Matrix.org Website Terms of Use
Effective date of 21 July 2025
🔗1. Introduction
🔗1.1 English, not Legalese
Most Terms of Use and Privacy Policy documents are unreadable. They are written by lawyers and for lawyers, and in our opinion are not very effective.
We decided to use plain English as much as possible, to make our terms as clear as possible. We are always looking to improve, so please send us feedback on this document to [email protected].
When you read the ‘Service', or the ‘Website’ below, it refers to the services made available at Matrix.org which store your account and personal conversation history, using or interacting with the website, purchasing Usage Plans and using our shop or donations section.
If you purchase access and use of the public Matrix.org homeserver, our Homeserver Terms will also apply to you.
Our Contact Information:
Email:Â [email protected]
Postal address: The Matrix.org Foundation (the ‘Foundation’), 14 Turnham Green Terrace Mews, London, United Kingdom, W4 1QU
Should you have other questions or concerns about this document, please send us an email at [email protected].
🔗1.2 Using The Service Means Accepting These Terms of Use
By accessing or engaging with the Website, including browsing information, using our shop or donations section, or interacting with any online content, you agree to these ‘Terms of Use’.
If you do not agree to all of these terms, please refrain from using the Website.
🔗1.3 This is a living document
This is a living document. With your help, we want to make it the best in the industry.
If you read something that rubs you the wrong way, or if you think of something that should be added, please get in touch! We're all ears! Email us at [email protected] and we'll chat.
We don't amend these Terms of Use for any specific users or use case, but if your proposed changes apply to all of our users, we'll be happy to update them for everyone. Scroll to the bottom to see the document history.
We will improve these Terms of Use over time. By continuing to use the Service, you will implicitly accept the changes we make. If we change anything important in these Terms of Use, we'll let you know directly and give you fourteen (14) days' notice before making those important changes. You will be required to accept the latest version of these Terms of Use each time you place an order to purchase an item from our shop, and each order shall form a separate contract incorporating the details of your order and these Terms of Use
Your access and use of the Service is always subject to the most current version of these Terms of Use.
🔗1.4 Breach of Terms
If you breach any of these Terms of Use, your authorisation to access or use the Service automatically terminates. We may block, restrict, disable, suspend or terminate your access to all or part of the Service at any time in our sole discretion, without prior notice or liability to you.
🔗2. Website Content
🔗2.1 Website Access
We do our best to ensure the Website is up and running at all times, but we can't guarantee that it will always be available, nor that your visit will be uninterrupted. We reserve the right to change or take down the Website, or any part of it, without prior notice.
🔗2.2 Content Information
The content on the Website is there to give you a broad overview and should not be the sole basis for making important decisions. We regularly update our Website to ensure the information is current, but we can't guarantee that all the content is always complete or fully up-to-date.
🔗3. Shop
🔗3.1 Purchases
The Foundation’s online store is operated and managed by a third-party platform, Printful. While products are sold by us, all aspects of order processing, shipping, and returns are handled by Printful in accordance with their Terms of Service. Your order will only come into effect once we have sent you a confirmation email. We will charge you for the price of the item purchased at the time of purchase.
Please refer to the following sections of Printful’s Terms of Service for details on how they manage various aspects of your purchase from us on our behalf.
- Returns (governed by Printful’s Returns Policy)
- Shipping (Section 11 of Printful’s Terms of Service)
- Delivery (Section 14 of Printful’s Terms of Service)
We encourage you to review those terms carefully before placing an order. If you have questions about a product or purchase, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].
🔗3.2 Donations
We are grateful for donations as they help fund our work and ensure that the Foundation continues to address and overcome current and future challenges. Your contributions support the Foundation in its ongoing efforts to maintain and advance the Matrix project. Donorbox is our preferred method for accepting donations. To make a donation via Donorbox, please follow the designated links provided on our Website. We also accept donations through Patreon and LiberaPay to cater to our users' preferences. Each donation platform has its own terms and conditions, which you should review and accept before making a donation.
Please be aware that donations are voluntary and are not subject to refunds once processed. If you have specific questions about making a donation, the use of funds, or require assistance with the donation process, please contact us at [email protected].
🔗4. IPR
🔗4.1 Ownership of Content
The Foundation owns or holds the license to all intellectual property on the Website. This includes the Foundation's name and logo, and any other material provided (the "Material"). You may interact with the Material only as expressly allowed by these Terms of Use.
The content within the Website is covered by the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA license, meaning you can share and build upon the Materials provided, as long as you credit the Foundation and make them available under the same license.
The underlying code upon which the website is built is made available under an Apache 2.0 license and can be obtained here, under the terms of said license.
🔗4.2 Your Content
As a user, you retain all the intellectual property rights to the content you create and share on the Website, for example by contributing to a blog post or This Week In Matrix. However, by sharing your content, you grant the Foundation a worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, modify, and display this content as part of operating the Website, according to the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA license.
🔗5. Links to third party sites
The Service may include links that will take you to other sites that we do not control. The linked sites are provided as a convenience and the inclusion of the links does not imply any endorsement by us of any linked site. We have no control of the linked sites and you therefore acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the content of any linked site, any link contained in a linked site or any changes or updates to a linked site. You further acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for any form of transmission (e.g. webcasting) received from any linked site.
🔗6. App Developers
We encourage you to develop software that uses the Matrix Protocol. As the Matrix Protocol evolves, we may update or phase out certain Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) or functionalities associated with our Service. It is your duty to ensure that any interactions with the Matrix Protocol are in line with the most current APIs available - our most recent specification can be found here: https://spec.matrix.org/latest/.
🔗7. Warranties and Disclaimers
The Website, managed by the Foundation, is available "as is" without any warranties, express, implied, statutory, or otherwise. This includes, but is not limited to, warranties of title, non-infringement, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. No advice or information obtained from the Foundation is subject to any warranty not explicitly stated in these Terms of Use. Specifically, there is no guarantee that:
- The Website content will meet your needs.
- Access to the Website will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free.
- The quality of information provided will meet your expectations.
- Any errors in the Website content will be corrected.
🔗7.1 Third-Party Materials and Services
The Foundation does not endorse or take responsibility for materials or services provided by third parties linked through the Website. Interactions with third-party vendors or services are conducted at your risk, and on the basis of the terms you agree with those third-party service providers. The Foundation bears no liability for such external content or services.
🔗8. Liability and Indemnity
Except as set out below and subject to your consumer rights in respect of purchases you make from our shop, the use of the Website is at your own risk. The Foundation is not liable for any potential damage to your computer system, data loss, or other harms resulting from your use of the Website. This includes damages from downloading content or engaging with services provided through the Website.
You agree to protect, indemnify, and hold the Foundation and its guardians, officers, co-branders, other partners, contractors, and employees harmless from any claims, demands, or legal fees brought by third parties because of your actions on the Website. This includes issues arising from:
- Your use of the Website, including any actions taken under your account by you or others who have access to your account details.
- Any breach of the Website's Terms of Use by you.
- Infringement of intellectual property rights due to your use of software or other materials from the Website.
- Your interactions with third-party sites linked from the Website, or any business you conduct with entities advertising or featured on it.
We are not responsible for losses you suffer caused by us breaking these Terms of Use if the loss is unexpected (i.e. it was not obvious that it would happen and nothing you said to us before we accepted your order meant we should have expected it (so, in the law, the loss was unforeseeable)), caused by a delaying event outside our control, or avoidable.
To the extent that you use a product for the purposes of your trade, business, craft or profession then, save in respect of any liability which cannot legally be limited, our total liability to you for all losses arising under or in connection with any contract between us, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall be limited to what you paid for the product and all claims for loss of profit or indirect or consequential loss are wholly excluded.
🔗8.1 Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms of Use and any dispute (including non-contractual disputes) arising out of them or their subject matter shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales, excluding its conflict of law provisions. Unless contrary to the law where you reside, these Terms of Use and all disputes (including non-contractual disputes) arising out of them or their subject matter are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales and you expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in the courts of England and Wales in connection with any such dispute. These Terms of Use shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
🔗8.2 Legal points of contact
To ensure effective communication and compliance with legal standards, we've designated a representative responsible for liaising with both European authorities and our users. This representative aids in addressing inquiries from EU Member States' authorities, supporting user concerns, and facilitating legal compliance. The contact’s details are as follows:
Name: Element Software GmbH
Address: c/o Tradeo, Kaiserswerther Str. 135, 40474 Düsseldorf, Germany
E-mail: [email protected]
🔗9. Severance
You may also be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use other Matrix Services, third party content or third party software. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms of Use, or portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to give effect to the intent of the parties as reflected by that provision, and the remainder of the Terms of Use shall continue in full force and effect. Any failure by the Foundation to enforce or exercise any provision of the Terms of Use or related right shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. The section titles used in the Terms of Use are purely for convenience and carry with them no legal or contractual effect.
🔗10. Waiver
A waiver of any right or remedy under these Terms of Use or by law is only effective if given in writing and shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default. A failure or delay by the Foundation to exercise any right or remedy provided under these Terms of Use or by law shall not constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor shall it prevent or restrict any further exercise of that or any other right or remedy. No single or partial exercise of any right or remedy provided under these Terms of Use or by law shall prevent or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.
🔗11. Document History
- 1.0.0 - first version of document - August 2018
- 1.1.0 - adding metadata and removing slugs - September 2019
- 1.2.0 - branding changes - July 2020
- 1.2.1 - minor updates - July 2020
- 1.2.2 - minor updates - August 2022
- 2.0.0 - clarifications around the relationship between the Matrix.org Foundation and Element - June 2023
- 3.0.0 – major update to align with Digital Services Act and Online Safety Act , separate the terms for the matrix.org website and the matrix.org homeserver, and update the Foundation’s registered address – July 2025