Abyss Terms of Service

These Terms govern the Abyss website, web application and reflection service. They explain the service, your account and content, paid subscriptions, cancellation and your consumer rights.

1. Who provides the service

Abyss is provided by Huanqing Liao, trading as Abyss App, a sole trader in Ireland. References to “we”, “us” and “our” mean that business operator.

CRO business name registration number: 785729.

Business establishment and complaints address: 5 Beresford Green, Donabate, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Email: hello@abyss.ie.

Business telephone: +353 83 447 6737.

2. Your agreement with us

We present these Terms when you register and before you enter a paid subscription. Your agreement consists of these Terms and the plan, price, billing period, included features and any offer conditions presented before you agree to purchase. The agreement is made in English.

We will send confirmation of a paid agreement and the required contract information by email or another durable medium that you can save. You can save or print these Terms. Our Privacy Policy at https://abyss.ie/privacy explains personal-data processing; accepting these Terms does not itself give consent for optional or sensitive-data processing.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits rights that consumer law gives you and that cannot legally be excluded.

3. The service and eligibility

Abyss is a space for personal reflection. Available features can include Silent Abyss, Echoes, Ways of Seeing, Archive and Patterns, and consent-based Resonance. The features available to you are described in your chosen plan. Some features use artificial intelligence.

You must be at least 18 and able to enter this agreement. Abyss is intended for personal use. An employer or other organisation buying access must agree any separate business arrangement with us.

Abyss is not a medical, psychological, counselling, therapy or emergency-response service. Its content is for reflection and is not professional advice or a diagnosis. We do not promise any particular improvement in your health, mood, productivity or understanding.

If you or someone else needs urgent help, contact the appropriate emergency service. Safety messages in Abyss do not mean that staff or clinicians are continuously monitoring the service or that an emergency response will be provided.

4. Your account

Provide accurate information where it is needed for your account or payment. Take reasonable steps to protect your authentication methods and tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.

You must not impersonate someone else or knowingly allow another person to misuse your account. You are not automatically responsible for every unauthorised act merely because it occurred through your account; responsibility depends on the circumstances and applicable law.

5. Your content and our permission to process it

You retain any ownership and intellectual-property rights you have in the original content you submit. You give us a limited, non-exclusive permission to store, transmit, reproduce and technically process that content only as necessary to provide and secure the service and the features you choose, consistently with our Privacy Policy.

This permission allows, for example, generation of a reflective response, storage of a saved Archive entry or use of an eligible thought for Resonance. It does not give us permission to publish private reflections as marketing or sell them. We do not use private reflections to train our own general-purpose AI models. External AI processing is explained in the Privacy Policy. The permission is limited to the period needed for the relevant purpose and any lawful retention obligations.

Where you choose to reveal selected information through Resonance, you authorise its display to the relevant participant through the controls explained to you. That does not make your wider Archive public.

Please avoid unnecessary identifying information about other people. You must not use the service to unlawfully disclose another person’s confidential information or infringe their rights.

6. AI responses and Patterns

AI-generated responses, visual interpretations, themes and Patterns can be incomplete, inaccurate or inappropriate. They are perspectives for you to consider, rather than factual conclusions about you or another person. A thinker-inspired response does not mean the named thinker authored or endorsed it.

Archive analysis can draw tentative connections across saved entries. It is not a psychological assessment. Use your own judgement when considering a response or pattern, particularly before making a decision with significant consequences.

7. Resonance and acceptable use

Resonance supports limited, consent-based recognition around selected thoughts. We cannot guarantee that a suitable match will be available. The sharing controls explain what will be disclosed before you choose to reveal it.

Some fragments are illustrative examples and do not represent a person currently using Abyss. Matching identifies similarities in reflections; it does not establish that another participant is geographically nearby.

Another participant does not automatically receive your account details or wider Archive. However, the content you share can identify you, and we cannot guarantee that a recipient will not remember or copy it.

You must not harass, threaten, exploit or deceive another participant, attempt to identify an anonymous participant without permission, disclose their information unlawfully, solicit sexual material, spam or commercially solicit them, or bypass consent and safety controls.

You must also not interfere with security or infrastructure, access accounts without authorisation, introduce malware, unlawfully scrape the service, infringe intellectual-property rights or use the service to facilitate unlawful activity. Restrictions on reverse engineering apply only to the extent permitted by law.

These rules do not prohibit private reflection on difficult emotions or experiences. They apply to conduct that harms others, violates rights or misuses the service.

Report illegal content, misuse or a safety concern to hello@abyss.ie, identifying the relevant interaction and your reason for reporting it. Please provide only the information needed for the report.

8. Plans and payment

Before you purchase, we explain the included features, total price including applicable taxes, billing period, renewal arrangements and any minimum commitment or relevant limitations. An annual price is charged for the full year; any monthly equivalent is for comparison only. A monthly subscription is charged for the monthly billing period shown at checkout.

We use a secure third-party checkout and subscription-management service. The checkout identifies the payment provider and currency that apply to your order. We receive information needed to manage your subscription, rather than your complete payment-card number.

Recurring subscriptions renew for the billing period you agreed unless renewal is cancelled. By confirming the paid order, you authorise charges for that subscription and its renewals as disclosed before purchase. Additional paid services require your agreement.

If a payment fails, we will explain the issue and may restrict paid access until it is resolved. This does not remove any cancellation or refund rights.

9. Free access and offers

Free features and promotional access are subject to the features and conditions explained when offered. Any trial or promotional membership must state its duration, eligibility, activation arrangements and what happens when it ends.

A free promotional period does not, by itself, authorise a payment. We will not charge you when it ends unless you have separately agreed to a paid subscription and its renewal terms. Any such agreement must clearly identify the first charge date and amount before you accept it.

10. Cancelling future renewals and closing your account

You can stop automatic renewal through the subscription-management controls made available to you or by sending a clear request to hello@abyss.ie. Cancel before the renewal date shown for your subscription to prevent the next renewal charge. We will confirm the cancellation.

When you cancel renewal, paid access normally continues to the end of the period already paid for. Cancellation does not automatically refund an otherwise correctly supplied billing period; your statutory rights and any offer-specific refund commitment still apply.

You can request closure of your account and deletion of linked information at hello@abyss.ie. Signing out does not close your account, delete your Archive or cancel a subscription. When we close your account following that request, we will also stop future renewals of the subscription associated with that account. Content deletion follows the Privacy Policy.

Stopping renewal is different from using the cooling-off right to cancel a new paid contract, explained below.

11. Your 14 day cooling off right

If you are a consumer buying an Abyss subscription online in Ireland, the EU or the EEA, you have a statutory right to cancel the new contract without giving a reason within 14 days of its conclusion, subject to applicable law. Any longer period required because cancellation information was not correctly supplied remains available to you.

To cancel, send a clear statement of your decision to hello@abyss.ie or to our business address in section 1 before the period expires. You may use the optional form at the end of these Terms. Include enough information to identify your subscription.

You can also use the online function labelled “Cancel contract here” in the subscription-management area of your Abyss account. It is available throughout the statutory cancellation period. Review the contract and confirmation email details, then select “Confirm cancellation” to submit your decision. We will send an acknowledgement by email without undue delay, recording your statement and its submission date and time.

We will reimburse the amounts due without undue delay and no later than 14 days after being informed of your cancellation. We use the same payment method unless you expressly agree otherwise, and we do not charge a refund fee. Section 12 explains the limited circumstances in which a lawful charge for service already supplied can apply.

12. Starting paid access during the cooling off period

If you want paid access to start before the 14-day period ends, we will ask for your express request and retain a record of it. Starting an ongoing subscription does not, by itself, make you lose your cooling-off right after your first use.

If you subsequently cancel within that period, we may deduct only a lawful amount proportionate to the paid service actually supplied up to cancellation. Any deduction must meet the statutory conditions, including giving the required information before purchase and obtaining your express request to start early. We will explain the calculation. If those conditions are not met, no such charge is due.

13. Problems with the service and other refunds

We must supply the digital service in conformity with the agreement and applicable consumer law. Describing a feature as beta does not remove that obligation.

If the service is not supplied as agreed or is faulty, contact hello@abyss.ie. Where the law requires, we will bring it into conformity free of charge, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. Depending on the circumstances, including a serious fault or an unsuccessful remedy, you may be entitled to a price reduction or to end the contract and receive the refund required by law.

Refunds required for a statutory termination or price reduction will be made within the applicable legal deadline, generally no later than 14 days, using the same payment method unless you expressly agree otherwise, without a refund fee. Statutory refunds can include payment for periods when the service did not conform and prepaid periods after termination.

Where applicable, you may also request a copy of content you created through the service, free of charge, in a commonly used machine-readable format within a reasonable time. This is separate from any GDPR rights and remains subject to statutory exceptions.

14. Technical requirements and availability

Abyss is a web application requiring an internet connection, a current browser with JavaScript enabled and a device capable of running its browser graphics and video features. The animated experience uses WebGL graphics; performance and visual detail can vary by device. Archive and other server features need a connection to our service.

Voice input requires a microphone, microphone permission and a browser or platform that supports the Web Speech API’s speech recognition. Support varies across browsers and devices, and some recognition services require an internet connection. You can use typed input without microphone permission. A local fallback response during an interruption does not provide the complete online service or guarantee that all features work offline.

We provide the updates, including security updates, required to keep the contracted service in conformity. Interruptions can occur for maintenance, security incidents or infrastructure problems. We will take reasonable steps to restore affected functions. This does not excuse failure to meet mandatory consumer obligations.

15. Changes to features and prices

We may modify features for valid reasons such as improving reliability or accessibility, addressing feedback, adapting to necessary infrastructure changes, maintaining security or complying with law. We will explain changes clearly and comply with the rules applying to your existing agreement.

For a modification to an ongoing digital service beyond changes needed to maintain conformity, applicable law requires a valid contractual reason, no additional cost for the modification and clear information. Where required, we will give reasonable advance notice on a durable medium explaining the change, its timing and your rights.

If such a modification negatively affects your access or use by more than a minor amount, you may have a right to terminate without charge within 30 days of the later of receiving notice and the modification taking effect. The statutory exception can apply where you can keep the unmodified service without extra cost and it remains in conformity. Any statutory reimbursement remains due.

A subscription-price change applies to a future billing period only after clear advance notice and an opportunity to cancel before the new price is charged. It does not increase the price of a period already paid for.

16. Restrictions and ending the service

We may take proportionate action against a serious or repeated breach of these Terms, unlawful conduct, abuse, fraud or a material security risk, or where law requires it. Action can include restricting a feature, removing shared content or suspending or closing an account.

Where appropriate, we will explain the reason and give you an opportunity to respond or remedy the issue. Immediate action may be necessary to protect people or systems, and disclosures may be limited where law or security requires it. You can request review of an action at hello@abyss.ie.

If we discontinue a paid service or end your access without a breach by you, we will give reasonable notice where possible and refund unused prepaid access, together with any additional remedy required by law. A restriction or termination does not remove your statutory rights.

17. Intellectual property and feedback

The software, interface, visual assets and other service materials are owned by us or used under permission from their rights holders. Subject to these Terms, you can access and use them for the intended personal reflection service. This does not transfer intellectual-property ownership to you or limit rights that law gives you.

If you voluntarily give us product suggestions, you allow us to use those suggestions to improve Abyss without a payment obligation, unless we agree otherwise. This does not authorise publication or marketing use of your private reflections, identity, testimonial or research contribution.

18. Our responsibility to you

We are responsible for supplying Abyss with the care, skill and conformity required by law. We remain responsible for our own obligations when we use an authentication, payment, hosting or AI provider.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for fraud, for death or personal injury caused by negligence where applicable, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. Mandatory consumer and data-protection rights remain unaffected.

Subject to those protections, responsibility for a loss depends on its cause, foreseeability and applicable law. We do not accept responsibility for losses caused solely by your unlawful misuse of the service. These Terms do not impose automatic responsibility on you for losses caused by a fault on our side.

19. Complaints and changes to these Terms

Send service, billing or contractual complaints to hello@abyss.ie or the business address in section 1. Explain the issue and the outcome you seek so that we can investigate and respond. If we cannot resolve a complaint, we will provide any information about available dispute-resolution routes required by law.

We may update these Terms for valid reasons, including changes to the service or law. Material changes affecting an ongoing agreement require appropriate advance notice and remain subject to consumer law. A website update does not retrospectively change an agreed price or remove an existing right. Where your agreement to a change is legally required, we will seek it.

20. Governing law and courts

Irish law governs these Terms. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere, this does not remove mandatory protections applicable under the law of your country of residence. You may bring a claim before any court that has jurisdiction under applicable law; these Terms do not force all consumers to sue only in Ireland.

If a provision is unlawful or unenforceable, the remainder continues only to the extent permitted by law. Nothing in this section authorises the rewriting of an unfair consumer term to remove a remedy available to you.

21. Optional cancellation form

Use this form only if you wish to cancel the contract during the statutory cancellation period. You do not have to use it; another clear cancellation statement is sufficient.

To: Huanqing Liao trading as Abyss App.
Address: 5 Beresford Green, Donabate, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
Email: hello@abyss.ie.

I/We give notice that I/we cancel my/our contract for the following Abyss subscription:

Subscription or order reference: ______________________________
Ordered on: ______________________________
Name of consumer(s): ______________________________
Address of consumer(s): ______________________________
Email associated with the account: ______________________________
Signature of consumer(s), only if submitted on paper: ______________________________
Date: ______________________________