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Terms of Service.

The agreement between you and theBEAT. Plain English where we can manage it; legal where we cannot.

Last updated · 3 July 2026

Last updated: 3 July 2026. Effective as of the same date.

N° 001The agreement

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") form a binding legal agreement between you and theBEAT LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company with operations based in Baltimore, Maryland ("theBEAT," "we," "us," or "our"), governing your access to and use of thebeatedit.com and the theBEAT iOS application, and all content, features, and functionality offered through them (together, the "Services").

By creating an account, tapping "agree," downloading the app, or otherwise accessing or using the Services, you accept these Terms in full and agree to be bound by them, together with our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Services. These Terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access or use the Services, regardless of whether they hold a paid membership.

N° 002Defined terms

Certain capitalized terms used throughout these Terms have the specific meanings below. Other terms are defined in the section where they first appear.

  • "Services" means thebeatedit.com, the theBEAT iOS application, and any related content, features, or functionality theBEAT makes available, including rankings, Hunt, Group Hunt, Birthdays, theTABLE, Next Eats, Concierge Hunt, and Make It At Home.
  • "AI Features" means Concierge Hunt, Make It At Home, and any other feature of the Services that uses artificial intelligence to generate suggestions, recipes, or written responses, as further described in Section N° 007.
  • "AI Output" means any suggestion, recipe, rationale, or other content generated by an AI Feature.
  • "Content" means rankings, written entries, photography, dish and restaurant data, editorial copy, and other material theBEAT makes available through the Services, excluding Submissions and AI Output.
  • "Submission" means any dish request, review, rating, vote, photograph, comment, or other material you submit through the Services, as further described in Section N° 008.
  • "Membership" means a paid subscription or one-time purchase tier (Plus, Priority, or Lifetime) described in Section N° 006.
  • "you" and "your" mean the individual person accessing or using the Services, or, where applicable, the parent or guardian accepting these Terms on that person’s behalf.

N° 003Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. If you are between 13 and the age of majority where you live, you may use the Services only with the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms on your behalf. By using the Services, you represent that you meet these requirements and that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract, or that you have obtained the consent described above. The Services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them; see Children in our Privacy Policy for more.

You further represent that you are not barred from using the Services under the laws of the United States or any other applicable jurisdiction, and that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. government embargo or designated as a "terrorist supporting" country, and are not listed on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

N° 004The Services

theBEAT is an editorial dish-ranking guide for the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) region, delivered through an iOS application and thebeatedit.com. The Services include, among other things:

  • Editorial dish rankings and reviews, organized by neighborhood, cuisine, and occasion.
  • Hunt, Group Hunt, and Birthdays — tools to plan a dining outing alone or with others, including for special occasions.
  • theTABLE — a running record of dishes you have tried, saved, or want to try.
  • Next Eats — recommendations for what to try next based on your activity within the Services.
  • Concierge Hunt and Make It At Home — AI Features described in Section N° 007.
  • Dietary and allergen tags, user submissions such as dish photographs and votes, and deep-links to third-party reservation platforms.

theBEAT may add, change, suspend, or discontinue any feature of the Services at any time, with or without notice, and features described on our marketing pages or in prior versions of the app may not be available in every release, region, or Membership tier. Nothing in this section obligates theBEAT to introduce, maintain, or continue offering any specific feature.

N° 005Your account

You may use much of the Services without an account. Some features require one, including saving dishes to theTABLE, using Hunt and Group Hunt, and accessing a paid Membership. You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not you authorized it, except to the extent caused by our own breach of these Terms. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information when creating your account and to keep it up to date, and to notify us promptly at support@thebeatedit.com if you suspect unauthorized use of your account.

You may close your account at any time from within the app (Settings › Account), or by writing to support@thebeatedit.com. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or applicable law, with notice where reasonable under the circumstances; see Termination.

N° 006Subscriptions & billing

theBEAT offers paid Membership tiers: Plus (reader tier), Priority (full toolkit), and, where offered, a one-time Lifetime tier. Pricing is shown at the point of purchase and may vary by promotion, region, or timing. Membership benefits are described inside the app and may evolve over time; theBEAT will provide notice of material changes and will not reduce the substance of paid benefits during an active billing period you have already paid for.

Recurring memberships (Apple In-App Purchase)

Plus and Priority are sold as optional, auto-renewing subscriptions through Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Where a free trial is offered, it will convert automatically into a paid subscription at the end of the trial period unless you cancel before the trial ends. Subscriptions renew automatically for successive periods of the same length, at the then-current price, until cancelled. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase and at the start of each renewal period. Cancellation, management (including switching or downgrading tiers), and refunds for amounts already charged are handled by Apple through your Apple ID account settings, in accordance with Apple’s Media Services Terms and Conditions — theBEAT does not process, control, or have the ability to directly issue those refunds. To cancel, go to Settings › [your name] › Subscriptions on your iOS device at least 24 hours before the end of the current period to avoid being charged for the next one.

Lifetime membership (web checkout via Stripe)

Where offered, a one-time Lifetime Priority membership is sold via web checkout at thebeatedit.com, processed by Stripe, Inc. Lifetime is not offered through the App Store and is not an auto-renewing subscription — it is a single, one-time charge. A Lifetime membership entitles you to Priority benefits for the operational life of the Services, subject to these Terms, including theBEAT’s right to modify or discontinue features described in Section N° 004. A Founder or Lifetime membership is a Membership tier conferring the product benefits described at the time of purchase; it is not a security, and it grants no ownership, equity, revenue share, profit interest, voting right, or other financial interest in theBEAT LLC.

Refund window

If theBEAT has not publicly launched — that is, become available for download on the Apple App Store — by August 30, 2026, every Lifetime membership is refunded in full, automatically — no request needed. After launch, Lifetime members may request a no-questions refund within fourteen days of launch. Refund requests after that window are reviewed individually and may be granted at our sole discretion. Recurring memberships follow Apple’s standard refund process, requested through Apple, not theBEAT. In either case, refunded users lose access to the associated paid benefits at the time the refund is processed.

The printed Edit — delivery & delay

A Founding Membership includes the hand-numbered first-edition printed Edit, which we expect to mail in Spring 2027. If we have not shipped the first edition within thirty days of that window, we will notify you and offer you the choice of either (a) agreeing to a revised ship date, or (b) a refund of the portion of your Founding fee reasonably allocable to the printed Edit. Your lifetime app access is unaffected by any catalog delay. This is in addition to any rights you have under the FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR Part 435).

Price changes

theBEAT may change Membership pricing prospectively. For auto-renewing subscriptions, any price change will be presented to you through Apple’s standard consent mechanism before it takes effect on your next renewal, and will not apply to a period you have already paid for.

N° 007AI features

Certain features of the Services — currently Concierge Hunt and Make It At Home — use artificial intelligence, provided by a third-party AI provider, to generate suggestions, recipes, or written responses based on a prompt you submit or a dish you select (AI Output, as defined in Section N° 002).

How it works

When you use an AI Feature, the text you enter and relevant dish or restaurant information from theBEAT’s own catalog is sent to our AI provider to generate a response. We do not send your name, email address, payment information, or precise location to the AI provider as part of this process. See What we share in our Privacy Policy for more on how this data is handled and which provider we use.

AI Output is not verified fact, and it is not advice

AI Output is generated automatically and may be inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or simply wrong — including the dishes, restaurants, ingredients, techniques, quantities, or times it describes. AI Output is not reviewed by a person before you see it, is not professional advice of any kind, and is not medical, nutritional, food-safety, or allergen advice. Recipes generated by Make It At Home are theBEAT’s best-guess homage to a restaurant dish — not the restaurant’s actual recipe, and not confirmed against any restaurant’s real ingredients or preparation.

Acceptable use of AI Features

Do not rely on AI Output for any safety-critical decision — including decisions about food allergies, intolerances, religious dietary requirements, or any medical or health condition. Always verify ingredients, preparation, and cross-contact directly with the restaurant or, for a homemade recipe, by checking every ingredient yourself before you cook or serve it. Do not submit sensitive personal information, health information, or another person’s personal information into an AI Feature’s prompt field, and do not use an AI Feature to generate unlawful, deceptive, or harmful content. theBEAT may rate-limit, cap, throttle, cache, or otherwise restrict use of any AI Feature at its discretion, including differing limits by Membership tier.

AI Output is covered by the same dietary, allergen, and health disclaimer that applies to theBEAT’s editorial tags; see Section N° 011, Disclaimers.

N° 008Your content & submissions

When you submit a dish request, review, rating, vote, photograph, comment, or other material through the Services (a "Submission"), you retain ownership of it. You grant theBEAT a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to host, store, use, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display the Submission, in whole or in part, in any media format and through any media channels now known or later developed, in connection with operating and promoting the Services and theBEAT’s editorial output. This license survives any termination of your account, solely to the extent the Submission has already been incorporated into published Content, aggregated with other Submissions, or retained in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Your representations. By making a Submission, you represent and warrant that: (a) you own the Submission or otherwise have the right to grant the license above; (b) the Submission does not and will not infringe, misappropriate, or violate a third party’s intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or publicity rights; (c) the Submission is accurate to the best of your knowledge; and (d) the Submission does not violate these Terms, including Section N° 009, Acceptable use.

Feedback. If you send theBEAT ideas, suggestions, or feedback about the Services, you agree that theBEAT may use them without restriction or compensation to you, and that such feedback is not confidential.

theBEAT may, but has no obligation to, monitor, screen, edit, or remove Submissions at any time and for any reason, including if we believe a Submission violates these Terms.

Copyright complaints (DMCA)

theBEAT respects intellectual property and expects the same from its users. If you believe material on the Services infringes a copyright you own or control, send a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to our designated agent at legal@thebeatedit.com. Your notice must include: (a) your physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the copyrighted work; (c) identification of the material claimed to be infringing and where it appears on the Services; (d) your contact information; (e) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the owner, its agent, or the law; and (f) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner’s behalf. We remove or disable access to infringing material in appropriate circumstances. Knowing misrepresentations may create liability under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f). Our designated agent for copyright notices can be reached at the email address above; a formal registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is in process, and until it is completed this email designation applies.

Counter-notice. If a Submission of yours was removed or disabled in response to a DMCA notice and you believe the removal was the result of mistake or misidentification, you may send a written counter-notice to our designated agent at legal@thebeatedit.com. To be effective, your counter-notice must include: (a) your physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the material that was removed or disabled and the location at which it appeared before it was removed; (c) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification; and (d) your name, address, and telephone number, together with a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the judicial district in which your address is located — or, if your address is outside the United States, any judicial district in which theBEAT may be found — and that you will accept service of process from the person who filed the original notice or that person’s agent. If we receive a valid counter-notice, we may restore the removed material in ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days unless the person who filed the original notice first notifies us that they have filed a court action seeking to restrain the allegedly infringing activity.

Repeat infringers. theBEAT will, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, limit, suspend, or terminate the account of any user who is the subject of repeated valid infringement notices or who is otherwise found to be a repeat infringer, as described in Section N° 017, Termination.

N° 009Acceptable use

You agree not to, and not to permit any third party using your account to:

  • Use the Services for any unlawful, fraudulent, or deceptive purpose.
  • Scrape, crawl, mirror, harvest, or otherwise copy Content or AI Output without our prior written permission.
  • Resell, sublicense, rent, lease, or commercially exploit access to the Services.
  • Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Services, or attempt to derive their source code or underlying algorithms, except to the extent applicable law prohibits this restriction.
  • Interfere with or disrupt the integrity, security, or performance of the Services, including through malware, denial-of-service attacks, or excessive automated requests.
  • Attempt to access the Services by means other than the interfaces we provide, or circumvent any rate limit, paywall, or access control.
  • Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.
  • Submit content, including a Submission or an AI Feature prompt, that is unlawful, deceptive, defamatory, infringing, harassing, hateful, or harmful to others.
  • Use an AI Feature in a manner inconsistent with Section N° 007.

We may investigate and take appropriate action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates this section, including removing content and suspending or terminating accounts as described in Termination.

N° 010Intellectual property

The Services, and all Content made available through them — including rankings, written entries, photography, editorial copy, the theBEAT name and logo, and the overall "look and feel" of the app and website — are the property of theBEAT or our licensors and are protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark, trade dress, and other intellectual property laws. Except for the limited license below, nothing in these Terms transfers any right, title, or interest in the Services or Content to you.

License to you. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, theBEAT grants you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, and revocable license to access and view the Content within the Services for your own personal, non-commercial use. This license terminates automatically if you violate these Terms or if your account is closed. Quotations of brief excerpts of Content for personal or journalistic purposes are permitted with attribution to theBEAT.

Trademarks. "theBEAT," the theBEAT logo, "The Edit," and other theBEAT marks, graphics, and logos are trademarks or trade dress of theBEAT LLC. You may not use, copy, reproduce, or display them without our prior written permission, except as necessary to accurately reference theBEAT in an editorial, non-commercial context. All other trademarks appearing on the Services are the property of their respective owners and their appearance does not imply endorsement of theBEAT.

Rankings are not for sale. No payment, gratuity, or other consideration influences the editorial outcome of any ranking on theBEAT.

N° 011Disclaimers

The Services, all Content, and all AI Output are provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. theBEAT disclaims all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the Services are free of viruses or other harmful components. We do not warrant that any information provided through the Services — including Content, Submissions, or AI Output — is accurate, complete, reliable, or current at any given moment. Restaurant hours, menus, prices, and availability change frequently and outside our control; please verify with the establishment before traveling.

Dietary, allergen & health information

theBEAT is an editorial guide — not a medical, nutritional, or food-safety service. Dietary, allergen, and health-related tags (for example “Celiac Friendly,” “Nut Free,” “Halal,” or “GLP-1-conscious”) reflect our editors’ review of a dish’s publicly listed ingredients and preparation as described to us. They are opinion and curation — not laboratory testing, not a certification, and not a guarantee of safety. Recipes, suppliers, and kitchen practices change, and cross-contact can occur in any kitchen. Always confirm directly with the restaurant before ordering for an allergy, intolerance, religious, or medical need. Nothing on the Services is medical advice or a substitute for a qualified professional’s judgment. You rely on these tags at your own discretion, and to the maximum extent permitted by law theBEAT disclaims liability for decisions made in reliance on them. If a tag looks wrong, tell us — it helps the whole community. See How our tags work for more.

This disclaimer applies equally to AI-generated content. Suggestions from Concierge Hunt and recipes from Make It At Home are generated automatically and are not the product of a food-safety review, a nutritionist, or a medical professional. They carry the same limits as our editorial tags described above: opinion and suggestion only, not laboratory testing, not a certification, and not a guarantee that any dish, ingredient, or homemade recipe is safe for a particular allergy, intolerance, religious requirement, or medical condition. Always confirm directly with the restaurant, or verify every ingredient yourself before cooking, for any allergy, intolerance, religious, or medical need. See Section N° 007, AI features for more on how AI Output is generated.

N° 012Third-party services & links

The Services rely on and link to third-party services that theBEAT does not own or control, including Apple (App Store distribution and In-App Purchase billing), Stripe (Lifetime Membership web checkout), and third-party reservation platforms accessed through deep-links inside the app. theBEAT is not responsible for the content, accuracy, availability, or practices of any third-party service, including a restaurant’s own reservation system, and your use of a third-party service is governed by that party’s own terms and privacy policy, not these Terms. Deep-links to a reservation platform or other third-party site are provided for convenience only and do not constitute an endorsement, and theBEAT is not a party to, and assumes no liability arising from, any reservation, order, or transaction you complete through a third-party platform.

N° 013Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law: in no event will theBEAT, its officers, directors, employees, or agents be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your access to or use of, or inability to access or use, the Services, any Content, any Submission, or any AI Output, regardless of the legal theory (contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise) and even if theBEAT has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

theBEAT’s aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you have paid to theBEAT in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred United States dollars (US $100).

Carve-outs. These limitations do not apply to, and nothing in these Terms limits theBEAT’s liability for: (a) theBEAT’s gross negligence, fraud, or willful misconduct; (b) death or personal injury caused by theBEAT’s negligence, to the extent applicable law prohibits limitation of such liability; or (c) any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law. Where applicable law does not permit the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, theBEAT’s liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation of certain damages, so some of the limitations above may not apply to you in full.

N° 014Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless theBEAT 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 related to: (a) your Content or Submissions; (b) your use or misuse of the Services, including any AI Feature; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any law or the rights of a third party. theBEAT may assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with theBEAT’s defense of that claim.

N° 015Dispute resolution & arbitration

Please read this section carefully. It changes how disputes are resolved and requires most disputes to go to individual arbitration rather than court.

Talk to us first. Most concerns resolve quickly. Before starting any formal proceeding, you agree to email legal@thebeatedit.com, describe the dispute, and give us thirty (30) days to try to resolve the matter in good faith.

Binding arbitration. Except as stated below, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services that is not resolved informally will be settled by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. The arbitration will be conducted in English; may proceed by documents, telephone, or video where the rules permit; and the arbitrator’s award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator decides threshold questions of arbitrability.

Class-action waiver. You and theBEAT may bring claims against each other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims or preside over any class or representative proceeding. You and theBEAT each waive the right to a jury trial and the right to participate in a class action.

Time limit on claims. To the extent permitted by applicable law, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to these Terms or the Services must be filed — whether in arbitration or, where arbitration does not apply, in court — within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arose, or it is permanently barred. This time limit does not apply where a longer period is required by applicable law.

Exceptions. Either party may still (a) bring an individual claim in small-claims court if it qualifies, and (b) seek injunctive or other equitable relief in court to protect intellectual property or to stop unauthorized or unlawful use of the Services.

30-day opt-out. You may opt out of arbitration within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms by emailing legal@thebeatedit.com with your name and a statement that you decline arbitration; opting out will not affect any other part of these Terms. If the class-action waiver is held unenforceable as to a particular claim, this entire arbitration section will not apply to that claim; otherwise, if any other part of this section is held unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.

Nothing in this section limits any right you may have to bring a matter to the attention of a federal, state, or local government agency, which, if it has authority to do so, may seek relief on your behalf.

N° 016Governing law & venue

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Services are governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Subject to Section N° 015, the exclusive venue for any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services that is not subject to arbitration will be the state or federal courts located in Wyoming, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. Nothing in this section limits any right you may have under mandatory consumer-protection laws of your place of residence that cannot be waived by agreement.

N° 017Termination

By you. You may stop using the Services and close your account at any time, as described in Section N° 005.

By theBEAT. We may suspend or terminate your access to all or part of the Services, with notice where reasonable under the circumstances, or immediately and without notice where we believe in good faith that you have violated these Terms, created risk or possible legal exposure for theBEAT or others, or where required by law. We may also discontinue the Services generally, or any feature of them, on reasonable notice.

Effect of termination. Upon termination, your right to access and use the Services immediately ceases. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including Intellectual property, Disclaimers, Third-party services & links, Limitation of liability, Indemnification, Dispute resolution & arbitration, Governing law & venue, and Miscellaneous — survive, along with the license you granted us over Submissions to the extent described in Section N° 008. Termination does not entitle you to a refund except as expressly provided in Section N° 006.

N° 018Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page will change with each revision. For material changes, we will provide additional notice, such as by email or an in-app banner, before the revised Terms take effect. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of a revision constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms; if you do not agree to a revision, you must stop using the Services.

N° 019Miscellaneous

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any supplemental terms presented for a specific feature, constitute the entire agreement between you and theBEAT regarding the Services and supersede any prior agreements between you and theBEAT on the same subject.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

No waiver. theBEAT’s failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that right or provision, and any waiver must be in writing and signed by theBEAT to be effective.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without theBEAT’s prior written consent. theBEAT may assign or transfer these Terms, in whole or in part, without restriction, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets.

Force majeure. theBEAT is not liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside our reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disaster, war, terrorism, labor disputes, internet or utility failures, or third-party service outages (including Apple, Stripe, Firebase, or our AI provider).

Electronic notices & communications. We may give you notice by email, in-app message, or posting on the Services. You consent to receive communications from theBEAT electronically, and agree that such communications satisfy any legal requirement that they be in writing.

How to contact us. Questions about these Terms may be sent to hello@thebeatedit.com or legal@thebeatedit.com. Postal mail may be addressed to theBEAT LLC, 306 W Redwood St #4253, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Headings. Section headings and the "N°" numbering in these Terms are for convenience only and do not affect their interpretation.

Effective date of this version: 3 July 2026.