Acceptable Use Policy

Last updated: February 25, 2026

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") outlines the prohibited uses of the Papercut service. Violation of this policy may result in account suspension or termination without refund.

1. Prohibited Activities

You must not use the Service to:

  • Scrape websites that explicitly prohibit scraping in their robots.txt file
  • Violate any applicable laws or regulations
  • Infringe on intellectual property rights of others
  • Harvest or collect personal data without consent
  • Reverse engineer or attempt to derive the source code of the Service
  • Introduce malware, viruses, or harmful code into the Service
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers connected to the Service
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Service
  • Use the Service to distribute spam, unsolicited communications, or phishing content

2. Website Respect

When extracting content from websites:

  • Respect robots.txt files and website terms of service
  • Do not attempt to circumvent anti-scraping measures
  • Do not overwhelm target websites with excessive requests
  • Be mindful of copyright and fair use principles
  • Attribute content appropriately when required by source websites

3. API Usage

Regarding API access:

  • Keep your API keys confidential and never share them publicly
  • Do not exceed the rate limits specified in your subscription plan
  • Do not attempt to circumvent quota restrictions through multiple accounts
  • Use appropriate error handling and respect HTTP 429 (rate limit) responses

4. Content Restrictions

Do not use the Service to process or distribute:

  • Illegal content or content that promotes illegal activities
  • Content that violates the rights of others (defamation, harassment, privacy violations)
  • Adult content, violence, or hate speech
  • Content that exploits minors in any way
  • Fraudulent or deceptive content

5. Commercial Use

Commercial use is permitted on paid subscription plans. The free trial is for evaluation purposes only and may not be used for commercial applications or high-volume processing.

6. Resale and Redistribution

You may not:

  • Resell access to the Service or API keys
  • Create a competitive service using the Papercut API as a backend
  • Offer extracted content as a paid service without adding significant value

7. Enforcement

We reserve the right to:

  • Suspend or terminate accounts that violate this policy
  • Refuse service to anyone for any reason, at our discretion
  • Report illegal activities to law enforcement
  • Take legal action to protect our rights and the rights of others

Violations may result in immediate account termination without refund. We will attempt to provide notice of policy violations when practicable, but immediate action may be taken for serious violations.

8. Reporting Violations

If you believe someone is violating this policy, please report it to hello@papercut.md with details of the alleged violation.

9. Policy Changes

We may update this Acceptable Use Policy at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the new policy.

10. Related Policies

This AUP is part of our legal agreements: