1. Agreement, eligibility, and accounts

SciLink is a startup team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. By creating an account or using the service, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the service. In these terms, “our team” means our founders, team members, contractors, suppliers, and licensors.

You may use the service only if you are at least 16 years old and located in the United States. If you are under 18, you confirm that a parent or legal guardian has reviewed these terms and agrees to them on your behalf. You may not use the service if we have previously suspended or removed you, or if doing so would violate any law that applies to you.

You can sign up with an email address and password or with Google; a Google sign-in with the same email address is linked to the existing account. You may hold only one account, and you may not share it or create one for someone else. Keep your sign-up information accurate and your password confidential. You are responsible for everything that happens under your account; tell us promptly at SciLink000@gmail.com if you believe it has been used without your permission. You can delete your account from your settings page; what happens to your information afterwards is described in the Privacy Policy.

2. The service

The service helps students find professors, labs, papers, and conferences that relate to their research interests. We collect information from public university, department, lab, and faculty web pages and from public scholarly databases, index it, and use automated ranking and AI models to compare it with the interests you describe and explain why a result may fit. You can save results, keep private notes, and use contact details we found to write to a professor yourself, from your own email account.

The service is in active development. Features may be incomplete, may change, or may be removed; the matching engine may be unavailable at times; and we may reset, migrate, or delete saved data as we build. We may change, suspend, or discontinue all or part of the service at any time, and we are not liable to you for doing so. If we discontinue something a paid subscription includes, Section 8 explains what happens.

Each account has a free daily allowance of searches and AI rankings, and the service applies per-minute and network-level rate limits. Signed-out visitors may be offered a small number of free searches. The free allowance is not a trial and does not convert into anything paid. We may change any limit, or throttle or pause features under load, without notice. Allowances are for one person’s own use and do not roll over, transfer, or convert to money.

3. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

use contact details or other information from the service to send bulk, unsolicited, commercial, or automated messages, to harass, stalk, threaten, or impersonate anyone, or to contact a person who has asked you to stop;
use the service for decisions about anyone’s eligibility for employment, credit, insurance, or housing, for any purpose covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or for background checks or people search;
access the service with scrapers, bots, crawlers, scripts, or other automated means, or bypass or overload our rate limits, allowances, or security measures;
copy, extract, or export the service’s data in bulk, use it to build a competing database, product, model, or dataset, or republish, sell, or license it, other than sharing your own shortlist or notes for your own academic purposes;
probe, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the service or its AI models, or try to extract model prompts, weights, or training data;
submit content that is unlawful, defamatory, infringing, or malicious, or that contains another person’s confidential or sensitive information;
misrepresent who you are or your affiliation with a school or lab; or
use the service in a way that violates law, your school’s policies, or the rights of others, or help anyone else do any of the above.

When you write to a professor or lab, you are the sender of that message; SciLink does not send, relay, or store it. You are responsible for complying with anti-spam laws (including CAN-SPAM and California Business and Professions Code section 17529.5), your school’s policies, and the recipient’s wishes. SciLink is not a consumer reporting agency, and nothing in the service is a consumer report.

4. Your content

You keep ownership of the profile details, research interests, searches, notes, and other content you submit (“your content”). You give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, copy, process, and display your content as needed to operate, secure, and improve the service as described in the Privacy Policy. This license ends when you delete the content or your account, except for copies kept as the Privacy Policy describes. We may also use aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify you for any purpose, including improving our matching. If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them without restriction or payment to you.

To run and improve the service we measure how it is used: the pages you visit, the searches you run, what you click, and recordings of how you move through pages, with everything you type masked. If you use the service before signing in, that activity is linked to your account once you sign in from the same browser. The Privacy Policy explains what we collect, which provider processes it, how long we keep it, and how to turn it off.

We will not use your content to train our own AI models without first asking for and receiving your consent. Our AI providers receive only what is needed to answer your request. Notes you attach to saved items are private to your account.

You are responsible for your content and confirm that you have the right to submit it. We may remove content that we believe violates these terms, and we may review content when reasonably necessary to operate or secure the service, respond to a complaint, or comply with law. Nothing in these terms restricts your right to post honest reviews of the service. If you are under 18 and want content you posted removed, email us.

5. Research data, AI results, and no advice

The people, labs, publications, and conferences in the service are compiled from public sources, including university and lab websites, open scholarly databases such as OpenAlex (released under CC0), and conference listings. For schools we haven’t mapped yet, the school pages behind a person’s contact details are found with web search from Tavily and Brave Search. We read only pages open to the public and do not bypass logins, paywalls, or other access controls. Pages change, sources disagree, and automated extraction makes mistakes, so any item may be out of date, incomplete, misattributed, or wrong, including names, email addresses, research topics, lab rosters, funding, whether a lab is taking students, and deadlines. Confirm important details on the original source before relying on them. We are not responsible for third-party websites the service links to.

Match scores, rankings, “why this matches” explanations, summaries, and similar results are produced by automated systems, including AI models run by third-party providers. They can rank poorly, miss relevant people, overstate a fit, or state something untrue, including about a real person. A score is a suggestion to look closer, not a statement of fact or a prediction that anyone will reply. Use your own judgment and read the underlying sources. Results may be similar to those shown to other users. As between you and SciLink, you may use the results generated for you, subject to Section 3 and our rights in Section 7; we do not warrant that any result is accurate, unique, or free of third-party rights.

SciLink is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by any university, department, lab, professor, database, or conference. A listing means only that public information was found; it does not mean the person or lab has any relationship with us. We do not sell information about researchers. Researchers can ask us to correct or remove their listing at SciLink000@gmail.com.

The service provides information and tools, not advice. Nothing in it is academic, admissions, career, legal, financial, immigration, or other professional advice, and nothing guarantees a research position, a reply, admission, funding, or any other outcome.

6. Subscription, renewal, and refunds

Search, professor pages, lab pages, saving, and notes are free. A subscription unlocks the Connections rail on a professor’s page and the cold-email templates with “Write an email.” There is one plan, sold in U.S. dollars at $7 every week, $12 every month, or $24 every 3 months. You are never charged unless you choose a plan and complete checkout yourself. Payment is handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card number, and Stripe’s own terms apply to the payment.

Your subscription renews automatically and your card is charged the same amount at the start of each new period until you cancel. The price, cadence, and next renewal date are shown at checkout and on the Plans page. If your price is going to change, we will email you before the renewal at the new price so you can cancel first.

You can cancel online at any time: open the Plans page, select “Manage billing,” and cancel in Stripe’s portal, or email us and we will cancel for you. After cancelling, nothing further is charged and you keep access until the end of the period you paid for. Deleting your account cancels the subscription at once without a refund for the rest of the period. If a renewal payment fails and Stripe cannot collect it after retrying, the subscription ends; the free parts of the service are unaffected.

Payments are non-refundable except as stated in our Refund Policy, which forms part of these terms, or where the law requires.

7. Our intellectual property and copyright complaints

The service, including its software, design, text, name, logo, and the selection, arrangement, and enrichment of the data it presents, is owned by SciLink or its licensors. We give you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the service for your own academic and personal purposes. All other rights are reserved. Underlying public facts, such as a professor’s name or a paper’s title, remain free for anyone to use. You may not use the SciLink name or logo without our written permission.

We respond to notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. To report infringing material, email our copyright agent at SciLink000@gmail.com with the subject line “DMCA notice,” including: your physical or electronic signature; the copyrighted work; the material you want removed and where to find it; your contact information; a statement that you believe in good faith the use is not authorized; and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner. We may remove the material, accept counter-notices under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g), and terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

8. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your account, remove content, or limit features at any time, immediately and without notice if we believe you have violated these terms, created risk or legal exposure for us or others, or if the law requires it. We may also end your access for any other reason, including discontinuing the service, by emailing the address on your account. If we end a paid subscription for a reason other than your breach of these terms, we will refund the unused part of the period you paid for.

When your account ends, your license to use the service ends and we may delete your data as described in the Privacy Policy. Sections 4 (for feedback and retained copies), 5, 7, and 9 through 13 survive.

9. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICE, ALL DATA IN IT, AND ALL AI-GENERATED RESULTS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITH ALL FAULTS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SCILINK AND OUR TEAM DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ACCURACY. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT ANY DATA, CONTACT DETAIL, OR RESULT WILL BE ACCURATE, CURRENT, OR COMPLETE, OR THAT USING THE SERVICE WILL LEAD TO ANY RESPONSE, POSITION, ADMISSION, OR OTHER OUTCOME.

Some jurisdictions do not allow excluding certain warranties, so parts of this section may not apply to you. Nothing in these terms limits a right you have under law that cannot be waived by contract.

10. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SCILINK AND OUR TEAM WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA, OPPORTUNITY, GOODWILL, OR PROFITS, INCLUDING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY DATA OR AI-GENERATED RESULT, ANY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOU AND A THIRD PARTY, OR ANY INTERRUPTION OF OR LOSS OF DATA IN THE SERVICE, HOWEVER CAUSED AND EVEN IF WE WERE ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM AND ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100).

These limits do not apply to liability that the law does not allow to be limited, including for fraud, gross negligence, or willful injury, or where California Civil Code section 1668 forbids it. They reflect that most of the service is free, the rest is a low-cost subscription, and it relies on public data and automated systems we cannot guarantee.

11. Your responsibility for claims

If a third party brings a claim against us or our team because of your content, your messages to researchers or others, your violation of these terms, or your violation of law or of someone else’s rights, you agree to defend us and to pay the resulting losses, costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees, to the extent the law allows. We may take over the defense at our own expense, and you may not settle a claim that imposes obligations on us without our written consent.

12. Disputes, arbitration, and governing law

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.

Talk to us first. Before starting a formal proceeding, send us a description of the dispute, your contact details, and what you want at SciLink000@gmail.com with the subject line “Dispute notice.” We will do the same, writing to the email address on your account. We both agree to try to resolve it informally for 60 days, and any filing deadline is paused during that time.

Binding arbitration. If we cannot resolve it, you and SciLink agree that any dispute relating to these terms or the service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration rather than in court, except as stated below. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section. The American Arbitration Association (AAA) will administer the arbitration under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, or, if it is unavailable, JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Consumer Minimum Standards. Fees are governed by those rules and by California Code of Civil Procedure sections 1284.3 and 1281.97. The arbitration will take place in Los Angeles County, by video or telephone, or on documents alone, at your choice. The arbitrator decides questions about the scope and enforceability of this section, except that a court decides the class-action waiver, and may award the same individual relief a court could.

Exceptions. Either of us may bring an individual claim in small claims court, and either of us may ask a court to stop scraping, bulk extraction, other abuse of the service, or infringement of intellectual property. This section does not prevent you from seeking public injunctive relief in court where California law requires it; such a claim will be paused until the arbitration of your individual claims is complete. Nothing here waives a right under the California Consumer Privacy Act that cannot be waived.

Class-action waiver. YOU AND SCILINK MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST EACH OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. If this waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, only that claim will be severed and decided in court.

Opting out. You can reject this arbitration agreement and class-action waiver by emailing SciLink000@gmail.com with the subject line “Arbitration opt-out” within 30 days after you first agree to these terms, including your name and account email. Opting out does not affect the rest of these terms. If we later change this section, you may reject the change by emailing us within 30 days, and the version you last agreed to will apply.

Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California and applicable U.S. federal law. Any claim not subject to arbitration must be brought in the state or federal courts in Los Angeles County, California, except that small claims cases may be brought in the county where you live.

13. Changes, general terms, and contact

We may update these terms by posting a revised version here and updating the effective date. If a change materially reduces your rights, we will email you at least 30 days before it takes effect, unless a shorter period is needed to comply with law or address a security issue. Changes are not retroactive. Continuing to use the service after a change takes effect means you accept it; if you do not agree, stop using the service and delete your account.

These terms, the Privacy Policy, and the Refund Policy are the entire agreement between you and SciLink about the service. If any part is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect, except as the class-action waiver in Section 12 provides. Not enforcing a provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these terms; we may assign them to a successor to our business. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control. No one other than you and SciLink has rights under these terms, except that our team may rely on Sections 9 through 11. You agree to receive notices from us electronically, by email to the address on your account. You may not use the service if you are on a U.S. government sanctions list.

California residents: under California Civil Code section 1789.3, you may contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.

Questions, dispute notices, arbitration opt-outs, copyright notices, and researcher requests go to SciLink000@gmail.com.