Terms of Service

Our terms of service form part one of three key things that you need to know when using abitat intel.

  1. Terms of Service (this document) describes our service and sets up expectations for both sides
  2. Data Licence describes what you can and can’t do with abitat intel data
  3. Privacy Policy describes how we handle your privacy

abitat intel is a separate product from abitat ops. If you also use abitat ops, those terms apply to that product; these apply to abitat intel.

Introduction

These terms are about the relationship between you, “the user”, and us, “abitat”. By using abitat intel, “the service”, you’re agreeing to abide by these terms. If you don’t agree, don’t use it - simple!

Accounts

You may need to create an account in order to access parts of the service.

Please keep your login details secure. You’re responsible for activity that happens under your account. We always recommend the use of password managers, since they drastically simplify the whole process.

It is your responsibility to keep your information accurate and as up to date as possible.

Allowed Use

You’re welcome to use the platform for lawful purposes.

Please don’t misuse it. That includes things like:

If we believe the platform is being misused, we may limit or suspend access.

Access to some features — including our MCP connection and calculation tools — is subject to fair-use and rate limits, which we may apply, vary, or enforce to protect the service and other users. We may throttle, limit, or temporarily block requests that exceed these limits, and we may change the limits over time. We’ll aim to set them at a level that supports normal use.

You must abide by the rules set out in our [[abitat intel data licence|Data License]].

Your Content

You may upload information about your gain sites and development sites to the service. You retain ownership of that information. By uploading, you grant us the rights described in our Data Licence so we can operate the service and produce insights from it.

You’re responsible for ensuring you have the right to share any data you upload.

Payments

Some features may require a paid subscription.

If you subscribe, you agree to pay the listed price and any applicable taxes.

Subscriptions may renew automatically unless cancelled before the renewal date.

If we change pricing in the future, we’ll give ample notice.

Intellectual Property

abitat intel, including the software, design, structure, and compiled datasets, is owned by us or our licensors.

You can use the platform for your internal purposes, but you may not copy, redistribute, or recreate the underlying datasets unless we explicitly agree.

BNG calculations and the statutory metric

abitat intel can produce biodiversity net gain (BNG) calculations — including through our MCP connection and AI tools. These calculations are provided for information, exploration, and planning-support purposes only.

They are not produced using, and are not a substitute for, the official statutory biodiversity metric published by Defra. Only the official statutory metric is accepted for mandatory BNG; no other version of the metric is acceptable for that purpose.

You must not rely on, submit, or otherwise use our calculations as part of a planning application, biodiversity gain plan, habitat management and monitoring plan, section 106 agreement, conservation covenant, or any other statutory, regulatory, or contractual submission. Before using any figure for those purposes, you must independently reproduce and verify it using the official statutory biodiversity metric.

You are responsible for any decision you make, and any submission you file, based on our calculations.

AI features and third-party AI tools

Some features — including the MCP connection — let you reach abitat intel through third-party AI assistants such as Claude or ChatGPT, or use AI to generate calculations, summaries, and other outputs.

AI-generated outputs are produced automatically and are inherently probabilistic. They may be inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, or misleading, and they do not represent our advice, opinion, or recommendation. You are responsible for reviewing, verifying, and independently confirming any AI-generated output before relying on or acting on it.

The third-party AI assistants you connect are operated by other companies under their own terms and privacy policies. We don’t control them and we’re not responsible for their outputs, their availability, or how they handle the information you send them.

Nothing provided through abitat intel — including data, insights, and calculations — is professional, legal, planning, ecological, financial, or investment advice. Where a matter is important, seek advice from a suitably qualified professional.

Limitation of Liability

We work hard to keep the platform accurate and useful, but the platform, its data, and any calculations or outputs are provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind. We can’t guarantee that any information, dataset, or calculation is complete, current, accurate, or error-free, and our datasets may be partial or out of date.

The platform is provided for general informational purposes. You should independently verify any information before relying on it.

To the extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for indirect or consequential losses, or for any loss arising from your reliance on the platform’s data, calculations, or AI-generated outputs.

Our total liability relating to the service will not exceed the amount you paid us in the previous 12 months.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability where it would be unlawful to do so — for example, for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud.

Termination

You may stop using the service at any time.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these terms or misuse the service.

Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Any disputes will be handled firstly personally by us, but ultimately by the courts of England and Wales if necessary.