Terms of Service
Important: Lock the Goal is a learning platform. It provides educational guidance and AI-assisted content, but it does not guarantee outcomes. Please read these Terms carefully.
1. Agreement
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Lock the Goal website, applications, and related services (collectively, the "Service") operated by us ("we," "us," or "Lock the Goal"). The Service is owned and operated by LockTheGoal.com LLC (Illinois, U.S.A.). By creating an account, checking the consent box at registration, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make changes, we will post the updated Terms and revise the effective date above. Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective means you accept the updated Terms.
2. What the Service is (and is not)
Lock the Goal offers educational and informational career guidance, including content and suggestions generated in part by artificial intelligence (KAI). The Service is intended to help you explore ideas, structure learning, and reflect on goals—similar to using a self-study book, workbook, or an educational product. It is currently offered as a free-to-use learning platform: you can use the full structured learning track at no charge, and we issue the official course completion certificate at no charge when you pass the final certification exam at the pass threshold described in Section 9A. We may introduce or require paid subscription plans in the future to help sustain the Service; if we do, we will update these Terms and the Service accordingly.
Plans are flexible roadmaps. If the Service presents a multi-week learning plan (for example, a 12-week track), it is a suggested structure to help you build consistent habits—not a contract or required timeline. You control your pace and may move faster or slower.
The Service does not guarantee any outcome. We do not promise employment, admission to any school or program, salary, grades, certifications, or any other result. Your choices, effort, and circumstances are yours alone.
No responsibility for your outcomes. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree that you are solely responsible for any decisions you make and actions you take based on your use of the Service, including any career, educational, or life decisions.
3. No professional advice
Nothing in the Service is medical, legal, tax, investment, or other regulated professional advice. For those matters, consult a qualified professional. If you are in crisis or may harm yourself or others, contact local emergency services or a crisis hotline immediately—the Service is not a substitute for emergency help.
4. AI-generated content
Outputs from KAI and other automated features may be inaccurate, incomplete, or unsuitable for your situation. You are responsible for how you use such content. You should verify important facts independently before making decisions.
5. Eligibility and accounts
You must provide accurate registration information and keep your credentials secure. You are responsible for activity under your account. Notify us at mail@lockthegoal.com if you believe your account was compromised. We may refuse service, close accounts, or remove content that violates these Terms or puts the Service or others at risk.
The Service is intended for users age 14 and older in most countries. For users in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland, and Turkey, the minimum age is 16. If you are a minor in your jurisdiction, you should use the Service with the permission and involvement of a parent or guardian.
6. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Use the Service unlawfully or to harm others;
- Attempt to access others' data or our systems without authorization;
- Reverse engineer, scrape, or overload the Service except as allowed by law;
- Use automated tools (bots/scripts) to access the Service in a way that harms stability or security;
- Bypass or attempt to bypass limits, protections, or safety rules;
- Upload or request content that is illegal, abusive, sexually explicit, hateful, or otherwise prohibited by our safety rules.
We may suspend or terminate access for violations.
7. Intellectual property
The Service, its branding, software, and our materials are owned by us or our licensors. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service for personal, non-commercial learning in line with these Terms. You may not copy, sell, or redistribute the Service or its outputs except as we expressly allow.
8. Your content and permission to process it
You retain rights to the content you submit to the Service (such as profile details and messages), subject to applicable law. By using the Service and submitting content, you grant us a limited license to host, store, process, and use that content as needed to operate, secure, and provide the Service (including sending relevant content to our AI provider to generate responses when you request AI features), consistent with our Privacy Policy.
9. Fees, subscriptions, and payment codes
As of the effective date above, the core learning experience on Lock the Goal is offered at no charge: you can register, verify your email, complete your profile, and use the full structured learning track. The course completion certificate issued after you pass the final exam is also offered at no charge. We may introduce or restore paid plans, payment codes, or time-limited offers in the future to support operations—if we do, we will update these Terms and the Service and provide notice as required by law. For any future plan rules, eligibility windows, and similar boundaries, we use US Central (Chicago) in our systems unless we say otherwise. Dates and times shown in the Service use your device's local time zone where we display them. If we issue you a personal payment code, do not share it; it is for your account only.
Billing and cancellations (future paid plans). If you later subscribe by card (when we offer or require a paid plan), your subscription renews automatically until you cancel. You can manage or cancel in the Service (for example, Account → Billing, when available) or through Stripe where offered. If you cancel, you will generally keep access until the end of the then-current paid period, unless we state otherwise in the Service.
Refunds and disputes. Course completion certificates are issued at no charge, so there is nothing to refund for them. To the maximum extent permitted by law, any future subscription fees are non-refundable once charged, except where we are legally required to provide a refund. If you believe a charge was made in error, contact us promptly at mail@lockthegoal.com. Chargebacks and payment disputes may result in loss of access while the dispute is investigated.
Failed payments and price changes. If you have a paid plan and a payment fails or a subscription becomes past due, we may pause or revoke paid-tier access until payment is completed. We may change prices from time to time; if applicable law requires advance notice, we will provide it through the Service, email, or your Stripe billing settings.
Marketing and school events. We may run campaigns and issue payment codes under named events. LockTheGoal.com LLC may modify, pause, or revoke any event, campaign, or associated benefit at any time, with sole discretion and without liability to you. A payment code is a permission we grant you—not a payment instrument with cash value.
Account-specific benefits (no reuse after deletion). Promotional benefits (including payment codes and complimentary access periods) are generally tied to a specific account. If you delete your account, those benefits end and typically cannot be restored or reused by creating a new account later, even if you register again with the same email address.
Limited promotions. We may still run time-limited offers (for example, capped early sign-up programs). The rules for any specific program—including whether it stacks with site-wide free access—will be described in the Service when that program is active. When an early community offer such as "Welcome Aboard" is active, it may cap participation (for example, the first 100 eligible new sign-ups) and include an end date such as March 31, 2027 (US Central / Chicago for program boundaries; times in the UI may use your device time zone unless we say otherwise).
Financial assistance. If we introduce or require a paid subscription again, we may offer financial assistance applications as described in the Service at that time. Assistance is never guaranteed and is subject to our policies and available resources.
Course completion certificate. When you complete every lesson and quiz and pass the final exam with at least 80%, Lock the Goal issues you an official, shareable course completion certificate by email. There is no fee for the certificate.
9A. Final certification exam and course completion certificate
After you complete the required lessons and quizzes you may take a final certification exam. Exam attempts are timed and must be completed in one sitting. You may be allowed multiple attempts. The pass threshold is at least 80%.
When you pass, we issue you an official, shareable course completion certificate by email and make it downloadable from your Account page. The certificate is provided at no charge.
You agree not to copy, scrape, record, redistribute, or publish exam questions or answers, and not to use automated tools to access the exam. We may invalidate results, revoke certificates, or restrict accounts if we reasonably believe cheating or abuse occurred.
10. Advertising and marketing (future)
The Service may include advertising or marketing in the future. If we introduce advertising, we will do so in line with our Privacy Policy, and we will provide any choices required by applicable law.
Sponsorships and listings. We may display sponsor names and links to support our educational mission. Sponsor listings are provided for transparency and do not constitute an endorsement, guarantee, or recommendation. You are responsible for evaluating any third-party products or services.
We may communicate with you about product updates, safety notices, and other service-related information. You may also be able to opt in or opt out of certain promotional communications (if offered) through settings or by contacting us.
11. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
12. Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL WE OR OUR AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OPPORTUNITY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR ANY CAREER, EDUCATIONAL, OR LIFE OUTCOME—INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IF YOU DO NOT ACHIEVE A PARTICULAR JOB, SCHOOL PLACEMENT, INCOME, OR GOAL—EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SERVICE IS TO STOP USING THE SERVICE. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those cases our liability is limited to the fullest extent still permitted by law. Where liability cannot be excluded, it may be capped at the greater of (a) amounts you paid us for the Service in the twelve (12) months before the claim or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100), if you paid nothing.
13. Indemnity
To the extent permitted by law, you will defend and indemnify us against claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your misuse of the Service or violation of these Terms.
14. Changes
We may modify these Terms. We will post the updated Terms and update the effective date. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, stop using the Service and close your account.
15. Termination
You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access for conduct that violates these Terms or threatens the Service or others. Where permitted, we may also remove or restrict accounts that are inactive, unverified, duplicated, or otherwise create risk or cost for the Service or other users, using processes described in our Privacy Policy (including limited staff tools and archival on deletion).
When an account ends—whether you close it or we do—handling of personal information (including any archive before final purge) is described in the Privacy Policy. Provisions that by their nature should survive (including disclaimers, limitations of liability, and indemnity) will survive termination.
16. Governing law and venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, USA, excluding its conflict-of-law rules, except where mandatory law in your jurisdiction provides otherwise. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree that the state and federal courts located in Chicago, Illinois, USA, have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.
17. Contact
Questions about these Terms: mail@lockthegoal.com