Terms of Service

Effective May 2, 2026

Effective: May 2, 2026
Operator: MyKernl Inc. / 25CollectiveCo Inc., Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Jurisdictions served: Canada, United States, France, United Kingdom, Spain, and the European Union

Acceptance

By creating a Kernl account, calling our number, or texting our number, you agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms") and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use Kernl.

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, have a working phone number that can receive SMS, and use Kernl only for personal, lawful purposes. If you are using Kernl on behalf of an organization, you represent you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

The service

Kernl is a voice-first personal news and knowledge briefing service. We deliver:

  • Voice calls: when you call your Kernl number, Beebo (our AI host) reads you a personalized briefing from sources you have selected.
  • SMS: you can control your account, request custom briefings, or pause delivery via text commands.
  • Email digest: daily or weekly summary of stories from your selected categories.

Available in English and French (Spanish late 2026). Sources include news outlets, podcasts you have subscribed to, YouTube channels you have subscribed to, and selected social platforms.

Account

Your phone number is your account. There is no separate password. We verify ownership via one-time codes (OTP) sent to your phone.

You agree to keep your account information accurate, not share your phone number with the intent of granting access to others, and notify us immediately if you lose access to your phone or suspect unauthorized use.

Free trial

The Free tier includes one 15-minute call and access to a daily email digest with up to 3 categories. No credit card is required to start. Free tier usage is provided as-is, with audio ads inserted during AI processing buffer time, no rollover of unused minutes, and no priority support.

Paid plans and billing

Paid tiers (Standard, Enhanced, Pro) are billed via Stripe in monthly or yearly cycles, with auto-renewal until canceled. Pricing is shown at /pricing. Yearly billing offers up to approximately 17% discount over monthly.

  • Charges: recurring charges happen on the same calendar day each cycle. Yearly plans charge once per 12-month period.
  • Upgrades: mid-cycle upgrades are prorated against your remaining balance.
  • Downgrades: take effect at the next billing cycle; no partial refund.
  • Failed payments: we retry for 7 days; if still failing, your plan is downgraded to Free.
  • Auto-renewal: subscriptions renew automatically until canceled. You will receive a reminder email at least 14 days before each yearly renewal (where required by EU consumer law and California's "Subscription Renewal" disclosure requirements).

We may change prices. Existing subscribers will receive at least 30 days' notice via SMS and email before any price change takes effect.

Taxes

Prices shown on our site are exclusive of applicable taxes unless otherwise indicated. Where required by law (e.g., VAT in the EU/UK, GST/HST in Canada, US state sales tax), Stripe will collect the tax at checkout and we will remit it to the relevant authority. You are responsible for any taxes assessed on your use of the service that are not collected by us at checkout.

Right of withdrawal (EU / UK / EEA consumers)

If you reside in the European Union, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction granting a "right of withdrawal" for distance contracts, you have 14 days from the start of a paid subscription to cancel without giving any reason and receive a full refund.

However, by activating a paid plan and beginning to use the briefing service, you expressly request that we begin providing the service before the 14-day period expires; you acknowledge that, once the service has been fully performed during this period, your right of withdrawal is lost. For partially performed service, we will refund a pro-rata amount for the unused portion.

To exercise the right of withdrawal: text CANCEL to your Kernl number or email [email protected] within the 14-day window with a clear statement of withdrawal.

Cancellation and refunds

Outside of the EU/UK 14-day right of withdrawal, you may cancel anytime by:

  • Texting CANCEL to your Kernl number,
  • Visiting your Stripe Customer Portal (link sent via SMS), or
  • Emailing [email protected].

Your access continues through the end of your current billing period; no partial refund for unused time. Yearly plans are non-refundable after 14 days from purchase, except where required by mandatory consumer protection law in your jurisdiction. We do not charge cancellation fees and there are no contracts, lock-ins, or retention calls.

Acceptable use

You agree to use Kernl only for personal, lawful purposes. You will not:

  • Use Kernl for any illegal activity.
  • Resell, redistribute, or retransmit Kernl's voice briefings (the AI-generated audio belongs to you for personal listening only. You may not publish or share it).
  • Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or replicate our service.
  • Use Kernl to harass, abuse, or harm others.
  • Interfere with our infrastructure (denial-of-service, abusive scraping, security testing without written permission).
  • Use false contact information or impersonate anyone.
  • Provide a phone number that does not belong to you.

Violation may result in immediate suspension or termination, with no refund (subject to mandatory consumer protections in your jurisdiction).

AI-generated content disclaimer

Kernl summaries are produced by AI (Anthropic Claude) based on publicly-available news articles. While we work to ensure accuracy, AI-generated summaries may contain errors, omissions, or misinterpretations. We encourage you to verify important facts with original sources, which we always credit and link in the email digest.

You should not rely solely on Kernl briefings for medical, legal, financial, or other professional decisions.

Third-party content

Kernl summarizes content from third parties (news outlets, podcast publishers, YouTube creators). We do not own this underlying content; the original publishers retain their copyright. Kernl provides AI-narrated summaries with attribution and links back to sources. We do not redistribute original audio from podcasts or videos.

If you are a publisher and have concerns about how Kernl handles your content, contact [email protected].

Service availability

Kernl is provided on a best-effort basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted service. We may experience downtime for maintenance, infrastructure issues, or third-party outages (Twilio, Anthropic, Google Cloud, etc.). We do not currently offer a service-level agreement.

Account termination

We may suspend or terminate your account if:

  • You violate these Terms or our Privacy Policy.
  • You initiate a chargeback in bad faith.
  • We are required to by law.
  • You have not used the service for 12 or more months on the Free tier (we will notify before deletion).

You may terminate your account at any time per the Cancellation section above. We will give you reasonable notice and the opportunity to export your data before termination, except in cases of serious violation or legal requirement.

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

  • Kernl is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE", without warranties of any kind, express or implied.
  • We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages.
  • Our total liability to you for any claim is capped at the greater of (a) the fees you have paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) USD $100.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for: (i) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (ii) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (iii) any liability that cannot be excluded under applicable consumer protection law (such as the EU Consumer Rights Directive, the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, or Quebec's Consumer Protection Act).

Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless MyKernl Inc., 25CollectiveCo Inc., and our officers and employees from any claims arising from your misuse of Kernl, violation of these Terms, or violation of any third-party rights. This obligation does not apply where you are acting as a consumer in jurisdictions that prohibit consumer indemnification clauses.

Intellectual property

The Kernl brand, "Beebo", "The Split™", "The Thread™", our software, and our service design are owned by MyKernl Inc. / 25CollectiveCo Inc. You may not use our trademarks without written permission.

You retain ownership of any content you provide to us (your preferences, your name).

Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms periodically. For material changes, we will notify you via SMS and email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. Material changes will not apply retroactively.

Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Quebec, Canada, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms will be resolved in the courts of Montréal, Quebec, with exclusive jurisdiction (subject to the next paragraph).

If you are a consumer residing in:

  • The European Union: you may bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence (in addition to or in lieu of Montréal), and the consumer protection laws of your habitual residence apply where they grant you greater protection than these Terms.
  • The United Kingdom: the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other mandatory UK consumer protection laws apply where they grant you greater protection.
  • France: French consumer protection law (Code de la consommation) applies where it grants greater protection. The French version of these Terms (available on request) is binding for French consumers under the Toubon Law where applicable.
  • Spain: Spanish consumer protection law applies where it grants greater protection.
  • California: nothing in these Terms is intended to limit your rights under California's consumer protection laws (CCPA, CPRA, etc.).
  • Quebec: nothing in these Terms is intended to limit your rights under Quebec's Consumer Protection Act.

The European Commission provides an Online Dispute Resolution platform at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr; we are not currently bound to use it but mention it for completeness.

Language

The English version of these Terms is the operative version. French and Spanish translations may be made available for convenience; in the event of any conflict, the English version prevails. French-speaking residents of Quebec or France may request a French version free of charge under the Toubon Law and Quebec's Charter of the French Language.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, the rest remain in full effect, and the invalid provision will be replaced with one that achieves the original intent within the bounds of applicable law.

Entire agreement

These Terms and our Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and Kernl regarding the service.

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