Legal

Terms of Service

Effective October 13, 2026

Welcome to Open Waves. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Open Waves game, the websites at openwaves.world and ride.openwaves.world, and related services (together, the "Service"). Open Waves is an independent project operated by an individual developer based in Florida, United States ("Open Waves", "we", "us").

By creating an account, signing in, or playing Open Waves, you agree to these Terms. You are asked to confirm this when you create your account and again whenever the Terms change in a way that matters. If you do not agree, do not create an account and do not play.

Please read Section 15 carefully. It requires most disputes between you and Open Waves to be resolved by binding individual arbitration instead of in court, and it includes a class action waiver and a jury trial waiver. You can opt out of arbitration within 30 days, as explained there.

1. Who can use Open Waves

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under 18, you may only use the Service with the permission of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf. The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

2. Beta access and accounts

Open Waves is currently in a private, invite-only beta. Invites are personal and tied to the email address they were issued to; do not share or sell them. You are responsible for your account, for keeping your password secure, and for everything done with your account. Tell us promptly through the contact form if you believe your account has been compromised.

Because the Service is in beta, features may change, break, be reset or be removed at any time. Progress, settings or other data may be lost. We may add, limit or end beta access at our discretion.

3. Acceptable use

When using the Service, you agree not to:

• harass, threaten, impersonate or abuse other players, including in text chat, voice chat, player names or lobby names;
• post or transmit content that is unlawful, hateful, sexually explicit, or infringes someone else's rights;
• cheat, exploit bugs to disrupt other players, or interfere with lobbies, servers or other players' sessions;
• copy, scrape, reverse engineer, decompile or redistribute the game's code or assets, except as permitted by law;
• use the Service, or any part of its code, simulation, design or assets, for a commercial purpose without our written permission (see Section 10);
• attempt to access accounts, systems or data that are not yours, probe for vulnerabilities, or bypass rate limits, invite requirements or usage caps;
• use automated means (bots, scripts) to access the Service, or use the Service to harvest map, scenery or forecast data;
• use the Service in violation of any applicable law.

We may remove content, limit features, or suspend or close accounts that break these rules or put the Service or other players at risk.

4. Your content

You keep ownership of what you create or submit, such as your player name, chat messages and custom wing designs ("Your Content"). You give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, display and transmit Your Content as needed to run the Service (for example, showing your name and chat to others in a lobby). Voice chat is delivered live between players and is not recorded or stored by us.

5. Supporter contributions

Open Waves is free to play during the beta. You may choose to make a voluntary supporter contribution to help cover running costs such as servers, 3D scenery, map and forecast data, and the domain. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see or store your full card details. Stripe's own terms and privacy policy apply to your payment.

• Contributions are voluntary support for the project. They are not a purchase of goods, an investment, or a charitable donation, and they are not tax-deductible.
• Supporters may receive thank-you perks such as a Beta Supporter badge or early access to new spots and features. Perks are cosmetic or access-based, have no cash value, cannot be transferred, and may change as the game evolves.
• Contributions are non-refundable except where required by law or where a charge was made in error. If you believe you were charged in error, contact us within 30 days through the contact form.

6. Third-party services and data

The Service uses third-party services and data, including Google Maps Platform (photorealistic 3D scenery), OpenStreetMap, Overture Maps, MET Norway, NOAA, PacIOOS and GEBCO elevation and seabed data, Cloudflare and Stripe. Your use of Google's 3D scenery is also subject to the Google Maps / Google Earth Additional Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy. Map data is © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License. We are not responsible for third-party services, which may change or become unavailable.

7. Not for real-world navigation or safety

Open Waves is a game. Its waves, seabed, wind, tides and weather are simulations built from forecasts and public data, and they can be incomplete, delayed or wrong. Never use the Service to decide whether it is safe to surf, foil, sail, swim, boat or travel in the real world. Always check official forecasts, local conditions and lifeguard or harbour guidance.

8. Health and safety, including VR

Some people experience motion sickness, eye strain, dizziness, disorientation or, rarely, seizures when playing video games, especially in virtual reality. Take regular breaks and stop playing if you feel unwell. When playing in VR, clear your play area, stay aware of your surroundings, follow your headset manufacturer's safety instructions, and supervise children. You play at your own risk.

9. Privacy

To run the beta we store your email address, player name, a securely hashed password, sign-in records (time, device and approximate country), usage counts, and gameplay events such as sessions, spots, boards, falls and ride time. Live positions and chat are relayed between players but not stored. If you contact us, we store your message and the email address you give so we can reply. You can download or delete your account data at any time from the account menu in the game. We do not sell your personal information. Full details are in our Privacy Policy.

10. Our intellectual property and commercial use

Developer purchases of the separate Open Waves Water package are governed by the software license issued with that purchase. The software license controls authorized SDK use where it differs from these game and website terms. Supporter contributions do not purchase an SDK license.

Ownership. The Service is proprietary. Its source code (in the browser and on our servers), shaders, wave, water and physics simulation, game design, interface, artwork, sounds, and the Open Waves name and logo are owned by Open Waves or its licensors and are protected by United States and international copyright, trade secret, trademark and other laws. Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership to you.

Your license. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to play the Service for your own non-commercial entertainment, subject to these Terms. Some assets are used under open licenses that keep their own terms; see the credits.

No commercial use without written consent. Unless you have our express prior written consent, you may not:

• use the Service, or any of its code, shaders, simulation models, designs or assets, for any commercial purpose, including selling, licensing, renting or hosting it, charging for access to it, or including any part of it in another product or service;
• copy, modify, translate, adapt or create derivative works from the Service's code or assets, or use them to build, train or improve a competing game, simulation, dataset or machine-learning model;
• extract, de-obfuscate, decompile or reverse engineer the Service's code, except to the limited extent that applicable law allows this despite these Terms;
• remove or alter copyright, trademark or attribution notices.

Written consent means a signed agreement, or a written permission from Open Waves that names you and states what is allowed. Silence, a chat message, or permission given to someone else is not consent. To ask, use the contact form.

Sharing your gameplay. You may capture and share screenshots and videos of your own play, including on channels that earn advertising revenue, as long as you do not sell access to the Service, do not suggest that we sponsor or endorse you, and remove the content if we ask. This permission does not extend to the Service's code or to assets taken out of the game.

Feedback. If you send us ideas or suggestions, you allow us to use them without restriction or payment.

If these limits are broken. Unauthorized commercial use, copying or reverse engineering is a material breach of these Terms and ends your license immediately. It can cause harm that money alone cannot repair, so in addition to any other remedy available by law (including damages, an accounting of profits and, where the law allows, statutory damages and attorneys' fees) we may ask a court for an order to stop it, as described in Section 15. Disputes about this Section are resolved under Section 15.

11. Changes and termination

We may update the Service and these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where reasonable, let you know in the game or by email. When the changes matter we will ask you to accept the updated Terms before you continue to play; otherwise, continuing to use the Service after changes take effect means you accept them. You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or end the Service, or your access to it, at any time, including if we reasonably believe you have broken these Terms.

12. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DATA WILL NOT BE LOST.

13. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OPEN WAVES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR US $50. THESE LIMITS APPLY TO EVERY KIND OF CLAIM (CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) AND EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for intentional misconduct. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.

14. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Open Waves from any claims, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your misuse of the Service, Your Content, any unauthorized commercial use of the Service or its code, or your violation of these Terms or of anyone else's rights.

15. Dispute resolution: binding arbitration and class action waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT AND TO HAVE A JURY HEAR YOUR CLAIMS.

Talk to us first. Most concerns can be settled quickly. Before starting any formal proceeding, the party with the complaint must send the other a written notice describing the dispute and what they want (to us, through the contact form; to you, at your account's email address). Both sides will try in good faith to resolve it for 60 days after the notice is received. Any time limit for bringing the claim is paused during those 60 days.

Agreement to arbitrate. If the dispute is not resolved in that time, you and Open Waves agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, including a claim that the Service or its code was used commercially or copied without consent, will be resolved by binding arbitration on an individual basis, and not in court, except as set out below. This agreement to arbitrate is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. The arbitrator, and not a court, decides whether a dispute must be arbitrated and whether this Section is enforceable, except that a court decides whether the class action waiver below is enforceable.

Exceptions. Either of us may (a) bring an individual claim in small claims court, if it qualifies and stays there; and (b) ask a court for a temporary or permanent order to stop infringement or misuse of intellectual property, unauthorized commercial use of the Service or its code, or unauthorized access to the Service. Asking a court for such an order does not give up the right to arbitrate everything else.

How it works. The arbitration will be run by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (or its Commercial Arbitration Rules if the dispute concerns commercial use of the Service or you are acting for a business), available at adr.org, as modified by this Section. One arbitrator will decide the case. Hearings will be held by video or telephone, or decided on written submissions; if an in-person hearing is needed it will be held in the county where you live or another place we both agree to. The arbitrator may award the same individual remedies a court could, must follow these Terms and the law, and will give a short written decision. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court with jurisdiction.

Costs. Filing, administration and arbitrator fees are paid as the AAA's rules provide; for a consumer's claim those rules limit what the consumer pays. Each side pays its own attorneys' fees unless the law or these Terms say otherwise. If the arbitrator finds that a claim or defense was frivolous or brought for an improper purpose, the arbitrator may award the other side its reasonable fees and costs. In a dispute about Section 10, the side that prevails is entitled to its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to the extent the law allows.

CLASS ACTION AND JURY WAIVER. YOU AND OPEN WAVES EACH GIVE UP THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND THE RIGHT TO BRING OR JOIN A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. CLAIMS MAY BE BROUGHT ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, AND THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT COMBINE MORE THAN ONE PERSON'S CLAIMS OR AWARD RELIEF TO ANYONE OTHER THAN THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY. If a court decides this waiver cannot be enforced for a particular claim or remedy (for example, a request for public injunctive relief), that claim or remedy alone will be decided in court after the arbitration of everything else is finished.

Your right to opt out. You may opt out of this agreement to arbitrate by telling us so through the contact form, from your account's email address, within 30 days of first accepting these Terms (or, if you accepted an earlier version without this Section, within 30 days of accepting this version). If you opt out, disputes are decided in court under Section 16, and nothing else in these Terms changes. Opting out will not affect your access to the Service.

Changes to this Section. If we change this Section, the change does not apply to a dispute we already had notice of, and you may reject the change by telling us within 30 days, in which case the previous version continues to apply to you.

Survival. This Section continues to apply after you stop using the Service or your account is closed. If any part of it other than the class action waiver is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.

16. Governing law and courts

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, and by the Federal Arbitration Act as to Section 15. Any matter that is not subject to arbitration (including a claim by someone who has opted out, a request for a court order under Section 15, and an action to enforce an arbitration award) will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Florida, and you consent to their jurisdiction, except for small claims brought where you live and except where the law of your place of residence gives you the right to bring a claim locally. If you live outside the United States, mandatory consumer protections of your country that cannot be waived continue to apply to you.

17. General

If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms; we may transfer ours in connection with a transfer of the Service. These Terms are the entire agreement between you and Open Waves about the Service. If you accept these Terms for a child under 18, you agree to them, including Section 15, for yourself and for the child.

18. Contact

Questions, account requests, refund requests, permission requests or reports? Send a message through the contact form and it will be answered as soon as possible.