Blowhorn terms of service

Draft, pending legal review. A lawyer has not yet reviewed these terms, and they may change before they are final.

What these terms cover

Blowhorn is a social media console made by Layer5, Inc. ("Layer5", "we" or "us"). These terms cover all of it:

• the website at blowhorn.ai;
• the Blowhorn app for macOS: the menu-bar app, the blowhorn command-line tool and the background service that runs scheduled work;
• the Blowhorn extension for Google Chrome, published on the Chrome Web Store as item fcflpiagmpcfifgknledeknedfopnapf.

By downloading, installing or using any of them you agree to these terms. If you use Blowhorn for an organization, you agree to them for that organization and you confirm you are allowed to.

Blowhorn relies on Layer5 Cloud, which has its own terms of service and privacy policy. Those govern your Layer5 Cloud account and organization. These terms do not change them.

Early access

Blowhorn is in early access. Expect features to change, move or be withdrawn, and expect bugs. Rehearse a run with its dry-run form before you let it publish.

During early access Blowhorn is free. There are no plans or tiers to choose between: everyone gets the same features. If Layer5 introduces paid plans, we will announce them on this site and update these terms before we charge anything, and you will not be charged unless you choose a paid plan.

What Blowhorn needs

• A Layer5 Cloud organization. Blowhorn keeps your content queue, schedule, profiles, run ledger and platform credentials in your organization's store on Layer5 Cloud, and you sign in with your Layer5 Cloud account. If you lose access to that organization, Blowhorn stops running work that depends on its store.
• A Mac with macOS 13 or newer for the app.
• Google Chrome for the platforms Blowhorn drives in your browser, with the Blowhorn extension installed in each Chrome profile you map to a Blowhorn profile.

Downloads

• The official Blowhorn app downloads are the signed disk images linked from blowhorn.ai, published as assets on the releases page of this site's repository, and the updates the Blowhorn app installs itself from Layer5's release channel, as the privacy page describes. Nothing else is an official copy. Verify each disk image you download from blowhorn.ai against the SHA256SUMS.txt published with it before you open it.
• The only official Blowhorn extension is the Chrome Web Store item named above.
• The Blowhorn software, meaning the app for macOS, the blowhorn command-line tool, the background service and the Chrome extension, is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3 (AGPL-3.0). Each release ships a copy of that licence. Read it before you install. Where the licence and these terms differ about the software itself, the licence decides.
• Releases are never replaced in place. A fix ships as a new version.

Your accounts

• Blowhorn acts on the third-party platform accounts you configure, such as LinkedIn, X, Reddit, Hacker News, Slack, Bluesky and GitHub. It acts either in your own signed-in Chrome, through the extension, or through the platform's own API with credentials you provide.
• You are responsible for those accounts and for everything published from them. Use only accounts you have the right to use, including any account you run for someone else.
• You are responsible for following each platform's own terms, rules and limits. Blowhorn gives you the controls; it does not give you permission to break a platform's rules.
• The platforms are independent of Layer5 and are not part of Blowhorn. A platform can change its site or API, restrict a feature, or suspend an account at any time, and that can stop a Blowhorn action from working. Layer5 is not responsible for what a platform does to your account.
• Blowhorn amplifies what you approve: the rows you approve in the queue and the commands you run. A dry run publishes nothing. On Hacker News it submits and comments only; it never votes.

Your content

The posts, comments, messages, profiles and other content you put into Blowhorn stay yours. You give Layer5 permission to store, copy and send that content only as needed to run Blowhorn for you, which includes keeping it in your organization's store on Layer5 Cloud and publishing it to the platforms you choose.

The Chrome extension

• The extension is a companion to the Blowhorn app on your Mac. It is not a standalone social client and does nothing without that app.
• It talks only to the Blowhorn app on your Mac, over Chrome's native messaging. It acts only on the sites Blowhorn supports, only in the Chrome profile you install it in, and only when the app asks.
• On those sites it opens or finds tabs, sends the clicks and keystrokes a queued action needs, reads page state, takes a screenshot when an action needs a person to check it, catches an export you asked for, and reads a sign-in cookie when the app needs to reuse a session you already have.
• It hands what it reads to the Blowhorn app and to nothing else. What the app keeps and sends is described on the privacy page.
• Because the extension acts in your own signed-in session, an action it takes at your instruction is taken by you, on your account.

Acceptable use

You may use Blowhorn only for lawful purposes and in line with these terms. In particular, you will not:

• use Blowhorn to send spam, to impersonate anyone, to harass anyone, or to manipulate a platform's votes, rankings or reach in breach of that platform's rules;
• run Blowhorn against an account you do not have the right to use;
• use the site or Blowhorn in a way that could damage, disable, overburden or impair it, or interfere with anyone else's use of it;
• try to get materials or information through the site or Blowhorn by any means not intentionally made available.

If you use Blowhorn from outside the United States, you are responsible for following your local laws.

Trademarks and brand assets

Blowhorn, the Crowhorn mark, Major Blowhorn and Layer5 are trademarks of Layer5, Inc. The brand assets this site serves are a copy of the Blowhorn brand kit, published for the site's pages and as the kit's public reference; they are not licensed for reuse. The fonts are licensed under the SIL Open Font License and are credited in the site's licence note.

The site's text, graphics, logos and images belong to Layer5 or its suppliers and are protected by copyright and other laws. Except for the AGPL-3.0 licence that covers the Blowhorn software, these terms give you no licence to Layer5's intellectual property.

No warranty

Blowhorn, this site and everything available through them are provided "as is", without warranty or condition of any kind, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. Layer5 and its suppliers disclaim all warranties and conditions, including the implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.

Layer5 and its suppliers make no promise that Blowhorn is suitable for any purpose, or that it is reliable, available, timely or accurate. That includes any promise that an action will reach a platform, that a platform will accept it, or that a platform will leave your account alone. The site and Blowhorn may contain errors, and Layer5 may change them at any time.

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Layer5 and its suppliers are not liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special or consequential damages, or any damages at all, arising out of or connected with Blowhorn or this site. That includes damages for loss of use, data or profits; for anything published, or not published, from your accounts; and for anything a platform does to your accounts. It applies whether the claim is based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability or anything else, even if Layer5 was told such damages were possible.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so this limitation may not apply to you. If you are dissatisfied with Blowhorn, this site or these terms, your sole and exclusive remedy is to stop using them.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Layer5, its officers, directors, employees and agents, and third parties, against any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your use of Blowhorn or this site, the content you publish through Blowhorn, your breach of these terms, your breach of a platform's terms, your violation of anyone else's rights, or your violation of any law. Layer5 may, at its own cost, take over the defence of any such matter, and if it does you will cooperate with it.

Ending your use

• You can stop using Blowhorn at any time: quit and delete the app, and remove the extension from Chrome. Your data in your organization's store on Layer5 Cloud is handled under Layer5's terms and privacy policy.
• Layer5 may, in its sole discretion, end or restrict your access to the site and to Blowhorn, or to any part of them, at any time and without notice. Layer5 may also end early access or stop offering Blowhorn.
• The sections on your content, trademarks, no warranty, limitation of liability, indemnification and governing law continue to apply after your use ends.

Governing law

To the maximum extent permitted by law, these terms are governed by the laws of the State of California. Use of Blowhorn and this site is not authorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to every provision of these terms, including this section.

You and Layer5 may bring claims against each other only individually, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective or representative proceeding.

General

• You consent to receive communications from Layer5 electronically, and you agree that agreements, notices and other communications we provide electronically, including on this site, satisfy any legal requirement that they be in writing.
• Layer5 does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you are under 18, you may use Blowhorn only with the permission of a parent or guardian.
• These terms create no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship between you and Layer5.
• Layer5's performance of these terms is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing in them limits Layer5's right to comply with government, court or law enforcement requests.
• If any part of these terms is found invalid or unenforceable, it is replaced by a valid provision that most closely matches its intent, and the rest of the terms stay in effect.
• These terms, together with the AGPL-3.0 licence that covers the Blowhorn software and Layer5's terms for Layer5 Cloud, are the entire agreement between you and Layer5 about Blowhorn and this site.
• These terms are written in English, and the English version governs.

Changes

Layer5 may change these terms. The current version replaces every earlier one, and the date at the top of this page says when it last changed. Every edit to this page is recorded in the site repository's history.

Contact

Questions about these terms go to Layer5:

Layer5, Inc.
1000 Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78735
Email: legal@layer5.io
Telephone: 512-810-8200