Terms of service.

These terms govern access to and use of the ShieldID identity verification service (the “Service”), operated by Crown Stack Systems (“we,” “us”), by a business or developer account (“you,” “customer”). By creating an account, requesting an API key or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these terms. A signed order form takes precedence over these terms where the two differ.

1. What the Service is

ShieldID is an identity verification platform. It reads and cross-checks a government-issued ID document, matches a live selfie to the document photo, runs a guided liveness challenge, and reports anti-spoof, deepfake, mask and document-tamper signals — each as its own verdict, delivered to you by API response and signed webhook. Results and account activity are also recorded in the Activity Ledger when you use ShieldID through a Trust Ledger (or other Crown Stack) integration; this is coming soon for a standalone API account. ShieldID reports verdicts and evidence; it does not make the underlying accept-or-reject decision about your applicant — that decision, and its consequences, belong to you.

Sanctions and watchlist screening is available as an account-level add-on, not bundled into every plan. Features described on this site as “coming soon” are not part of the Service until they ship.

2. Accounts and API keys

You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide when creating an account, and for all activity that occurs under your account and your API keys. API keys are issued per environment (sandbox and production); you must keep them confidential and must not share a production key outside your own organization. If you believe a key has been compromised, revoke it immediately from your dashboard and contact us.

• You may create and revoke API keys from your account; a revoked key stops working immediately.
• Sandbox keys are for testing and integration work, not for verifying real applicants for a live decision.
• You are responsible for how your own systems store, log and use the results the Service returns to you.

3. Acceptable use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful identity verification of individuals who are aware they are being verified, and not to:

• Submit an ID document for verification without the knowledge and, where required, the consent of the person it belongs to.
• Use the Service to build a general-purpose facial-recognition database, or for any purpose other than verifying the identity of a specific applicant in a specific transaction.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, probe for vulnerabilities in, or interfere with the Service's normal operation, including excessive automated requests intended to degrade the Service for other customers.
• Use verification results to unlawfully discriminate against an applicant.
• Use the Service in a way that violates applicable law, including privacy law governing your own collection and use of applicants' personal information.

We may suspend or terminate access for a violation of this section, with notice where reasonably practical.

4. Sandbox vs. production, and billing

Sandbox sessions are never billed, on qualifying plans, without limit on sandbox testing volume within reasonable, good-faith use. Production verifications are billed per verification, in Canadian dollars; failed fraud attempts are not charged. Plan and per-verification prices are not yet published on this site; where a price is shown or quoted, it does not become binding until it appears on a signed order form or is confirmed in writing.

Invoicing cadence, payment terms and accepted payment methods are set out in your plan or order form. Plan changes and cancellations are handled from your account or by contacting us; a change takes effect from the next billing period unless your order form says otherwise.

5. Data and privacy

Our handling of personal information processed through the Service is described in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these terms by reference. In summary: we do not sell applicants' personal information and do not use it to train models; ID images are purged automatically on a short timer, seven days by default; and where you are collecting your applicants' ID to have it verified, you are responsible for your own lawful basis and disclosure to those applicants. A data processing agreement is available on request for customers who need one.

6. Availability

We aim to keep the Service available and performant, but standard plans are provided without a guaranteed uptime service level. We may perform maintenance that temporarily affects availability, and we will use reasonable efforts to minimize disruption. An Enterprise service level agreement, with specific uptime and support commitments, is planned for qualifying customers; until its terms are agreed in a signed order, no uptime commitment is made for any plan.

7. Intellectual property

We own the Service, including its software, documentation and branding. You retain ownership of the data you submit to the Service and the results it returns to you. You grant us the right to process that data solely to provide the Service to you, consistent with our Privacy Policy.

8. Termination

Either party may terminate an account for convenience, subject to any minimum term agreed in a separate order form. We may suspend or terminate access immediately for a material breach of these terms, including a violation of the acceptable use section. On termination, retention and deletion of your data continues to follow the timelines described in our Privacy Policy.

9. Liability

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. ShieldID reports verdicts and evidence about a document and a live capture; it does not guarantee that a document is genuine, that an applicant is who they claim to be, or that a specific outcome is fraud-free — you remain responsible for the decision you make using our results. To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither party will be liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages, and each party's total liability under these terms is capped as set out in your order form or plan terms. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

10. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in Ontario, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. The courts of Ontario have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the Service changes or as our legal review progresses. We will update the effective date above when we do, and we'll give notice of material changes before they take effect for existing customers.

12. Contact us

Questions about these terms can be sent to [email protected] with “Terms” in the subject line, or by post to Crown Stack Systems, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.