Terms of Service
Effective as of: July 9, 2025
Last updated: May 16, 2026
Welcome to Saphly! These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern your access to and use of our website, our publishing services, and any related platforms or community channels that we operate (collectively, the "Services").
By accessing or using any of our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Copyright Policy, our Content Guidelines, and our Community Guidelines. If you do not agree, you must discontinue use of the Services.
Where you have entered into a separate publishing agreement with Saphly, the terms of that agreement apply to your publishing relationship with us and take precedence over these Terms to the extent of any conflict.
You agree to use our Services for lawful purposes only. You must not misuse the Services in any way that could harm us, our operations, or other users.
All content provided through our Services (including but not limited to text, graphics, branding, and published works) is owned by Saphly or our contributors and protected by intellectual property law. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works without our express permission, except for personal, non-commercial use.
You agree to use the Services responsibly and not engage in conduct within or related to the Services that:
- Is unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful to others.
- Harasses, abuses, or defames any person or entity.
- Uploads viruses, malware, or spam.
- Attempts to disrupt or interfere with Services.
- Seeks unauthorized access to our platforms, data, or networks.
- Publishes, shares, or promotes content that violates our Content Guidelines.
- Misrepresents authorship, including submitting or publishing content that you did not create or do not have rights to.
Our Services include community platforms, such as our Discord server, to facilitate discussion and engagement. When you join and participate in these platforms, you agree to the following:
- Use of bots: We employ automated bots within our Discord server to assist with security, moderation, administration, and to provide interactive features and entertainment (such as tracking activity, points, roles, and community games). By participating in our server, you consent to the operation of these bots.
- Server-specific rules: You agree to abide by any additional rules posted within the community platform itself (e.g., in the #rules channel).
- Data processing: The data collected in our community platforms is used solely for its effective operation and enhancement, as detailed in our Privacy Policy.
When you submit manuscripts or other materials ("Submissions") through our Services, you represent and warrant that:
- You own all rights in the material or have obtained all necessary permissions to submit it.
- Your submission does not infringe the intellectual property or other rights of any third party.
- You grant us a non-exclusive license to review, store, and consider your submission for publishing and related purposes.
- Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee acceptance, publication, or payment.
- You will comply with any submission guidelines stated on our website or otherwise provided.
6.1. Publishing & licensing
- You retain ownership of your content.
- By publishing content on the platform, you grant Saphly a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, distribute, and promote your content within the Services. This includes editorial featuring such as homepage placements, curated lists, and recommendations, without additional consent or compensation.
- You are responsible for the accuracy of your work's metadata, including its title, description, tags, and content warnings.
- Your content must comply with our Content Guidelines.
- We may remove, restrict, or moderate content that violates these Terms or our policies.
- Publishing content on the platform does not constitute submission for traditional publishing consideration unless explicitly stated.
6.2. Unpublishing & removal
You may unpublish or request removal of your content at any time, subject to the following:
- Free or unlisted works may be removed immediately.
- Monetized works may not be unilaterally unpublished or removed while a monetization agreement is active. To remove monetized content, contact us directly; we will work with you to conclude the monetization relationship before removal.
- Where readers have purchased access to a work, removal from public discovery will be processed but existing purchasers retain access to their purchased content.
For details on how your data is handled upon content removal or account deletion, see our Privacy Policy.
Authors who publish content through the platform may be eligible to monetize their works through individual purchases or subscription access. For community-published works, this is subject to Saphly's review and approval process; if approved, you will be presented with a monetization agreement. That agreement is the governing document for your monetization relationship with Saphly and must be accepted before monetization is enabled.
By way of general information: subscription monetization operates on a read-event model. One read event corresponds to approximately 280 pages read. The per-page rate is variable and determined monthly based on the total subscription revenue pool; usually it ranges between approximately $0.004 and $0.005 per page. These figures are indicative only and are not contractual commitments.
Saphly reserves the right to modify the monetization model, payout rates, or eligibility criteria. Where such changes materially affect your earnings, we will provide reasonable advance notice.
The first portion (up to 20%) of every published work is automatically available as a free preview and cannot be removed or locked by the author. Saphly may adjust the preview length where necessary, including extensions beyond the default with the author's consent or as specified in a publishing agreement.
Access beyond the preview depends on the book's access model:
- Free works require a registered account to read in full.
- Purchase-monetized works require purchase to read beyond the preview.
- Subscription-monetized works require an active Saphly Plus subscription to read beyond the preview.
The only exception to account-free preview access is mature content, which is exempt from public previews entirely and is accessible only to registered users. By accessing mature content, users confirm they meet the applicable age requirements in their jurisdiction.
9.1. Purchases Through Third-Party Retailers
Saphly may provide links to third-party retailers (such as Amazon) where our products are available. If you purchase a product through a third-party retailer, your transaction is processed by that retailer and is subject to the retailer's own terms, conditions, and refund policies. Any requests for refunds, returns, or exchanges must be submitted directly to the retailer from whom you made the purchase. Saphly does not process or issue refunds for purchases made through third-party retailers.
9.2. Purchases Made Through Saphly
Saphly may offer digital books for purchase directly on our platform. By completing a purchase through our Services, you agree to the terms outlined in our Refund Policy, which governs your purchase and forms part of these Terms.
9.3. Chargebacks and Payment Reversals
You agree not to initiate a chargeback, payment reversal, or bank dispute for any purchase or subscription charge without first contacting us and providing a reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue. Chargeback and fraud prevention terms are governed by our Refund Policy, which forms part of these Terms.
10.1. Multiple accounts
Each person may hold one account per role or purpose. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent a suspension, inflate engagement, manipulate platform systems, or otherwise evade these Terms is prohibited. Legitimate separate accounts (such as a staff account alongside a personal reading or publishing account, or publishing under more than one pen name) are permitted provided they are not used to circumvent any restriction or policy. If you operate more than one account, you remain bound by these Terms across all of them.
10.2. Non-transferability
Accounts are personal and non-transferable. You may not sell, transfer, gift, or grant control of your account to another person. Content published under an account is associated with the registered account holder, and account changes do not transfer any standing, history, or publishing rights to a new operator.
10.3. Pen names
You may publish under a chosen author name or pen name. This does not constitute impersonation provided the name is not designed to deceive readers into believing you are a different, specific real person.
10.4. Collaborations & co-authored works
Where a work is created collaboratively, the account that publishes the work is responsible for ensuring all contributors have agreed to these Terms and that publishing rights are in order. Saphly cannot arbitrate ownership or attribution disputes between collaborators. In the event of a dispute, we will take no action to transfer or reassign content and will act on the account that published the work pending resolution through appropriate legal channels. If a dispute results in a credible legal claim, we may temporarily restrict the content until the matter is resolved.
10.5. Account security
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. If you suspect unauthorized access, contact us immediately. Saphly is not liable for any loss or damage arising from unauthorized use of your account.
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to our Services, without notice or liability, if you violate these Terms or engage in conduct we deem harmful to Saphly, our partners, or our community.
Access to purchased digital content is contingent on the continued operation of the Services. Saphly does not guarantee perpetual access to purchased e-books in all cases. Where a title is removed from the platform—whether at the author's request, due to a policy violation, or for any other reason—readers who have individually purchased that title retain access to it. However, access to non-purchased content, including content accessible through a subscription, is not guaranteed following removal and is at the discretion of the content owner or Saphly as applicable. In the event that the Services are discontinued in their entirety, we cannot guarantee continued access to purchased content and will not be liable for any resulting loss of access. By purchasing digital content through the Services, you acknowledge and accept this limitation.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Saphly shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of our Services. We do not guarantee uninterrupted, secure, or error-free operation.
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Saphly, its affiliates, officers, and employees from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses arising out of your violation of these Terms or your use of our Services.
We may update these Terms periodically, indicating any changes through the "Last Updated" date. Continued use of our Services after changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.
These Terms are governed by the laws of Portugal, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any legal action or dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the Services will be resolved in accordance with these laws and regulations.
If you have any questions about these Terms or need assistance, please contact us via the appropriate email address or form you can find on the Contact page. For real-time assistance or to reach out via community support, you can also contact us on our Discord server.
