Terms of Service

Last updated: April 3, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using Refrly (“the platform,” “we,” “us”), you agree to these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our platform. These terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Refrly.

2. User Accounts

  • You must provide accurate and complete information when creating your account
  • You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your account credentials
  • You must be at least 18 years old to use this service
  • One account per person — duplicate accounts may be removed without notice
  • You must verify your email address before you can access your account
  • You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account

3. Recommendations

3.1 Accuracy and Responsibility

All recommendations must be based on genuine professional experience and an actual working relationship. You, as the recommender, are solely responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of the recommendations you write. By submitting a recommendation, you represent and warrant that:

  • You have had a genuine professional interaction with the person you are recommending
  • The information in your recommendation is truthful and not misleading
  • Your recommendation reflects your honest professional opinion
  • You have not been compensated or incentivized to write the recommendation

3.2 Approval Process

Recommendations on Refrly follow an approval-based publication process:

  • Pending: All new recommendations are created in a pending state and are not publicly visible
  • Approved: The recommended creative reviews and explicitly approves the recommendation, making it publicly visible
  • Rejected: The recommended creative may reject a recommendation, in which case it is never published. The recommender is notified.
  • Expired: If the recommended creative does not respond within 30 days, the recommendation automatically expires and is not published. The recommender is notified.

3.3 Public Nature

Approved recommendations are published with the recommender’s display name and are publicly visible. By submitting a recommendation, you consent to this public display upon approval. You may choose how your name is displayed (full name, partial name, or role only).

3.4 Recommending Non-Registered Individuals

When recommending someone not yet on Refrly, you confirm that (a) the name and email address you provide are accurate, (b) you have a genuine professional relationship with this person, and (c) you understand that this person will receive an invitation email and has the right to opt out at any time. Recommendations for non-registered individuals remain in pending status until the individual registers and explicitly approves them.

4. Prohibited Conduct

The following actions are strictly prohibited and may result in immediate account suspension or termination:

  • Fraudulent recommendations: Writing fake, fabricated, or self-authored recommendations
  • Impersonation: Creating an account or writing a recommendation under someone else’s identity
  • No genuine relationship: Recommending someone without a real professional working relationship
  • Defamation and harassment: Publishing defamatory, abusive, threatening, or harassing content
  • Manipulation: Attempting to artificially inflate ratings, exchange recommendations, or otherwise manipulate the platform’s integrity
  • Spam and solicitation: Unsolicited commercial messages, advertising, or off-topic content
  • Circumventing security: Attempting to bypass rate limits, CSRF protection, authentication, or other security measures
  • Automated access: Using bots, scrapers, or automated tools to access the platform without prior written permission
  • Multiple accounts: Creating or operating multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions or amplify activity
  • Opt-out circumvention: Submitting recommendations for individuals who have opted out of the platform

5. Content Reporting and Moderation

Users may report recommendations or profiles that violate these terms. Our moderation process works as follows:

  • Reporting: Any user can report content via the report function available on recommendation and profile pages
  • Review timeline: We commit to reviewing all reports and making an initial determination within 3 business days of receipt
  • Actions: We may hide or remove content, issue warnings, suspend accounts, or take other appropriate action
  • Notification: We will notify the content author of any action taken against their content, unless doing so would compromise an ongoing investigation or user safety
  • Appeals: Users may appeal moderation decisions by contacting us within 14 days of the action

6. Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time from your dashboard settings. When you delete your account, the following actions are taken:

  • Immediately deleted: Your email address, password hash, and profile information (name, photo, location, categories, social links)
  • Immediately deleted: All recommendations you wrote
  • Anonymized: Recommendations written about you by other users. The recommendation text remains (as the recommender retains rights to their own content), but all identifying links to your account are removed and the recommendation is attributed anonymously.
  • Automatically purged: Server logs containing your data are deleted after 90 days per our standard retention schedule

7. Intellectual Property

You retain ownership of the content you create on Refrly. By posting content on the platform, you grant Refrly a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, distribute, and make your content available on the platform for as long as your account is active. This license terminates when you delete the content or your account, except for anonymized recommendation text as described in Section 6.

All Refrly branding, logos, and platform design are the property of Refrly and may not be used without prior written permission.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

Refrly is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Refrly is free to use — there are no fees or hidden charges.

Without limiting the foregoing, we make no warranty or representation that:

  • The platform will be available at all times, uninterrupted, or error-free
  • Any recommendation or user-generated content is accurate, complete, reliable, or current — Refrly does not verify or endorse any recommendation, and the presence of a recommendation on the platform does not constitute an endorsement by Refrly
  • The platform will meet your specific requirements or expectations
  • Any defects or errors in the platform will be corrected

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Refrly shall not be liable for any damages, losses, claims, or expenses arising from or related to:

  • Use of the platform: Any damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, the Refrly platform, including loss of data, business opportunities, or revenue
  • User-generated content: The content of recommendations or other user-generated content. Responsibility for recommendation accuracy lies solely with the recommender.
  • Communications between users: Any disputes, misunderstandings, or issues arising from communications between users that occur as a result of connections made through the platform, whether by email, social media, or any other means. Refrly is not a party to, and does not mediate, any interactions between users.
  • Embed widget: Any issues, damages, or liabilities arising from embedding the Refrly recommendation widget on third-party websites, including but not limited to display errors, compatibility issues, security concerns, or any impact on the third-party website’s performance or functionality
  • Third-party websites and services: Any content, actions, or practices of third-party websites or services linked to from profiles on the platform
  • Indirect damages: Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, goodwill, or reputation

Important: 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 applicable law, including liability arising from our intentional misconduct or gross negligence. For users in Japan, this limitation of liability is subject to the Consumer Contract Act (消費者契約法), and any provisions that are unenforceable under that Act shall be limited to the extent permitted.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Refrly harmless from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) your use of the platform, (b) recommendations or other content you post, (c) your violation of these terms, or (d) your violation of any third party’s rights, including intellectual property rights or reputation.

11. Account Suspension and Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms of Service. In cases of severe violations (such as fraud or harassment), suspension may be immediate. For minor violations, we will attempt to notify you and provide an opportunity to correct the behavior before taking action.

12. Service Availability

We strive to keep Refrly available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted access to the platform.

  • Maintenance: We may temporarily suspend all or part of the platform for maintenance, updates, or improvements, with or without prior notice. We will make reasonable efforts to minimize downtime and, where feasible, provide advance notice of scheduled maintenance.
  • Service modifications: We reserve the right to modify, update, or remove features of the platform at any time. Material changes to functionality will be communicated to registered users where practical.
  • Service discontinuation: We reserve the right to discontinue the platform entirely at our sole discretion. In the event of a permanent shutdown, we will provide registered users with at least 30 days’ notice by email so that you may download or otherwise retrieve your data before the platform becomes unavailable.

Refrly shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the platform.

13. Changes to Terms

We may update these terms, our Privacy Policy, or any other policies at any time. This includes changes to platform rules, content guidelines, feature availability, and data practices. When we make changes:

  • We will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page
  • For significant changes that materially affect your rights, we will notify registered users by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect
  • Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms

If you do not agree with the updated terms, you may stop using the platform and delete your account at any time.

14. Governing Law

These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan. Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of the platform shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Japan.

15. Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

16. Contact

If you have questions about these terms, please contact us: