Terms of Service

Luminao ("Luminao," "we," "us") operates an online platform that connects applicants with college students ("mentors") for essay coaching, feedback, brainstorming, and editing suggestions. By creating an account or using the platform, you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use Luminao.

These Terms include our Refund Policy and Privacy Policy, which are incorporated by reference.

Luminao is intended for students aged 13 and older. The platform is not directed to and may not be used by children under 13.

If you are between 13 and 17, you may use Luminao only with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian, who must agree to these Terms on your behalf and is responsible for all payments made through the account. By allowing a minor to use Luminao, a parent or guardian accepts these Terms for themselves and the minor.

Mentors must be 18 or older and currently enrolled at an accredited college or university, verified through a valid institutional (.edu) email address.

You agree to provide accurate information and to keep your login credentials secure. You are responsible for activity on your account. Mentor enrollment is verified by institutional email; we may suspend accounts we believe to be fraudulent, impersonating others, or otherwise in violation of these Terms.

Payments are processed by our payment provider, Stripe. Mentors set their own prices within platform limits, and the full price is shown before you pay. Luminao retains a platform commission from each paid order; the remainder is paid out to the mentor through Stripe Connect. You authorize us and Stripe to charge your selected payment method, and you will receive a receipt by email.

Refunds are governed by our Refund Policy. We do not store full card numbers; payment data is handled by Stripe.

Luminao invests in connecting students with mentors and in the payments, records, and academic-integrity and safety protections around every engagement. To protect that, both mentors and students agree not to take a Luminao working relationship off the platform:

• Mentors agree not to solicit, encourage, or accept off-platform payment from any client they were introduced to or first connected with through Luminao, and not to move or continue that working relationship off Luminao, while using Luminao and for twelve (12) months after their last interaction with that client on the platform.
• Students likewise agree not to arrange or pay for mentoring off-platform with a mentor they met through Luminao during that same period.
• This includes exchanging personal contact or payment details in order to take the relationship off-platform, or using Luminao to advertise off-platform services.

This protects fees, records, and our safety and academic-integrity protections; it is not meant to restrict relationships that existed independently of Luminao. If you knew someone before connecting on Luminao, this section does not limit that relationship. Violating this section is a material breach: we may suspend or terminate the account, withhold pending payouts to the extent permitted by law, and recover the platform commission we would reasonably have earned plus our reasonable costs of enforcement.

Mentors are independent contractors, not employees or agents of Luminao. They set their own rates and availability and are solely responsible for their own taxes. Luminao does not control, and is not responsible for, the specific advice or feedback a mentor provides, beyond enforcing these Terms and our policies.

You agree not to:

• Violate the academic-integrity rules above;
• Harass, threaten, or harm another user;
• Move communication or payment off the platform, or solicit or accept off-platform work from someone you connected with through Luminao, to evade fees or safety protections (see “No off-platform circumvention” above);
• Upload unlawful, infringing, or harmful content;
• Attempt to scrape, reverse-engineer, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to the platform.

You retain ownership of the essays and materials you upload. You grant the mentor you work with, and Luminao, a limited license to access and use that content solely to provide the service. Luminao and its software, branding, and design remain our property. Do not upload content you do not have the right to share.

The Luminao Community is a public forum where students and mentors ask and answer questions about applying to college. These rules apply to everything you post or reply there.

• Posts are public. Anyone can read them, including people who are not signed in, and they can appear in search engines such as Google.
• Handles hide you from other users, not from Luminao. Posts show a randomly generated handle unless you choose to show your name. We keep the link between your account and everything you post so we can moderate, act on reports, and comply with the law.
• The community rules are part of these Terms. In particular: ask for feedback, never for someone to write your essay, and never offer to write one; keep personal information private; and do not sell services or move conversations off Luminao.
• Your license to us. You keep ownership of what you post. You grant Luminao a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, reproduce, format, and distribute it on Luminao and in connection with the Community (for example, in search results and link previews). The license ends when you delete the post or your account, except for copies that search engines or other third parties have already made, which we do not control.
• We may remove content. We may remove any post or comment, and suspend any account, that breaks these Terms or the community rules, or where we need to protect someone or comply with the law.
• Answers are opinions, not guarantees. Posts reflect the personal experience and views of the people who write them, not Luminao's, and are not a promise of any admissions result. Questions and answers Luminao posts itself are labeled "Luminao."

Live sessions take place on the platform and are not recorded by Luminao. Do not record, screenshot, or redistribute a session or another user's content without their permission.

The platform is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind to the fullest extent permitted by law. We do not guarantee any particular result, including admission, grades, scholarships, or essay quality. Mentors are individuals, and their feedback reflects their own views, not Luminao's.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Luminao and its operators will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages. Our total liability for any claim relating to the platform is limited to the amount you paid to Luminao in the three (3) months before the event giving rise to the claim.

You agree to indemnify and hold Luminao harmless from claims arising out of your use of the platform, your content, or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

You may stop using Luminao at any time. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or our policies, or where required to protect users or comply with the law.

We may update these Terms as our practices change. We will post the updated version with a new "last updated" date and, for material changes, notify registered users by email. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Before filing any claim, you agree to first contact us so we can try to resolve it informally. Any disputes that cannot be resolved will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California.

Questions about these Terms? Email us at support@luminao.app or visit our contact page.