Last Updated: September 30, 2025
Welcome to Zembla! These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Zembla platform and websites (the "Service"), operated by Zembla ("Zembla," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
By creating an account or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
Zembla is a real-time, multiplayer quiz platform providing quiz-bowl style questions, statistics, wiki articles, and course material (collectively, the Zembla Materials) for entertainment and educational use. All Zembla Materials are created, curated, or licensed by Zembla and are proprietary.
To use Zembla, you must create an account using a valid email address. You are responsible for:
Users of all ages may use Zembla. If you are under 13, you must have verifiable permission from a parent or legal guardian to use the Service. Parents/guardians are responsible for their child’s use.
You agree to provide accurate, complete information and keep it current.
You may create and maintain only one account per natural person. You may not create, use, sell, lend, share, or transfer additional or substitute accounts (collectively, “alt accounts”), including to evade restrictions, manipulate rankings, or access region-locked features. We may take steps to enforce this rule, including analyzing device and usage signals. Violations may result in immediate suspension or termination (see Section 12).
All Zembla Materials—including questions, answers, clues, statistics, wiki articles, course content, text, graphics, software, and design—are owned by Zembla or its licensors and protected by intellectual property and other laws. We retain all rights not expressly granted.
Subject to these Terms, Zembla grants you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes within the Service only.
You expressly agree NOT to:
Narrow exception: ephemeral caching and normal browser operations incidental to personal use within the Service are permitted. Any other use requires our prior written consent.
We may investigate suspected violations and take any action we deem appropriate, including: immediate suspension or termination; removal from competitions; rank/achievement forfeiture; technical and legal measures to prevent re-registration; and pursuit of all available legal remedies, including injunctive relief, specific performance, damages, attorneys’ fees, and takedown requests.
You agree that you will not:
Participation in live competitions is voluntary and for entertainment.
Rankings and achievements have no monetary value; no prizes or consideration are offered.
Cheating is strictly prohibited. “Cheating” includes, without limitation: collusion; advance access to questions; use of external answers/resources during play; bots or automation; latency manipulation; or exploiting bugs. We may analyze gameplay, timing, device, network, and behavioral signals to detect cheating and ensure integrity. Violations may result in disqualification, stat resets, suspension, or termination.
See Sections 2 and 4. You obtain no ownership rights in Zembla Materials.
If you provide ideas, comments, or materials (“Feedback”), you grant Zembla a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, and create derivative works from the Feedback without restriction or notice.
Account Information: email address (required).
Automatically Collected: gameplay and quiz performance, competition results, device and browser information, IP address, approximate location, timestamps and activity logs, and diagnostics.
Cookies/Local Storage: essential cookies and similar technologies for authentication, session integrity, and security (no advertising cookies).
We use information to:
We may publish aggregated and/or de-identified analyses, research, or insights derived from user data (e.g., blog posts, whitepapers, academic-style reports). We take steps to remove direct identifiers and to reduce re-identification risk; however, absolute anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
We do not sell or rent personal information for marketing. We may disclose information:
We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.
We retain account information while your account is active and as needed for the purposes above. Upon request to admin@zembla.ai, we will delete your account subject to legal/legitimate retention needs (e.g., security, fraud prevention, backups).
California (CCPA/CPRA): You may request access, correction, deletion, and information about our data practices, and you may opt out of “selling”/“sharing” personal information as defined by law (we do not sell personal information). We will not discriminate for exercising rights.
Other Regions: Rights may vary by jurisdiction; we will honor applicable laws.
To exercise rights, contact admin@zembla.ai.
We do not knowingly collect more information from children than necessary to use the Service. If you are under 13, a parent/guardian must consent and manage your account. Parents may review, modify, or delete their child’s information by contacting us.
We are based in California, USA. By using the Service, you understand your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country.
The Service may link to third-party sites or services we do not control. We are not responsible for their content or practices.
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” ZEMBLA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE. WE DO NOT WARRANT UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION OR THE ACCURACY OF CONTENT.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ZEMBLA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES; LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL; OR SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM WILL NOT EXCEED $100 OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
We may suspend or terminate your account, access, rankings, or participation at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including: violation of these Terms; copying/sharing Zembla Materials; cheating; multi-accounting; abusive conduct; or fraud. Upon termination, your license ends immediately and you must cease all use. We may retain limited information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., security and fraud prevention).
You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Zembla and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your use of the Service; your violation of these Terms; your violation of rights of any person; or your copying/misuse of Zembla Materials.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Section 14.
Before filing any claim, you agree to email admin@zembla.ai with a brief written notice of dispute and give us 30 days to try to resolve it informally.
(a) Agreement to Arbitrate. Except as provided in §14.3(c)–(d), any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service (collectively, “Claims”) will be resolved by individual, binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, and, if applicable, the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules.
(b) Seat, Venue, and Convenience. The seat of arbitration is San Francisco County, California. Hearings may be conducted by video or, at your request, in the county of your residence. The language will be English.
(c) Small-Claims Carve-Out. Either party may bring an individual Claim in small-claims court with proper jurisdiction instead of arbitration.
(d) Public-Injunctive Relief Carve-Out (California). Claims seeking public injunctive relief (as that term is used under California law) may be brought in court, and a court may decide such claims. All other Claims—including any dispute about the scope, enforceability, or arbitrability of this §14—are delegated to the arbitrator.
(e) Class/Representative Waiver. Arbitration will be conducted only on an individual basis. Class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceedings or relief are not permitted in arbitration.
(f) Fees. You will pay any filing fee only up to the amount permitted by the AAA Consumer Fee Schedule; Zembla will pay the remaining arbitration and arbitrator fees as required by AAA rules.
(g) Relief; Confidentiality. The arbitrator may award the same individualized relief a court could award. Unless prohibited by law, the arbitration, filings, and award are confidential, except as needed to enforce an award or as the law requires.
(h) Mass Arbitration Administration. If twenty-five (25) or more substantially similar Claims are filed by or with the same counsel or coordinated entities, the parties agree that the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules apply, including any staged or batched procedures for filing, fee payments, and case management.
(i) Fallback Venue if Unenforceable. If any part of this §14.3 is found unenforceable as to a particular Claim, that Claim must be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in San Francisco County, California, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there. This does not waive §14.3 for any other Claims.
You agree that any unauthorized copying, disclosure, scraping, or misuse of Zembla Materials would cause irreparable harm for which monetary damages are inadequate. Zembla may seek immediate injunctive or equitable relief without posting a bond, in addition to other remedies. For clarity, this §14.4 does not limit the public-injunctive relief carve-out in §14.3(d).
You may opt out of arbitration by emailing admin@zembla.ai within 30 days after you first accept these Terms, with the subject “Arbitration Opt-Out” and your name, account email, and a clear statement that you opt out. If you opt out, §14.3 will not apply, and Claims must be brought exclusively in the courts specified in §14.3(i).
If the class/representative waiver in §14.3(e) is found unenforceable as to a Claim, then that Claim must proceed in court and not in arbitration; the remainder of §14.3 will still apply. This Section 14 survives termination of your account and the Terms.
We may update these Terms and the Service from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you (e.g., by email or in-product notice). Changes take effect when posted unless stated otherwise. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
Entire Agreement. These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and Zembla.
Severability. If any provision is invalid, the remainder remains in effect.
Waiver. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign freely.
No Agency. These Terms do not create a partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship.
Email: admin@zembla.ai
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
By using Zembla, you consent to these Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, discontinue use of the Service immediately.