Terms of use.

1. Agreement and eligibility

By accessing or using the hosted Castonaut service, you agree to these Terms and the Privacy Notice. If you do not agree, do not use the hosted service. You must be at least 13 and legally able to accept these Terms where you live. If you are not an adult where you live, use the service only with a parent or guardian’s permission and supervision. Castonaut is not designed for children under 13.

These Terms govern the hosted service. The source code is separately offered under the MIT License described below. Where applicable law gives you rights that cannot be waived by contract, these Terms do not take those rights away.

2. The service and its open source license

Castonaut is an independent client for reading and submitting Farcaster protocol messages through a Snapchain service selected by the operator. It is not owned, operated, sponsored, or endorsed by Farcaster or its protocol contributors. Farcaster and other third-party names and marks belong to their respective owners.

The client can display public profiles and messages, load feeds, and, after an account proves control and authorizes a limited signer, submit casts, replies, follows, likes, and recasts. Castonaut is currently free to use. Features, compatibility, and availability can change. Castonaut does not promise that an account can access a particular app, that a network will accept or retain a message, or that another client will reverse a restriction. Do not use Castonaut to evade an account or network restriction.

The application source code is published at github.com/wlplease/castonaut under the MIT License. That license permits use, copying, modification, and distribution subject to its terms and includes its own “as is” warranty and liability language. It covers the licensed code; it does not grant rights to third-party software, network data, service marks, or the Castonaut name and logo. These Terms govern use of the hosted service. A self-hosted or modified copy may differ from the hosted service, and its operator is responsible for that deployment and its data practices.

Social actions may require a Farcaster account with available protocol storage.

3. Your account, authorization, and device

You are responsible for your Farcaster account, recovery phrase, connected wallet, device, and all activity authorized through them. Never give your recovery phrase to another person. Phrase sign-in is processed in the browser page; the page code can read the phrase while it is entered. Review the source and deployment you trust before using it. A linked wallet can sign the authorization without entering the phrase into the page.

The app key is separate from your custody key and is scoped to supported social actions. Current protocol permissions may include publishing and deleting posts, following or unfollowing, liking or unliking, and recasting or undoing a recast. The authorization is a typed message signature, not a token approval or blockchain transaction. Review each wallet prompt and the FID/address shown before authorizing.

The key is stored in browser IndexedDB. “Forget this browser” removes the local key but does not revoke its on-network authorization. Revoke access separately through the Farcaster account’s signer controls. Its expiry may refresh with activity under current protocol behavior. Do not leave an authorized browser unattended on a shared device.

You agree not to misuse the service, attack or disrupt infrastructure, bypass rate limits, submit unlawful content, impersonate others, infringe rights, or use the client in a way that violates applicable law or protocol rules.

4. Posts, public data, and your conduct

Farcaster casts, profiles, follows, and reactions are public network content. When you publish through Castonaut, your signed message is sent to Snapchain for relay and may be distributed to other clients, hosts, and network participants. Do not post information you need to keep private. Local notes, muted lists, Desk pins, drafts, and saved posts are intended to stay in this browser, but browser access, extensions, backups, malware, or a compromised device can expose them.

You keep the rights you hold in content you create. You give the Castonaut operator a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to receive, format, cache, transmit, and display the content only as reasonably needed to provide and secure the client and carry out the network action you request. This permission ends when the operator no longer needs the content for those purposes, except for copies retained in backups, logs, or public network systems under their own retention rules. You are responsible for having the rights and permissions needed to post content. This limited service license does not transfer ownership to Castonaut.

You agree not to use Castonaut to violate law or others’ rights; harass, threaten, defraud, impersonate, or exploit another person; publish content you are not authorized to share; distribute malware; probe, overload, or disrupt the service or network; bypass rate limits or access controls; or interfere with another person’s use. Do not use the service to evade a network or app restriction.

Farcaster and network operators set their own storage, moderation, availability, and removal rules. Castonaut does not guarantee that content will persist, be confidential, or appear in every client. Local profile notes and cover choices do not edit another person’s protocol profile. Mutes, Circle, Group, feed filters, and local pins only personalize this browser. They do not block an account on the network or submit an abuse report. Castonaut does not currently provide a network report or appeal channel; use the relevant network or service’s own tools.

5. Third-party services and costs

Castonaut depends on third-party hosting, the configured Snapchain endpoint, Farcaster-compatible protocol infrastructure, the Optimism public network and registry, and any wallet, image, or link provider you choose to use. Optional photo uploads use the operator’s public Vercel Blob store; uploaded image URLs are public, and provider terms and retention practices apply. Their services and terms are separate. External providers may collect request metadata under their own policies.

The Farcaster app-key signature is gasless and does not approve token spending. Castonaut does not currently charge for access or request payment transactions.

6. Changes, suspension, and availability

Castonaut is experimental software. The operator may change, suspend, limit, or discontinue any part of the hosted service, including in response to upstream protocol changes, abuse, security issues, legal requirements, or service costs. The client depends on networks and providers the operator does not control; it may be unavailable, delayed, changed, or incompatible. The operator may block or limit use to protect the service or comply with law. Keep your own copies of information you need. Castonaut does not back up local data.

You may stop using the service at any time. Stopping use does not erase public protocol messages or revoke an on-network signer. The operator may retain information as described in the Privacy Notice and as required to protect the service or comply with law.

7. Disclaimers and limits on liability

No warranties

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable U.S. federal and state law, the hosted service is provided “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE.” The operator disclaims all express and implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, accuracy, availability, and security. The operator does not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, compatible, secure, or free of harmful code, or that defects will be corrected. You use it at your own risk. No statement promises account recovery, a ban appeal, network inclusion, message removal, or protocol availability.

No advice, agency, or fiduciary service

Castonaut is software and a user interface. It does not provide legal, financial, investment, tax, cybersecurity, or professional advice; it does not act as your agent, fiduciary, custodian, broker, exchange, bank, or representative; and no use of the client creates an advisory, agency, partnership, or fiduciary relationship. You are responsible for independently reviewing information, verifying recipients and account details, checking authorization prompts, and deciding whether to submit a message. Any examples, status labels, counts, rankings, estimates, or explanatory material are informational and may be incomplete, delayed, or wrong.

Assumption of risk

You knowingly assume the risks of using experimental software and open networks, including software defects, incompatible updates, outages, congestion, stale or incomplete data, compromised devices or browser extensions, malicious links or media, impersonation, lost local data, delayed or duplicated submissions, signer misuse, protocol changes, third-party failures, and actions that cannot be reversed. Network messages may be copied, indexed, cached, screenshotted, or retained by independent participants even after deletion is requested. You are responsible for maintaining your own device security and any independent backups you choose to make.

Excluded damages

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the operator and its contributors, service providers, licensors, and agents will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages; lost profits, revenue, goodwill, data, access, or business opportunities; account compromise; failed, delayed, duplicated, misdirected, or unauthorized messages; loss caused by a wallet, device, protocol, node, host, or other third party; personal injury, property damage, or the cost of substitute services, arising out of or related to the service or these Terms, under any legal theory, even if advised that the loss was possible.

Aggregate cap

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of the operator and those parties for all claims arising out of or related to the service or these Terms will not exceed the greater of (a) US$100 or (b) the amounts you paid the operator for the hosted service during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. Because the hosted service is currently free, the cap will generally be US$100.

These exclusions and limits apply to every claim and theory of liability, including contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, statute, restitution, and otherwise, and apply even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose, but only to the extent the law permits. They do not limit liability or rights that cannot legally be excluded or limited, including any non-waivable consumer protections. Some states do not allow certain warranty disclaimers or damage limits, so parts of this section may not apply to you. Nothing in this section limits liability for fraud or intentional misconduct where applicable law prohibits that limitation.

8. U.S. law and disputes

These Terms are intended for a U.S.-based service and are subject to applicable U.S. federal law and the mandatory laws of the state where you reside. The operator’s home state, governing-law choice, and court venue cannot be specified until the operator is identified; this section does not select a state or court. Before public launch, the operator must complete those details and have counsel review them. Any dispute remains subject to the consumer rights and procedures that applicable law provides. No mandatory arbitration clause or class-action waiver is created by these Terms.

9. Your responsibility for claims

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to reimburse and hold the operator harmless from third-party claims, losses, and reasonable legal costs that result from content you submit, your unlawful use of the service, or your material breach of these Terms. This does not require you to indemnify the operator for the operator’s own violation of law or conduct where applicable law prohibits that result. The operator must provide reasonable notice of a claim and may control its defense; you may not settle a claim in a way that imposes an obligation or admission on the operator without written consent.

10. Other terms, updates, and contact

These Terms and the Privacy Notice are the entire agreement between you and the hosted-service operator about the hosted Castonaut service, and replace prior statements about that service. If a provision is found unenforceable, it will be narrowed only as much as needed and the remaining terms will remain in effect. A delay or failure to enforce a term is not a waiver. You may not transfer your rights or duties under these Terms without the operator’s written consent; the operator may transfer them as part of a reorganization, financing, sale, or transfer of the service, subject to applicable law. No person other than the parties has third-party-beneficiary rights under these Terms. Sections that by their nature should continue—including content licenses already needed for delivery, responsibility for claims, disclaimers, and limits of liability—survive termination.

The operator may update these Terms as the service changes or law requires. The updated date appears above. Material changes should be announced through the app or its official distribution channel. Where required by law, the operator will obtain consent before applying a material change to existing use. The operator is not responsible for delay or failure caused by events beyond reasonable control, including provider outages, network or protocol changes, internet failures, denial-of-service events, government action, labor disputes, natural events, or emergencies; this provision does not excuse obligations that applicable law makes non-waivable.

Questions or legal notices must be sent to the operator at a monitored contact address. That contact and the operator’s legal name and service address are not available in this repository and must be added before public launch. Do not send recovery phrases, private keys, or seed words.