Payment Terms

1. Overview

These Payment Terms govern all financial transactions between you and Adms (“we,” “us,” or “our”) in connection with your Adms membership subscription. By completing a purchase, you agree to be bound by these terms in full. Please read them carefully before proceeding.

Adms is an independent digital publication offering weekly long-form editorial content on science, biology, evolution, and related subjects. A paid membership grants access to the full archive and all future content.

2. Subscription Plans and Pricing

Adms offers two recurring subscription plans:

• Monthly Plan: $1.99 USD, billed once per calendar month.
• Annual Plan: $17.99 USD, billed once per year (equivalent to approximately $1.50/month).

All prices are denominated in United States Dollars (USD). Depending on your location, your card issuer or bank may apply currency conversion fees or foreign transaction fees — these are outside our control and are not refundable by us.

We reserve the right to adjust pricing at any time. If we increase the price of your plan, we will notify you by email at least 30 days before the change takes effect. You may cancel before the new rate applies. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the new price.

3. Billing and Payment Processing

All payments are processed securely by Stripe, Inc., a third-party payment processor. Adms does not store your full card number, CVV, or any raw payment credentials on our servers. By entering your payment details at checkout, you are providing them directly to Stripe subject to Stripe's own Privacy Policy and Services Agreement.

By subscribing, you authorize Adms to instruct Stripe to charge your payment method on a recurring basis at the applicable interval (monthly or annually) until you cancel. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of each billing cycle unless cancelled before the renewal date.

You are responsible for ensuring your payment method remains valid and has sufficient funds or credit. If a payment fails, we may retry the charge up to three times over a short period. If payment cannot be collected, your account may be downgraded to free access until the balance is resolved.

4. Free Trials and Promotional Offers

Adms does not currently offer free trials. Any promotional offers or discounts are described at the time of purchase and are not retroactively applicable to existing subscriptions. Promotional pricing is valid for the stated period only; standard pricing resumes automatically thereafter.

5. Cancellation Policy

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account page or via the Stripe Customer Portal, accessible from your account dashboard. Cancellation is effective immediately upon confirmation.

When you cancel, you retain full access to all premium content until the end of your current paid billing period. No further charges will be made after cancellation. Your access will revert to free (preview-only) once the paid period expires.

Cancelling a subscription does not delete your Adms account. Your account and reading history remain accessible.

6. Refund Policy

All sales are final. We do not offer refunds for partial billing periods, unused time remaining on a subscription, or accidental renewals unless required by applicable law.

If you believe you were charged in error — for example, due to a technical fault or unauthorized transaction — please contact us at hello@ad.ms within 14 days of the charge. We will investigate promptly and, where appropriate, issue a refund at our discretion.

Residents of certain jurisdictions (including the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Canada) may have statutory rights to refunds under applicable consumer protection law. Nothing in these terms limits or excludes those rights where they apply.

7. Taxes and Duties

Our listed prices do not include applicable taxes, levies, or duties such as value-added tax (VAT), goods and services tax (GST), or sales tax. Where required by law, applicable tax will be calculated and added to your invoice at checkout based on your billing address. You are solely responsible for any taxes owed in your jurisdiction.

If you are purchasing on behalf of a tax-exempt organization, please contact us before subscribing to arrange appropriate documentation.

8. Chargebacks and Disputes

If you initiate a chargeback or payment dispute with your bank or card issuer without first contacting us, we reserve the right to suspend access to your account during the dispute period. We will provide transaction records and evidence of service delivery to the payment processor as part of the dispute resolution process.

If a chargeback is filed and the dispute is resolved in your favour, your subscription will be cancelled and access removed. If resolved in our favour, your subscription will continue and any outstanding amounts remain due.

9. Account Responsibility

Your subscription is personal and non-transferable. You may not share your login credentials or allow others to access premium content using your account. Each subscription is licensed to a single individual for personal, non-commercial use only.

If we detect account sharing or misuse, we may suspend or terminate the account without refund.

10. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Payment Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Your continued subscription after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. If you disagree with any change, your remedy is to cancel before the change takes effect.

11. Contact

For billing enquiries, refund requests, or any payment-related concerns, please contact us at:

Email: hello@ad.ms

We aim to respond to all billing enquiries within 2 business days.