Terms of Service

1. Scope and provider

These terms govern the use of the software-as-a-service platform Castfold (website and app) provided by Droidtech e.K., owner Michael Rauen, Auf der Eichelsbach 19, 54533 Hasborn, Germany (provider). Deviating terms of the customer apply only if the provider agrees to them in writing. The service is offered to businesses and consumers; the specifics in section 12 apply to consumers.

2. Service

Castfold provides tools for running YouTube channels: AI channel concepts, a setup checklist, connection to YouTube via Google OAuth, scheduling and upload of videos, analytics and insights, an AI advisor, a video studio and an HTTP interface (machine API). The scope follows the current description on the website.

Services of YouTube and Google are not part of this contract. The provider cannot create channels, set handles or effect approvals on YouTube.

3. Account, members, credentials

Use requires an account with a confirmed e-mail address. The account owner may invite further users as members with restricted permissions and is responsible for their actions. Credentials and access keys (API keys) must be kept secret; in case of suspected misuse the provider must be informed and the key revoked.

4. Connecting to YouTube

The customer connects channels through their Google account and grants the provider the permissions required. The YouTube Terms of Service and the YouTube API Services policies also apply. The customer may only connect channels they are entitled to manage. The connection can be revoked at any time in the app or in the Google security settings.

5. Content, rights in material, responsibility

All rights in videos, images, text and other material the customer uploads or transmits through the API remain with the customer. The customer grants the provider the non-exclusive right to store, process and transmit this material to YouTube as far as necessary for the service.

The customer is solely responsible for the lawfulness of their content, in particular for copyright, trademark and personality rights and compliance with the YouTube Community Guidelines. The customer indemnifies the provider against third-party claims based on their content.

6. AI-generated content and labelling

Concepts, text, images, videos, voices and music that Castfold generates with AI models are synthetic. They may be inaccurate, unsuitable or similar to third-party works; the customer reviews them before use. To the extent legally possible, the customer receives the rights to use the results generated for them; the provider claims no rights in them. The customer must label synthetic content wherever YouTube or the law requires it (for example realistic-looking AI content) and must not use AI content to deceive, spread misinformation or imitate real people without their consent.

7. Ordering and conclusion of contract

7.1 Registering an account is free of charge and creates a usage agreement for the free features. Seats (section 7a) and AI credit (section 7b) are paid for and ordered separately.

7.2 Before the order, the purchase flow shows a summary with the service, the total price including VAT, the term and the cancellation conditions. By clicking the button “Subscribe with obligation to pay” or “Top up with obligation to pay” the customer submits a binding offer and is then forwarded to the payment provider. The contract is concluded when the provider confirms the order by e-mail, at the latest when the service is activated after receipt of payment. If payment is not made, no contract is concluded.

7.3 The provider stores the contract text and sends it to the customer by e-mail together with these terms and, for consumers, the withdrawal notice. The contract language is German; the English version is for information. Payment methods: credit and debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Link; direct debit is not offered.

7.4 Section 12 (right of withdrawal) additionally applies to consumers.

7a. Prices and seats

7a.1 Seat per channel. Every channel the customer creates in Castfold or connects to YouTube occupies a seat; in the application a seat is called a “channel in the subscription” and the seat contract the “channel subscription”. A seat costs EUR 19.00 per month. From the fifth seat of an account a graduated scale applies: the fifth to fourteenth seat cost EUR 15.00 each, every further seat from the fifteenth EUR 12.00 per month; each seat is billed at the price of its tier. The monthly total for the chosen number of seats is shown before the order.

7a.2 VAT. The prices stated include the VAT applicable to the customer. Businesses with a valid VAT identification number from another EU member state are billed without German VAT (reverse charge); the amount shown in the purchase flow governs. The customer keeps country, business status and VAT identification number up to date in the billing details; VAT is determined by these details at the time of each order. If incorrect taxation results from incorrect details given by the customer, the customer owes the resulting VAT.

7a.3 Billing in advance. Seats are billed monthly in advance for the billing month. The billing month starts on the day of the first order and ends at the end of the day before the same day of the following month.

7a.4 More seats. Further seats can be ordered at any time. For the remainder of the current billing month the pro-rata price is charged; it is shown before the order. The additional seat becomes usable once payment has been received. From the following billing month the new total applies.

7a.5 Fewer seats. The number of seats can be reduced at any time with effect from the end of the current billing month. All paid seats remain usable until the end of the billing month; nothing is refunded for the current billing month. If the number of connected channels exceeds the new number of seats, the customer chooses when reducing which channels pause at the end of the billing month and may change the selection up to the end of the billing month. A paused channel occupies no seat; no uploads, no scheduled publications and no ongoing synchronisation with YouTube take place for it. The connection to YouTube remains so that the customer can resume the channel with a free seat; its data remains readable and exportable. If a channel remains paused for six months, the provider disconnects it from YouTube; the data is kept and the customer can reconnect the channel later.

7a.6 Price changes for seats. The provider may change seat prices. For an existing account a changed price applies only if the customer agrees to it. The provider offers the change at least 30 days before it takes effect by e-mail and in the application. If the customer does not agree, the previous price remains; the provider may then terminate the seat contract with 30 days’ notice to the end of a billing month. New orders are subject to the price shown at the time of the order.

7a.7 Promotional prices. A promotional price marked as limited in time at the order applies for the period stated there; afterwards the regular price stated at the order applies without further consent. Both are shown before the order.

7b. AI credit

7b.1 Purpose. The video studio and other AI features marked as paid are paid from a balance the customer tops up in advance (AI credit). The credit is a net value in euro. It can only be used for the provider’s services in Castfold, is not transferable to other accounts, bears no interest and is not paid out in money, except for the refund under 7b.8.

7b.2 Top-up, packages, price. Credit is topped up in fixed packages, currently EUR 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500 of credit. The purchase price is the credit amount plus the VAT applicable to the customer, currently 19 percent for customers in Germany (for example EUR 100 of credit for EUR 119.00). The total price is shown before the order. The first top-up of an account is limited to EUR 50 of credit. The credit is available once the provider has received payment.

7b.3 Bonus as volume discount. For packages from EUR 100 the provider grants a volume discount in the form of additional credit (bonus), currently 5 percent for the EUR 100 package, 8 percent for EUR 250 and 12 percent for EUR 500. The first top-up of an account receives no bonus. The bonus belongs to the top-up for which it was granted. It is not paid for and is not money: it is neither paid out nor refunded. Unused bonus expires twelve months after the top-up; the expiry date is shown in the application.

7b.4 Starter credit. Every new account receives starter credit of EUR 5; an account registered through a referral address receives an additional EUR 5. Starter credit is bonus within the meaning of 7b.3, expires 30 days after it is credited and can only be used for runs in standard quality of at most 60 seconds. It is granted once per person; in case of abuse (for example multiple accounts) the provider may cancel it.

7b.5 Order of use. Paid credit is used first, in the order of the top-ups (oldest first), and only then bonus, likewise oldest first. Paid credit and bonus are shown separately; every use appears in the credit history with time, run and amount.

7b.6 Price of an AI run. The price of a run follows from the price list available in the application (per clip second by quality level, still, voice minute, music track, thumbnail, script). The provider shows the price in euro before every run; the run starts only after the customer has confirmed it. The confirmed price is the maximum price of the run; if the run uses less (for example when cancelled), only the lower amount is deducted. Suggestions, concepts, advice and metadata included in the seat are not paid from the credit.

7b.7 Basis of the price list, exchange-rate clause. The price list is based on the usage prices of the AI models used, which their providers set in US dollars, plus a fixed percentage markup of the provider, converted to euro at the euro reference rate of the European Central Bank plus an exchange-rate buffer of 2.5 percent, rounded commercially to whole cents. The provider adjusts the euro prices at most once a week to the exchange rate and when model prices change, in both directions: if a model price falls or the euro rises, the euro prices fall accordingly; the markup remains unchanged. Changed prices apply only to runs confirmed after the change; the date and version of the price list are available in the application. Topped-up credit keeps its euro value. A customer who does not wish to accept changed prices can have unused paid credit refunded at any time under 7b.8.

7b.8 Refund of paid credit. The provider refunds unused paid credit at the customer’s request at any time, without deduction and without fee, to the payment method used for the top-up; when the account is deleted, the provider refunds it on its own initiative. Refunds are settled per top-up. When a top-up is refunded, its unused bonus lapses, because the volume discount is tied to the package purchased; the application shows the lapsing bonus before confirmation. Paid credit does not expire.

7b.9 Negative balance. If the credit does not fully cover a confirmed run, the balance may temporarily become negative, at most by the confirmed price. A negative balance is offset against the next top-up; further runs are blocked until it is offset.

7b.10 Documents. The provider issues an invoice showing VAT for every top-up. For usage it provides a usage statement, which is not an invoice and shows no VAT.

7c. Automatic top-up

7c.1 The customer can switch on automatic top-up in the application. It is off by default. The customer chooses a threshold between EUR 10 and EUR 250 of credit and a package of at least EUR 50. Each automatic top-up is subject to the price, VAT and bonus of the chosen package under section 7b at the time of the top-up and is treated as an order under section 7.

7c.2 The top-up is triggered when the credit falls below the threshold or the confirmed price of a run exceeds the credit; in the latter case before the run starts. Only the payment card the customer has stored for this purpose is charged. The customer agrees that the card is stored for this purpose and charged without further action on their part; if the bank requires confirmation, the provider requests it by e-mail.

7c.3 Limits: in the first 30 days after the account’s first top-up at most EUR 150 of credit per day; afterwards at most three automatic top-ups and at most EUR 1,000 of credit per day; at least ten minutes lie between two automatic top-ups. If the charge fails twice in a row, the provider switches automatic top-up off and informs the customer by e-mail.

7c.4 Every automatic top-up is confirmed to the customer by e-mail with an invoice. The customer can change or switch off automatic top-up in the application at any time with immediate effect. Refund (7b.8) and the right of withdrawal (section 12) apply to each automatic top-up separately.

7d. Payment, invoice, late payment, chargeback

7d.1 Payment provider. Payments are processed by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd., 1 Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin 2, Ireland. The provider does not receive full card details. The provider issues invoices electronically and makes them available by e-mail and in the customer portal; the customer agrees to electronic transmission.

7d.2 Due date. The price for seats is due at the start of each billing month, the price for credit with the order. For renewals of the seat subscription the provider charges the stored payment method; the customer agrees to this.

7d.3 Failed payment. If a renewal payment fails, the provider informs the customer and retries the charge. Until the payment is settled the provider may withhold services for which consideration is missing: AI runs, top-ups and further seats. Channels, data and export remain accessible. If payment has not been received 14 days after the due date, scheduled uploads are paused; if it has not been received 30 days after the due date, the provider may terminate the seat contract for cause. Statutory consequences of default remain unaffected; default interest towards consumers is five percentage points above the base rate.

7d.4 Chargeback. If the customer reverses a payment through their bank or card issuer (chargeback), the consideration for credit already granted or seats already activated is gone. The provider may then block the paid features of the account until the matter is resolved: running AI runs are paused; top-ups, new runs and new seats are blocked; channels, data and export remain accessible. A negative credit balance caused by the chargeback must be settled. If the chargeback was unjustified, the customer owes the provider as damages the fee the payment provider charges the provider for it (currently EUR 20); the customer remains free to prove that no or lower damage was incurred. No chargeback is needed for a withdrawal (section 12) or a refund (7b.8); the provider refunds on simple notice.

7d.5 Suspected fraud. If the payment provider reports suspected fraud for a payment, the provider may refund unused paid credit from that payment to the payment method on its own initiative and reverse the top-up; the related bonus lapses.

8. Availability, changes

The provider strives for high availability but does not owe a specific availability. Maintenance, outages at YouTube, Google or other upstream providers and technical limits of the YouTube interface may restrict use. The provider may develop, change or discontinue features as long as the purpose of the contract is preserved; material restrictions are announced.

9. Customer obligations, misuse

The following are prohibited in particular: circumventing technical limits of the YouTube interface, automated mass registration, use for unlawful content or content violating YouTube policies, entering personal data of third parties into AI features without a legal basis, reverse engineering. In case of violations the provider may suspend accounts and terminate the contract for cause.

10. Liability

The provider is liable without limit for intent, gross negligence, damage to life, body or health and under the German Product Liability Act. For slight negligence the provider is liable only for breach of material contractual obligations, limited to the typical, foreseeable damage. The provider gives no guarantee for decisions the customer makes based on analytics, forecasts or AI recommendations, nor for reach, monetisation or earnings on YouTube. For loss of data the provider is liable only to the extent the loss would have been avoidable with regular backups by the customer.

11. Term, termination, deletion

11.1 Account. The usage agreement for the account runs for an indefinite period. The customer may end it at any time by deleting the account in the application. Once the deletion is confirmed, use ends immediately: channels, content and memberships are deleted and YouTube connections are disconnected. A current seat contract is thereby terminated with effect from the end of the current billing month; nothing is refunded for the current billing month (7a.5). A customer who still wants to use the paid seats first cancels and deletes the account after the end of the billing month; the application points this out before deletion. Consumers’ right of withdrawal under section 12 is not affected by the deletion. The provider may terminate the usage agreement with 30 days’ notice, and for an account without seats and without paid credit also after twelve months without sign-in, with prior notice by e-mail.

11.2 Seats. The seat contract runs for one billing month at a time and renews for a further billing month unless terminated. Either party may terminate it at any time with effect from the end of the current billing month. The customer terminates in the application under Billing, in the customer portal or by e-mail to mail@castfold.com; the provider confirms every termination immediately by e-mail with date, time and effective date. Until the end of the billing month all seats and the credit remain usable. Afterwards all connected channels pause under 7a.5: no uploads, no scheduled publications, no ongoing synchronisation; the connection remains for up to six months, and channel data remains readable and exportable until the customer deletes it or the account.

11.3 Credit at the end of the contract. When the seat contract ends, paid credit remains and can be refunded at any time under 7b.8 or used further with a new seat. When the account is deleted, the provider refunds unused paid credit per top-up on its own initiative to the payment method used. Bonus and starter credit are a volume discount on the respective top-up or a grant to the account (7b.3, 7b.4); with the refund of the top-up and the end of the account they no longer exist.

11.4 Termination for cause. The right of both parties to terminate without notice for cause remains unaffected. For the provider, cause exists in particular for violations under section 9 and for payment arrears under 7d.3.

11.5 Deletion, retention, video files. Before deletion the customer can export their data as a file in the application. After deletion the provider removes account and content without undue delay; restoration is not possible. Invoices, credit bookings, order confirmations, consents and the record of the deletion are retained for the statutory retention periods (invoices eight years, bookings ten years, business correspondence six years); details are set out in the privacy policy. Video files uploaded by the customer that are not scheduled for publication are deleted by the provider 30 days after the upload or after a schedule is cancelled; the provider sends a reminder by email seven days beforehand. The title, description, thumbnail and all other details of the video are retained; the file can be uploaded again at any time. Such video files are subject to a limit of currently 50 GB per account. Video files of scheduled or published videos are deleted as soon as YouTube has processed them, at the latest 48 hours after the transfer to YouTube. The customer backs up their own video files.

12. Consumers: right of withdrawal

12.1 Consumers may withdraw from any paid contract (seats, every top-up including automatic top-ups, every later increase of the number of seats) within fourteen days of its conclusion without giving reasons. Details, the model withdrawal form and the consequences are set out in the withdrawal notice; it is shown before every order and sent with the confirmation e-mail.

12.2 Immediate start. Seats and credit are meant to be usable at once. The provider therefore asks in the purchase flow for the express request that performance begins before the withdrawal period ends. If the consumer withdraws afterwards, they pay the share of the price attributable to the service provided up to the withdrawal: for seats the share of elapsed days of the billing month, for credit the value of the credit used up to the withdrawal at the confirmed prices. The right of withdrawal for a top-up expires when its credit has been used up completely and the consumer has agreed to the immediate start and confirmed their knowledge of the expiry. A consumer who does not request the immediate start can use seats and credit only after the withdrawal period has ended.

12.3 Consequences. The provider refunds the payment less the share under 12.2 without undue delay and at the latest within fourteen days of receipt of the withdrawal, to the payment method used and free of charge. Because the bonus is a volume discount on the respective top-up (7b.3), it no longer exists after that top-up has been withdrawn; since paid credit is always used before bonus (7b.5), as a rule no bonus has been used at the time of a withdrawal.

12.4 The consumer may also withdraw from the free account (section 7.1) or simply delete it. Deleting the account does not replace the withdrawal from a paid contract: a consumer who wishes to withdraw from seats or a top-up declares the withdrawal under 12.1; this is also possible after the account has been deleted, by e-mail.

13. Data protection

The processing of personal data is described in the privacy policy. Where the provider processes personal data on behalf of the customer, the parties conclude a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR on request.

14. Governing law, jurisdiction

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For consumers this applies only insofar as it does not deprive them of the protection of mandatory provisions of their country of residence. For merchants, the place of jurisdiction is the provider’s registered office.

Annex: Referral programme and integration partner terms

1. Participation. Every customer joins the referral programme by switching it on in their own account and choosing a unique code; no application is required for it. Integration partners are admitted after application and approval by the provider, because they receive an access key (API key) with partner rights; there is no entitlement to admission as an integration partner.
2. Commission. In the referral programme the participant receives 20 percent of the net channel fees (seats, excluding VAT) actually paid by the referred account, for twelve months from the referred account’s registration. Credit top-ups and use of the video studio are excluded from the commission. Different rates and durations may apply to integration partners; the individual partner agreement governs.
3. Attribution. An account counts as referred if registration takes place within 90 days after the click on the referral address (referral programme) or if it first connects through an access key (API key) of the partner (integration partner). The first attribution counts.
4. Accrual, clawback and payout. The commission claim arises when the underlying customer payment has been neither refunded nor charged back thirty days after receipt. It lapses retroactively if the payment is refunded or charged back in whole or in part within 180 days of receipt (clawback); commission already paid out is netted against future commission, otherwise the partner repays it within 30 days of request. The net channel fees actually paid by the referred account after discounts, tiers and promotional prices are decisive. Payout is made monthly for the previous month through Stripe Connect once at least EUR 50 of accrued commission has accumulated; this requires a payout account with Stripe (identity and bank verification by Stripe) and the complete details under no. 8. Amounts below EUR 50 remain and do not lapse; when participation ends, the remaining balance is paid with the next monthly payout. This also applies when the partner deletes their account: participation ends with the deletion; commission on payments received up to then is paid out after the thirty days with the next monthly run without a minimum amount, provided the payout account and the details under no. 8 are in place; otherwise the provider pays out on request by e-mail to mail@castfold.com. Payments by referred accounts received after participation has ended no longer give rise to commission. Payout as credit does not take place. No commission arises on payments from accounts attributable to the partner or the partner’s business.
5. Prohibitions. Self-referral, ads on the brand name “Castfold” or misspellings of it, spam, bought traffic, coupon sites without their own content, misleading statements about growth or earnings. Violations forfeit the commission from the affected accounts and entitle the provider to terminate without notice.
6. Brand. The partner may use the Castfold name and logo only in the form provided by the provider and does not present themselves as the provider.
7. Term. The partner agreement may be terminated by either party with 30 days’ notice; it also ends when the partner’s account is deleted. Commission claims already accrued remain and are paid out under no. 4.
8. Self-billing. The parties agree that commissions are settled exclusively by the provider by means of a self-billing credit note within the meaning of § 14 (2) sentence 5 UStG, bearing the word “Gutschrift” and transmitted electronically; the partner agrees to both and issues no invoices of their own. Before the first payout the partner declares their tax status and keeps it up to date: (a) business under standard taxation – the credit note shows German VAT; (b) small business under § 19 UStG – the credit note shows no VAT and states the small business exemption; (c) no business activity – the credit note shows no VAT and is a commission statement; (d) business established outside Germany – the credit note shows no VAT and states “reverse charge – recipient liable for VAT” with both VAT identification numbers where available. Name, address, tax status and tax number or VAT identification number are required; without them the payout is held back. If the partner does not object to a credit note within 14 days of receipt, it is deemed accepted. If an incorrect VAT statement results from an incorrect or outdated status declaration by the partner, the partner bears the resulting tax disadvantage.
9. Taxes. The partner is responsible for taxing their own commissions.
10. Status. The partner is not obliged to act, does not represent the provider and is not a commercial agent.
11. Payout account, data. For payouts Stripe sets up a payout account (Stripe Connect) and verifies the partner’s identity and bank details under its own responsibility; the Stripe Connected Account Agreement applies. The provider transmits to Stripe the partner’s name or company name, address, e-mail address, country, language, the partner’s website if provided, and the payout amounts. The partner is responsible for taxing their own commissions.