1. Parties and Scope
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern the relationship between HourCount EU (the "Project", "we", "us"), a European project providing a worker-centered time-tracking system, and you (the "User", "you"), the natural person who creates an account and uses the service.
By creating an account or using any part of HourCount EU, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the service.
These Terms are written in clear, plain, and intelligible language in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair terms in consumer contracts and Article 14 of the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065).
2. Description of the Service
HourCount EU is a worker-centered time-tracking system that allows users to:
- Record working shifts with live timers (start, stop, close)
- Track breaks within shifts (start, end, with duration calculation)
- Manage tasks, projects, and jobs
- View shifts on a calendar and kanban board
- Generate reports and export timesheet data
- Set preferences for time calculation (e.g., break subtraction)
The service is provided via the website https://hourcount.eu and is accessible through a web browser. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability and may perform maintenance, updates, or changes to the service.
3. Eligibility and Account
3.1 Who may use HourCount
You must be at least 16 years old to create an account. If you are under 18, you confirm that your legal guardian has consented to your use of the service. We do not knowingly accept registrations from minors under 16.
3.2 Account responsibilities
- You must provide accurate information when registering (username, email)
- You are responsible for keeping your password secure and confidential
- You are responsible for all activity under your account
- You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account
- You may not create more than one account without our permission
- You may not share, transfer, or sell your account to another person
4. Acceptable Use
You agree not to use HourCount EU to:
- Violate any EU or national law, including employment and data protection law
- Process personal data of other individuals without a lawful basis
- Attempt to gain unauthorised access to other users' data or system infrastructure
- Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to extract data at scale (except for the export tools we provide)
- Introduce malware, viruses, or malicious code
- Overload, disrupt, or interfere with the service or its servers
- Use the service to create false or misleading time records for fraudulent purposes
- Impersonate another person or entity
Violations may result in account suspension or termination, as described in Article 8.
5. Your Content and Data
You retain ownership of all data you enter into HourCount EU (shift records, tasks, projects, notes, etc.). You grant us a limited licence to process this data solely to provide the service to you.
You are responsible for the accuracy and lawfulness of the data you enter. If you record working time on behalf of other individuals (e.g., as an employer), you are responsible for complying with applicable employment and data protection law, including obtaining any necessary consent or providing required notices.
For details on how we process your personal data, see our Privacy Policy.
6. Service Availability
We strive to maintain high availability but do not guarantee that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure at all times. We may:
- Suspend the service for maintenance, updates, or security patches
- Modify or discontinue features with reasonable advance notice
- Limit access during emergencies, security incidents, or force majeure events
We are not liable for temporary unavailability caused by factors beyond our control (e.g., internet outages, hosting provider failures, natural disasters).
7. Changes to the Service and These Terms
7.1 Service changes
We may update, modify, or discontinue features of the service. Material changes will be communicated to you via email or in-app notification at least 30 days before they take effect.
7.2 Terms changes
We may update these Terms to reflect legal, technical, or operational changes. When we do, we will:
- Indicate the date of the last update at the top of this page
- Notify you of material changes at least 30 days before they take effect
- Allow you to reject the changes by closing your account before they take effect
Continued use of the service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
8. Account Suspension, Termination & Right of Withdrawal
8.1 By you & Consumer Right of Withdrawal
You may close your account at any time without fee, lock-in period, or penalty. Under EU consumer protection principles (Directive (EU) 2019/770 on digital content and services), as HourCount EU is provided free of charge without financial commitment, you have the right to cease using the service and delete your account immediately. Upon closure, all your data will be permanently deleted within 30 days in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can export your records at any time prior to account closure using our automated export tools.
8.2 By us
We may suspend or terminate your account if:
- You violate these Terms and do not remedy the violation within 14 days of notice
- Your account has been inactive for more than 24 consecutive months
- We are legally required to do so by an EU or Member State court or competent authority
- Continued provision of the service becomes legally or technically impossible
In all non-emergency cases, we will provide you with advance notice and an opportunity to export your data before account closure, except where prohibited by law or in cases of severe security abuse.
9. Limitation of Liability
To the extent permitted by EU law and applicable national law:
9.1 Our liability
- We are liable for damages caused by intent or gross negligence
- We are liable for injury to life, body, or health regardless of fault
- We are liable under applicable product liability legislation
- For slight negligence, our liability is limited to foreseeable, contract-typical damages
9.2 Exclusions
We are not liable for:
- Loss of data that could have been prevented by regular data exports
- Indirect or consequential damages (e.g., lost business opportunities) unless caused by intent or gross negligence
- Service interruptions caused by force majeure or third-party infrastructure failures beyond our reasonable control
EU consumer rights: Nothing in these Terms limits any statutory mandatory consumer rights under EU or Member State law that cannot be excluded by contract (Directive 93/13/EEC).
10. Intellectual Property
The HourCount EU software, design, text, logos, and codebase are owned by the Project. You may not:
- Copy, modify, or redistribute the software or visual layout
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the application
- Use the HourCount name, logo, or branding without prior written consent
- Remove or alter copyright notices or legal markings
Your data remains exclusively yours. You may export and use your recorded hours and tasks freely.
11. Digital Services Act (DSA) Compliance
In accordance with the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), HourCount EU maintains high standards of digital transparency for intermediary online services:
- Transparent terms (Article 14): These Terms are set out in clear, plain, intelligible, user-friendly, and unambiguous language. We describe all rules regarding acceptable use, content moderation, and account safety.
- Notice and Action mechanism: If you identify illegal content or severe violations on our service, you can report it via the contact details on our Imprint page.
- Statement of reasons & Internal Complaint Handling: If we restrict your account or remove content, we will provide a clear statement of reasons explaining the legal or contractual basis, the facts relied upon, and how you can appeal our decision internally within 6 months.
- Single Point of Contact (Article 11 & 12): We maintain a designated point of contact for EU authorities, the European Board for Digital Services, and users on our Imprint page.
12. Dispute Resolution & Consumer Protection
12.1 Governing law
These Terms are governed by EU law and, where applicable, the national law of the EU Member State in which the Project is established. As a consumer, you benefit from any mandatory provisions of the law of the Member State in which you reside.
12.2 Discontinuation of EU ODR Platform
Notice: The European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform was officially discontinued on 20 July 2025 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/3228. For dispute resolution, users are invited to contact us directly to seek an amicable resolution, or consult their national consumer protection body or competent tribunal.
12.3 Direct Complaint Resolution
If you have a concern or complaint, please contact us through the details on our Imprint page. We commit to reviewing and responding to all user inquiries within 14 days.
13. Contact
For any questions about these Terms, please contact us through the details on our Imprint page.