Terms of Service

Last updated: March 28, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using Mystery Lab, you agree to these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

2. Age Requirement

You must be at least 13 years old to use Mystery Lab. If you are between 13 and 18, you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agrees to these terms. We reserve the right to terminate accounts that violate this requirement.

3. Service Description

Mystery Lab is an AI-powered daily mystery detective game. You interrogate procedurally generated AI suspects to solve crimes, assisted by an AI detective companion. Key points:

• Suspects and companions are AI programs, not real people
• Cases, suspect personalities, and dialogue are procedurally generated by AI — each mystery is unique
• The game tracks clues, contradictions, and evidence across interrogations; your detective companion cross-references suspect statements to help you investigate
• The service includes text chat, voice messages (speech-to-text), suspect and companion audio responses (text-to-speech), and AI-generated images (suspect mugshots and crime scene illustrations)
• You can purchase bribes ($1/$5/$10/$20 in-app purchases) to receive escalating reveals about suspects during interrogations
• Tournaments (weekly, themed, and special events) allow competitive play with leaderboard rankings, XP, badges, and detective ranks

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the service if you are under 13 years of age
• Attempt to generate illegal, harmful, or sexually explicit content
• Use the service for harassment, abuse, or any illegal purpose
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, extract, or copy the AI models or underlying technology
• Attempt to circumvent or manipulate content safety filters
• Create multiple accounts to circumvent usage limits or bans
• Use automated tools, bots, or scripts to access the service
• Share your account credentials with others
• Attempt to exploit the bribe or tournament systems through fraudulent purchases, chargebacks, or coordinated manipulation

5. AI-Generated Content

All content generated by Mystery Lab (suspect dialogue, companion analysis, mugshot images, crime scene illustrations, audio) is created by artificial intelligence. This content:

• Does not represent real people, real crimes, or real events — all mysteries are fictional
• May contain narrative inconsistencies or factual errors — suspect statements and companion analysis are AI-generated and not guaranteed to be perfectly consistent
• Should not be relied upon for any real-world criminal investigation, legal advice, or forensic analysis
• Is intended for entertainment purposes only
• AI-generated images (mugshots, crime scenes) are fictional and do not depict real individuals or real locations

6. Consent to AI Data Processing

By creating an account, you acknowledge and consent to:

• Your messages being sent to third-party AI services to generate suspect interrogation dialogue, companion responses, and case narratives
• Your voice messages being processed by third-party speech recognition services
• Suspect descriptions and scene details being sent to a third-party image generation service to create mugshot portraits and crime scene illustrations
• Clues, evidence, and personal details you share being stored in the game's memory system to track your investigation progress and personalize your companion's assistance

For full details on data processing, see our Privacy Policy.

7. Content Safety

Mystery Lab is designed to be safe for users aged 13 and older. The game contains fictional crime and mystery content rated 12+ by the App Store. We employ automated content safety systems to:

• Keep all conversations appropriate for users aged 13 and older, within the context of fictional crime-solving gameplay
• Filter AI responses that may contain inappropriate content
• Monitor usage patterns to detect and prevent misuse
• Suspend accounts that repeatedly attempt to circumvent safety measures

If you encounter content that seems inappropriate, please report it using the in-app reporting feature.

8. Subscriptions and Payments

Mystery Lab offers free and paid subscription plans, as well as in-app bribe purchases:

• Subscription details, pricing, and billing terms are displayed at the time of purchase
• Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled before the renewal date
• You may cancel your subscription at any time through your Profile or app store settings
• Bribe purchases ($1, $5, $10, $20) provide escalating suspect reveals during interrogations. Bribes are one-time purchases tied to specific suspects and are non-refundable once the reveal has been delivered
• On the web, payments are processed by a third-party payment provider
• On iOS, payments are processed through the App Store and subject to Apple's terms
• Refund policies follow the applicable platform's standard refund process

9. Intellectual Property

The Mystery Lab service — including its AI models, suspect and companion characters, case narratives, design, branding, and code — is owned by Mystery Lab. You retain no ownership of AI-generated content (including suspect dialogue, companion analysis, mugshot images, and crime scene illustrations) but may use conversation content and generated images for personal, non-commercial purposes (e.g., sharing your case results or reviewing your game history).

10. Limitation of Liability

Mystery Lab is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• Narrative inconsistencies, inaccurate clue analysis, or misleading suspect statements generated by AI
• Service interruptions, data loss, or technical failures
• Any damages arising from your use of or inability to use the service
• Leaderboard rankings, tournament outcomes, or detective rank calculations

11. Account Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account if you violate these terms. You may delete your account at any time through the app (Profile > Delete Account). Upon termination or deletion, your data will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

12. Governing Law

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

13. Changes to Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or in-app notification. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the new terms.

14. Contact

For questions about these terms, contact us at legal@mysterylab.app.