Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and ToolBud, Inc. ("ToolBud," "we," "us," or "our"). By downloading, installing, or using the ToolBud mobile application or website (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use ToolBud. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older, have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms, and are not prohibited from using the Service under applicable law.

ToolBud is currently available only within supported pilot communities in the United States.

3. Your Account

You are responsible for:

• Providing accurate, current, and complete information during registration
• Keeping your account information up to date
• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activity that occurs under your account

You may not create more than one account or create an account on behalf of another person without their explicit consent. If you suspect unauthorized use of your account, notify us immediately at support@toolbudapp.com.

4. Community Membership & Verification

ToolBud operates on a verified community model. To access lending, borrowing, and community features, your home address must be verified against our community allowlist.

• You must provide your actual home address. Providing a false address to gain community access is a violation of these Terms and grounds for immediate account termination.
• If your address changes, you must update it in the app. Your community membership may change as a result.
• Community verification status (Ring 2) is determined solely by ToolBud based on your address.
• Friends (Ring 1) can see your tool inventory regardless of community verification.

5. Lending Rules

When you list a tool as available to lend, you agree that:

• You own the tool or have the right to lend it
• The tool is in the condition you represent it to be in
• You will respond to borrow requests in a timely manner
• You will make the tool available at the agreed time and location
• You will participate honestly in the checkout and return process, including completing the checklist and photographing the tool's condition
• You will submit any borrower rating honestly and in good faith

You may decline any borrow request for any reason. ToolBud does not guarantee that your tools will be borrowed.

6. Borrowing Rules

When you borrow a tool, you agree to:

• Use the tool only for its intended purpose and in a safe manner
• Return the tool in the same condition you received it, normal wear excepted
• Return the tool by the agreed return date
• Participate honestly in the checkout and return process
• Not lend, sublend, sell, or otherwise transfer the borrowed tool to any other person
• Immediately notify the lender if the tool is damaged, lost, or stolen during your possession

You are responsible for any damage to, loss of, or theft of a borrowed tool that occurs while it is in your possession. ToolBud does not provide insurance for borrowed tools.

Borrow requests require either a verified community connection (Ring 2) or an established friendship (Ring 1) with the lender.

7. Tool Damage, Loss & Disputes

7.1 Your Responsibility

Borrowers are responsible for tools while in their possession. If a tool is damaged, lost, or stolen during a borrow session, the borrower and lender are expected to resolve the matter directly, using the session evidence (photos, checklists, notes) as documentation.

7.2 The Dispute System

If you cannot resolve a matter directly, either party may open a dispute within 48 hours of session close. ToolBud's dispute system:

• Provides a structured record of the dispute category and details
• Preserves session evidence (checkout and return photos, checklists, messages)
• Allows ToolBud staff to review the record

ToolBud is a facilitator — not an arbitrator. We do not guarantee any particular outcome in a dispute. We do not adjudicate monetary claims between users.

7.3 No Insurance

ToolBud does not provide property insurance, liability insurance, or any other form of coverage for tools lent or borrowed through the platform. Lenders lend at their own risk. We encourage users to check their homeowner's or renter's insurance policy for any applicable coverage.

7.4 Ratings

After a session closes, lenders may rate borrowers (1–5 stars). Ratings are honest assessments of the borrowing experience. Ratings are not applied while a dispute is open. Aggregate borrower ratings are displayed publicly once a user has 3 or more completed sessions.

8. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Provide false information during registration or verification
• Impersonate any person or entity
• Use ToolBud for any commercial rental or for-profit lending purpose
• List tools you do not own or do not have the right to lend
• Damage, steal, or misappropriate borrowed tools
• Harass, abuse, threaten, or discriminate against other users
• Use ToolBud to facilitate any illegal activity
• Attempt to circumvent the community verification system
• Create fake accounts, manipulate ratings, or abuse the invite system
• Reverse engineer, scrape, or interfere with the Service
• Use the Service if you have been previously banned by ToolBud

Violation of these prohibitions may result in immediate account suspension or termination.

9. User Content

You retain ownership of content you submit to ToolBud (profile information, tool listings, photos, messages, and feed posts). By submitting content, you grant ToolBud a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, store, display, and transmit your content solely as necessary to operate the Service.

You represent that your content does not violate any third-party rights and complies with these Terms. ToolBud reserves the right to remove content that violates these Terms or that we determine, in our sole discretion, is harmful to the community.

10. ToolShed Market

The ToolShed Market feature displays outbound links to third-party retailers (such as Amazon, Home Depot, and others). ToolBud may earn affiliate commissions on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.

ToolBud is not a party to any transaction between you and a third-party retailer. Retailer pricing, availability, and terms are controlled entirely by the retailer. ToolBud makes no warranty regarding any third-party retailer or product.

11. Notifications & Communications

By creating an account, you consent to receive transactional communications via push notification, email, and SMS related to your account and session activity. You can manage notification preferences in the app. Some session-critical notifications cannot be fully disabled as they are essential to the borrowing and lending process.

All SMS messages include opt-out instructions. All emails include an unsubscribe link. We comply with CAN-SPAM and TCPA requirements.

12. Termination

You may delete your account at any time from within the app. Upon deletion, your personal information is removed as described in our Privacy Policy.

ToolBud reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, for violation of these Terms, conduct harmful to other users or the community, or for any other reason at our sole discretion.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service immediately ceases. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 7, 13, 14, 15, and 16.

13. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

ToolBud does not warrant that: (a) the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free; (b) any tool listing is accurate; (c) any user will fulfill their obligations; or (d) any dispute will be resolved in your favor.

ToolBud is a platform connecting neighbors. We are not a party to any borrowing or lending transaction. We are not responsible for the condition, safety, or suitability of any tool listed on the platform.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, TOOLBUD, INC. AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, ANY TOOL BORROWED OR LENT THROUGH THE SERVICE, OR ANY CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS.

IN NO EVENT SHALL TOOLBUD'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) $100 OR (B) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO TOOLBUD IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (WHICH MAY BE $0, AS THE SERVICE IS FREE).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so the above may not apply to you in full.

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ToolBud, Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in connection with: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any rights of another party; or (d) any tool you lend or borrow through the Service.

16. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, except that either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction for matters involving intellectual property or unauthorized access to the Service.

You waive any right to a jury trial or to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration with respect to any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms.

Any arbitration shall take place in Montgomery County, Texas, or remotely by mutual agreement.

17. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will notify you via email or in-app notification. Your continued use of ToolBud after updated Terms are posted constitutes your acceptance.

If you do not agree to updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and delete your account.

18. Contact Us

Questions about these Terms? Contact us: