Legal

Terms of Service

Effective September 27, 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, playing, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

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;
• 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, Open-Meteo, NOAA 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

The Service, including its code, design, artwork, sounds and the Open Waves name and logo, is owned by Open Waves or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for your own non-commercial entertainment, subject to these Terms. Some assets are used under open licenses; see the credits.

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. Continuing to use the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms. 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. 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, or your violation of these Terms or of anyone else's rights.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Florida, and you consent to their jurisdiction, except where the law of your place of residence gives you the right to bring a claim locally.

16. 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.

17. Contact

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