Terms of Service

Section 1 Scope and Definitions

1.1 These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Sovereign Trader software application, including the Telegram bot interface, web dashboard, and any related services (collectively, the "Service"), operated by Rainer Arnst (trading as Rainer Arnst Software), Waldstr. 2, 12621 Berlin, Germany (the "Operator," "we," "us").

1.2 By accessing or using the Service, you ("User," "you") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must discontinue use of the Service immediately.

1.3 Key definitions used throughout these Terms:

• "Zen Check" refers to the pre-session psychological readiness assessment feature.
• "Prepare" refers to the AI-assisted trading preparation workflow.
• "AI Coaching" refers to any text-based or voice-based conversational interaction generated by the Service's underlying language models.
• "User Content" refers to all data, text, voice recordings, journal entries, and other information you provide to or generate through the Service.
• "Early Access" refers to any period during which the Service is offered at a promotional price, with reduced features, or under beta conditions. The Service may continue to evolve after commercial launch.

Section 2 Subscription and Payment

2.1 Access to the Service requires a paid subscription. The current pricing is €39 per month for the Sovereign Trader plan. VAT is not applicable pursuant to § 19 UStG (German small business regulation). The Operator reserves the right to change pricing upon reasonable notice (see Section 13).

2.2 Subscriptions are billed on a recurring monthly basis. By subscribing, you authorise the Operator (via Stripe, Inc.) to charge your payment method each billing period until you cancel.

2.3 Payment is processed by Stripe, Inc., a third-party payment processor. By providing payment information, you agree to Stripe's terms of service and privacy policy. The Operator does not store your card details.

2.4 You may cancel your subscription at any time via the account settings page. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; access continues until that date and you will not be charged for subsequent periods.

2.5 All fees are exclusive of any applicable taxes. If value-added tax (VAT) or similar taxes are applicable in your jurisdiction, they will be added to the price at checkout.

2.6 Except as required by statutory withdrawal rights (see Section 18) and other mandatory consumer rights, refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis at the Operator's discretion. To request a refund, contact support@sovereigntrader.net.

2.7 The Operator may offer promotional codes that provide discounts or free access periods. Promotional codes are subject to their individual terms (expiry, usage limits). They cannot be combined with other offers and have no cash value.

2.8 The Operator may offer beta or early-access features to paying subscribers. The Service may continue to evolve after commercial launch; features may change without notice.

2.9 Your subscription begins on the date of your first payment and continues on a month-to-month basis. Your subscription renews automatically at the end of each monthly billing period at the then-current price. You will be charged through Stripe on each renewal date.

2.10 You may cancel your subscription at any time, with no notice period required, through any of the following methods: (a) via the Stripe Customer Portal (accessible from your account settings); or (b) by sending an email to cancel@sovereigntrader.net. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain access to the Service until the end of your paid period. No partial refunds are issued for unused portions of a billing period.

2.11 Upon expiry of your subscription: (a) your account will be deactivated; (b) your data will be retained for 30 days in case you wish to resubscribe, after which it will be deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy; (c) consent records will be retained for 3 years after the end of your membership in accordance with our legal obligations.

2.12 We will notify you of any price changes at least 30 days before they take effect. If you do not cancel before the new price takes effect, you are deemed to have accepted the change.

Section 3 Nature of the Service — No Financial Advice

3.1 Sovereign Trader is a personal accountability and self-reflection tool. Its purpose is to help traders maintain psychological discipline by reflecting their own pre-defined rules, habits, and emotional patterns back to them through AI-generated conversations.

3.2 The Service does not:

• Provide, constitute, or replace professional financial, investment, or trading advice;
• Recommend specific securities, instruments, positions, or trade actions;
• Analyse live market data to generate buy, sell, or hold signals;
• Manage, monitor, or advise on any trading account, portfolio, or positions;
• Guarantee or imply any particular trading outcome or profitability.

3.3 The AI Coaching feature uses large language models ("LLMs") provided by third-party providers (see Section 8). LLM responses are probabilistic text generation and may contain inaccuracies, inappropriate suggestions, or hallucinations. You must exercise your own independent judgment at all times. Any action you take based on the output of the Service is taken entirely at your own risk.

3.4 The Operator is not registered with, authorised by, or supervised by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), or any equivalent regulatory body in any jurisdiction.

3.5 If you require financial advice, you should consult a licensed financial advisor, broker, or other qualified professional in your jurisdiction.

Section 4 No Medical or Mental Health Service

4.1 Sovereign Trader is not a medical device, psychological therapy service, psychiatric treatment, or crisis intervention service. The AI coach is not a licensed therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, or mental health professional, and none of its outputs should be interpreted as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

4.2 The Service is a self-reflection and accountability tool designed for adults who are capable of managing their own mental health and who use the Service as a supplementary aid to their own trading discipline.

4.3 You agree that you will not rely on the Service in lieu of professional medical or psychological care, and you acknowledge that the Operator bears no responsibility for any psychological, emotional, or medical consequences arising from your use of the Service.

Section 5 Eligibility and Account

5.1 You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent that you meet this requirement.

5.2 Access to the Service is granted via Telegram login authentication. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your Telegram account and any web dashboard credentials. You must not share your access with third parties.

5.3 You must provide accurate information when requested and promptly update any information that becomes inaccurate.

5.4 The Service is not currently available to residents of the United States of America. During the subscription process, you are required to confirm that you are not a US resident. Misrepresentation of your country of residence constitutes a material breach of these Terms and grounds for immediate termination of your account without refund.

Section 6 Acceptable Use

6.1 You agree to use the Service solely for its intended purpose: personal trading accountability, session preparation, journaling, and psychological self-reflection.

6.2 You must not:

• Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract the underlying AI prompts, system instructions, or proprietary logic of the Service;
• Use the Service to generate content that is illegal, harmful, defamatory, or violates the rights of third parties;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to other users' data or the Service's infrastructure;
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access the Service beyond the intended Telegram and web interfaces;
• Redistribute, sublicence, or commercially exploit the Service or its outputs without prior written consent;
• Submit deliberately false, misleading, or harmful input to the AI Coaching system.

6.3 Violation of these terms may result in immediate suspension or termination of your access.

Section 7 Intellectual Property

7.1 The Service, including its code, AI prompt architecture, coaching methodologies, user interface design, and documentation, is the intellectual property of the Operator and is protected by applicable copyright and intellectual property laws.

7.2 You retain full ownership of all User Content you create or submit through the Service, including journal entries, voice recordings, and session notes.

7.3 You grant the Operator a limited, non-exclusive licence to process your User Content solely for the purpose of delivering the Service to you (e.g., generating AI coaching responses, producing session summaries, compiling weekly reviews). This licence terminates when you delete your data or your account is closed.

Section 8 Third-Party AI Services and Data Processing

8.1 The Service uses third-party large language model (LLM) APIs to generate AI Coaching responses, session summaries, weekly reviews, and scoring. As of the effective date, the providers are:

• OpenAI, Inc. (San Francisco, CA, USA) — used for AI coaching, voice transcription (Whisper), and related text generation features.
• Anthropic, Inc. (San Francisco, CA, USA) — used for AI coaching, weekly review generation, and session scoring features.

8.2 When you interact with the AI Coaching features, your input text (including transcriptions of voice messages) and relevant context is transmitted to one or both of the above providers' APIs for processing. Both OpenAI's and Anthropic's API data usage policies state that data submitted via the API is not used to train their models. The Operator has reviewed and relies on these policies but cannot independently guarantee the internal practices of third-party providers.

8.3 Voice messages submitted via Telegram are transcribed using speech-to-text services. The transcription is retained; original voice audio files are deleted after transcription is complete (see the Privacy Policy for details).

8.4 The Service may also access third-party data sources for market preparation features (e.g., economic calendar data, market overview data). This data is sourced from publicly available resources and is provided for informational context only — not as a basis for trading decisions.

8.5 The Operator may change third-party service providers at any time. Material changes that affect how your data is processed will be communicated to you, and your continued use of the Service after such notification constitutes acceptance of the change.

Section 9 Limitation of Liability

9.1 To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Operator shall not be liable for:

• Any financial losses, lost profits, or trading losses incurred by you, regardless of whether the Service was used before, during, or after a trading session;
• Any decisions you make based on, or influenced by, AI Coaching outputs;
• Inaccuracies, errors, or omissions in AI-generated content;
• Service interruptions, downtime, data loss, or technical failures;
• Actions or omissions of third-party providers, including OpenAI and Anthropic;
• Unauthorised access to your data resulting from your failure to secure your account credentials.

9.2 The total aggregate liability of the Operator to you for any and all claims arising out of or in connection with the Service shall not exceed the amount you have paid to the Operator for the Service in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or EUR 100, whichever is greater.

9.3 Statutory Exceptions (German Law). The limitations in Sections 9.1 and 9.2 do not apply to:

• (a) liability for damages arising from injury to life, body, or health caused by negligence or intent;
• (b) liability for damages caused by willful misconduct (Vorsatz) or gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit);
• (c) liability for breach of material contractual obligations (Kardinalpflichten) — in this case, liability is limited to foreseeable, typically occurring damages;
• (d) liability under mandatory statutory provisions, including the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).

Section 10 Disclaimer of Warranties

10.1 The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement.

10.2 The Operator does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of harmful components. The Operator does not warrant that AI Coaching outputs will be accurate, complete, appropriate, or suitable for any particular purpose.

10.3 The Operator expressly disclaims any warranty or representation that use of the Service will improve your trading performance, profitability, or psychological well-being.

Section 11 EU AI Act Transparency Disclosure

11.1 In preparation for, and where applicable in accordance with, Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU Artificial Intelligence Act), you are hereby informed that the AI Coaching features of the Service are generated by an artificial intelligence system. You are interacting with AI-generated content, not a human advisor, coach, or therapist.

11.2 The AI system used by the Service is classified as minimal or limited risk under the EU AI Act's risk-based framework. It does not perform high-risk activities such as credit scoring, biometric identification, employment decisions, or any activity listed in Annex III of the Act.

11.3 Outputs of the AI system are probabilistic and may not always be accurate, appropriate, or helpful. The AI does not have access to your brokerage account, your live positions, or real-time market data feeds. Its responses are based solely on the information you provide in conversation.

Section 12 Termination

12.1 You may stop using the Service at any time by ceasing to interact with the Telegram bot and the web dashboard. To request deletion of all your data, visit Settings → Delete Account in the web dashboard or contact legal@sovereigntrader.net.

12.2 The Operator may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without cause, including but not limited to violation of these Terms, abusive behaviour, or discontinuation of the Service.

12.3 Upon termination, your right to access the Service ceases immediately. Data deletion will be carried out in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

Section 13 Modifications to These Terms

13.1 The Operator reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated to you via the Telegram bot or the web dashboard at least fourteen (14) days before they take effect.

13.2 Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of modified Terms constitutes acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to modified Terms, you must discontinue use of the Service.

Section 14 Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

14.1 These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

14.2 For merchants, legal entities under public law, and users without a general place of jurisdiction in Germany, Berlin, Germany shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction to the extent permitted by law. For consumers (Verbraucher within the meaning of § 13 BGB), statutory jurisdiction rules apply.

14.3 The European Commission provides an online dispute resolution platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The Operator is not obligated and currently not willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

Section 15 Geographic Scope and International Users

15.1 The Service is operated from Germany by a German sole proprietor (Einzelunternehmen) subject to German tax, commercial, and consumer protection law. The Service is offered in English for a global audience but is not specifically directed at residents of any particular jurisdiction outside Germany.

15.2 Users Outside Germany. By creating an account and using the Service, you acknowledge and agree that:

1. You are entering into a contract with a German data controller subject to German and European Union law;
2. Your personal data will be processed in Germany and, as set out in the Privacy Policy, transferred to our sub-processors in the United States and other countries under appropriate safeguards;
3. The Operator is not registered with, licensed by, or supervised by any financial, medical, or consumer protection regulator in your country of residence;
4. Disputes are subject to the jurisdiction rules set out in Section 14;
5. You are solely responsible for ensuring that your use of the Service complies with the laws of your country of residence.

15.3 Specific Notice for US Residents. The Operator is not registered with the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, FTC, or any state financial or consumer protection authority in the United States. The Service is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, commodity trading adviser, or any other type of regulated financial services provider under US law. The Service does not offer, solicit, or facilitate the purchase, sale, or trading of securities, commodities, derivatives, or any other financial instrument.

15.4 If you are a resident of the United States and use the Service, you do so on your own initiative and at your own risk, and you acknowledge that the Operator has not marketed, solicited, or directed the Service specifically at US residents.

Section 16 Severability and Entire Agreement

16.1 If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

16.2 These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Operator regarding your use of the Service and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and representations.

Section 17 Contact

For questions or concerns regarding these Terms of Service, contact:

Rainer Arnst
Waldstr. 2
12621 Berlin, Germany
Email: legal@sovereigntrader.net

Section 18 Right of Withdrawal (EU Consumers)

This section applies to consumers within the European Union.

Right of Withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen (14) days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period expires fourteen days after the day of the conclusion of the contract.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us:

Rainer Arnst
Waldstr. 2, 12621 Berlin, Germany
Email: legal@sovereigntrader.net

of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g., an email). You may use the model withdrawal form below, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of Withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse all payments received from you without undue delay and in any event not later than fourteen (14) days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction (via Stripe), unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

Early Expiry of the Right of Withdrawal

If you have expressly consented to the commencement of the Service before the end of the withdrawal period and have acknowledged that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal, your right of withdrawal expires upon commencement of the Service (§ 356(5) BGB).

You provide this consent during the subscription process via a separate checkbox.

Model Withdrawal Form

(Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.)

Widerrufsbelehrung (Deutsche Fassung)

Widerrufsrecht

Sie haben das Recht, binnen vierzehn Tagen ohne Angabe von Gründen diesen Vertrag zu widerrufen. Die Widerrufsfrist beträgt vierzehn Tage ab dem Tag des Vertragsschlusses.

Um Ihr Widerrufsrecht auszuüben, müssen Sie uns (Rainer Arnst, Waldstr. 2, 12621 Berlin, Deutschland, E-Mail: legal@sovereigntrader.net) mittels einer eindeutigen Erklärung (z. B. eine E-Mail) über Ihren Entschluss, diesen Vertrag zu widerrufen, informieren. Sie können dafür das oben stehende Muster-Widerrufsformular verwenden, das jedoch nicht vorgeschrieben ist.

Zur Wahrung der Widerrufsfrist reicht es aus, dass Sie die Mitteilung über die Ausübung des Widerrufsrechts vor Ablauf der Widerrufsfrist absenden.

Folgen des Widerrufs

Wenn Sie diesen Vertrag widerrufen, haben wir Ihnen alle Zahlungen, die wir von Ihnen erhalten haben, unverzüglich und spätestens binnen vierzehn Tagen ab dem Tag zurückzuzahlen, an dem die Mitteilung über Ihren Widerruf bei uns eingegangen ist. Für diese Rückzahlung verwenden wir dasselbe Zahlungsmittel, das Sie bei der ursprünglichen Transaktion eingesetzt haben (über Stripe), es sei denn, mit Ihnen wurde ausdrücklich etwas anderes vereinbart; in keinem Fall werden Ihnen wegen dieser Rückzahlung Entgelte berechnet.

Vorzeitiges Erlöschen des Widerrufsrechts

Wenn Sie ausdrücklich zugestimmt haben, dass wir mit der Ausführung der Dienstleistung vor Ablauf der Widerrufsfrist beginnen, und Sie Ihre Kenntnis davon bestätigt haben, dass Sie durch Ihre Zustimmung mit Beginn der Ausführung des Vertrags Ihr Widerrufsrecht verlieren, erlischt Ihr Widerrufsrecht mit Beginn der Vertragsausführung (§ 356 Abs. 5 BGB).

Sie erteilen diese Zustimmung während des Bestellvorgangs über eine separate Checkbox.