Terms of Service

Last updated October 21, 2026

These terms are an agreement between you and Back & Forth for using the Back & Forth website and apps (the “service”). By creating an account or using the service, you agree to them. Please also read our Privacy Policy.

Who can use Back & Forth

• You must be at least 18, or the age of majority where you live, to create a grown-up account.
• Children can use the service only through a kid account created by their parent or legal guardian, who agrees to these terms on the child’s behalf and is responsible for how the child uses it.
• Only connect with children you are the parent, guardian, or trusted family member of, with the permission of their parent or guardian.

Your account

Keep your password, and your kids’ PINs, private. You’re responsible for what happens under your account and the kid accounts you manage. Tell us right away at [email protected] if you think someone else has access.

Your content

What you write, draw, photograph, and record belongs to you. To run the service, you give us permission to store, copy, process, and display your content to the members of the journals you share it in. That permission is only for running and improving the service, and it ends when you delete the content or your account (apart from routine backups, which expire).

Only share content you have the right to share, and remember that the other members of a journal can see everything in it.

Using the service kindly

Please don’t use Back & Forth to:

• harass, threaten, or harm anyone, or share content that sexualizes or endangers a child;
• share anything illegal, or that infringes someone else’s rights;
• get into accounts or journals that aren’t yours, or disrupt, probe, or overload the service;
• send spam or use the service for commercial purposes.

We may suspend or close accounts that break these rules, and we report content that endangers children to the authorities.

Price and plans

Back & Forth is free while we’re getting started. If we introduce paid plans, we’ll tell you before anything changes, you’ll never be charged without agreeing first, and what you’ve already written will stay readable on every plan.

Changes to the service

We’re always improving Back & Forth, so features may change. If we ever plan to shut the service down, we’ll give you at least 60 days’ notice and a way to download what you’ve written.

Closing your account

You can stop using the service at any time. To delete your account, write to [email protected]; kid accounts can be deleted in Settings. Deleting an account deletes what it wrote, as described in the Privacy Policy.

Disclaimers

We work hard to keep Back & Forth running and your content safe, but the service is provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind, to the extent the law allows. Back & Forth is a way to stay in touch; it is not an emergency, counseling, or monitoring service.

Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, Back & Forth won’t be liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, or for lost data or profits, arising from your use of the service. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or $50.

Changes to these terms

If we make a meaningful change to these terms, we’ll tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. Continuing to use the service after that means you accept the new terms.

Contact

Questions about these terms: [email protected].