These terms govern your use of Divergence (the website at divergence.news, user accounts, paid subscriptions, and the API). By using the service, creating an account, or subscribing to a paid plan, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the service. The companion Privacy Policy describes what we collect and why.
Divergence is an independent news analysis tool. It indexes public RSS feeds from across the political spectrum, clusters articles into the same underlying event, scores ideological divergence between outlets, and surfaces the result through a website and an API. Divergence is not a publisher and does not produce original news content. It is operated as a sole proprietorship based in Georgia, United States. The operator's legal name is available on request for legitimate purposes (legal process, billing dispute, takedown).
You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. In the United Kingdom and the European Union the minimum age is 16. By creating an account you confirm that you meet the applicable age requirement.
You are responsible for keeping your password and any API keys secure, and for all activity under your account. Notify us at support@divergence.news if you believe your account has been accessed without your permission. You may not share an account with multiple people, transfer your account to another person, or impersonate another individual.
You may delete your account at any time from your account page. Deletion is described in detail in the Privacy Policy and on the deletion confirmation screen.
When using the website, your account, or the API, you agree not to:
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules, with or without notice depending on severity.
Divergence offers paid subscription plans (Pro and Developer, monthly or annual). Pricing is shown on the pricing page in US dollars and is billed by Stripe. By subscribing you authorize Stripe to charge the payment method on file for the recurring amount until you cancel.
Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period at the then-current price for your plan. We will email you in advance if we change pricing for renewals.
Founding-member benefits: members who signed up during the founding window receive Pro tier features at no charge for one year from their signup date, after which the account reverts to the free tier unless a paid subscription is started.
Failed payments may result in temporary loss of paid features after Stripe's standard retry window. Resolve the payment in the billing portal to restore access.
You can cancel at any time. Cancel from the billing portal linked on your account page. When you cancel, your subscription remains active through the end of the period you have already paid for, after which the account drops back to the free tier. You will not be charged again.
Refund policy: no refunds. Subscription fees, including partial periods, are non-refundable. There is no charge for cancellation, and you keep access for what you have paid for. Exceptions are made only at our discretion for cases of duplicate charges, technical errors that prevented use of the service, or other genuine billing mistakes; email support@divergence.news within 30 days of the charge if you believe one has occurred.
If you live in a jurisdiction that grants statutory rights to cancel a digital service within a cooling-off period (for example, the EU 14-day right of withdrawal), those rights are not affected by this policy. By starting your subscription and using paid features immediately, you may also be expressly waiving the right of withdrawal where the law allows; we will note this on the checkout page where required.
Divergence indexes publicly available RSS feeds from news outlets, clusters articles that report on the same underlying event, and displays headlines, short summaries, and per-outlet framing labels alongside a link to the original source. We do not republish full articles. We believe this use is consistent with fair use under United States copyright law and equivalent doctrines in other jurisdictions, for the purpose of news reporting, comment, criticism, and research.
Trademarks, logos, and content of news outlets remain the property of their respective owners. Divergence makes no claim of ownership over the underlying news content; ownership of the analytical layer (clustering, divergence scores, summaries, framing labels) belongs to Divergence.
If you represent a news outlet whose content is indexed by Divergence and you would like specific articles removed, your outlet excluded entirely, or any other adjustment, contact takedown@divergence.news. Include the outlet name, your role, and the specific URLs or feeds at issue. We acknowledge takedown requests within 5 business days and act on legitimate requests promptly.
The Divergence API at divergence.news/api is available to all account tiers. The free tier and the public anonymous endpoints are subject to lower request limits and a 7-day historical window; paid tiers receive higher limits and (Developer tier) a 90-day historical window. Current limits are listed on the API docs.
Permitted uses of the API include personal projects, research, journalism, education, internal business intelligence, and analysis or visualization tools. You may not use the API to:
We aim for high availability but do not guarantee any particular uptime. The service depends on third-party feeds that may be delayed, incomplete, or temporarily unavailable. We may add, remove, or change features at any time, and we may take the service down for maintenance with or without notice.
The service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We make no guarantees regarding accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or that the service will be uninterrupted or error-free. Use the data accordingly: Divergence is an analytical tool, not a substitute for primary reporting or professional judgment.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Divergence and its operator are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or related to your use of, or inability to use, the service, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of these terms or the service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid Divergence in the twelve months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred US dollars (USD $100).
Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties or liability for incidental or consequential damages; these limitations may not apply to you to the extent they are not enforceable.
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Divergence and its operator from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the service, your violation of these terms, your violation of any law, or your infringement of any third-party rights.
You may stop using the service at any time and delete your account from the account page. We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these terms, if continuing to provide service would expose us to legal risk, or if we discontinue the service entirely. If we terminate the service for reasons other than your violation of these terms, we will refund any unused portion of a paid subscription on a pro-rata basis.
Sections that by their nature should survive termination (acceptable use, intellectual property, no warranty, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law) survive any termination of these terms.
These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these terms or the service shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Georgia, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts. If you reside in a jurisdiction whose mandatory consumer-protection laws override this clause, those laws apply to the extent required.
These terms may be updated as the service evolves. The current version is always at divergence.news/terms. Material changes will be announced via the digest newsletter and a banner on the site at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the service after a change is posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms; if you do not agree, stop using the service and delete your account.
General questions, support, billing issues: support@divergence.news.
Outlet takedown requests: takedown@divergence.news.
Postal address:
5579 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Ste B PMB 5032
Atlanta, GA 30338, United States