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Terms of Use

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Use Genodex to learn — not to diagnose, discriminate, or decide another person’s future.



Terms of Use

Genodex · Draft for legal review


Draft for legal review — not approved for production publication. Last updated: August 11, 2026.

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern access to and use of the Genodex website, mobile application, and related services (together, the "Services"). The Services are operated under the Genodex name. By using the Services, you agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

1. Who may use Genodex

You must be old enough to enter into these Terms under the law that applies to you. The Services are not directed to children. If you submit any genomic data, you represent that you are legally authorized to use and, where applicable, publish that data. Do not import or publish another person’s genomic data without their informed permission and a lawful basis. Additional restrictions may apply to a minor’s data.

If you use the Services for an organization, you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms for that organization.

2. What Genodex provides

Genodex is an educational genomic-exploration service. A compatible raw DNA file can be parsed on your device and compared with supported GWAS-based phenotype models. The Services may show calculated scores, percentiles, distributions, model coverage, variants, alleles, genes, traits, studies, population context, and uncertainty. The website also provides a catalog of public genomes, public phenotype evidence, and related source information.

Supported personal calculations are produced by the Genodex calculation engine. Optional AI features can explain selected calculated results and connected scientific facts in plain language. AI does not produce the underlying scientific score.

The Services and their models may change. Source records can be corrected, model definitions updated, and previously calculated results may differ when recalculated with another app, model, source-data, or software version.

3. Educational use only

Genodex does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, genetic counseling, psychological advice, or another regulated professional service. Genodex is not presented as a medical device. A genotype is not a diagnosis, and an association or percentile is not a prediction of certainty.

Do not use the Services or their output to make medical, emergency, insurance, employment, credit, legal, reproductive, or other high-impact decisions. Seek an appropriately qualified professional for health concerns or decisions requiring professional judgment. Never delay emergency or professional care because of a Genodex result or AI explanation.

4. Accounts and security

You are responsible for accurate account information, for protecting your sign-in credentials and devices, and for activity performed through your account. Tell us at joe@genodex.org if you believe an account or the Services have been compromised.

Some functions may require a supported sign-in provider, network connection, compatible device, current app version, or paid entitlement. App-store and RevenueCat records may be used to verify purchases and access.

5. Private and connected features

Importing a compatible raw DNA file and running supported personal calculations does not, by itself, publish the genome. Local files and locally calculated results remain subject to the security of your device, backups, and operating system.

Connected features transmit information needed to perform the requested action. Publishing uploads a genomic archive and related public information. AI reports and Genome Chat transmit selected calculated results, supporting facts, relevant metadata, prompts, messages, and conversation context to OpenAI. Community, support, notifications, authentication, and purchase features also exchange information with Genodex or the providers described in the Privacy Policy.

You are responsible for reading the confirmation presented before using a connected or public feature.

6. Publishing a genome and CC0

Publishing is optional and separate from private exploration. By completing the publish-genome flow, you instruct Genodex to upload and make the contribution public, and you apply the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal dedication to the rights you have authority to dedicate.

You understand and agree that:

  • genomic data is inherently identifying and must not be described or treated as anonymous;

  • it may reveal information about biological relatives and may be linked with other datasets;

  • CC0 is intended to permit unrestricted copying, modification, redistribution, and commercial or non-commercial reuse of rights covered by the dedication;

  • CC0 does not eliminate privacy, publicity, genetic-data, family, or other third-party rights, and it does not replace any consent or legal basis required by privacy law;

  • Genodex may host, index, transform for presentation, and redistribute the public contribution; and

  • removal of a Genodex-hosted copy cannot recover copies already obtained by others, undo downstream use, or revoke rights already dedicated under CC0.

You represent that the data is yours to publish, was lawfully obtained, and is not subject to an obligation that prevents publication. You are responsible for considering effects on biological relatives and for obtaining any permission required by law.

7. AI features

AI explanations may contain mistakes, omissions, or misleading language. They are generated from a limited context and do not independently verify the source science. You must inspect the underlying calculated values, linked evidence, and limitations rather than relying on an AI response as authoritative.

Do not submit unlawful material or unnecessary personal, medical, or confidential information in prompts. Your use of an AI feature authorizes transmission to OpenAI as described in the Privacy Policy. The current integration stores response application state through the OpenAI API.

8. Your content

You retain the rights you hold in private content submitted to the Services, subject to the permissions needed for Genodex and its providers to host, process, transmit, display, and protect it for the requested feature.

For a public genomic contribution, Section 6 and CC0 apply. For comments, annotations, messages, feedback, or other material you intentionally post publicly, you grant Genodex a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, format, display, distribute, and moderate that material for operating and promoting the relevant public feature. This permission lasts while the material remains available and for reasonable backups, legal records, and prior distributions.

You are responsible for your content and must not submit material that is unlawful, deceptive, infringing, abusive, malicious, or unauthorized.

9. Acceptable use

You must not:

  • compromise, bypass, probe, overload, or disrupt the Services or another user’s account;

  • introduce malware or use automated access in a way that harms availability or ignores published limits;

  • scrape or redistribute data contrary to applicable law or third-party rights;

  • attempt to identify, contact, profile, discriminate against, or harm a person represented by genomic or community data;

  • submit data you do not have authority to use or publish;

  • misrepresent Genodex output as a diagnosis, clinical test, or professional recommendation;

  • use the Services for insurance, employment, credit, surveillance, law-enforcement targeting, or another high-impact decision about a person; or

  • remove notices or falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement, or authorship.

Research and reuse of public material remain subject to CC0’s actual scope, applicable law, research ethics, and rights that CC0 does not waive.

10. Genodex materials

The Services, software, interface, branding, documentation, original text, and model presentation are owned by Genodex or its licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws. Subject to these Terms, Genodex grants you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Services for their intended purpose.

Nothing in these Terms restricts rights granted by an applicable open-source license, the verified license of an external dataset, or CC0 as applied to a public contribution. Third-party studies, datasets, software, and marks remain the property of their respective owners.

11. Purchases and subscriptions

Purchases and subscriptions are processed by Apple App Store or Google Play and managed in the Services with RevenueCat. Prices, taxes, billing, renewal, cancellation, and refunds are governed by the applicable store terms and mandatory consumer law. Deleting local app data, signing out, or asking Genodex to delete an account does not automatically cancel a store subscription. Manage cancellation through the store account that completed the purchase.

12. External services and links

The Services rely on third parties and may link to external studies, databases, projects, and websites. Their availability, accuracy, security, and practices are outside Genodex’s control. A link identifies context or provenance and does not imply endorsement or validation of an individual result.

13. Suspension and discontinuation

Genodex may restrict or suspend access when reasonably necessary to protect users or the Services, respond to legal requirements, address security risk, or enforce these Terms. We may change or discontinue a feature. Where practical and appropriate, we will provide notice, but urgent security or legal action may occur without advance notice.

To request formal account or server-data deletion, contact joe@genodex.org. The current in-app control labeled "Delete Account" removes local genome data and signs you out; it does not by itself delete the authentication account or all server-side information. Public CC0 contributions and downstream copies have the limitations described above.

14. Disclaimers

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Services are provided "as is" and "as available." Genodex does not warrant that the Services, source data, calculated results, AI explanations, or public contributions will be complete, current, accurate, uninterrupted, secure, or suitable for a particular purpose. Scientific evidence and population references contain limitations, and compatible variants may be missing or incorrectly represented in a source file.

Nothing in these Terms excludes a warranty, remedy, or consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

15. Responsibility and liability

You are responsible for how you use, interpret, publish, or redistribute information through the Services. To the extent permitted by applicable law, Genodex is not responsible for indirect or consequential loss arising from reliance on educational results, AI explanations, external sources, third-party services, unauthorized publication, or downstream reuse of public data.

Liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited remains governed by applicable law. Nothing here limits responsibility for fraud, intentional misconduct, or another matter that applicable law does not permit Genodex to limit.

16. Disputes and applicable law

Contact joe@genodex.org first so the parties can attempt to resolve a concern informally.

Mandatory consumer, privacy, and procedural laws apply according to their own rules. Any dispute not resolved informally may be brought before a court or authority that has jurisdiction under applicable law. These Terms do not remove rights provided by the law where you live.

17. General terms

If part of these Terms is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply to the extent possible. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not transfer your account or these Terms without permission. Genodex may transfer responsibilities in connection with a legitimate reorganization or service transfer, subject to applicable notice and privacy obligations.

These Terms and the Privacy Policy form the agreement concerning the Services, except where additional feature-specific terms are clearly presented. Headings are for readability.

18. Changes and contact

A production version of these Terms should state its effective date. Material changes will be communicated in a manner appropriate to the change and applicable law. If you do not accept revised Terms, stop using the Services and contact us about available account or data choices.

Questions may be sent to joe@genodex.org.

Counsel review required: Qualified counsel must approve the final operator disclosures, eligibility rules, CC0 publication assent, consumer terms, AI provisions, subscription language, disclaimers, liability treatment, dispute process, applicable-law language, and change-notice procedure before production publication.