Terms of Service

Athena Terms of Service

Last Updated: December 15th, 2025

1. Introduction: Welcome to Athena

Welcome! We are Instructure, Inc. ("Instructure," "we," "us," or "our"), the team behind Athena, your AI-powered learning companion available at https://www.studywithathena.com/.

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal contract between you ("you," "User," or "Subscriber") and Instructure. They govern your access to and use of the Athena website, application, and AI services (collectively, the "Service").

PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY.

  • Arbitration Notice: To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to resolve disputes with us through binding individual arbitration (not in court), and you waive your right to participate in a class action lawsuit. See Section 11.
  • Subscription Notice: Your subscription will automatically renew each month, and your payment method will be charged $5.00 (or the then-current rate) until you cancel. You can cancel at any time. See Section 5.

By creating an account, clicking "I Agree," or accessing the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

2. Who Can Use Athena

Athena is built for learners, but we have strict eligibility rules to protect minors and ensure compliance with the law.

2.1 Age Requirements

  • Over 13 Only: You must be at least 13 years old to use Athena. We do not knowingly allow users under 13 to register. If we discover an account belongs to a child under 13, we will delete it immediately to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
  • Minors (13-17): If you are between 13 and the age of majority in your jurisdiction (usually 18), you may only use Athena if your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf.

2.2 Account Security

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secret. Do not share your password with anyone. You are responsible for all activity that happens under your account. If you suspect your account has been hacked, contact us immediately at support@studywithathena.com.

3. How Athena Works: AI Disclaimers

Athena uses Large Language Models (LLMs) and artificial intelligence to assist you. While powerful, this technology is experimental and has limitations.

3.1 Accuracy and "Hallucinations"

AI can be wrong. Athena may occasionally generate incorrect, misleading, or fabricated information (known as "hallucinations"). It might sound confident even when it is wrong.

  • Your Responsibility: You should explicitly verify any facts, dates, citations, or math generated by Athena against trusted sources (like textbooks or instructor materials).
  • Not Professional Advice: Athena is not a lawyer, doctor, or financial advisor. Do not rely on Athena for medical, legal, or financial advice.

3.2 No Guarantee of Results

We built Athena to help you study, but we do not guarantee that using it will improve your grades, test scores, or academic performance.

4. Acceptable Use and Academic Integrity

Athena is designed to enhance your learning, not to replace it. You agree to use the Service ethically.

4.1 Academic Integrity

You agree NOT to use Athena to:

  • Complete assignments, essays, or exams where AI assistance is prohibited by your instructor or institution.
  • Generate content that you submit as your own original work (plagiarism).
  • Engage in any form of academic dishonesty.

Institutional Policies: You are responsible for knowing and following your school's academic integrity policy. Instructure is not liable for any disciplinary action you face resulting from your use of Athena.

4.2 Prohibited Conduct

In addition, you agree not to:

  • Scrape or Reverse Engineer: Attempt to access the underlying code, model weights, or prompts of Athena through automated means (bots, scrapers).
  • Generate Harmful Content: Use Athena to create content that is harassing, hateful, sexually explicit, defamatory, or illegal.
  • Bypass Restrictions: Attempt to circumvent our payment systems or usage limits.

5. Subscription, Billing, and Cancellation

Athena is a subscription service. This section explains how you pay and how you can cancel.

5.1 The 7-Day Free Trial

We may offer a free trial to new users.

  • Automatic Conversion: IF YOU DO NOT CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION BEFORE THE END OF THE 7-DAY TRIAL, IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY CONVERT TO A PAID MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION.
  • No Notice: We may not send a separate reminder before your trial ends and your card is charged.

5.2 Monthly Subscription and Auto-Renewal

  • Fee: The Service costs $5.00 per month (plus taxes).
  • Billing Cycle: We will charge your payment method on the same day each month (the "Billing Date").
  • Continuous Service: Your subscription will automatically renew each month until you cancel. You authorize us to store your payment method and charge it for these recurring fees.

5.3 How to Cancel

You may cancel your subscription at any time.

  • Method: To cancel, log in to your account, go to Settings > Billing > Manage Subscription, and click "Cancel Subscription."
  • Effect: Cancellation is effective at the end of your current billing period. You will continue to have access until that date, but you will not receive a refund for the current month.
  • Refund Policy: Payments are non-refundable. We do not provide refunds or credits for partially used months, except where required by law.

5.4 Price Changes

We may change our pricing in the future. If we do, we will provide you with at least 30 days' written notice (e.g., via email). If you do not agree to the price change, you may cancel your subscription before the new price takes effect.

5.5 Fixed-Term Promotional Access (Coupons)

Unlike the Free Trial described in Section 5.1, promotional access provided via coupon code is for a finite term and does not automatically renew.

  • Automatic Termination: If you do not add a valid payment method to your account prior to the expiration of the coupon period, your access to the Service will automatically terminate. We are not liable for any loss of User Content resulting from such termination.
  • Conversion to Subscription: You may choose to continue the Service by adding a valid payment method. By doing so, you agree that your account will convert to the recurring Monthly Subscription described in Section 5.2 immediately upon the expiration of your coupon.
  • Notifications: While we may attempt to notify you of expiring coupons via our payment processor, you are solely responsible for monitoring your expiration date.

6. Your Data and Content

6.1 Ownership

You retain all rights to the text, files, and queries you input into Athena ("User Content"). We do not claim ownership of your study materials.

6.2 License Grant

By using Athena, you grant Instructure a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, process, and display your User Content solely to:

  1. Provide and operate the Service.
  2. Debug, troubleshoot, and improve our AI models.
  3. Comply with legal obligations.

6.3 LMS Synchronization

If you choose to sync Athena with your Canvas or other LMS account, you authorize us to access your course data via API. We use this data only to personalize your experience. We do not write data back to your LMS or modify your grades.

7. Intellectual Property

The Athena platform, including its visual interface, interactive features, graphics, design, computer code, and "Athena" name, is the property of Instructure, Inc. and its licensors. You may not use our trademarks or copyrighted materials without our prior written permission.

8. Third-Party Services

Athena integrates with third-party tools (like Stripe for payments and AI providers for text generation). Your use of these tools is subject to their respective terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the performance or policies of these third parties.

9. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS SECTION LIMITS OUR LIABILITY.

9.1 "As Is" Service

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ATHENA IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE.

9.2 Limitation of Damages

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, INSTRUCTURE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR DATA, ARISING FROM: (A) YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (B) ANY AI ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR HALLUCINATIONS; (C) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OUR SERVERS.

9.3 Liability Cap

IN NO EVENT SHALL INSTRUCTURE'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED THE GREATER OF $100 USD OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM.

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Instructure (and our officers, employees, and agents) from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including attorney's fees) arising from: (a) your use of Athena; (b) your violation of these Terms; or (c) your violation of any third-party right, including intellectual property or privacy rights.

11. Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and Class Waiver

11.1 Informal Resolution

If you have a problem, please contact us first at support@studywithathena.com. We will try to resolve it informally.

11.2 Binding Arbitration

If we cannot resolve the dispute informally, YOU AND INSTRUCTURE AGREE TO RESOLVE ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE THROUGH BINDING ARBITRATION, rather than in court. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules.

11.3 Class Action Waiver

YOU MAY ONLY BRING CLAIMS IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

11.4 Opt-Out

You have the right to opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by sending a written notice to 6330 South 3000 East, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, UT 84121.

12. General Terms

  • Governing Law: These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Utah (Instructure's HQ), without regard to conflict of law principles.
  • Changes to Terms: We may update these Terms. If we make material changes, we will notify you via email or a prominent notice on the Service. Your continued use after the changes constitutes acceptance.
  • Severability: If any part of these Terms is unenforceable, the rest will remain in effect.
  • Entire Agreement: These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the complete agreement between you and Instructure regarding Athena.