Terms of Service
Last Updated: December 28, 2025
These Terms of Service govern your use of StackAuthority's website and content. By accessing or using our site, you agree to these terms.
Acceptance of Terms
By accessing StackAuthority.io, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.
If you do not agree to these terms, please discontinue use of our website immediately.
Use of Content
Permitted Uses
You may access and read our research, rankings, and framework articles for your own evaluation purposes. This includes using our content to inform internal vendor selection processes or technology decisions.
You may reference our methodology in your internal evaluation processes. If our scoring rubric or evaluation criteria help structure your own vendor assessments, you're welcome to use them as a framework.
You may share links to specific articles with colleagues, team members, or stakeholders. Sharing URLs is encouraged — we want decision-makers to have access to independent research.
You may cite our research with proper attribution in presentations, reports, or documentation. Proper citation includes the article title, publication date, and a link back to the original source.
Prohibited Uses
You may not republish, redistribute, or resell our content without written permission. This includes copying full articles to internal wikis, incorporating our rankings into paid reports, or licensing our content to third parties.
You may not scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data from our site using automated tools. Manual research is fine — automated harvesting of our rankings, vendor profiles, or methodology is not.
You may not remove attribution, disclaimers, or copyright notices from our content. If you quote or reference our work, keep the source attribution intact.
You may not modify our content or create derivative works that misrepresent our research. Paraphrasing for internal use is acceptable, but creating modified versions that appear to be official StackAuthority content is prohibited.
You may not use our content for commercial purposes without authorization. This means you can't incorporate our rankings into products you sell, include them in paid consulting deliverables, or use them in marketing materials without permission.
Attribution Requirements
When citing StackAuthority research, include the article title and publication date. This gives readers context about when the information was current and what specific analysis you're referencing.
Provide a direct link to the original article whenever possible. This allows readers to verify the source, see our full methodology, and check for updates.
Clearly attribute the content to StackAuthority. Use language like "According to StackAuthority's analysis" or "StackAuthority ranks..." rather than presenting our research as your own.
Do not imply endorsement or partnership without authorization. Citing our research doesn't mean StackAuthority endorses your company, product, or decisions. Don't suggest we have a relationship we don't have.
Editorial Independence
No Guarantees or Endorsements
StackAuthority rankings and research are provided for informational purposes only. They help you shortlist and evaluate vendors, but they don't replace your own judgment and due diligence.
We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of vendor information. We base our research on publicly available sources, but vendors may have capabilities we didn't discover, or our interpretation of their offerings may differ from their internal view.
We do not endorse any specific vendor or service provider. A high ranking means a vendor scored well against our criteria — it doesn't mean StackAuthority recommends them for your specific situation or has tested their services.
We do not promise specific outcomes from vendor selection. Choosing a top-ranked vendor doesn't guarantee project success. Execution depends on scope definition, internal readiness, vendor-client fit, and dozens of other factors we can't control.
We do not provide legal, financial, or professional advice. Our research informs technology decisions, but it's not a substitute for legal review of contracts, financial analysis of costs, or professional consulting on implementation.
Methodology Transparency
Our evaluation methodology is published and publicly available on our Methodology page. We explain how we score vendors, what criteria we use, and what information sources inform our analysis.
Rankings reflect our independent assessment of publicly available information as of the publication date. We review vendor websites, case studies, client testimonials, conference presentations, and technical content.
Vendor capabilities, market conditions, and service quality may change after publication. A vendor ranked highly in January may have pivoted away from the category by June. A vendor ranked lower may have hired new leadership and dramatically improved execution. Check the article's last review date to understand how current the information is.
User Responsibilities
Due Diligence
You are responsible for conducting your own vendor evaluations. Our rankings narrow your shortlist — they don't replace talking to vendors, checking references, or running proofs of concept.
You are responsible for verifying vendor claims and capabilities. If a vendor says they've built RAG systems for Fortune 500 companies, ask for client names. If they claim SOC2 compliance, ask to see the certificate. Don't rely solely on our assessment.
You are responsible for assessing fit for your specific requirements. We evaluate vendors against general criteria, but your needs may differ. A vendor strong at enterprise implementations may struggle with startups. A vendor excellent at greenfield projects may fail at legacy migrations.
You are responsible for performing reference checks and proofs of concept. Talk to their past clients. Run a small pilot project. See how they handle questions, deadlines, and unexpected challenges before committing to a large engagement.
You are responsible for negotiating contracts and service agreements. We don't review vendor contracts, pricing models, or terms of service. Get legal review. Understand what you're committing to.
Appropriate Use
You agree to use our site responsibly. This means treating our systems, team, and other users with respect.
Do not interfere with site operation or security. Don't attempt to overload our servers, exploit vulnerabilities, or disrupt service for other users.
Do not attempt unauthorized access to our systems. Stay within publicly accessible areas. Don't try to access admin panels, internal tools, or other users' data.
Do not upload malicious code or malware. If you find a security issue, report it to us at help@stackauthority.io — don't exploit it.
Do not harass or threaten our team or other users. Disagreement with our rankings is fine and expected. Personal attacks, threats, or abusive behavior is not.
Do not submit false or misleading information via contact forms. If you're submitting a correction, provide accurate details and supporting evidence. Don't waste our time with fabricated claims.
Intellectual Property
Ownership
All content on StackAuthority.io, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, rankings, methodologies, and frameworks, is owned by StackAuthority and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
Trademarks
"StackAuthority" and associated logos are trademarks of StackAuthority. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Vendor Information
Vendor names, logos, and trademarks mentioned in our content are property of their respective owners. Inclusion in our research does not imply endorsement or affiliation.
Disclaimer of Warranties
StackAuthority provides content "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied.
We do not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of our content. While we research vendors thoroughly, our information may be outdated, incomplete, or based on limited publicly available sources. Vendors may have capabilities we didn't discover or limitations we didn't identify.
We do not warrant fitness for a particular purpose. Our rankings serve general technology decision-making, but we cannot guarantee they'll solve your specific vendor selection challenges. Your requirements may differ from our evaluation assumptions.
We do not warrant non-infringement. While we create original research, vendor names, logos, and trademarks belong to their respective owners. If you use our content in ways that infringe third-party rights, that's your responsibility.
We do not warrant uninterrupted or error-free access. Our site may experience downtime, slow performance, or technical issues. We'll fix problems when we discover them, but we can't promise perfect uptime.
We make reasonable efforts to ensure accuracy but cannot guarantee that all information is current, complete, or error-free.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, StackAuthority shall not be liable for damages arising from your use of our site or content.
We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages. If you choose a vendor based on our ranking and the project fails, we're not responsible for the downstream business impact. If you miss a deadline because you relied on outdated information in our research, that's not our liability.
We are not liable for loss of profits, revenue, data, or business opportunities. If a vendor you selected destroys customer data, causes a security breach, or fails to deliver promised functionality, those losses are between you and the vendor.
We are not liable for vendor selection decisions based on our research. You make the final call on which vendor to hire. Our rankings inform your decision — they don't make it for you.
We are not liable for vendor performance, service quality, or contract disputes. Once you engage a vendor, your relationship is with them, not us. If they underdeliver, miss deadlines, or breach contract terms, those are issues you resolve directly with the vendor.
We are not liable for errors or omissions in our content. We research carefully, but mistakes happen. If we miss a critical vendor limitation or overstate a capability, we'll correct it when we learn about it — but we're not liable for decisions made based on the incorrect information.
Our total liability for any claim arising from use of our site shall not exceed $100 USD.
Vendor Feedback and Corrections
Correction Requests
If you represent a vendor and believe our research contains factual errors, you may submit a correction request to help@stackauthority.io.
We will review correction requests and update content if supported by publicly available evidence.
No Paid Placements
Vendors cannot pay for inclusion, ranking position, or favorable coverage. Our editorial independence is non-negotiable.
We do not accept sponsored content or paid placements. You can't pay to be included in a ranking or to rank higher than your capabilities warrant.
We do not accept affiliate commissions or referral fees. If you hire a vendor we ranked, we don't get paid. Our revenue model doesn't depend on vendor selection outcomes.
We do not accept advertising tied to editorial coverage. Vendors can't advertise on our site in exchange for favorable rankings or inclusion in research categories.
We do not offer pre-publication review or approval by vendors. Vendors don't see rankings before publication. They can't negotiate position, argue for higher scores, or demand removal of critical assessments.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold StackAuthority harmless from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from your actions.
This includes claims arising from your use of our site or content. If you copy our rankings into a paid report and get sued for copyright infringement, that's your liability, not ours.
This includes claims arising from your violation of these Terms of Service. If you scrape our site, redistribute our content without permission, or misrepresent our research, you're responsible for the consequences.
This includes claims arising from your infringement of third-party rights. If you use vendor trademarks from our site in ways that violate their IP rights, that's between you and the vendor.
This includes claims arising from your vendor selection or procurement decisions. If a vendor sues you over a failed project, contract dispute, or IP ownership issue, we're not party to that conflict. Your vendor relationship is separate from your use of our research.
Third-Party Links
Our site contains links to vendor websites and third-party resources. These links are provided for convenience and do not constitute endorsement.
We are not responsible for the accuracy of third-party content. If a vendor's website makes claims about their capabilities that don't match reality, that's between you and the vendor. We link to their site for your research convenience — we don't vouch for everything they publish.
We are not responsible for privacy practices of external sites. When you click a link to a vendor website, you're subject to their privacy policy, not ours. Review their data collection practices before sharing information.
We are not responsible for availability or functionality of linked resources. Vendor websites go down, pages move, and links break. If a link we provided no longer works, that's not our fault — though we'll fix broken links when we discover them.
We are not responsible for commercial transactions with third parties. If you hire a vendor we linked to and have payment disputes, contract disagreements, or delivery problems, those are issues between you and the vendor. We're not intermediaries in your business relationships.
Changes to Terms
We may modify these Terms of Service at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date.
Continued use of our site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.
Significant changes will be communicated through a notice on our homepage.
Governing Law
These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of the United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.
Any disputes arising from these terms or use of our site shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the American Arbitration Association's rules.
Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining terms shall remain in full force.
Contact Information
For questions about these Terms of Service, contact:
These Terms of Service were last updated on December 28, 2025. By using StackAuthority, you acknowledge acceptance of these terms.