Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions (the "Terms") govern your organization's access to and use of the GrooveCV platform and related services (the "Service") provided by CANARY TECH VENTURES S.R.L., a Romanian limited liability company, fiscal identification code (CUI) 50495119, with registered office in Romania ("GrooveCV", "we", "our", or "us").

By creating an account, accessing or using the Service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms in full. These Terms form a binding contract between your organization and us. If you disagree with any part of these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

These Terms incorporate by reference (i) our Privacy Policy, which describes how we process personal data, and (ii) our Data Processing Agreement (the "DPA"), which governs our processing of personal data on your organization's behalf. The DPA is automatically accepted as part of these Terms upon account creation and is also available as a separately signable document on request.

1. Definitions

"Account" means the customer account created and used to access the Service.

"Authorized User" means an individual within your organization (Admin or Recruiter) who is authorized by you to use the Service through your Account.

"Candidate Data" means personal data of job candidates that you upload to or process through the Service, including CVs, resumes, profiles, contact information, professional history, and any notes or attachments you add.

"Client" or "Customer" means the legal entity that has accepted these Terms and entered into a contractual relationship with us.

"Client Portal" means the shareable, branded interface used to deliver candidate shortlists to your end clients.

"Confidential Information" means any non-public information disclosed by one party to the other in connection with the Service, whether in writing, orally or otherwise, that is identified as confidential or that reasonably should be understood to be confidential.

"Documentation" means the user guides, help articles, and technical specifications we make available for the Service.

"Service" has the meaning given in the introduction. It includes all features, integrations, AI-assisted tools, hosted infrastructure, APIs, mobile or web clients, and Documentation.

"Subscription Term" means the subscription period (monthly, annual, or pilot) selected at signup and any renewal periods.

2. Account Creation and Authorized Use

2.1 Eligibility

The Service is provided exclusively for business use by recruitment agencies, executive search firms, talent acquisition teams, and similar professional users. By creating an Account you represent and warrant that (i) you are at least 18 years old; (ii) you have the authority to bind your organization to these Terms; and (iii) your organization has all necessary rights and legal basis to process the Candidate Data it intends to upload.

2.2 Account information

You must provide accurate, current and complete information when creating your Account, and keep this information updated. We may suspend or terminate Accounts based on inaccurate or fraudulent information.

2.3 Authorized Users and roles

The Service supports role-based access within your organization, including Admin and Recruiter roles. Admins are responsible for managing user permissions, billing, branding settings, and organization-level configurations. You are responsible for the acts and omissions of all Authorized Users on your Account. You must ensure that every Authorized User understands and complies with these Terms.

2.4 Account security

You are responsible for safeguarding all credentials (including passwords, API keys, and portal PINs) used to access the Service. You must notify us promptly at info@groovecv.com if you suspect any unauthorized access, credential leak, or other security incident affecting your Account.

3. The Service

3.1 Description

GrooveCV is a software-as-a-service platform that helps recruitment professionals build, manage, and deliver candidate shortlists to their end clients. Core capabilities include candidate profile and CV management, AI-assisted drafting tools, skill matching (informational only - see Section 5), branded client portals, structured feedback collection, interview scheduling, and team collaboration features. Specific features available to your Account depend on the subscription plan you have selected.

3.2 Updates and changes

We continuously improve the Service. We may add, modify, or remove features at our discretion. We will use reasonable efforts to give advance notice of material adverse changes affecting paid features. Beta or experimental features may be added with limited support and may be discontinued.

3.3 Availability

We use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain availability of the Service. The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without specific uptime commitments unless an explicit written service-level agreement is in place between the parties.

4. Pilot and Beta Programs

4.1 Pilot terms

Where you participate in a pilot, beta, evaluation, or design-partner program (a "Pilot"), the Service is provided to you free of charge or at a reduced fee, on an "as is" basis, solely for the purpose of evaluating the Service and providing feedback. Pilot Accounts may be subject to functional limits, data caps, retention limits, and feature restrictions specified at the start of the Pilot.

4.2 No service-level commitments during Pilot

During a Pilot we do not provide any guaranteed availability, response time, or uptime. We may modify, suspend, or terminate Pilot access at any time with reasonable notice. You agree that we will not be liable for any losses arising from such modification, suspension, or termination.

4.3 Feedback

We may invite you to provide feedback, suggestions, recommendations, or ideas about the Service ("Feedback"). You grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up licence to use, modify, sublicense, and incorporate Feedback into the Service or any other product, without obligation or attribution.

4.4 Confidentiality during Pilot

Information about Pilot features, performance, roadmap, pricing, and the Pilot relationship itself constitutes Confidential Information of ours. You may not publicly disclose, benchmark, or publish performance data about Pilot features without our prior written consent.

4.5 Conversion to paid subscription

At the end of a Pilot, continued use of the Service requires a paid subscription unless we expressly extend the Pilot in writing. If you do not convert to a paid subscription, your Account and associated data may be deleted in accordance with our retention rules described in the Privacy Policy.

5. AI-Assisted Features

5.1 Nature of AI features

The Service provides AI-assisted features, including CV/resume parsing, candidate summary drafting, skill matching, and side-by-side candidate presentation. These features function exclusively as writing assistance and informational tools. They help recruiters draft professional content more efficiently and identify factual skill matches between candidate profiles and job descriptions.

Our AI features do not evaluate, score, rank, compare, or assess candidates in any way. No automated decision-making within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR and no high-risk AI decisioning within the meaning of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) takes place through our AI features.

5.2 Intentional limitations

The following capabilities have been intentionally excluded from our AI features by architecture and product design:

• No scoring or percentages of any kind (match scores, compatibility rates, suitability percentages).
• No candidate ranking or ordering by suitability or any other evaluative criterion.
• No identification of "gaps," "weaknesses," or "risks" in candidate profiles.
• No recommendations or suggestions about which candidate to hire, advance, or reject.
• No evaluative or comparative language ("best," "worst," "superior," "insufficient," "ideal").
• No color-coded comparison highlighting implying superiority or inferiority.

5.3 Human oversight requirement

You acknowledge and agree that all AI-generated outputs are drafts that require human review before use. Specifically:

• You must review and, where necessary, edit all AI-generated content before sharing it with clients or candidates.
• AI outputs cannot be shared with clients without explicit confirmation that you have reviewed the content (mandatory review gate).
• You are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy of AI-generated content before acting on it or sharing it.
• You may reject, regenerate, or completely discard any AI output and write content manually instead.

5.4 AI input anonymization

Before Candidate Data is sent to any AI provider, we apply a mandatory anonymization layer that removes personally identifiable information including names, age, gender, nationality, and photographs. Only professional information (experience, skills, education) in structured, anonymized form is sent to AI models. All AI processing of Candidate Data occurs on EU-region endpoints of our AI providers.

5.5 AI limitations and disclaimer

AI-generated content may contain inaccuracies, omissions, or errors. GrooveCV does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any AI-generated output. All AI outputs carry a visible disclaimer indicating they were generated with AI assistance and reviewed by a recruiter. You agree not to remove or obscure these disclaimers when sharing AI-assisted content with clients.

5.6 Your AI-related responsibilities

When using AI-assisted features, you agree to:

• Ensure that personnel using AI features understand the system's capabilities and limitations.
• Maintain human oversight over AI outputs, ensuring no hiring decisions are based solely on AI-generated content.
• Inform candidates, where required by applicable law, that AI-assisted tools were used to prepare presentation materials.
• Report any suspected AI malfunctions, biases, or quality issues to GrooveCV at info@groovecv.com.

5.7 Liability for AI output

GrooveCV shall not be liable for any decisions, actions, or outcomes resulting from AI-generated content, including but not limited to hiring decisions influenced by AI-drafted summaries, skill matching results, or comparative presentations. AI outputs are informational drafts only. Responsibility for all hiring decisions and candidate evaluations rests entirely with your organization and the individuals who reviewed and approved the content.

6. Client Portal

6.1 Portal access

When you share a candidate shortlist via the Client Portal, a unique link is generated which may be protected by a PIN code. You are responsible for sharing portal links and PINs only with authorized recipients at your end client. Links may have configurable expiration dates.

6.2 Portal content control

You control which candidate information and data points are visible through each portal, including the option to anonymize candidate identities ("Client-Safe Mode" - see Section 11). Client feedback, ratings, and comments submitted through the portal are stored and accessible to your Authorized Users.

6.3 Email tracking disclosure

When you send shortlists or notifications by email through the Service, those emails include tracking technology (tracking pixels and wrapped links) that reports when the email is opened and when links are clicked. By using this feature you acknowledge that you are sending tracked emails to your clients and accept responsibility for compliance with applicable laws or contractual obligations regarding email tracking in your jurisdiction.

6.4 Interview scheduling and recording

The Service provides interview scheduling functionality. When integrated video interview features are used, recordings may be stored temporarily on secure cloud storage with auto-expiring access links (default retention: 7 days). You are responsible for obtaining all necessary consents for interview recording from all participants in accordance with applicable law.

7. Candidate Data and Data Processing

7.1 Roles under data protection law

For Candidate Data uploaded to and processed through the Service, your organization is the data controller and GrooveCV acts as data processor, in each case within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR"). The terms of the DPA between the parties govern this processing.

For Account Data, billing data, Authorized User credentials, telemetry, and other data we collect to operate and improve the Service, GrooveCV acts as the data controller. Our processing of such data is described in our Privacy Policy.

7.2 Your responsibility as controller

As the controller of Candidate Data, you are solely responsible for ensuring that:

• You have a valid legal basis under Article 6 GDPR (and, where applicable, Article 9 GDPR) to collect, process, and share Candidate Data through the Service.
• Candidates have been informed about the processing in accordance with Articles 13-14 GDPR, including processing through AI-assisted features where applicable.
• Where the processing relies on consent, you have obtained valid consent that meets the requirements of Article 7 GDPR.
• You respond to data subject requests (access, rectification, erasure, etc.) directly, with our reasonable assistance under the DPA.

7.3 Data Processing Agreement

The DPA is automatically accepted as part of these Terms upon account creation and is available for signature on request from info@groovecv.com. The DPA prevails over these Terms in respect of any inconsistency relating to personal data protection obligations.

8. Fees, Payment and Renewals

8.1 Subscription plans

We offer free, paid, and pilot subscription plans. Available features and limits per plan are described on our pricing pages and at the time of plan selection.

8.2 Billing and payment

Paid subscriptions are billed in advance through our authorized payment processors, Lemon Squeezy or Paddle (each as merchant of record). You authorize the processor to charge the payment method you provide for all fees due. All fees are exclusive of applicable taxes unless otherwise stated, and you are responsible for taxes that may apply to your purchase.

8.3 Auto-renewal

Subscriptions automatically renew at the end of the Subscription Term unless cancelled before the renewal date. You may cancel auto-renewal at any time through your Account settings.

8.4 Cancellation and refunds

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your Account settings. We offer refunds within a 14-day window from the initial purchase or initial paid renewal, on a discretionary basis, for users who have made minimal use of paid features. Refunds beyond this window are at our sole discretion. To request a refund, contact us at info@groovecv.com; we will respond within 30 working days.

8.5 Late payment

If payment is not received when due, we may suspend or restrict access to paid features after providing notice and a reasonable cure period.

8.6 Price changes

We may change the fees for the Service at any time. Price changes will take effect at the start of the next Subscription Term after at least 30 days' notice. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the new fees.

9. Customer Content and Intellectual Property

9.1 Your content

As between the parties, you retain all rights, title, and interest in and to the content you create or upload through the Service, including Candidate Data, shortlist configurations, branding assets, and notes ("Customer Content"). You grant GrooveCV a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, store, copy, transmit, display, process, and create technical derivative works of Customer Content solely as needed to provide, secure, and improve the Service in accordance with these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the DPA.

9.2 Aggregated and anonymized data

We may compile aggregated, statistical, and anonymized data derived from use of the Service for the purposes of operating, securing, and improving the Service. Such data does not identify you, your Authorized Users, your end clients, or any candidate.

9.3 Our intellectual property

The Service, including all software, designs, logos, templates, AI prompts and configurations, models, and Documentation, is and remains the intellectual property of GrooveCV and its licensors. Except for the limited rights expressly granted in these Terms, no rights are granted to you.

9.4 Restrictions

You may not, directly or indirectly: (i) copy, modify, or create derivative works of the Service; (ii) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or attempt to derive the source code, models, prompts, or underlying ideas of the Service; (iii) sublicense, resell, distribute, or transfer the Service to any third party; (iv) frame the Service or use it to develop a competing product; or (v) remove or obscure any proprietary notices.

10. Acceptable Use

You and your Authorized Users must not, and must not allow any third party to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law, including data-protection, employment, or anti-discrimination laws.
• Upload, share, or process Candidate Data without a valid legal basis or without having properly informed the data subjects.
• Scrape, harvest, or use bots or automated systems to extract data from the Service without prior written permission.
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service or breach any security or authentication measures.
• Upload any malware, viruses, or harmful code or attempt to disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
• Share portal links, PINs, or Account credentials with unauthorized third parties or otherwise enable unauthorized access.
• Use AI features to make automated hiring decisions without human review, or misrepresent AI-generated content as purely human-written.
• Attempt to circumvent the mandatory AI review gate or remove AI disclaimers from shared content.
• Use the Service for high-risk decisions affecting natural persons that are outside the intended scope of AI assistance described in Section 5.

Violations may result in immediate suspension or termination of your Account, forfeiture of fees, and legal action where appropriate.

11. Anonymization Features

The Service provides anonymization features (the "Client-Safe Mode") that allow you to mask candidate personal information when sharing shortlists with end clients. You acknowledge that anonymization is a display-level feature that masks data in shared views and exports. The original, complete Candidate Data is retained in your workspace and is accessible to your Authorized Users. Anonymization in this sense does not constitute irreversible deletion or anonymization under Article 4(1) GDPR.

12. Confidentiality

Each party will treat Confidential Information of the other party with at least the same degree of care it uses to protect its own confidential information of similar importance, and not less than a reasonable standard of care. Confidential Information may be used only for the performance of these Terms and disclosed only to those representatives who have a need to know and are bound by confidentiality obligations. These obligations survive termination of these Terms for a period of three (3) years, except for trade secrets, which remain protected for as long as they qualify as trade secrets under applicable law.

13. Term, Suspension and Termination

13.1 Term

These Terms become effective when you first accept them and continue until terminated in accordance with this Section.

13.2 Termination for convenience

You may terminate your Account at any time through your Account settings. Termination becomes effective at the end of the current paid Subscription Term, unless you are on a free or pilot plan, in which case it is effective immediately.

13.3 Termination for cause

Either party may terminate these Terms with immediate effect if the other party (i) materially breaches these Terms and fails to cure the breach within 30 days of written notice; (ii) becomes insolvent, files for bankruptcy, or ceases to operate; or (iii) violates applicable data protection laws in a manner that exposes the non-breaching party to liability.

13.4 Suspension

We may suspend your access to the Service immediately if (i) we reasonably believe your use of the Service poses a security risk; (ii) your Account is the subject of a credible complaint of legal violation; or (iii) your payment is overdue.

13.5 Effects of termination

Upon termination: (i) all rights granted under these Terms cease; (ii) you must stop accessing the Service; (iii) we will provide a reasonable opportunity (at least 30 days, except in cases of termination for severe breach) for you to export your Customer Content; and (iv) we will delete or return Customer Content in accordance with the DPA. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including confidentiality, IP, indemnification, limitation of liability, and governing law) will survive.

14. Warranties and Disclaimers

Except as expressly provided in these Terms, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we disclaim all implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any warranties arising out of course of dealing or usage of trade.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or completely secure, or that AI-generated outputs will be accurate, complete, free of bias, or fit for any particular purpose.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will either party be liable to the other party for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of goodwill, or loss of data, arising out of or relating to these Terms, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

The aggregate liability of each party for direct damages arising out of or relating to these Terms is limited to the greater of (i) the fees paid by you to us in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (ii) EUR 1,000.

The exclusions and limitations in this Section do not apply to (a) liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law (including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or wilful misconduct); (b) breach of confidentiality; (c) infringement of the other party's intellectual property; (d) a party's indemnification obligations; or (e) amounts due for use of the Service.

16. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless GrooveCV and its officers, employees, and agents from and against any third-party claim, action, or proceeding ("Claim"), and pay any damages or settlement amounts finally awarded in such Claim, arising out of (i) your or your Authorized Users' breach of these Terms, the Privacy Policy, or the DPA; (ii) your unlawful processing or sharing of Candidate Data; (iii) your violation of any applicable law in your use of the Service; or (iv) any allegation that your Customer Content infringes any third-party intellectual property right or violates any third-party privacy right.

17. Modifications to these Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. Material modifications will be communicated to you by email and through the Service at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of the modified Terms constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree with the modifications, your sole remedy is to terminate your Account before the modifications take effect.

18. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

18.1 Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Romania and applicable European Union law, without reference to conflict-of-laws principles.

18.2 Dispute resolution

The parties will first attempt to resolve any dispute through good-faith negotiation between authorized representatives. If a dispute is not resolved within 30 days of written notice, it will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of Bucharest, Romania, except that either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property or confidential information.

19. General

19.1 Entire agreement

These Terms (together with the Privacy Policy and the DPA) constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements or understandings, written or oral.

19.2 Order of precedence

If there is a conflict between these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the DPA, the following order of precedence applies for matters relating to personal data: (1) the DPA; (2) the Privacy Policy; (3) these Terms. For all other matters: (1) these Terms; (2) the Privacy Policy; (3) the DPA.

19.3 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.

19.4 Force majeure

Neither party will be liable for any delay or failure to perform due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, governmental action, labor disputes, pandemics, internet or telecommunications failures, or cloud-provider outages.

19.5 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.

19.6 No waiver

Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

19.7 Notices

Notices to GrooveCV must be sent to info@groovecv.com. Notices to you will be sent to the email address associated with your Account. Notices are deemed received on the day of confirmed delivery.

19.8 Independent contractors

The parties are independent contractors. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, employment, or fiduciary relationship.

19.9 Contact

GrooveCV - Romania - info@groovecv.com

20. Acceptance

These Terms are accepted electronically when an authorized representative of your organization creates an Account and confirms acceptance (for example, by ticking the acceptance checkbox at sign-up). No physical signature is required; acceptance through Account creation has full legal effect. Your acceptance is recorded together with a timestamp and the version of these Terms accepted. A countersigned written copy can be provided on request for organizations whose internal policies require one.