Scout — Terms of Service

Effective date: 2026-05-23 Version: 1.0

Preamble

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Scout, including the Scout website, application, chat interface, and any related software, content, features, and services (collectively, the "Service"). By accessing or using the Service, creating an account, starting a free trial, or clicking to accept these Terms, you agree to be bound by them. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

These Terms are entered into between you ("Operator," "you," or "your") and Options Scout LLC, an Iowa limited liability company with its principal office in Johnston, Iowa ("Scout," "Company," "we," "us," or "our").

These Terms include a binding arbitration clause and a class action waiver in Section 22. Please read them carefully.

1. Definitions

2. Eligibility and account use

To use the Service, you represent and warrant that:

  1. You are at least 18 years of age, capable of forming a binding contract under applicable law, and reside in the United States.
  2. You maintain a brokerage account at a U.S. broker-dealer with options trading approval at a level appropriate for the strategies you intend to operate.
  3. You are an experienced, self-directed options trader. You understand options mechanics, leverage, and the risks involved. You are not a novice, and you are not relying on the Service to teach you options trading.
  4. You are not a person prohibited from using the Service under applicable law, and your use of the Service will not violate any law or regulation applicable to you.
  5. You are accessing the Service for your own personal trading activity, not on behalf of any third party, fund, pooled vehicle, or advisory client.

You may use Scout only for lawful purposes and only in compliance with these Terms and all applicable laws, rules, regulations, exchange rules, and brokerage restrictions. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account and for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and connected account access. You must notify us promptly at security@optionsscout.com of any suspected unauthorized access to your account or any security incident affecting the Service or your connected accounts.

We may, at our discretion, decline to provide the Service to any person or terminate any Operator's access where eligibility cannot be confirmed.

3. What Scout is

Scout is a software tool for self-directed options traders. The Service is designed to help Operators review brokerage positions, monitor methodology adherence, evaluate operator-described setups, surface operational flags, organize trading-related information, and maintain searchable chat history.

The Service may include features such as Brokerage Connection syncing, market-data-supported checks, natural-language analysis, chat storage, chat pinning, and related workflow tools. Features may be added, removed, limited, or modified from time to time.

4. What Scout is not

Scout is not an investment adviser, broker-dealer, futures commission merchant, commodity trading advisor, fiduciary, or legal, tax, or accounting adviser. Scout does not provide personalized investment advice, does not recommend that any Operator enter into, avoid, or exit any particular trade or strategy, does not place trades on any Operator's behalf, and does not have discretion over any Operator's brokerage account.

Scout does not custody, hold, or have control over Operator funds or securities. Scout does not predict markets, prices, or outcomes. Scout does not compute or distribute proprietary technical signals; where technical signals are used, they are supplied by the Operator from the Operator's own analysis tools.

Any Output, including summaries, flags, scores, commentary, or analysis, is informational only. Output is intended to support disciplined execution of the Operator's own methodology, not to replace the Operator's judgment or the advice of a licensed professional.

5. No investment-adviser relationship; no professional relationship

This Section is fundamental to the Operator's understanding of the Service and to the Operator's agreement to these Terms.

  1. Not an investment adviser. Scout is not registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the laws of any U.S. state, or any other jurisdiction, and is not required to be so registered. Scout does not hold itself out as an investment adviser. Nothing in the Service, the Output, the Methodology Rails, or any communication from Scout shall be construed as the establishment of an advisory, brokerage, fiduciary, attorney-client, accountant-client, or other professional relationship between Scout and the Operator.

  2. No personalized recommendations. The Service does not consider the Operator's individual financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, tax position, or other personal circumstances for the purpose of recommending any security, transaction, or strategy. The Methodology Rails are general principles drawn from publicly available options trading education; they may not be appropriate for the Operator's specific situation. Where the Service surfaces an analysis, score, flag, or annotation, it does so as the informational output of a software tool, not as a personalized investment recommendation.

  3. No solicitation. No content within the Service constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security, derivative, or other financial instrument.

  4. Operator decides. Every trading decision — including whether to enter, adjust, hold, or exit any position — is made by the Operator alone, in the Operator's own judgment, at the Operator's own Brokerage. The Service may inform the Operator's process; it does not direct it.

  5. Not a substitute for licensed advice. The Service is not a substitute for licensed financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. If the Operator needs such advice, the Operator should consult a qualified, licensed professional.

The Operator acknowledges this Section is a material term of these Terms and a basis on which the Service is offered.

6. Operator responsibility and trading risk

You are solely responsible for every decision you make based on or in connection with the Service. This includes responsibility for verifying market data, earnings dates, open-interest values, account positions, technical indicators, broker information, and any other facts before acting on them.

Options trading and related strategies involve substantial risk and can result in significant losses, including losses that may exceed the premium paid or capital initially committed. Scout does not guarantee profits, improved discipline, reduced losses, better execution, or any particular outcome.

You acknowledge and agree that:

The Methodology Rails are general principles, not personalized advice. A Methodology Rail that is appropriate for most operators in most situations may not be appropriate for you in your specific situation.

7. Brokerage integrations and third-party services

  1. Brokerage Connection. To use position-reading features, you must authorize the Service to connect to your Brokerage through a third-party integration provider. The Brokerage Connection is read-only: the Service can read positions, balances, and trade history but cannot place, modify, or cancel any trade on your behalf.

  2. No execution authority. Scout does not receive trade-execution authority through any Brokerage integration unless explicitly stated otherwise in a separate written agreement signed by Scout. All execution authority remains with you and your Brokerage.

  3. Third-party providers. The Service depends on third-party providers, which currently include providers of brokerage integration, market data, language models, and payment processing. The set of providers may change from time to time. Your use of these third-party services may be subject to separate terms, privacy policies, and authorizations imposed by those providers. We do not control third-party providers and are not responsible for their acts, omissions, uptime, security, policies, data quality, or service availability.

  4. Brokerage authorization revocable. You may revoke the Brokerage Connection at any time through your Brokerage or through the Service's settings. Revoking the Brokerage Connection will materially limit the functionality of the Service.

8. Market data and external information

The Service relies on market data, earnings calendars, open-interest data, and other external information from third-party sources. That information may be delayed, stale, incomplete, unavailable, or inaccurate. The Service does not independently verify upstream data.

Scout does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, or suitability of any third-party data. You are solely responsible for independently confirming any information before using it for trading, portfolio management, or risk decisions.

9. AI features and automated output

The Service uses artificial intelligence models and automated systems to process your inputs and generate Output. You acknowledge and agree that:

  1. AI is fallible. Output may contain factual errors, omissions, misinterpretations, hallucinations, inconsistent reasoning, outdated assumptions, or responses irrelevant to your goals. Output is probabilistic; it is not authoritative.

  2. Output is not advice. Output is informational only. Output is not a recommendation, a guarantee of any outcome, or a substitute for the Operator's own judgment.

  3. Verification is the Operator's responsibility. Before acting on any Output — including any data point, score, flag, or analysis — the Operator is responsible for independently verifying the underlying facts, including by reference to the Operator's Brokerage, the issuer's official disclosures, and licensed market-data sources of the Operator's choosing.

  4. No reliance. You will not treat Output as authoritative truth or as a substitute for independent judgment, regardless of how confident, detailed, or customized the Output appears. Scout is not responsible for losses or damages arising from your reliance on Output.

10. Operator Content

You may submit prompts, text, account-linked information, images, notes, watchlists, strategy descriptions, or other content to the Service ("Operator Content"). You retain ownership of your Operator Content, subject to the rights you grant in these Terms.

You grant Scout a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, process, transmit, modify, and display your Operator Content solely as necessary to operate, maintain, improve, secure, and provide the Service and related support. We may use de-identified, aggregated information derived from Operator Content to maintain and improve the Service. We do not sell Operator Content. We are not required to retain Operator Content beyond what is necessary to provide the Service; after account termination, we may delete Operator Content in accordance with our retention practices and applicable law.

You represent and warrant that:

11. Privacy and data handling

Your use of the Service is subject to the Scout Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, store, and disclose information.

By using the Service, you acknowledge that we may process Brokerage data, chat history, usage data, and account-related information in order to provide the Service. You also acknowledge that third-party providers involved in brokerage connectivity, payments, analytics, hosting, and AI processing may process certain data in accordance with their own terms and policies.

12. Subscription, free trial, billing, and cancellation

  1. Subscription. The Service is offered on a subscription basis. Pricing, trial length, included features, and eligibility rules are shown on the Service at the time of sign-up. Pricing is subject to change as described in this Section.

  2. Free trial. New Operators may begin a 14-day free trial. A credit card may be required to continue the Service after the trial ends. If no payment method is added by the end of the trial, access to the Service will end.

  3. Billing. Subscription fees are processed by Stripe, Inc., or another payment processor we designate. By providing a payment method, you authorize us (through our payment processor) to charge the applicable subscription fee, plus any applicable taxes, on each billing date. You are responsible for any taxes assessed on your subscription that are not collected by us. Unless otherwise stated, subscriptions renew automatically for the same billing period until canceled.

  4. Failed payments. If a payment fails, we may suspend access to the Service until payment is successfully processed. We may terminate your account if payment cannot be collected within a reasonable period.

  5. Cancellation. You may cancel your subscription at any time through the in-Service settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your then-current paid billing period; you retain access through the end of that period.

  6. No refunds. Unless required by law, all fees are non-refundable once charged, including partial-month charges after renewal. We do not pro-rate refunds for unused time within a paid month.

  7. Price changes. We may change pricing or billing terms on prospective notice. Continued use of a paid subscription after the effective date of a price change constitutes acceptance of the new price.

13. Acceptable use

You agree not to, and not to assist or permit others to:

  1. Use the Service in violation of any law, regulation, exchange rule, or brokerage restriction, including securities, tax, or commodities law;
  2. Use the Service to commit fraud, market manipulation, insider trading, deception, or other unlawful conduct;
  3. Use the Service to provide investment advice to any third party, manage any third party's funds, operate any pooled investment vehicle, or otherwise route Output to a third party as a basis for that third party's investment decisions;
  4. Hold yourself out to any third party as an agent, representative, partner, or affiliate of Scout, or as authorized to bind Scout;
  5. Resell, sublicense, or otherwise commercialize the Service or any Output to a third party;
  6. Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, copy, frame, mirror, scrape, or otherwise attempt to extract source code, models, weights, prompts, or datasets of the Service, except to the extent prohibited by applicable law from restricting that activity;
  7. Use the Service, Output, workflows, or proprietary materials to develop or train a competing product or model;
  8. Access the Service through unauthorized means, including bots, scripts, or bulk-extraction tools not expressly approved by Scout;
  9. Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service, or breach any security or authentication measure;
  10. Interfere with or disrupt the integrity, performance, or security of the Service, including by introducing viruses, worms, or other malicious code;
  11. Submit Operator Content that infringes any third party's rights, that is unlawful, or that contains personal information about a third party who has not consented to its inclusion;
  12. Misrepresent your identity, your eligibility, your accreditation, or your authority to use the Service.

We may suspend or terminate your access for any violation of this Section, in addition to any other remedies available to us.

14. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, models (excluding third-party models), Methodology Rails, prompts, interfaces, design, workflows, text, graphics, branding, compilations, and all related intellectual property rights, is owned by Scout or its licensors and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Scout grants you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable right to access and use the Service for your personal trading activity during your active subscription. No other rights are granted.

If you provide feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that feedback for any purpose without obligation to you.

"Scout," the Scout logo, and any related marks are trademarks of Options Scout LLC. You may not use them without our prior written consent.

15. Beta features and service changes

We may designate certain features as alpha, beta, experimental, or early access. Such features may be incomplete, unstable, or subject to additional limitations, and may be modified or removed at any time.

We may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice. We will provide reasonable notice of material changes that adversely affect core functionality. We are not liable for any modification, suspension, discontinuation, or loss of access to any feature, content, or integration. The Service is offered on an as-available basis; we do not guarantee uninterrupted availability.

16. Suspension and termination

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if we reasonably determine that:

You may stop using the Service at any time and may cancel your subscription as described in Section 12. Termination does not relieve you of payment obligations already incurred.

Upon termination, your right to access the Service ends. We may delete your account and Operator Content in accordance with our retention practices. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including Sections 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 (license grant), 11, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 — will survive.

17. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SCOUT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, SCOUT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT:

NO STATEMENT MADE BY SCOUT, BY ANY EMPLOYEE OR AGENT OF SCOUT, OR BY THE SERVICE — WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN — CREATES ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW.

18. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

  1. No indirect damages. SCOUT AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, AND REPRESENTATIVES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, BUSINESS, OPPORTUNITY, GOODWILL, DATA, OR TRADING LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

  2. No liability for trading losses. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, SCOUT WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY TRADING LOSS, MISSED TRADING GAIN, MARGIN CALL, ASSIGNMENT EVENT, OR OTHER FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCE ARISING FROM YOUR TRADING ACTIVITY, WHETHER OR NOT INFORMED BY THE SERVICE OR ANY OUTPUT.

  3. Aggregate cap. SCOUT'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL FEES YOU PAID TO SCOUT FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

  4. Basis of bargain. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION ARE A FUNDAMENTAL BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN YOU AND SCOUT, THAT THE FEES FOR THE SERVICE REFLECT THESE LIMITATIONS, AND THAT THE LIMITATIONS APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION AND EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability. If you reside in such a jurisdiction, the limitations above apply to the maximum extent permitted by law in your jurisdiction.

19. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Scout and its affiliates, licensors, service providers, officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, and representatives from and against any claims, demands, actions, proceedings, investigations, liabilities, damages, judgments, settlements, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

We will provide you with prompt notice of any claim subject to this Section and may, at our option, assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification, with counsel of our choosing, at your expense. You agree to cooperate fully in that defense.

20. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Iowa, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The state and federal courts located in Polk County, Iowa have exclusive jurisdiction over any matter not subject to arbitration under Section 22, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

21. Federal Arbitration Act

These Terms involve interstate commerce, and the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of Section 22.

22. Dispute resolution; arbitration; class action waiver

Read this Section carefully. It affects your legal rights.

  1. Informal resolution first. Before filing a claim, you agree to attempt to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us at legal@optionsscout.com. If we cannot resolve the dispute within sixty (60) days of your notice, either party may proceed to arbitration.

  2. Binding arbitration. Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service ("Dispute") that is not resolved informally will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration will be held in Des Moines, Iowa or, at your election, by telephone or video conference. The arbitrator's decision will be final and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

  3. Class action waiver. YOU AND SCOUT AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON'S CLAIMS.

  4. Jury trial waiver. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND SCOUT WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL OF ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE.

  5. Exceptions. This Section does not apply to (i) claims for injunctive or other equitable relief to protect intellectual property or confidential information, or (ii) small-claims-court actions for claims within that court's jurisdiction.

  6. Opt-out. You may opt out of arbitration by sending written notice to legal@optionsscout.com within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your name, your account email, and a clear statement that you are opting out of arbitration.

  7. Severability of this Section. If the class action waiver is found unenforceable as to any claim, that claim will be severed from arbitration and brought in the courts identified in Section 20; the remainder of this Section will remain in effect.

23. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do:

  1. We will post the updated Terms with an updated effective date and version number;
  2. For material changes, we will provide notice through the Service (for example, by requiring re-acknowledgment on next login) or by email to the address associated with your account;
  3. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of the updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of those updated Terms;
  4. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you may cancel your subscription as described in Section 12.

We maintain a record of each version of these Terms, the date you accepted each version, and your account identifier as part of our compliance records.

24. Confidentiality of Operator information

We treat your account information, your Brokerage data, and your Operator Content as confidential. We do not disclose this information except (i) to operate the Service for you (including to subprocessors named in our Privacy Policy), (ii) as required by law or valid legal process, (iii) with your consent, or (iv) in connection with a corporate transaction subject to confidentiality obligations.

25. General provisions

  1. Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other documents incorporated by reference, are the entire agreement between you and Scout regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements.

  2. Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or, if it cannot be so modified, severed; the remainder will remain in effect.

  3. No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of that provision.

  4. Assignment. You may not assign these Terms or any rights or obligations under them without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, asset sale, corporate reorganization, or by operation of law, on notice to you.

  5. No third-party beneficiaries. These Terms do not create any rights in any third party, except that the disclaimers, limitations, and indemnification protections extend to Scout's officers, directors, members, managers, employees, agents, affiliates, and licensors.

  6. Force majeure. Neither party is liable for any delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disaster, war, terrorism, civil disturbance, labor dispute, government action, internet or telecommunications failure, or third-party service outage.

  7. Notices to you. We may give notice to you by email to your account address, by posting in the Service, or by any other method reasonably calculated to provide actual notice.

  8. Notices to Scout. Notices to Scout must be sent to legal@optionsscout.com and to Options Scout LLC, 6701 Corporate Dr Ste R, Johnston, Iowa 50131.

  9. Relationship. These Terms do not create any partnership, joint venture, agency, employment, or fiduciary relationship between you and Scout.

  10. Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation. "Including" means "including without limitation."

26. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms or the Service:

Options Scout LLC 6701 Corporate Dr Ste R Johnston, Iowa 50131 optionsscout.com

End of Terms.