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. By using the Services, you represent that you meet this requirement and that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

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 [email protected] 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, or fraudulent business information or ownership claims; harass, defame, or threaten any business or individual; upload content you don't have the right to share; attempt to interfere with, reverse-engineer, or disrupt the Services or their underlying systems; or use the Services to scrape, harvest, or resell business data at scale.

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

Businesses may purchase promotional placement — a sponsored position in search results, within a category, or on the home screen — through the advertise page on the Site. Paid placements are labeled as sponsored where they appear.

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.

Placements are sold as recurring subscriptions and billed through our payment processor, Stripe, which handles your card details directly — we do not receive or store them. A subscription renews automatically at the then-current price until you cancel. We may change prices on notice, effective at your next renewal.

You may cancel at any time by contacting [email protected]. Cancellation stops future renewals, and your placement runs through the end of the period you have already paid for. Amounts already paid are non-refundable except where required by law — but if we remove or suspend a placement for a reason unrelated to your conduct, we will refund the unused portion of that period.

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 [email protected] 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 own public website content. AI-generated content may contain inaccuracies and is provided "as is," without warranty of accuracy. If you are a business owner, you may correct your listing's description by claiming your business.

Submitting Listings, Claims, and Feedback

If you submit a business listing, claim a business you own or represent, upload photos, flag a listing, send feedback, or submit a request through one of the Site's forms, you represent that the information you provide is accurate and that you have the right to submit it. This applies whether or not you have an account. By submitting content, you grant BlackKarat a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, reproduce, and distribute that content within the Services and our related promotional materials. Submissions, claims, and requests are reviewed by a human moderator before taking effect, and we may reject, edit, or remove any submission at our discretion, including listings already live, if we determine they are inaccurate, fraudulent, or violate these Terms.

Intellectual Property

The BlackKarat name and logo, and the design of the App and the Site, are owned by Hillstone Ventures LLC and may not be reproduced without written permission. Business names, photos, and reviews displayed in the Services remain the property of their respective owners and are used under applicable fair use, license, or public-availability terms.

Copyright Complaints

If you believe content in the Services infringes your copyright, contact us at [email protected] with a description of the work, its location in the Services, and your contact information. We will investigate and remove infringing content where appropriate.

Disclaimer of Warranties

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.

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.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Hillstone Ventures LLC and its officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Services, your violation of these Terms, or content you submit. This includes, without limitation, any claim brought by a third party arising from a business listing you submitted, an ownership claim you made, or any representation you made about a business's ownership that proves to be false or unauthorized — whether you made it in the App or through a form on the Site.

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: [email protected]