Terms of Service

Last updated: May 1, 2026  ·  Version 1.0

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, clicking "I agree," accessing, or using any part of the MEAO platform (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you are accessing the Service on behalf of a company or other legal entity ("Organization"), you represent that you have the authority to bind that Organization, and references to "you" include the Organization. If you do not have that authority, or if you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and MEAO Technologies Inc. ("MEAO," "we," "us," or "our"), a company registered in British Columbia, Canada.

2. Definitions

Operator

A fitness studio, gym, or wellness business that has entered into a Subscription Agreement with MEAO to use the platform to manage its own members.

Member

An individual who holds a membership or has an account with an Operator and accesses the Service through that Operator's tenant.

Tenant

A logically isolated instance of the Service provisioned for a specific Operator, including its own subdomain (e.g., acme.meao.app), database, and configuration.

Operator Data

All data uploaded to, created in, or processed by the Service on an Operator's behalf, including Member Data held on the Operator's instructions.

Member Data

Personal information about Members collected by MEAO on behalf of an Operator, including names, contact details, payment methods, and check-in history.

Subscription Agreement

The order form, addenda, or separate written agreement that governs an Operator's subscription, including pricing, plan, and data processing details. In the absence of a separate written agreement, these Terms govern.

3. The Service

MEAO is a software-as-a-service platform that provides Operators with tools to manage gym and studio memberships, class scheduling, check-ins, billing, document signing, and member communications. MEAO acts as:

• A service provider and data processor for Operators — we handle Member Data on the Operator's instructions.
• A payment facilitator through Stripe Connect — Operators are the merchants of record for member-facing charges.

MEAO does not directly contract with Members for fitness services. The fitness service relationship is between the Member and the Operator. MEAO's obligation to Members is limited to operating the technology platform reliably and in accordance with applicable law.

4. Operator-Specific Terms

4.1 Account registration

Operators must provide accurate business information during onboarding. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at security@meao.app if you suspect unauthorized access.

4.2 Subscription fees

Subscription fees are set out in your Subscription Agreement and billed in advance on a monthly or annual cycle. Fees are non-refundable except as expressly stated in Section 6 (Payments & Billing) or your Subscription Agreement. We reserve the right to change fees on 30 days' written notice; continued use after the notice period constitutes acceptance.

4.3 Operator as data controller

For Member Data, the Operator is the data controller and MEAO is the data processor. Operators are responsible for obtaining any consents required under applicable privacy law (PIPEDA, provincial equivalents) from their Members, and for issuing a privacy notice to Members that accurately describes how Member Data is processed. Our Privacy Policy covers MEAO's processing on our own behalf; a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) is available on request for Operators who require one.

4.4 Stripe Connect

Operators who accept member payments through MEAO must complete onboarding on Stripe Connect and agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement and Stripe Services Agreement. MEAO is a platform facilitator and is not a party to payments between Operators and Members. Disputes about charges between an Operator and a Member are the Operator's responsibility to resolve.

4.5 Operator responsibilities

Operators agree to:

• Comply with all applicable laws in operating their fitness business.
• Maintain valid consent records for all marketing communications to Members.
• Provide accurate information to Members about pricing, cancellation rights, and auto-renewal terms as required under applicable consumer protection law.
• Not use the Service to process transactions in prohibited industries or in violation of Stripe's acceptable use policy.
• Maintain appropriate physical and organizational security at their premises.

5. Member-Specific Terms

5.1 Relationship with Operator

Your primary contractual relationship for fitness services is with the Operator, not with MEAO. The Operator sets membership prices, cancellation policies, class schedules, and facility rules. MEAO provides the technology that the Operator uses to deliver those services.

5.2 Member account

Members may be invited to create an account by an Operator. Your account is associated with that Operator's tenant. If you have memberships at multiple Operators on the MEAO platform, you may have separate accounts for each.

5.3 Payment method

Payment methods you store in the platform are securely held by Stripe on the Operator's behalf. By adding a payment method, you authorize the Operator (via Stripe Connect) to charge it for recurring membership fees, one-time purchases, and any other amounts agreed to in your membership contract.

5.4 Member disputes

Billing disputes, cancellation requests, and refund requests should first be directed to the Operator. If the Operator cannot resolve the matter, you may also contact your card issuer. MEAO does not process refunds on the Operator's behalf without the Operator's authorization.

6. Payments & Billing

6.1 Payment processing

All payment processing is handled by Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates. By using payment features, you agree to Stripe's Privacy Policy. MEAO does not store full card numbers; card data is tokenized by Stripe.

6.2 Operator subscription billing

MEAO will charge the Operator's designated payment method on the billing date in the Subscription Agreement. If a charge fails, we will retry up to three times over seven days. If payment is not received, we may suspend the Operator's tenant with 48 hours' notice.

6.3 Taxes

Subscription fees are exclusive of applicable taxes (GST/HST, PST, sales tax). Where MEAO is required to collect taxes, they will be added to your invoice. You are responsible for all taxes associated with your use of the Service not collected by MEAO. Operators using Stripe Tax on member transactions are responsible for their own tax compliance.

6.4 Disputes

If you believe a charge is incorrect, notify us at billing@meao.app within 30 days of the charge. Disputes raised after 30 days may not be honored. We will investigate and respond within 10 business days.

7. Consumer Protection — British Columbia

7.1 Fitness services contracts (BPCPA)

Fitness service contracts in British Columbia are subject to the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCPA), including provisions specific to fitness club memberships. Operators on the MEAO platform who sell fitness memberships in BC must:

• Provide a written contract before or at the time the Member pays any amount, containing all mandatory disclosures (BPCPA s. 17 and the associated regulations).
• Honour the cooling-off period: Members have 10 days from receipt of a compliant written contract to cancel for any reason and receive a full refund.
• Disclose auto-renewal terms clearly in the contract, in immediate proximity to the signature line, as required by BC regulation.
• Process cancellations within required timelines and issue pro-rated refunds where applicable.

MEAO provides contract templates as a convenience, but Operators are solely responsible for ensuring their contracts comply with all applicable laws. MEAO is not liable for any non-compliant contracts issued by Operators.

7.2 Auto-renewal disclosure

If a membership or subscription automatically renews, the Operator must clearly disclose: (a) that it will renew automatically; (b) the renewal price; (c) the renewal period; and (d) how to cancel before the renewal date. MEAO's automated renewal-reminder emails assist with (d), but Operators are responsible for ensuring all required disclosures are made at the point of sale.

8. Electronic Communications — CASL

8.1 Consent requirement

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) prohibits sending commercial electronic messages (CEMs) to Canadian recipients without their express or implied consent. Operators using MEAO's email or SMS campaign features must:

• Obtain and record express consent (opt-in) from Members before sending any marketing CEM. MEAO's signup forms include a compliant consent checkbox; Operators must not pre-check it or obscure the consent language.
• Honour unsubscribe requests within 10 business days of receipt. MEAO's platform automatically processes unsubscribes from links in outbound messages. Operators must not manually re-subscribe Members who have unsubscribed without new express consent.
• Re-obtain consent after 24 months of inactivity, or where consent records are lost or unverifiable.
• Include required sender identification (legal name, mailing address, contact information) in all CEMs. MEAO populates these from the Operator's profile; Operators must keep that profile current.

8.2 Transactional messages

MEAO sends transactional electronic messages on behalf of Operators (e.g., booking confirmations, billing receipts, account security notifications). These are not CEMs and do not require separate marketing consent, but they must remain transactional in nature. Adding promotional content to transactional messages may convert them to CEMs requiring consent.

8.3 MEAO's own communications

MEAO may send you account-related notices and, with your consent, product updates and marketing. You can manage your preferences or unsubscribe at any time by emailing privacy@meao.app.

9. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right.
• Transmit spam, bulk unsolicited messages, or messages without required consent.
• Scrape, harvest, or systematically extract data from the platform without written authorization.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive source code from the Service.
• Circumvent, disable, or interfere with security features, access controls, or rate limits.
• Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or other harmful code.
• Impersonate any person, entity, or MEAO.
• Process transactions for goods or services prohibited by Stripe's acceptable use policy.
• Use the Service in a manner that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionate load on the infrastructure.

We reserve the right to investigate suspected violations and to suspend or terminate access immediately where we reasonably believe a material violation is occurring or has occurred.

10. Intellectual Property

10.1 MEAO IP

The Service, including its software, design, trademarks, and documentation, is owned by MEAO or its licensors and protected by Canadian and international intellectual property law. These Terms do not transfer any ownership of MEAO IP to you.

10.2 Your data

You retain all ownership rights to Operator Data and Member Data. By uploading data to the Service, you grant MEAO a limited, non-exclusive licence to process that data solely to provide and improve the Service as described in our Privacy Policy. We do not sell your data.

10.3 Feedback

If you submit feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you grant MEAO a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use that feedback for any purpose without attribution or compensation to you.

11. Privacy

Our collection and use of personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Service, you consent to the practices described in that policy.

12. Uptime & Support

12.1 Target availability

MEAO targets 99.5% monthly uptime for the core tenant-app and API endpoints, excluding scheduled maintenance (announced at least 24 hours in advance via email or status page) and events beyond our reasonable control (Force Majeure). A current status page is available at status.meao.app.

12.2 Support

Operator support is provided by email during business hours (Pacific Time, Monday–Friday, excluding BC public holidays). Response targets: critical (platform down) — 4 hours; high (major feature unavailable) — 8 hours; normal — 2 business days. Support SLAs for specific tiers are set out in the Subscription Agreement.

12.3 No SLA credit at launch

SLA credits for downtime are not currently offered. We will introduce a formal SLA credit program before MEAO's second year of operation and will notify Operators via email when it is available.

13. Suspension & Termination

13.1 Termination by Operator

Operators may cancel their subscription at any time by emailing ops@meao.app. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Prepaid fees are non-refundable unless MEAO terminates the account without cause.

13.2 Termination by MEAO

We may suspend access immediately, without notice, for: (a) material breach of these Terms; (b) non-payment; (c) activity that creates legal risk for MEAO or third parties; or (d) court order. We will provide notice promptly after any such suspension. For less serious breaches, we will provide 14 days' written notice and an opportunity to cure.

13.3 Data export

For 30 days following termination (however arising), Operators may request a data export in CSV or JSON format at no charge. After 30 days, data will be permanently deleted from our systems. MEAO will confirm deletion in writing upon request.

13.4 Effect of termination

On termination, your right to use the Service ceases. Sections 1, 2, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 survive termination.

14. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, MEAO EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

MEAO DOES NOT WARRANT THAT: (A) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE; (B) ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED; (C) THE SERVICE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; OR (D) THE RESULTS OF USING THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS.

MEAO IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR LEGALITY OF ANY MEMBER DATA OR OPERATOR DATA PROCESSED THROUGH THE SERVICE. OPERATORS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT OF THEIR COMMUNICATIONS, MEMBERSHIP CONTRACTS, AND BUSINESS PRACTICES.

15. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL MEAO, ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY:

• Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages;
• Loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities;
• Cost of substitute services;

arising out of or related to your use of or inability to use the Service, even if MEAO has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

MEAO'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE FEES PAID BY YOU TO MEAO IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE CLAIM; OR (B) ONE HUNDRED CANADIAN DOLLARS ($100 CAD).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you in full.

16. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless MEAO and its directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any applicable law or third-party right; or (d) Operator Data or Member Data processed at your direction.

17. Dispute Resolution

17.1 Good-faith resolution

Before initiating any formal proceeding, you agree to contact us at legal@meao.app and attempt to resolve the dispute informally. We will do the same. Both parties will attempt good-faith resolution for at least 30 days.

17.2 Arbitration

If informal resolution fails, disputes (other than applications for injunctive or other equitable relief) shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre (BCICAC) under its Domestic Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in Vancouver, BC in English. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

17.3 Class action waiver

YOU AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

17.4 Consumer exception

If you are a consumer (individual, not a business), applicable BC or Canadian consumer protection law may give you rights that cannot be varied by contract. Nothing in these Terms limits those rights.

18. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. To the extent that litigation is permitted under Section 17, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Vancouver, British Columbia.

19. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' advance notice by email to the address on your account, or by a prominent in-app notice. Minor changes (e.g., corrections, clarifications that do not reduce your rights) take effect immediately. Continued use of the Service after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you object to a material change, you may terminate your account before the change takes effect and receive a pro-rated refund of prepaid subscription fees for the unused period.

20. Contact

Questions, notices, and requests relating to these Terms:

For privacy inquiries specifically, see our Privacy Policy or email privacy@meao.app.