Trace · Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated: 2026-09-04

By accessing or using Trace (“the Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). Trace is operated as a sole-trader service based in England. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

Using Trace

You must be 13 or older to use the Service. You are responsible for your account and for keeping your login credentials secure. You agree to notify us promptly of any unauthorized access to your account.

Your content

You retain all rights to the content you add (such as story links, tags, notes, ratings, and reading progress).

You grant Trace a limited, non-exclusive license to host, store, process, and display your content solely to operate, improve, and personalize the Service. This includes generating features like recommendations, suggestions, and reading insights for you.

Public collections are shareable reading lists. When you turn on a public link, the collection title, intro, public notes you choose to show, display name, and story/source links can be viewed by anyone with the link.

Public collections must be practical and safe for readers. Do not use public collections for spam or scams, harassment or hate, sharing someone else’s private information without permission, illegal or unsafe content, copyright-infringing material, or links that are unsafe, deceptive, or unrelated to the reading list.

People can report a public collection. Trace may review public collection text, public notes, display names, and outbound links when a collection is reported or when a link/source needs a safety check. Content that does not follow these rules may be removed from public sharing, and public links may be paused or turned off.

Public sharing controls only the public link. If public sharing is paused or turned off, your private collection is not deleted, and your private library data (including private collections, notes, tags, ratings, reading status, and saved stories) remains yours in your account. You can keep private collections even if public sharing is unavailable.

Acceptable use

No unlawful use or infringement of others’ rights.
No scraping, abuse, attempts to bypass security, or interference with the Service.
No automated access except through the official Trace browser extension.

Browser extension

The Trace browser extension reads publicly available metadata from story pages on supported sites (including AO3 and FanFiction.net) to populate and sync your personal library in Trace. The extension may also send story metadata for story pages you view on those sites to help maintain catalog accuracy for the Service. The extension does not collect full or partial story text for this purpose.

Subscriptions & auto-renewal

Trace offers a free tier and a paid “Trace Unlimited” subscription. Trace Unlimited is priced at $2.99 per month or $24.99 per year (or the equivalent in your billed currency where shown at checkout). Web subscriptions are billed through Stripe, Inc.; in-app subscriptions are billed through Apple. You can view, update, and cancel your subscription through your Trace account settings or Apple subscription settings, as applicable. Payments are subject to the terms of the billing provider used.

Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period (monthly or annual, depending on the plan you chose) unless you cancel before the renewal date. You can cancel a web subscription from the Account page or an in-app subscription through Apple subscription settings. For help, contact us at support@tracefiction.com.

Cancellation & refunds

When you cancel a subscription, you retain access to Trace Unlimited features until the end of your current billing period. After that, your account reverts to the free tier. We do not provide partial refunds for unused time within a billing period.

If you believe you were charged in error, contact support@tracefiction.com within 30 days of the charge and we will review your request.

Intellectual property

Trace does not host fan fiction content. The Service stores metadata about stories (titles, authors, URLs, tags, etc.) and links to content hosted on third-party archives such as AO3 and FanFiction.net. All original fan works remain the property of their respective authors.

If you believe that content accessible through Trace infringes your copyright, please contact us at support@tracefiction.com with a description of the alleged infringement and we will respond in accordance with applicable law.

Story metadata accuracy

Trace does not guarantee that story metadata (including titles, authors, tags, counts, ratings, or other fields) is complete or correct, particularly where information was entered manually or contributed by users. Metadata may be updated over time as additional sources (such as the browser extension reading from archive pages) confirm or refine the information.

Termination

You can delete your account at any time from the Account page. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or to protect Trace and its users. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately, though certain provisions of these Terms (including limitation of liability, governing law, and dispute resolution) survive termination.

Disclaimers

Trace is provided “as-is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, to the fullest extent permitted by law. Trace is not affiliated with AO3, FanFiction.net, or any other third-party archive. Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or any other applicable legislation.

Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for: a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence, b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or c) any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under English law.

Subject to the above, our total aggregate liability for any claims arising out of or relating to the Service is limited to the amount you paid (if any) in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. We shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

Dispute resolution

Before filing any formal proceeding, you agree to attempt to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us at support@tracefiction.com. We will try to resolve the matter within 30 days. If informal resolution is unsuccessful, the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. If changes are material, we will provide notice within the app or by other appropriate means. Continued use of Trace after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Contact

Questions? Email support@tracefiction.com.