Terms of Service

To access most features of the Service, you must register for an account. You may register using Google Sign-In, magic link email (passwordless), or Apple Sign-In (where available). You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration.

Each person may hold only one account. Creating duplicate accounts — including to circumvent a suspension, access a free trial more than once, or bypass usage limits — is prohibited. If we detect duplicate accounts, we reserve the right to terminate all associated accounts.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You must keep your login credentials secure, not permit others to use your account, and notify us immediately at support@bumate.ai if you suspect unauthorised access. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain account security.

You are solely responsible for all content you post and all actions taken under your account, including by anyone you authorise or allow to use your account.

You must not post, share, or transmit content that is harassing, threatening, abusive, hateful, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise harmful to any person or group; engage in hate speech targeting any person or group based on protected characteristics; or bully, intimidate, or harass other users, teachers, or our staff.

You must not:

• Attempt to manipulate, exploit, or artificially inflate your scores or exam results
• Use third-party tools, scripts, or AI models to complete assessments on your behalf
• Share, sell, or publish exam content, model answers, or scoring rubrics in a way that gives others an unfair advantage
• Collude with other users to game leaderboards, ratings, or community review systems

You must not:

• Access the Service using bots, scrapers, crawlers, or scripts without our prior written permission
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or derive the source code of the Service
• Probe or scan the vulnerability of our systems without authorisation
• Circumvent or disable any technical measures we use to protect the Service

You must not upload, transmit, or distribute viruses, malware, or any other malicious code; interfere with the integrity or performance of the Service; or conduct denial-of-service attacks against the Service.

You must not impersonate any person or entity (including BuMate staff, teachers, or official exam bodies such as NAATI), falsely claim affiliation with any organisation, use another person's account, or sell, transfer, or sublicense your account access.

BuMate is an exam preparation and fluency training tool. You must not use the Service to fraudulently represent your language proficiency to immigration authorities, employers, or educational institutions; misrepresent your exam readiness or credentials; or assist others in committing immigration or credential fraud. We reserve the right to report suspected fraud to relevant authorities where required by law.

Violations may result in a warning, temporary suspension, or permanent termination of your account, depending on the severity and frequency of the conduct. We may also pursue civil or criminal remedies where appropriate.

We may suspend or permanently terminate your account, with or without notice, if you violate these Terms, fail to pay applicable fees, we reasonably believe your account has been used for fraudulent or illegal activity, we are required to do so by law, or your use poses a security risk to us or other users.

Where feasible, we will provide advance notice and an opportunity to remedy the breach. However, for serious violations, we may act immediately without prior notice.

You may delete your account at any time through Account Settings → Delete Account, or by contacting support@bumate.ai. If you have an active paid subscription, you must cancel it separately through the Stripe Customer Portal before deleting your account to avoid further charges.

Upon termination, your access to the Service will cease immediately. Your personal data will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law. Any accrued rights or obligations (including outstanding payment obligations) will survive termination.

Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you may have under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)). These rights are in addition to any rights provided in Section 10 (Refund Policy).

BuMate and its licensors own all rights, title, and interest in and to the Platform, including the web application and software, AI scoring system and algorithms, all exam preparation content and dialogues, the platform architecture and databases, and all trademarks and trade names. Nothing in these Terms transfers any of these rights to you.

You retain full ownership of audio recordings you submit during practice sessions, written responses and text you input, and content you post in community spaces. BuMate does not claim ownership of your user-generated content.

Teachers retain ownership of educational materials, lesson plans, and custom content they create on the Platform. By creating content on BuMate, teachers grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, and distribute that content within the Platform to deliver the Service to enrolled students.

If a teacher departs the Platform, they may request an export of their content. Content that has been shared with students in active cohorts will remain accessible to those students until the cohort ends, after which it will be removed upon request.

For institutional (B2B) arrangements, content ownership may be governed by a separate agreement between the institution and BuMate.

By submitting content to the Platform, you grant BuMate a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, process, and transmit your audio recordings and written inputs solely to provide scoring and feedback; display your community posts to other users; share recordings with teachers in cohorts you have joined; and use aggregated, anonymised usage data to improve the Platform.

You may revoke the license for community posts by deleting that content. The license for audio recordings persists for as long as we retain your practice history. Contact support@bumate.ai to request deletion of your practice history.

You may not, without our prior written permission:

• Copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from any BuMate exam content, dialogues, audio, or scoring materials
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Platform
• Use BuMate content to train, fine-tune, or evaluate any AI or machine learning model
• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data from the Platform

You may share your own scores, results, and progress for personal, non-commercial purposes (e.g., on social media or in reviews).

You are solely responsible for content you post, upload, or submit to the Platform. By submitting content you represent and warrant that you own or have the right to submit that content, the content does not infringe any third-party rights, and the content complies with applicable laws and our Community Guidelines.

Your content must not:

• Contain false, misleading, defamatory, or fraudulent information
• Include hate speech, harassment, threats, or content targeting individuals on the basis of protected characteristics
• Violate any person's privacy or publish personal information without consent
• Contain spam, unsolicited advertising, or off-topic commercial promotions
• Reproduce copyrighted exam material or breach third-party intellectual property rights

BuMate reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to review, moderate, edit, or remove any user-generated content that violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines, or that we otherwise determine to be harmful to the Platform or its users. We are not obligated to monitor all content.

You may leave reviews of practice content, dialogues, or the Platform itself. Reviews are publicly displayed to all users. You may edit or delete your own reviews at any time through your account settings. We reserve the right to remove reviews that violate these Terms, but we will not edit the substance of a review without your consent.

The scores, transcriptions, error analyses, and feedback generated by the Platform are produced by artificial intelligence, currently powered by Google Gemini and similar large-language-model services. These outputs are educational tools designed to support your practice, not professional assessments.

AI-generated scores are not:

• Official scores from any examination authority
• Professional language assessments
• Predictions or guarantees of your performance on any real exam
• Certifications of language proficiency

AI systems can make mistakes. Scores and feedback may contain errors, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, or omissions. Factors such as audio quality, background noise, regional accents, or unusual phrasing may affect accuracy. You should not treat any single score or piece of feedback as definitive.

BuMate is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters), IELTS (International English Language Testing System), or any other examination authority, government body, or certification organisation. Use of exam names on the Platform is for descriptive purposes only — to identify the type of exam you are preparing for.

AI scores and feedback on this Platform are not a substitute for professional language assessment, do not constitute immigration advice, legal advice, or educational certification, and should not be used as the sole indicator of your readiness for any examination.

If you enrol in a cohort created by a teacher on the Platform, your teacher may have access to your practice recordings and scores for that cohort. By joining a cohort, you consent to this access. You may leave a cohort at any time through your account settings.

BuMate staff will only access your individual recordings when you explicitly request a support review. We will notify you before accessing your recordings in such cases.

BuMate offers the following plans. Features and limits are subject to change with notice (see Section 9.4). All prices are in USD.

For teachers and institutions, managed seat pricing is available at $19 USD per managed student seat per month. Contact support@bumate.ai for bulk pricing.

Paid subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period (monthly or annual) at the then-current rate, unless you cancel before the renewal date. By subscribing, you authorise BuMate (via Stripe) to charge your payment method on a recurring basis.

All payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. Your payment information is held by Stripe and is subject to Stripe's terms of service and privacy policy. BuMate does not store your full card details.

We may change subscription prices at any time. For existing subscribers, we will give you at least 30 days' notice of any price increase before it takes effect, via email to your registered address. If you do not cancel before the price change takes effect, you authorise us to charge the updated price at your next renewal.

You may cancel your subscription at any time through the Stripe Customer Portal, accessible from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. You will retain access to paid features until the end of the period you have already paid for. BuMate does not pro-rate or refund the remaining days of a cancelled period (except as required by law — see Section 10).

The Free tier is provided as a courtesy to allow you to evaluate the Platform. BuMate reserves the right to modify, restrict, or discontinue the Free tier at any time with reasonable notice. Free tier accounts inactive for 12 or more consecutive months may be subject to data retention policies described in our Privacy Policy.

Except as required by applicable law, subscription fees are non-refundable. We do not provide refunds for partial months of use after cancellation, unused dialogue quota within a billing period, or annual subscriptions cancelled mid-year (unless required by law).

If you are located in Australia, nothing in these Terms limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Under the ACL, you may be entitled to a remedy if a service is not fit for purpose, not of acceptable quality, or not as described. Examples of situations where a remedy may apply include the Platform being persistently unavailable for a significant period, or a major feature not being available as described at the time of purchase.

To request a refund, contact us at support@bumate.ai with your account email address, the billing period and amount in question, and a description of the issue. We aim to respond within 5 business days. Approved refunds are processed via your original payment method through Stripe and may take 5–10 business days to appear.

If you initiate a chargeback with your payment provider without first contacting us, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account pending investigation. Please contact support@bumate.ai first so we can resolve any issue promptly.

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any right or remedy, or any guarantee, warranty, representation, or other term or condition, implied or imposed by the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (including the Australian Consumer Law) or any other applicable legislation that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted. To the extent any such statutory right or guarantee applies, our liability is limited, to the maximum extent permitted by law, to:

1. in the case of services: the re-supply of the services or the payment of the cost of re-supply; and
2. in the case of goods: the repair or replacement of the goods, or the payment of the cost of repair or replacement.

The above paragraph takes absolute precedence over all other provisions in this Section 11.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law (and subject to Section 11.1), BuMate's total aggregate liability to you for all claims shall not exceed the greater of: the total fees you paid to BuMate in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date on which the claim first arose; or AUD $100. This cap applies to all claims in aggregate, not per claim.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, BuMate and its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and service providers shall not be liable to you for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages; loss of profits, revenue, or goodwill; loss of opportunity; loss, corruption, or unavailability of data; service interruptions or downtime; AI scoring inaccuracies; third-party service failures (including Google Cloud Platform, Stripe, or Gemini API); or unauthorised access to or alteration of your data.

You acknowledge that the limitations of liability in this Section 11 reflect a reasonable and fair allocation of risk. These limitations are an essential element of the basis of the bargain between you and BuMate, without which BuMate would not be able to provide the Service at the fees charged.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless BuMate and its officers, directors, employees, agents, successors, and assigns from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to:

1. your access to or use of the Service, including any practice sessions, recordings, or content you submit;
2. User Content you post, upload, transmit, or otherwise make available through the Service;
3. your violation of these Terms or any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right;
4. your reliance on AI-generated scores or feedback beyond their intended educational purpose, including decisions made in connection with official exams, employment, or visa applications; or
5. any misrepresentation you make to BuMate or to any third party in connection with the Service.

The indemnification obligations in Section 12.1 do not apply to claims arising from BuMate's own negligence, wilful misconduct, or fraud; claims arising from BuMate's breach of these Terms; or any claim that BuMate is required to accept liability for under the Australian Consumer Law or other non-excludable legislation.

BuMate provides the Service on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or 100% available access to the Service. Scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, network outages, and circumstances beyond our reasonable control may result in service unavailability.

BuMate reserves the right to modify, update, or change any feature, functionality, pricing, or aspect of the Service at any time. For material changes that adversely affect your rights, we will provide at least 30 days' prior written notice via email or a prominent notice within the Service. If you do not accept a material change, you may cancel your subscription in accordance with Section 9 prior to the effective date.

BuMate shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, acts of government, war, terrorism, civil unrest, cyberattacks, third-party service failures (including Google Cloud Platform, Gemini API, or Stripe), epidemics, or pandemics. In such circumstances, BuMate's obligations are suspended for the duration of the event.

These Terms are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of New South Wales, Australia, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Before initiating any formal dispute resolution proceeding, you agree to attempt to resolve any dispute by first contacting us in writing at support@bumate.ai describing the nature of the dispute, the relief sought, and your contact details. BuMate will respond within 14 business days. Both parties agree to negotiate in good faith for a period of 30 days from the date of receipt before commencing formal proceedings.

If a dispute is not resolved during the informal resolution period, either party may refer the matter to mediation administered by the Australian Disputes Centre (ADC) or such other mutually agreed mediation body. The costs of mediation shall be shared equally unless the mediator directs otherwise.

If a dispute is not resolved through informal resolution or mediation, each party submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia, and any appellate courts therefrom.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you retain the right to bring proceedings in the courts of the EU Member State in which you are habitually resident, in accordance with Article 79 of the GDPR and applicable EU consumer protection laws. Nothing in these Terms limits your rights under mandatory local consumer law.

If you are a California resident, you retain all rights afforded to you under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other applicable California law, including the right to know, access, delete, and opt out of the sale of your personal information.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, any dispute resolution proceedings shall be conducted on an individual basis only. You and BuMate each waive the right to participate in class action proceedings, class-wide arbitration, or any other consolidated or representative proceedings. This waiver shall be severed and shall not apply if it would be unenforceable under applicable law.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, void, or unenforceable, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed from these Terms. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any separate institutional or enterprise agreement you have entered into with BuMate, constitute the entire agreement between you and BuMate with respect to the Service.

BuMate's failure or delay in exercising any right under these Terms shall not operate as a waiver of that right. A waiver must be in writing and signed by an authorised representative of BuMate to be effective.

BuMate may assign, transfer, or delegate any or all of its rights and obligations under these Terms without your consent, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. You may not assign, transfer, or delegate your rights or obligations under these Terms to any third party without BuMate's prior written consent. Any purported assignment in violation of this provision is void.

Notices to you: BuMate will deliver notices to you by email to the address registered to your account, or by a prominent notice within the Service. Notices are effective upon transmission.

Notices to BuMate: All formal notices must be sent in writing to support@bumate.ai. Notices are effective upon confirmed receipt.

Nothing in these Terms creates or implies any partnership, joint venture, employment, franchise, or agency relationship between you and BuMate. You are an independent user of the Service.

The following sections shall survive the expiration or termination of these Terms: Section 6 (Intellectual Property), Section 11 (Limitation of Liability), Section 12 (Indemnification), Section 14 (Dispute Resolution), and Section 15 (General Provisions).

These Terms are written in English. To the extent any translated version of these Terms conflicts with the English version, the English version shall prevail.