Legal
Billing Policy
Explorer membership, trial, Founding, Oil refills, renewals.
Defined terms carry the meanings given in BeDeeper's shared legal definitions unless expressly redefined here.
In plain language
This Policy explains what BeDeeper costs, how the trial works, what Founding membership means, how Oil refills work, and how renewals, tax, and price changes are handled. It reads with:
- Refunds and cancellation: Refund & Cancellation
- Plain-language answers: Payment & Subscription FAQ
- The overall agreement: Terms of Service
1. The membership BeDeeper offers today
BeDeeper offers a Free sanctuary experience and Explorer membership for purchase.
Free
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Plan | Free |
| Price | US$0.00 |
| Lantern | Ten (10) Lantern messages per month (thirty-day Lantern cycle) |
| Purchase | Free is not a purchasable plan; it is the default membership for members who are not on trial or Explorer |
Explorer (publicly purchasable)
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Plan | Explorer |
| Price | US$12.00 per year, billed annually (equivalent to US$1 per month) |
| Renewal | Automatic annual renewal until cancelled |
| Currency | United States Dollars (USD) |
| Included in Explorer | Access to the sanctuary — Sanctuary, Passages, Meraki, Journey, Telescope, and Compass — including Living Journal, Artifacts, and Lantern conversation in The Deep at the current allocation configured by BeDeeper for Explorer. The Lantern allocation is set by BeDeeper and shown to you inside your Settings; the current default is fifteen (15) Lantern messages per twenty-eight (28) day cycle. |
Additional plans may become available in the future. Only publicly offered purchasable plans are described for checkout. Premium Monthly and Premium Annual are not offered on member-facing purchase surfaces.
2. Founding membership
BeDeeper's launch cohort is offered a protected founding rate as described in the Founding disclosure shown when you joined. In summary:
- Join free. The first Founding Members join without an immediate charge and confirm a card on file.
- Milestone-based activation. When the community reaches the eligible-activation milestone, BeDeeper notifies you before your protected Founding rate begins.
- Protected rate. After activation, Founding membership bills annually at US$12.00 per year (equivalent to US$1 per month), matching the Explorer price at the time of writing. The Founding rate is protected under the Founding disclosure shown to you when you joined.
If you lapse. If a Founding membership lapses, BeDeeper preserves eligibility to return at the Founding rate for a limited grace window, and offers a calm payment-recovery window when a payment fails. The current windows are set to thirty (30) days for the Founding rate grace and seven (7) days for pending-payment recovery. These windows may be updated with notice, and the current numbers are always visible in your Settings when they apply.
3. Trial
New members may be offered a one-day (twenty-four hour) trial when they sign up for Explorer, if the sanctuary allows a trial at the time you subscribe. The trial:
- Runs as a Stripe subscription trial with a one-day trial period.
- Includes up to five (5) Lantern messages during the trial window.
- Ends automatically. If you do not cancel before the trial ends, you become a paid Explorer member and are billed the annual price.
Trial availability is not guaranteed. Members returning from cancellation and members joining through Founding do not receive a new trial.
4. Oil refills
Lantern conversation is fuelled by Oil.
- Included Oil. Every Explorer cycle includes a set number of Lantern messages, currently fifteen (15) messages per twenty-eight (28) day cycle by default. BeDeeper may adjust this allocation; your current allocation is always visible in Settings.
- Oil refills. If you need more Lantern conversation within a cycle, you may purchase an Oil refill. Each refill costs US$1.00 (one full Lantern refill). The refill is a one-time purchase, charged at the time of purchase, and delivered to your Oil Reserves.
- Oil Reserves never expire. Any unused Oil you add remains available whenever your Lantern needs it.
Oil refill purchases are non-refundable, as described in Refund & Cancellation.
5. Automatic renewal
Explorer and Founding memberships renew automatically at the end of each billing period until you cancel. Before a renewal, you may see reminders where BeDeeper has decided a reminder helps a member (for example, near the end of a trial or when a payment method needs attention). Cancellation is described below and in Refund & Cancellation.
6. Currency, taxes, and invoices
- Currency. All prices are in US Dollars unless we explicitly offer another currency at checkout.
- Taxes. Prices are shown exclusive of applicable sales tax, VAT, GST, or other transaction taxes. Stripe calculates and adds tax at checkout where BeDeeper is registered to collect it. Members are responsible for any taxes their jurisdiction imposes on their end.
- Invoices and receipts. Stripe issues invoices and receipts and stores them in the Stripe Customer Portal, which you can reach from your BeDeeper Settings.
7. Payment methods
Payment is processed by Stripe. Accepted payment methods are the methods Stripe supports for BeDeeper at the time you subscribe or purchase. BeDeeper does not receive or store your full payment-card number; Stripe handles card data as a PCI-DSS-compliant payment processor. See Privacy Policy for what BeDeeper does and does not receive from Stripe.
8. Failed payments
If a payment fails, Stripe retries according to its dunning schedule. BeDeeper may send you an email asking you to update your payment method. For Founding members, a pending-payment recovery window applies before Founding status changes; see section 2. If a payment cannot be recovered, access to paid features may pause and the membership may be marked lapsed as described in Account Termination.
9. Cancellation
Cancellation is self-serve through the Stripe Customer Portal, reachable from your BeDeeper Settings. Cancellation stops future renewals. It does not, by itself, delete your account or your writing — that is handled separately under Account Termination.
The refund treatment for the current billing period on cancellation is set out in Refund & Cancellation.
10. Price changes
BeDeeper may change prices in the future. If we change the price for a plan you already have:
- Founding. Founding members are protected under the disclosure shown when they joined and under the Founding rate grace described in section 2. Founding rate protection remains in place for as long as it applies to you.
- Explorer. For continuing Explorer members, BeDeeper will give reasonable advance notice (no less than thirty (30) days) by email before a new price applies to a renewal. If you do not accept the new price, cancel before the change takes effect using the process in Refund & Cancellation.
11. Promotions
BeDeeper may offer occasional promotions (for example, a special introduction to Founding). Promotions have their own terms that override this Policy only for the specific benefit they describe.
12. What this Policy does not describe
- Refunds. Refund review windows and Oil refill treatment are in Refund & Cancellation. Refunds are not automatic; every request is reviewed individually.
- Deletion, retention, and account effects. Described in Account Termination.
- Future plans. Additional plans may become available in the future. Their names, prices, and features are not described here.
13. Contact
Billing questions may be sent to billing@bedeeper.com. For refunds and cancellation see Refund & Cancellation; for plain-language answers see Payment & Subscription FAQ.