Terms of Service

Last updated: 2026-09-25

1. Who we are and accepting these Terms

Sygmatic is operated by Idea Engine LLC, a Wisconsin limited liability company("we", "us"). Idea Engine LLC is also the merchant on any Stripe receipt. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, are an agreement between you and us.

You accept them when you sign in, where the sign-in form says "By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy", and when you leave a tip, where the tip buttons say the same. If you do not agree, do not sign in or tip. Browsing public pages is also subject to these Terms.

2. Who may use Sygmatic

You must be at least 13 years old. If you are under 18, or under the age of majority where you live, you may use Sygmatic only with the permission of a parent or guardian, who accepts these Terms for you. Lessons use real-world videos, and some discuss mature topics such as suicide, sex work or extremism; those lessons carry a content note.

3. Your account

There are no passwords. You sign in with Google or with a one-time link sent to your email. Keep access to that Google account and email inbox secure: anyone who controls them can sign in as you. Give us an email address you are entitled to use. Tell us at support@idea-engine.studio if you think someone else has used your account. You can delete your account at any time from your profile.

4. Using the service

Sygmatic is free. We give you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use it for your own non-commercial language learning. You may not:

• copy, resell, redistribute or republish lessons, transcripts, translations or quizzes;
• scrape, crawl or bulk-download the site or its API, or access it by automated means other than ordinary search-engine indexing;
• reverse engineer, disrupt or overload the service, or get around its limits or security;
• use it for anything unlawful, or to harass, abuse or harm anyone;
• remove any copyright, attribution or other notices.

Apart from the videos and other third-party content described below, the Sygmatic software, design, text, quizzes and learning tools belong to Idea Engine LLC.

5. Videos, creators and copyright

Each lesson is built around a publicly available YouTube video. We do not own those videos; they belong to their creators. Videos play in YouTube's own embedded player and are never hosted by us. Every lesson credits the original video and, where known, its channel, with a link to watch it on YouTube.

Copyright complaints and takedown requests. If you own a video or other material used on Sygmatic and do not want it used, or believe it is used in a way that infringes your rights, email support@idea-engine.studio with:

1. your name, and contact details (email, and a postal address or phone number);
2. the work you own (for example the YouTube video or channel link);
3. the Sygmatic page(s) where it appears;
4. a statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorised by you, your agent or the law;
5. a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or are authorised to act for the owner; and
6. your physical or electronic signature.

When we receive a complete request we will promptly remove or disable the lesson concerned while we look into it, and reply to you. You do not need to prove anything else for us to take a lesson down.

6. YouTube

Lesson videos are provided through the YouTube API Services. By watching them on Sygmatic you also agree to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service, and Google's handling of your data is described in the Google Privacy Policy. YouTube may remove or change a video at any time, in which case its lesson may stop working or be withdrawn.

7. Machine-generated definitions, translations and quizzes

Word definitions, grammar labels, sentence translations and quiz questions on Sygmatic are generated with AI language models and automated tools, and transcripts are aligned automatically. They can be wrong, incomplete or out of context. Entries we could not verify are marked "uncertain". Treat everything as a study aid, not as authoritative reference or professional instruction, and check anything important against a dictionary or teacher. We do not use your data to train AI models.

8. Tips

Every lesson is free. The "buy me a coffee/lunch" tip jar is an optional, one-time payment to Idea Engine LLC, processed by Stripe. A tip unlocks nothing, is not a subscription, is not a charitable donation and is not tax-deductible. Prices are shown before you pay. Tips are non-refundable except for payments made in error: see the Refund Policy.

9. Disclaimer

Sygmatic is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement. We do not promise that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free or that any lesson will remain available, and we do not promise any learning outcome.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, Idea Engine LLC and its members, employees and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost data, profits or goodwill, arising from or related to Sygmatic or these Terms. Our total liability for all claims relating to Sygmatic is limited to the greater of (a) the tips you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose and (b) US $50. Some places do not allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you; nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

11. Indemnity

If you misuse Sygmatic or break these Terms (for example by scraping it or republishing its content) and a third party makes a claim against us as a result, you agree to indemnify and hold Idea Engine LLC harmless from that claim and its reasonable costs, including legal fees, to the extent the law allows.

12. Suspension and termination

You can stop using Sygmatic and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or end your access, or remove content, if you break these Terms, if required by law or a rights-holder's request, or if we discontinue the service. Sections 4 (ownership), 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14 and 15 survive termination.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. The date at the top shows the latest version. For material changes we will show a notice on the site or email signed-in learners before they take effect, and you may be asked to accept them when you next sign in. If you keep using Sygmatic after a change takes effect, the new Terms apply.

14. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or Sygmatic will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in the State of Wisconsin, and you and we consent to their jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living outside the United States, this does not take away any mandatory protection or right to sue at home that your local law gives you.

15. General

• These Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Refund Policy are the entire agreement between you and us about Sygmatic.
• If any part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect.
• If we do not enforce a provision right away, we have not waived it.
• You may not transfer these Terms; we may transfer them to a successor of the service.
• These Terms are written in English. Where Sygmatic offers a translation or a summary in another language, the English version controls.

16. Contact