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Terms of Use

Last updated: October 26, 2026

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) are an agreement between you and Narratives Inc. (“Narratives,” “we,” “us” or “our”), a nonprofit organization tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. They govern your use of www.narratives.com (the “Site”) and the stories, films, donation pages, accounts and other services we offer through it (together, the “Services”). By using the Services, you agree to these Terms and confirm that you are at least 13 years old and able to form a binding contract. If you are under 18, you may use the Site only with the permission of a parent or guardian. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

1. About Narratives

Narratives is a nonprofit media network that shares first-person stories from underrepresented communities and the people serving them, through documentaries, video interviews and written stories. We also create content with and for nonprofit partners. Narratives Inc. receives and processes donations and payments made through the Site and through our sister publication, The Doe.

2. Disclaimer about our stories

Our stories and films share the experiences and opinions of the people in them. Those views are their own and are not necessarily the views of Narratives. Interview transcripts are lightly edited for clarity, and we work to present every story fairly and accurately, but we do not guarantee that every statement in a story or film is complete or accurate.

Nothing on the Site is medical, mental health, legal, financial or other professional advice. Some stories discuss trauma, violence, incarceration, addiction, mental illness and the use of psychedelic substances, some of which are illegal in many places. We share these stories to build understanding, not to encourage illegal or unsafe activity or to replace care from a qualified professional. If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or contact your local emergency services.

3. Using the Site

We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable license to access, read and watch the Services for your own non-commercial use. You may share links to our stories and films and quote short passages with credit to Narratives.

You may not: (a) copy, download, republish, sell, license or otherwise commercially exploit the Services or their content, except as allowed above or by law; (b) modify, reverse engineer or create derivative works of the Site; (c) use robots, scrapers or other automated means to access, collect or copy content or data from the Services, including to build datasets or to train or improve machine learning models or other automated systems; (d) harass, threaten or seek to expose anyone who appears in our stories; (e) interfere with the security or operation of the Services; or (f) use the Services in violation of any law.

We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of the Services at any time, and we are not required to provide support or maintenance.

4. Accounts

Some features may require an account once accounts are available. You agree to give accurate information, keep your sign-in details confidential and tell us promptly at admin@narratives.com if you believe someone has used your account without permission. You are responsible for activity under your account. You may close your account at any time.

5. Sharing your story

You must be at least 18 years old to pitch or submit a story. Stories on Narratives are published under the writer’s name. If you want to publish anonymously, our sister publication The Doe publishes stories under an alias.

Your promises. When you pitch or submit a story, you confirm that it is your own work and a truthful account of your own experience, that you have the right to share it, and that it does not infringe anyone’s rights or include another person’s private information without a lawful basis.

Editing and publishing. We decide whether to publish a story. We may edit it for clarity, length, accuracy, style, privacy and legal reasons, and add a headline, summary, images and content notes. We are not required to publish or keep publishing any story.

License. You keep ownership of your story. By submitting it, you grant Narratives a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual and irrevocable license to reproduce, edit, publish, distribute, display, translate and adapt your story, including into audio and video, in any media now known or later developed, to promote it and Narratives, and to sublicense these rights to The Doe, Inc. and to our partners for these purposes.

Interviews and films. If you appear in a Narratives interview, video or documentary, the release or agreement you sign with us governs how we may use your image, voice and story, and it takes priority over this section.

Payment. We pay for a story only when we agree to in writing. Any payment terms will be set out in that agreement.

Removal requests. If you want a published story changed or removed, contact us. We will consider every request in good faith, especially requests about safety, but we are not required to remove a story, and copies may remain in archives, caches and third-party services that we do not control.

6. User content and acceptable use

“User Content” means anything you submit to the Services, including pitches, stories, messages and comments. You are responsible for your User Content. You agree not to submit or use the Services to share anything that:

  • infringes anyone’s copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other rights;
  • is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, threatening, hateful, obscene or knowingly false or misleading;
  • exposes another person’s identity, location or private information without a lawful basis;
  • harms or exploits minors in any way;
  • contains viruses or other harmful code, or is spam or unsolicited advertising; or
  • impersonates any person or misrepresents your connection to anyone.

We may review, edit, refuse or remove User Content, and suspend or end your access to the Services, if we believe you have broken these Terms or the law. We may report unlawful activity to the authorities.

7. Donations

Donations to Narratives Inc. are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and you will receive a receipt by email. Donations are processed by Zeffy, a fundraising platform, and its payment processors, under their own terms. Zeffy may invite you to add an optional contribution to support its platform. That contribution goes to Zeffy, not to Narratives, and you can set it to zero.

Donations support our mission as a whole. When you give to a specific film or campaign, we use your gift for that work. If that project is fully funded, changes or cannot go forward, we will use your gift where it is needed most in our mission.

Monthly donations continue until you cancel. You can cancel at any time through the link in your donation receipt or by writing to admin@narratives.com. Donations are generally not refundable, but if you made a mistake, contact us within 30 days and we will work with you to correct it.

8. Memberships and other payments

If we offer paid memberships or other paid features, the price, billing period, renewal terms and how to cancel will be shown to you before you pay, and those terms will apply to your purchase. Unless the purchase terms say otherwise, memberships renew automatically until you cancel, you can cancel online at any time, and cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Membership fees are payments for a service and are not tax-deductible donations unless we tell you otherwise in writing.

9. Work for partner organizations

Content we create with or for nonprofit partners is governed by our separate agreements with those partners, which take priority over these Terms for that work.

10. Newsletters and emails

If you subscribe to updates, we will send them to the email address you provide. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link in any email.

11. Advertising and third-party links

The Services may display advertising and may link to or embed content from third parties, including videos hosted on YouTube. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party websites, ads or content, and your use of them is at your own risk and subject to their terms and policies.

12. Our content and trademarks

Except for User Content, the Services and their content, including stories, films, photographs, design, logos and software, are owned by Narratives or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark and other laws. “Narratives” and our logos are trademarks of Narratives Inc. You may not use them without our written permission. We reserve all rights not expressly granted in these Terms.

13. Feedback

If you send us ideas or suggestions about the Services, we may use them without any obligation to you.

14. Copyright complaints

We respect intellectual property rights and respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512). If you believe content on the Services infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our Copyright Agent that includes:

  • your physical or electronic signature;
  • identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed;
  • identification of the material you claim is infringing and enough information for us to locate it, such as its URL;
  • your name, address, telephone number and email address;
  • a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
  • a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.

Copyright Agent: Narratives Inc., Attn: Copyright Agent, 8459 Wilshire Blvd. #5173, Beverly Hills, California 90211. Email: admin@narratives.com, with the subject line “Copyright notice.”

If your content was removed and you believe it was a mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notice with the information required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g). Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a notice or counter-notice may be liable for damages. We end the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

15. Other concerns about a story

If you believe a story or film invades your privacy, misrepresents you or is defamatory, write to admin@narratives.com with a link and a description of your concern. We review every report and may edit or remove content where appropriate.

16. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NARRATIVES AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY CONTENT IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR RELIABLE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THESE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

17. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NARRATIVES AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, AGENTS AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT ON THE SERVICES, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICES IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM, NOT INCLUDING DONATIONS, OR FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS (US $50). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THESE LIMITATIONS, SO THEY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

18. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Narratives and its directors, officers, employees, volunteers and agents from any third-party claim, liability, cost or expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Services, your User Content or your violation of these Terms or the law.

19. Termination

We may suspend or end your access to the Services at any time if we believe you have violated these Terms or to protect the people in our stories, our supporters or the Services. Sections 3, 5, 6, 12 and 14 through 22 survive termination.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms here with a new “Last updated” date and, for significant changes, give additional notice, such as an email or a notice on the Site. Changes take effect 30 days after we post them, except that changes for new users and changes required by law take effect immediately. If you keep using the Services after changes take effect, you accept the updated Terms.

21. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Before filing a claim, you agree to contact us at admin@narratives.com and give us 30 days to try to resolve the dispute informally. Any dispute that is not resolved will be decided in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California, and you and Narratives consent to the jurisdiction of those courts. Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court. If you live in a country whose consumer protection laws give you rights that cannot be waived, nothing in these Terms limits those rights.

22. General

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Narratives about the Services. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the rest will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign them to an organization that continues our programs. You agree to receive communications from us electronically and that electronic notices satisfy any requirement that they be in writing. If you are a California resident, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.

23. Contact us

Narratives Inc.
8459 Wilshire Blvd. #5173
Beverly Hills, California 90211
Email: admin@narratives.com