Terms of Service
Last updated July 2026
These are the terms for using Orbit, the website and browser extension that help you remember and tend the people you talk to on Substack. They’re written in plain language on purpose. By creating an account or using Orbit, you agree to them.
What Orbit is
Orbit captures your Substack conversations through a browser extension running in your own browser, then organizes them into a private view of your relationships: who’s in your orbit, who’s drifting, what’s resonating in your writing. Orbit is an independent product. It is not made by, affiliated with, or endorsed by Substack.
Your account
- You need to be old enough to form a binding contract where you live (and at least 13).
- You sign in with Google. Keep access to that account secure; you’re responsible for activity under your Orbit account.
- Orbit connects to your own Substack account, in your own browser session. Use it only with accounts that are yours.
- Access may be by invitation while Orbit is in beta.
How Orbit connects to Substack
The Orbit extension is your tool. It runs in your browser, signed in as you, and captures your own conversations at your direction. Orbit’s servers never log into Substack for you and never hold your Substack credentials. That means you, not Orbit, are the one accessing Substack, using an assistant you chose to run.
Substack’s own terms govern your Substack account, including what they say about automated tools. It’s your responsibility to decide that using Orbit with your account is acceptable under those terms. Substack can change how its site works, object to tools like Orbit, or restrict accounts that use automation. By using Orbit you accept those risks for your own Substack account, and you agree that we’re not responsible if Substack limits, suspends, or closes it.
Payment
Orbit is a paid subscription. There is no free plan, though we may grant free access during a beta or by invitation. Fees are charged in advance by our payment processor and, except where the law requires otherwise, are non-refundable. If we change prices, we’ll tell you before the change applies to you. You can cancel anytime, and your access runs through the end of the period you paid for.
Your data stays yours
The conversations, people, notes, and essays Orbit captures for you are yours. You give us permission to store and process them only as needed to run Orbit for you, as described in the Privacy Policy. We don’t sell your data, and we don’t claim ownership of your writing.
Using Orbit well
Orbit shows you information about real people. Use it to tend relationships, not to exploit them. You agree not to:
- Use Orbit for spam, harassment, stalking, or building lists to sell or share.
- Resell, scrape, or republish data from Orbit, or give others access to your account.
- Violate Substack’s own terms while using the extension, or use Orbit with an account that isn’t yours.
- Probe, overload, or interfere with the service, or try to access other users’ data.
We can suspend or close accounts that break these rules.
AI-generated content
Orbit uses AI (Anthropic’s Claude) to summarize your relationships, group people, and describe what’s working in your writing. These summaries are interpretations of your data, and they can be incomplete or wrong. Read them as a research assistant’s notes, not as facts, especially before acting on something about a specific person.
Things outside our control
Orbit depends on Substack’s website continuing to work the way it does today. Substack can change at any time, and when it does, parts of Orbit’s capture may break until we adapt. We also rely on service providers (hosting, database, AI) whose outages can affect Orbit. We’ll always work to keep things running, but we can’t promise uninterrupted service or complete capture.
Our stuff
Orbit’s software, design, and name belong to us. Your subscription gives you a personal, non-transferable right to use the service; it doesn’t transfer any ownership of Orbit itself.
Ending things
You can stop using Orbit and cancel anytime. You can also ask us to delete your account and all captured data (see the Privacy Policy). We can suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or put the service or other users at risk; if we ever discontinue Orbit, we’ll give you reasonable notice so you can request your data first.
If your use causes a claim
If a third party (a platform, or a person whose information you captured) brings a claim against us because of how you used Orbit, the data you chose to capture with it, or your violation of these terms or another service’s terms, you agree to indemnify us: to cover the losses, costs, and reasonable legal fees that claim causes. This doesn’t apply to the extent a claim comes from our own breach of these terms or the Privacy Policy.
Disclaimers and liability
Orbit is provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, and our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim arose. Some places don’t allow these limits, so they may not fully apply to you.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the United States. If a dispute comes up, contact us first; most things can be sorted out with an email.
Changes to these terms
If we make meaningful changes, we’ll update the date at the top and, for significant changes, let you know in the app or by email. Continuing to use Orbit after a change means you accept the new terms.
Contact
Questions about these terms? Reach us through the support form.