1. Introduction
This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") sets out the rules and guidelines for using the Cove platform (the "Service"). This AUP is part of and incorporated into our Terms of Service. By using the Service, you agree to comply with this AUP.
Violations of this AUP may result in suspension or termination of your account, with or without prior notice, depending on the severity of the violation.
2. Lawful Use
You must use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with all applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations, including but not limited to:
- Tax laws and financial reporting regulations
- Data protection and privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, and others)
- Anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing laws
- Employment and labor laws (when using HR features)
- Intellectual property laws
- Anti-spam laws (CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR)
3. Prohibited Activities
You may not use the Service to:
3.1 Financial Misconduct
- Create fraudulent, misleading, or fictitious invoices or financial records
- Facilitate tax evasion, money laundering, or terrorist financing
- Misrepresent income, expenses, or tax obligations
- Process payments for illegal goods or services
- Circumvent sanctions or trade restrictions
3.2 Data Misuse
- Collect, store, or process personal data without a lawful basis
- Upload data you do not have the right to process
- Use the Service to build databases of personal information for unauthorized purposes
- Share, sell, or distribute personal data obtained through the Service to unauthorized third parties
- Process special category data (health, biometric, genetic, racial/ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, sexual orientation) except where strictly necessary for HR functions and with appropriate legal basis and safeguards
3.3 Security Violations
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other user accounts, or our systems
- Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service without authorization
- Introduce malware, viruses, trojans, worms, or other malicious code
- Interfere with or disrupt the Service, servers, or networks
- Circumvent or attempt to circumvent security measures, access controls, or rate limits
- Use the Service to launch attacks against any system or network (e.g., denial-of-service attacks)
3.4 Intellectual Property Violations
- Upload content that infringes any third party's copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights
- Copy, reproduce, or redistribute any part of the Service without authorization
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service
3.5 Abusive Behavior
- Harass, abuse, threaten, or intimidate other users or our personnel
- Send spam, unsolicited commercial messages, or phishing attempts through the Service
- Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely represent your affiliation
- Use the Service in a way that could damage our reputation or brand
3.6 Unauthorized Commercial Use
- Resell, sublicense, or commercially redistribute the Service without written authorization
- Use the Service to build a competing product or service
- Use automated tools, bots, or scrapers to access the Service except through our official API with proper authorization
- Exceed fair usage limits or consume disproportionate system resources
4. Content Standards
All content you upload, create, or process through the Service must:
- Be accurate and not misleading (particularly financial records and invoices)
- Not contain illegal, defamatory, obscene, or harmful content
- Not infringe the intellectual property or privacy rights of any third party
- Comply with applicable industry standards and regulations
5. Email Integration Responsibilities
When using the email integration features, you must:
- Only connect email accounts you are authorized to access
- Not use the email integration to monitor employees' personal email without their knowledge and consent
- Comply with your email provider's terms of service
- Not use extracted email data for any purpose other than managing your business through the Service
6. HR Data Responsibilities
When using the HR features, you acknowledge that you are the data controller for your employees' personal data and must:
- Have a lawful basis for processing employee data under GDPR and applicable labor laws
- Inform your employees about the processing of their data, including the use of the Cove platform
- Ensure accuracy of employee records
- Implement appropriate access controls within your organization
- Respond to employee data subject requests in accordance with GDPR
- Not store sensitive employee data (e.g., health information, national IDs) unless strictly necessary and with appropriate legal basis
7. Reporting Violations
If you become aware of any violation of this AUP, please report it to us at:
- Email: filip@joincove.io
- Subject line: AUP Violation Report
We investigate all reports and take appropriate action, which may include content removal, account suspension, or termination.
8. Consequences of Violation
Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, we may:
- Issue a warning with a request to remedy the violation
- Temporarily suspend your access to specific features
- Temporarily suspend your entire account
- Permanently terminate your account
- Report the activity to relevant law enforcement or regulatory authorities
- Take legal action to recover damages
For serious violations (fraud, security breaches, illegal activity), we may take immediate action without prior warning.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this AUP from time to time. Material changes will be communicated in accordance with the notice provisions in our Terms of Service. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated AUP.
10. Contact
If you have questions about this Acceptable Use Policy, please contact us at:
- Email: filip@joincove.io
- Legal: filip@joincove.io