SmartPAL AI Inc. – Terms of Use

Last updated: July 2026

Welcome to SmartPAL. These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of SmartPAL AI Inc.’s platform, mobile application, website, and integrations with learning management systems such as Canvas (collectively, the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Overview

SmartPAL is an AI-powered learning support tool that helps students stay organized, supports self-regulated learning, and provides instructors with real-time engagement insights. SmartPAL AI Inc. (“SmartPAL”, “we”, “our”, “us”) provides the Service to institutions, instructors, and students for educational purposes.

2. Eligibility

You may use SmartPAL only if:

  • You are an authorized user of an institution or instructor who has enabled SmartPAL in their course; and
  • You comply with all applicable institutional policies and applicable laws.

Institutional users represent that they have the authority to enable and manage SmartPAL for their courses or programs.

3. Accounts and Access

Users may access SmartPAL through:

  • Institutional LMS authentication (e.g., Canvas login)
  • Email-based login
  • Invite links created by instructors or institutions

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

  • Upload or share harmful, illegal, or abusive content
  • Interfere with the Service or attempt unauthorized access
  • Use SmartPAL to harass, impersonate, or target other users
  • Circumvent access controls, security features, or data restrictions
  • Submit content that violates institutional or educational policies

Students must follow instructor and institutional guidelines for appropriate AI use.

5. AI-Generated Content

SmartPAL includes AI-assisted features such as explanations, summaries, nudges, and automated insights. You understand and agree that:

  • AI output may contain inaccuracies or incomplete information
  • AI-generated assistance is supportive and not a replacement for completing assignments
  • You are responsible for reviewing and verifying all AI-generated content
  • SmartPAL is not liable for academic decisions made based on AI suggestions

6. User Content

“User Content” includes reflections, goals, messages, responses, and any information you submit via the platform. You retain ownership of your User Content.

By using the Service, you grant SmartPAL a limited, nonexclusive license to store, process, and display User Content solely for the purpose of providing and improving the Service.

Certain features (e.g., private reflections) are accessible only to the student and are not shared with instructors or institutions.

7. Institutional Data & FERPA

When SmartPAL is used by an educational institution, SmartPAL acts as a “school official” under FERPA with a legitimate educational interest. Institutions determine which data is shared with SmartPAL and may request deletion at any time.

SmartPAL does not sell, lease, or use education records for advertising or unrelated purposes.

8. Privacy

Your use of the Service is governed by the SmartPAL Privacy Policy. By using SmartPAL, you agree to the data practices described in the Privacy Policy.

9. Intellectual Property

SmartPAL AI Inc. owns all rights, title, and interest in and to the Service, including software, algorithms, AI models, analytics, documentation, and all associated intellectual property.

You may not copy, modify, create derivative works of, distribute, or reverse-engineer any part of the Service.

10. Third-Party Services

SmartPAL uses third-party subprocessors to operate the Service, including:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) — hosting and infrastructure
  • Vercel — web application hosting and content delivery
  • Microsoft Azure (Azure OpenAI) — AI inference and embeddings
  • Pinecone — vector search for course-content retrieval
  • Sentry — error monitoring and alerting (scrubbed technical diagnostics)

These providers act as processors on SmartPAL’s behalf and may not use data for independent purposes. See the Privacy Policy (Section 11) for more detail.

11. Availability & Changes to the Service

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue features of the Service at any time, with or without notice. We are not responsible for interruptions caused by third-party integrations (e.g., LMS systems, network outages).

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate access to the Service if:

  • These Terms are violated
  • Institutional agreements expire or are revoked
  • Fraudulent or unauthorized use is detected

Upon termination, SmartPAL may delete or anonymize your data according to our Privacy Policy.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. SmartPAL does not guarantee uninterrupted service, error-free output, or accuracy of AI-generated content.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, SmartPAL AI Inc. is not liable for:

  • Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
  • Loss of academic credit or outcomes
  • Data loss not caused by our negligence
  • Decisions made based on AI-generated suggestions

15. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota, unless superseded by institutional agreements or local education privacy laws.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

17. Contact Us

For questions about these Terms, please contact:

SmartPAL AI Inc.
Email: contact@smartpal.org