Terms of use

1. The parties and acceptance

These terms govern the use of Qalu, its public website and its API, a service provided by InfoTimes, a company registered in Canada (“we”), to the subscribing organization (“the organization”) and to the users it authorizes to sign in on its behalf (“users”).

Subscribing online, accepting a quote or a purchase order, or signing in to Qalu means accepting these terms. Anyone who accepts them on behalf of an organization confirms that they are authorized to do so. Where a signed contract or purchase order exists between the parties, it prevails in case of conflict.

2. The service

The service monitors content published for the public on news sites, social platforms, comments and reviews, classifies it, presents it in dashboards, reports and alerts, and delivers it through the API and automatic notifications. The published coverage is shown on the home page and in every project.

Access to each platform depends on the terms that platform offers, and coverage may change as a result. We will tell the organization about any material change in coverage. We do not guarantee that everything published will be captured, nor content deleted before capture, nor content from private groups or accounts.

3. Accounts and permissions

• The organization’s account administrator invites users and sets their roles and quotas. The organization is responsible for everything done under its accounts.
• Each user must keep their password and verification codes confidential and tell us at once about any unauthorized use.
• API keys and notification signing secrets are confidential and shown only once. The organization must keep them safe and revoke any it suspects have leaked.
• The number of users and workspaces is limited to what the plan or contract allows.

4. Plans, quotas and credit

• Each license includes a set monthly quota of items under the published plans or the contract. An item is any unique record Qalu saves in a project: a news article, a post, a comment or a review. Reading, exporting, reports and reclassification do not use quota.
• The monthly quota expires at the end of the month and does not carry over. Extra credit is used once the quota runs out and stays valid for 12 months from purchase.
• When the quota runs out, Qalu does what the account administrator has chosen: continue on extra credit, or pause collection until approval. Items saved before the limit remain.

5. Prices, payment and renewal

• Prices are payable in the currency shown on the payment page or in the contract and exclude taxes, which are calculated from the billing country and shown before payment is confirmed.
• Online subscriptions are paid in advance by card and renew automatically for the same period unless renewal is stopped before the current period ends.
• Institutional invoices are payable within the period stated on them. An account may be suspended for late payment after the organization has been notified.
• Amounts paid for a period that has started are not refunded, unless the contract or the law provides otherwise.
• We will give the organization notice of any price change, which applies only from the following period.

6. Acceptable use

The organization and its users must use the service for lawful purposes related to corporate communications, reputation management and public opinion analysis. They must not:

• use the service to watch, pursue or harass particular individuals, or to target people because of legally protected characteristics, their opinions or their affiliations;
• use monitoring results in employment, credit, insurance or housing decisions about individuals;
• breach privacy or intellectual property law, or the terms of the monitored platforms, when using or republishing content;
• try to access another organization’s data, get around permissions or request limits, or test for vulnerabilities without our written permission;
• copy or reverse-engineer Qalu, or resell the service to anyone not named in the contract.

We may suspend access that breaches these rules, after notifying the organization where possible.

7. Data and ownership

The organization’s data remains its own: its project settings, corrections, notes and reports. The organization grants us a limited license to process that data as far as needed to provide and protect the service, as set out in the privacy policy.

Monitored public content belongs to its authors. The service makes it available to the organization for internal analysis. The organization is responsible for any later use of it, such as republishing text or images, in a way that respects its authors’ rights.

The organization can export its data at any time during the subscription. When the subscription ends, we will provide a full export on a request received within thirty days, and then delete the data according to the retention periods in the privacy policy.

8. Automated classification and its limits

Qalu classifies content automatically, shows a confidence score for each label and lets the organization correct it. Automated classification is an estimate and can be wrong, particularly with sarcasm, dialect and ambiguous context. The organization should review results before relying on them for important decisions.

Composite indicators, such as share of voice and the reputation index, measure media presence by a published method. They are not market share and do not measure public opinion as a whole. Draft replies and statements suggested by Qalu are suggestions, published only if the organization decides to, from its own accounts, and the organization remains responsible for what it publishes.

9. API and integrations

• The API is subject to the request limits published on the Integrations & exports page, and to each key’s permissions, duration and scope.
• A correction key changes only sentiment, topic and relevance. Every change made with it is logged, and it does not alter a label confirmed by a team member unless the request explicitly asks it to.
• Automatic notifications are sent to the addresses the organization chooses, and the organization is responsible for securing the systems that receive them.
• External tools the organization connects to the service are subject to their providers’ terms. We are not responsible for their availability or for how they process data.

10. Availability and support

We make reasonable efforts to keep the service available, and we announce scheduled maintenance and outages on the service status page. Runs may be delayed or paused because of maintenance, changes in the terms of monitored platforms, or circumstances beyond our control. Support levels and hours are set in the contract where agreed.

11. Confidentiality

Each party will keep confidential any non-public information it learns about the other and use it only to carry out these terms, during the subscription and afterwards, except where the law requires disclosure.

12. Intellectual property

Qalu, its software, design, indicator methods and the Qalu (قالوا) name belong to InfoTimes. These terms give the organization no rights in them other than the right to use them during the subscription. The organization may use reports it produces with Qalu internally and with its own audiences, respecting the rights of the authors of any content quoted in them.

13. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

The service is provided as it is and as available, to the extent the law allows. We do not guarantee complete monitoring, the accuracy of every label, or that results suit any particular purpose.

We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit or reputation. In all cases our total liability is limited to the amount the organization paid for the service in the twelve months before the event. This section does not limit any liability that cannot be limited by law.

14. Indemnity

The organization will indemnify InfoTimes against claims brought by third parties because of the organization’s use of the service or of monitored content in breach of these terms or the law, including reasonable legal fees.

15. Term and termination

• These terms apply for as long as the subscription lasts. The organization may stop renewal at any time, effective at the end of the paid period.
• Either party may end the subscription if the other commits a material breach that is not remedied within thirty days of written notice.
• The provisions on amounts due, confidentiality, intellectual property, limitation of liability and indemnity survive termination.

16. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. The parties will try to settle any dispute amicably within thirty days of notice; failing that, the courts of Toronto have jurisdiction, unless the parties agree in writing to arbitration or another forum.

17. General

• We may change these terms. We will tell account administrators about any material change at least thirty days before it takes effect, and continued use after that date means acceptance.
• If any provision of these terms is invalid, the rest remain in force. Not enforcing a right does not waive it.
• The organization may not assign its subscription to anyone else without our written consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld.
• The Arabic text of these terms governs, unless the parties agree in writing that a text in another language does.

18. Contact

For questions about these terms or to send notices, write to InfoTimes at privacy@qalu.ca, or use the request form.