feedback

If you submit content, you retain any ownership rights you have in it and represent that you have the permissions needed to submit it and grant the license below, including permission for any identifiable people or third-party intellectual property. Business contact and ownership information must be accurate to the best of your knowledge, and you must be authorized to claim a business. Do not submit confidential or sensitive personal information that is unnecessary for the request.

For business listing content and photos intended for publication, you grant BlackKarat a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license, sublicensable to our service providers, to host, reproduce, format, display, and distribute that content to operate the Services and promote the directory. This license does not authorize us to publish private claim-verification details, support messages, or account information as promotional content; our use of personal information remains subject to the Privacy Policy. Account deletion does not automatically remove already published business content; correction, removal, and applicable privacy requests remain available.

Initial listing submissions, ownership claims, and listing reports are subject to moderation. We may reject, edit, restrict, or remove content or claims that are inaccurate, unauthorized, unlawful, or inconsistent with the directory's purpose. Approval of content is not an endorsement or a guarantee of its accuracy. Report objectionable or infringing content using the App's reporting feature, our listing request form, or support email. Any confidentiality and data-handling obligations under applicable law remain in effect.

Intellectual Property

The BlackKarat name, logo, and original design and software are owned by Hillstone Ventures LLC or its licensors and may not be reproduced except as authorized by these Terms or applicable law. Business names, photos, reviews, and other third-party materials remain the property of their respective owners. Public availability alone does not grant a right to copy or reuse material; your use must comply with applicable licenses, source-provider terms, and law. We do not grant you rights to third-party content beyond those its owner or applicable law permits.

Copyright Complaints

If you believe content infringes your copyright, contact support@blackkaratapp.com with identification of the copyrighted work and allegedly infringing material, its location in the Services, your contact details, a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized, a statement that your notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act for the rights holder under penalty of perjury, and your physical or electronic signature. We will review notices and restrict or remove content where appropriate, and may terminate repeat infringers' access in appropriate circumstances. These instructions do not represent that we have registered a statutory designated agent or qualify for a particular legal safe harbor.

Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY BUSINESS LISTING IS ACCURATE OR CURRENT. THIS DOES NOT EXCLUDE WARRANTIES OR RIGHTS THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE EXCLUDED.

Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HILLSTONE VENTURES LLC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR DATA, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES OR ANY BUSINESS YOU DISCOVER, VISIT, OR TRANSACT WITH THROUGH THE SERVICES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100) OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE.

These exclusions and limits do not apply to liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including fraud, willful misconduct, or other non-excludable liability. Nothing in these Terms removes mandatory consumer rights.

Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify Hillstone Ventures LLC and its officers, employees, and agents against third-party claims, damages, and reasonable legal expenses caused by your unlawful conduct, material violation of these Terms, unauthorized ownership claims, or submitted content that infringes another person's rights. This does not require you to indemnify us for our own unlawful conduct or liabilities that cannot legally be shifted to you. We will give reasonable notice of a covered claim and an opportunity to cooperate in its defense; no settlement may impose an obligation or admission on you without your consent.

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

You and BlackKarat agree to resolve any dispute arising from these Terms or the Services through binding individual arbitration, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court. YOU AND BLACKKARAT EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. Arbitration will be conducted on an individual basis under the rules of a recognized arbitration organization, in Texas, in English. If any part of this arbitration clause is found unenforceable, the remainder will still apply, and the dispute will proceed in the courts described under Governing Law below.

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that violates these Terms or is otherwise harmful to other users, businesses, or the Services. You may stop using the Services and delete your account at any time as described in our Privacy Policy.

Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. We will update the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, provide reasonable notice through the Services or by email. Continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except where the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section above applies. Any dispute not subject to arbitration shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Texas.

Severability and Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and BlackKarat regarding the Services.

Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at: support@blackkaratapp.com