Terms of service

These terms apply to the use of the Accessonaut service on accessonaut.com, including the application, the API, the reading-aid widget and the WordPress plugins. The provider and your contracting party is rocket-ship, proprietor Florian Bischof, An der Halde 7, 89081 Ulm, Germany (‘we’). The offer is aimed at consumers within the meaning of § 13 BGB (German Civil Code) and at entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 14 BGB, legal entities under public law and special funds under public law. Rules that apply only to consumers or only to entrepreneurs are expressly identified as such; the most important rules for consumers are set out in the section Special provisions for consumers. Mandatory statutory rights of consumers remain unaffected in all cases.

If you act on behalf of a company or another organisation, you confirm on registration that you are authorised to represent it. Deviating terms and conditions of an entrepreneur only apply if we expressly agree to them.

Accessonaut examines publicly accessible websites for automatically detectable barriers and helps you fix them. The free website check without an account adds basic SEO and GEO signals. With an account, depending on your plan, you can create projects, use scans and monitoring, export PDF reports, embed the reading-aid widget on your website, create accessibility statements and plain-language texts, save them with versions and publish them, and request AI drafts for image descriptions and plain language. The features and quotas of the Free, Standard, Pro and Business plans are set out in the pricing overview applicable at the time of booking. We store manual checklists in your project; all members of your organisation can see them.

Each plan includes a number of widget views per calendar month (Europe/Berlin time zone), shared across all websites in your account: Free 5,000, Standard 25,000, Pro 100,000, Business 500,000. A widget view is a page view on your registered website on which the reading-aid widget loads its configuration; identifiable bots and our own checks do not count. From 80 % of the included number, we notify you in your account; when it is reached, we inform you in your account and by e-mail at most once a month. The widget remains available; we do not block it and do not charge any additional fees. If your websites exceed the included number permanently and significantly, we may ask you to switch to a suitable plan.

Automated tests only detect some of the possible barriers. Check results, recommendations, scores, draft statements and AI output are working aids. They are neither certification nor legal advice or legal services, nor any assurance of legal conformity, for example with the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz) or WCAG. Add manual checks, fix barriers in your website’s source code and review drafts before publishing them. The reading-aid widget complements an accessible website but does not replace it.

You can sign up with an e-mail address and password or with your Google account. To do so, you enter your details in the registration form, accept these terms, confirm that you have taken note of the privacy policy and create the account. This concludes a contract for free use on the Free plan; you then confirm your e-mail address.

You book a paid plan in the application: you choose the plan, enter your name or company and billing address, accept these terms and, in the next step, enter your payment method. Until then, you can review and correct all entries or cancel the process. By clicking ‘Subscribe and pay’, you place a binding order. The contract is concluded as soon as the first payment is confirmed and we activate the plan; we show you this in the application. For the PDF service, the section Reading versions of text PDFs applies.

You must provide correct account details and keep your login credentials confidential. You are responsible for the activities under your account.

The contract language is German. These English terms are a translation provided for your convenience; only the German version is legally binding. We do not store the contract text separately for you; we store which version of these terms you accepted and when. You can access the current version on this page at any time and save it using your browser’s print or save function; please save it when you conclude the contract. We will send you an earlier version on request to info@accessonaut.com. We have not submitted to any particular codes of conduct.

We provide the Free plan free of charge and without a fixed term to the extent set out in the pricing overview. You can terminate the contract for free use at any time without notice by informing us of the termination in text form, for example by e-mail to info@accessonaut.com. We can terminate it with one month’s notice in text form; the right to terminate for good cause, in particular in the event of misuse or a serious breach of these terms, remains unaffected. If we discontinue the service as a whole, we will announce this in text form at least three months in advance.

On the Free plan, the reading-aid widget shows a visible link to Accessonaut. You may not remove, obscure or make this notice illegible; it does not appear on the paid plans.

For free use, we are only liable for intent and gross negligence. This does not apply to damage resulting from injury to life, body or health, to fraudulently concealed defects or to liability under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).

The prices shown at the time of booking apply. All prices are final prices in euros. As a small business within the meaning of § 19 UStG (German VAT Act), we do not charge VAT and do not show any VAT. Paid plans are billed, at your choice, monthly or yearly in advance and collected from your stored payment method at the start of each billing period via our payment service provider Stripe. With yearly billing, the price for twelve months is ten times the monthly price; the plan’s quotas still apply per calendar month.

Before you confirm a switch to another paid plan, we show you the prorated billing; the switch takes effect immediately. For a higher plan, we immediately charge the prorated difference for the rest of the current billing period. For a lower plan, we credit the prorated difference and offset the credit against future invoices; it is not paid out. A switch between monthly and yearly billing also takes effect immediately: it starts a new billing period, and we credit the unused time of the previous period pro rata and offset it against the invoice for the new period or against future invoices; a credit is not paid out. Monthly quotas already used remain used after a switch.

For entrepreneurs, we may change prices with 30 days’ notice with effect from the next billing period; in this case, you can terminate the contract until the change takes effect. For consumers, we only change the prices of an ongoing contract with your express consent, which we request in text form at least 30 days in advance; if you do not consent, the previous price continues to apply, and we may terminate the paid plan at the end of a billing period, at the earliest one month after you receive our notice of termination. If the VAT treatment of our services changes, we apply the statutory provisions from the relevant date and inform you in text form without undue delay; agreed final prices remain final prices until an effective price change. Fees already paid are not refunded unless these terms or the law provide otherwise.

AI jobs require your express approval of processing by our AI provider (see privacy policy). Only use content you are authorised to have processed. AI output may reproduce facts, figures and meanings incorrectly; review it before each use. A language draft is not certified easy read and does not include testing by the target group. Requested AI attempts per calendar month: Free: 2, Standard: 15, Pro: 30, Business: 80. The quota is shared across all AI features of the organisation, including image automation. A requested call also counts if the provider reports an error. Unused quotas expire at the end of the month. The AI tools “Convert text to plain language” and “Alt-text generator” have separate monthly allowances and a maximum text length per plan, as stated on the pricing page; the same rules apply to them. In addition, there is a monthly AI capacity for all Free accounts together; once it is used up, the AI features of the Free plan are only available again in the following calendar month.

The separate document service costs €1 per supported input page. Before payment, we show you the detected number of pages, the scope of services and the total price. By clicking the payment button, you place a binding order; the contract is concluded when the payment is confirmed. Suitable, unencrypted text PDFs and scanned text documents within the limits shown are supported. We read the text of scanned pages using automatic text recognition; it may contain errors, especially in numbers, names and dates. You review and correct the recognised text before ordering. The result is a newly typeset, tagged PDF reading version with an editable HTML version; the original layout is not preserved. Images relevant to the content, handwriting, complex tables, forms and other unsupported content require separate processing.

The service does not include PDF/UA certification or a full manual accessibility check. Check the completeness, reading order and suitability of the output before publishing it. Files and content data are deleted no later than 84 days after the start of the respective processing cycle; save any results you need before then. When ordering, consumers expressly request that we begin processing before the withdrawal period expires and confirm their knowledge that their right of withdrawal expires upon complete performance of the contract (§ 356(4) BGB).

We issue invoices electronically as PDFs and send them to you by e-mail after each payment to the address provided when booking. You can also access them at any time in your account’s billing section and with your orders in the PDF service. You agree to receive invoices in electronic form.

If a payment due cannot be collected, Stripe will retry the collection over the following days; in the meantime, you can update your payment method in the billing section. While the payment is outstanding, only the features of the Free plan are available to you. If the payment is still not made after the last collection attempt, the paid plan ends and you continue to use the service to the extent of the Free plan. Our claim to fees already due and our statutory rights in the event of late payment remain unaffected.

A paid plan with monthly billing runs for one month at a time and renews for a further month unless it is cancelled. A plan with yearly billing runs for twelve months. If it is not cancelled by their end, it does not renew for a further year but continues for an indefinite period with monthly billing at the monthly price of the same plan shown at the time of booking; you can choose yearly billing again at any time. You can cancel a paid plan at any time with effect from the end of the current billing period, with yearly billing therefore from the end of the twelve months: in the application under Account → Billing via ‘Cancel subscription’, or in text form, for example by e-mail to info@accessonaut.com. The booked plan remains available until the end of the billing period; after that, you continue to use the service to the extent of the Free plan, and your projects and results remain in your account. Until then, you can undo the cancellation in the application. We can terminate a paid plan with one month’s notice with effect from the end of a billing period. The right of both parties to terminate for good cause remains unaffected.

Regardless of any termination, you can back up your results yourself at any time: scan reports as PDFs, published statements and plain-language texts via their link or embed, and PDF and HTML reading versions as downloads. We will provide all other data assigned to your organisation, in particular projects, scan results, widget configuration, document versions and account details, free of charge on request to info@accessonaut.com in a common, machine-readable format (JSON). Password hashes and access tokens are not exported, nor are our own protected components of the service; the results generated with them for you can be exported.

For switching to another provider or to your own infrastructure under Articles 23 to 31 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act), the following applies: you request the switch or the erasure of your data in text form to info@accessonaut.com. There is no notice period before the switch begins; at your request, we will start it later, at most two months after your request. This is followed by a transitional period of at most 30 calendar days during which the contract continues to apply and we provide you with reasonable support. If this period is technically not feasible, we will inform you within 14 working days, stating the reasons, and specify a transitional period of at most seven months. The contract ends once the switch is complete or, if you only wish to have your data erased, once the period until its start has expired. After that, you can still retrieve your data for at least 30 calendar days; we then delete it completely, and in backup copies when these expire. We do not charge any fees for switching, export and erasure. More extensive statutory rights remain unaffected.

Where we process personal data on your behalf when providing the service, for example in the content of your website, in AI jobs or in uploaded documents, we act as a processor within the meaning of Art. 28 GDPR. For entrepreneurs, we conclude a data processing agreement for this purpose, which we will provide on request to info@accessonaut.com. As a website operator, you are responsible for the lawfulness of the processing on your website, including informing your visitors about the embedded widget.

Only check websites that you own or are authorised to check. Automated scans generate requests to the target website; coordinate extensive checks with its operator. Do not enter login credentials, confidential URLs or unnecessary personal content. You may not use the service for unlawful purposes, circumvent access restrictions, network filters, quotas or plan limits, or misuse or overload the API. We may limit abusive requests and unusual access. The availability of the target website, bot protection and technical errors may prevent a scan; it is then shown as failed.

You are responsible for the content you store and publish with the service, such as statements, plain-language texts, image descriptions and uploaded documents; it must not violate statutory provisions or the rights of third parties. You receive a non-exclusive right of use, unlimited in time, to the results generated for you for your own purposes.

We do not monitor stored content without cause, and we do not use automated tools to assess its lawfulness. If we become aware of potentially illegal content or a breach of these terms, we review the individual case manually. Depending on the severity, we may block the publication, restrict individual features, suspend your account or terminate the contract for good cause; we choose the mildest sufficient measure. We inform you of any such restriction by e-mail, stating the reasons (Art. 17 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services Act). You can challenge the decision by e-mail to info@accessonaut.com; we will then review it again manually. Your right to take legal action remains unaffected.

By publishing a statement or a plain-language text, you confirm that you have reviewed the version concerned. You are responsible for the company details, the actual testing status, contacts and any mandatory information required. The public link and the embed show the expressly approved version; later drafts remain private until they are published again. Withdrawing a publication ends public access via our service. We deliver versions published through us for as long as your contract is in force. The annual reminder does not replace an update after significant changes to your website.

You can reach our single point of contact for users (Art. 12 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, Digital Services Act) and for the authorities of the Member States, the European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services (Art. 11) by e-mail at info@accessonaut.com. You can contact us in German or English. Behind this address is a human being, not an automated system.

Any individual or entity can notify us electronically at info@accessonaut.com of content that they consider to be illegal and that is stored or published with Accessonaut (Art. 16). A notice should contain: an explanation of why the content is illegal; the exact location, in particular the URL; your name and e-mail address (except for content relating to an offence under Articles 3 to 7 of Directive 2011/93/EU); and a statement that you are convinced in good faith that the information you have provided is accurate and complete. We confirm receipt without undue delay, decide manually in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner, and inform you of our decision together with information on possible means of redress.

We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the German Product Liability Act and to the extent of any guarantee we have assumed. In the event of a slightly negligent breach of a material contractual obligation, i.e. an obligation whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance you may regularly rely, our liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract; otherwise, we are not liable for slight negligence. In particular, we are not liable for your website meeting legal accessibility requirements through the use of Accessonaut. For entrepreneurs, strict liability for defects that already existed when the contract was concluded (§ 536a(1), first alternative, BGB) is excluded. For consumers, the statutory provisions on digital products (§§ 327 et seq. BGB) apply to defects. These rules also apply to our vicarious agents. For free use, the liability rule in the section Free plan takes precedence.

We strive for high availability but do not owe any particular level of availability; where possible, we carry out maintenance work at times of low usage. We continue to develop the service. Beyond what is necessary to maintain its conformity with the contract, we only change it for a valid reason, for example due to new technical developments, changed legal requirements, changed specifications of browsers, platforms or providers, or to improve security, and without you incurring any additional costs as a result.

For consumers, the following also applies (§ 327r BGB): if a change impairs your access to the service or its usability more than insignificantly, we will inform you by e-mail within a reasonable period in advance of the characteristics and timing of the change and of your rights. You can then terminate the contract free of charge within 30 days of receiving this information or, if the change takes place later, of the change.

We are entitled to transfer this contract with all rights and obligations to a company founded or to be founded by the proprietor, for example a UG (haftungsbeschränkt), a German limited liability company; you hereby consent to this transfer of the contract. We will notify you of the transfer in text form at least four weeks in advance, stating the name and address of the acquiring company and whether the VAT treatment of the prices will change. You can terminate the contract without notice until the date of the transfer; in this case, we will refund on a pro rata basis any fees paid in advance for the period thereafter.

The following rules apply only if you are a consumer; they take precedence over the other sections.

• Right of withdrawal: For contracts that you conclude with us online, you have a statutory right of withdrawal; details are set out in the information on the right of withdrawal. If you expressly request that we begin the service before the withdrawal period expires and you withdraw afterwards, you pay for the service provided until the withdrawal an amount that corresponds to its share of the agreed total price (§ 357a(2) BGB); we will refund the rest to you.
• Cancellation: You can cancel paid plans at any time with effect from the end of the current billing period, monthly plans from the end of the month and yearly plans from the end of the twelve months; after that, a yearly plan only continues on a monthly, cancellable basis and never renews tacitly for a further year (see Term and cancellation). We confirm receipt of a cancellation by e-mail in text form.
• Price changes: We only change the prices of an ongoing contract with your express consent (see Prices).
• Defects and changes: The statutory provisions on digital products (§§ 327 et seq. BGB) and the section Changes to the service apply.
• Interpretation: Any doubts in the interpretation of these terms are resolved to our detriment (§ 305c(2) BGB).

Consumers have the right of withdrawal (§ 13 BGB). The following information follows the statutory model.

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us (rocket-ship, proprietor Florian Bischof, An der Halde 7, 89081 Ulm, Germany, e-mail: info@accessonaut.com) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post or an e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than fourteen days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

If you requested to begin the performance of services during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated to us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

Model withdrawal form

(If you want to withdraw from the contract, please complete and return this form.)

• – To rocket-ship, proprietor Florian Bischof, An der Halde 7, 89081 Ulm, Germany, e-mail: info@accessonaut.com:
• – I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following service (*)
• – Ordered on (*)/received on (*)
• – Name of consumer(s)
• – Address of consumer(s)
• – Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper)
• – Date

(*) Delete as appropriate.

Notes

For a paid plan or a document order, the day of the conclusion of the contract is the day of your booking. The right of withdrawal expires early if we have fully provided the service and you expressly agreed before it began that we may start it before the withdrawal period expires, and confirmed your knowledge that your right of withdrawal expires upon complete performance of the contract (§ 356(4) BGB). With monthly and yearly billing alike, the service is only fully provided at the end of the billing period. You can end the Free plan at any time free of charge.

We are not willing and not obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board. If we cannot settle a dispute about a consumer contract with you, we will refer you in text form to a consumer arbitration board responsible for you (§ 37 VSBG). The European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform was discontinued with effect from 20 July 2025 (Regulation (EU) 2024/3228).

These terms are governed by German law, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If you are a consumer habitually resident in another state, you retain the protection afforded by the mandatory provisions of the law of that state (Art. 6(2) Rome I Regulation). The exclusive place of jurisdiction for merchants, legal entities under public law and special funds under public law is Ulm. Should any provision of these terms be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected; the invalid provision is replaced by the statutory provisions. This English version is a courtesy translation; in the event of any discrepancy between the German and the English version, the German version prevails.

You can find information about the provider in the imprint and information about data processing in the privacy policy.