Terms of Service
Last Updated: Dec. 3, 2014

The TOS tells you what you can and cannot do when you access or use Animal Jam. “Animal Jam” means AJ Classic, animaljam.com, AJ Jump, Animal Jam, AJ Academy: Amazing Animals, and all other Animal Jam-branded mobile apps and games. Animal Jam is owned and operated by WildWorks, Inc. (“WildWorks”, “us”, or “we”).

By using Animal Jam, you, and your parent/guardian (for themselves and on your behalf) agree to be bound by the TOS and our Privacy Policy. If you do not understand and agree to this TOS and our Privacy Policy, please do not use Animal Jam.

We have included some handy “plain English” translations below to help you better understand our terms, but if there is ever any question, it is only the full legalese version that covers your use of Animal Jam.

1. Parental Consent. If you want to play in Animal Jam or use our apps, you must be at least 18 years old or get permission from your parent or guardian. We require verifiable consent from a parent or guardian for players under 13 years old, which means we will take steps to make sure that your parent or legal guardian is really okay with you playing Animal Jam. When we get your parent or guardian's consent, we will also require he or she agrees to this TOS agreement. See our Privacy Policy for more on this.

Translation: Get your parent’s permission before you use Animal Jam. Verified parental consent is REQUIRED for Animal Jam participation. Any accounts found operating without verified parental consent will be terminated.

2. Community Guidelines. Don’t post anything that is mean, foul, abusive, or obscene. This includes postings that contain profanity, are likely to offend someone, or that are racist, harassing, threatening, bullying or untrue. You also agree not to post things about other people that are false, illegal, or that may encourage someone else to break the law. Additionally, you may not create a screen name that we determine is inappropriate or offensive. Animal Jam is committed to providing a fair, clean, and fun environment for all. We use only professional, well-trained moderation staff and the most up-to-date technology to assist us in keeping Animal Jam safe and friendly.

Translation: Play nice, only use kind words, and don’t engage in any unsafe or inappropriate gameplay or behavior.

3. Report Misconduct. If another player makes you feel bad or uncomfortable, you can use the buttons on that user’s Player Card to block all further contact from them and report their behavior to the AJHQ support team. If you see someone breaking the rules, please report them to us with these in-game tools. We take these reports very seriously and investigate all of them as appropriate.

Translation: Report anything that makes you feel bad or that you think violates these rules. Block and report any player who bothers you by clicking or tapping their name and selecting Block Player on their Player Card.

4. Keep Your Personal Information Personal. Do not give out any of your Personal Information to other users of Animal Jam. Personal Information, which is described in detail in our Privacy Policy, includes real names, phone numbers, home addresses, user IDs, online profile names, e-mail addresses, photos, social networking site information, and location information.

Never give other users any Financial Information (also described in our Privacy Policy), which includes usernames, passwords, financial account information, and Social Security numbers. Users found attempting to complete an unauthorized transaction on Animal Jam using someone else’s financial information, regardless of payment method, will be permanently banned from Animal Jam. If a PayPal dispute or chargeback is initiated against any Animal Jam transaction, we will treat that charge as unauthorized and take necessary action.

Translation: Keep your personal information personal. Never give out (or ask for) real names or personal information while chatting with other Animal Jam players.

5. Tell the Truth and Don’t Cheat. You agree to provide us with information that is true, complete, up-to-date, and accurate. If you break this promise, we may immediately cancel your membership. You must keep your account information secret, and you agree to notify us immediately if you think someone has used your membership without your authorization.

Never attempt to use third-party websites, hacking programs, cheat codes, or related methods to hack or circumvent Animal Jam systems or policies. NONE OF THESE METHODS ACTUALLY WORK. They are created by criminals to steal your personal information, infect your computer with malware, or to lure you into visiting illicit online marketing sites. You may not attempt to send viruses, keyloggers, or trojans to Animal Jam, WildWorks employees, or other users. Never attempt to alter Animal Jam or our server technology or coding to your advantage. Attempts to defraud other players or take their in-game items by gaining their trust (i.e. "scamming") are absolutely not tolerated and will result immediately in the loss of access to Animal Jam. This includes attempts to trade Animal Jam virtual items outside of our in-game trading system, asking users to share or trade account login information, or any other tricks to cheat other players in the game. If you engage in any of these activities, you may permanently lose your right to play Animal Jam.

Translation: Make sure all of the contact information you send us is accurate. Don’t try to cheat other Animal Jam players, and don’t try to cheat us. Scamming players for items or not being honest in a trade will get you banned from the game. Websites offering free codes, Gems, or Animal Jam items are scams and do not work. We can tell if you try to use external software to cheat in the game, and we ban those accounts that attempt it. Once your account is banned, you may be permanently banned from playing Animal Jam, in any account you use.

6. Respect the Ownership Rights of Others (DMCA). You represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use, and authorize us to use, all content shared by you on Animal Jam. If you do not have proper license to share, then please do not post it to Animal Jam.

If you are a copyright owner and believe that any content infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") by providing our Copyright Agent with: a) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; b) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site; c) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material, including the steps required to access it in the game; d) Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and e-mail address; e) A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and f) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Our designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is Hughes Media Law Group PLLC, email: copyright@wildworks.com, fax: 206-260-9300. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this Section 6, your DMCA notice may not be valid.

Translation: Don’t post any content on Animal Jam that you don’t own. If you find something on Animal Jam that belongs to you and was put up without your permission, please contact us using the copyright infringement notice process described here.

7. Content Posted by Users. We do not promise that information on Animal Jam posted by third parties, including content posted by other users, is accurate or reliable. While we diligently monitor and screen postings to keep Animal Jam suitable for kids, we make no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or suitability of any postings. We have no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate postings, and no responsibility for the conduct of the member submitting any posting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we, in our sole discretion, reserve the right to prevent any postings from being placed on Animal Jam, and to edit, restrict, or remove such postings for any reason at any time.

Translation: We work hard to make Animal Jam a safe place for kids, but a lot depends on our players. WildWorks is not responsible for content on Animal Jam posted by users or other third parties. However, if we think content is not appropriate, we can take it down at any time without asking for permission.

8. No Hacking. You agree not to post any content that contains viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may harm Animal Jam or make it operate poorly, or that would do the same to a third-party computer or any other specific feature of Animal Jam. You also agree that you will not decompile, disassemble or copy Animal Jam or any of its source code or network transmissions. If you violate this rule we will remove you as a user and block you from using Animal Jam. Doing so, however, does not limit our other rights and remedies. Also, you understand that by breaking this rule, you will have irreparably harmed us and Animal Jam.

Translation: Don’t ruin it for everyone else by trying to hack, copy or reverse engineer all or part of Animal Jam. Also, don’t share viruses, or corrupted links or files with Animal Jam or Animal Jam users.

9. Termination. We may, in our sole discretion and with or without warning, cease operation of Animal Jam, terminate your membership to Animal Jam, or otherwise restrict your access to Animal Jam. Furthermore, should we find any user breaking our rules, we reserve the right to suspend or delete associated accounts and take any other action we deem appropriate.

Translation: We can suspend or terminate your Animal Jam account and the game itself at any time, with or without any notice to you.

10. License to Use Animal Jam. We grant you the non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited right and license to access Animal Jam for personal, non-commercial use. Your rights are subject to your compliance with this TOS agreement. The term of your license starts on the date that you install or otherwise use Animal Jam, and ends on the earlier of you ceasing use of Animal Jam or our terminating your license. Your license terminates immediately if you violate the law or attempt to circumvent any technical protection measures used in connection with Animal Jam.

We retain all right, title and interest to Animal Jam, including, but not limited to, all copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, trade names, proprietary rights, patents, titles, computer codes, audiovisual effects, themes, characters, character names, stories, dialog, settings, artwork, sound effects, musical works, and moral rights whether registered or not, and all applications thereof.

Animal Jam is protected by applicable laws and treaties throughout the world. Unless expressly authorized by mandatory legislation, Animal Jam may not be copied, reproduced or distributed in any manner or medium, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent. All rights not expressly granted to you herein are reserved by us.

Translation: WildWorks owns all aspects of Animal Jam, and your use of Animal Jam does not give you any ownership rights. You have our permission to use Animal Jam as long as you comply with the TOS and our Privacy Policy.

11. License to Use Animal Jam Content. The information, pictures, graphics, games, and updates for use in Animal Jam (e.g., new levels, missions, characters, and in-game items and in-game currency, such as gems, diamonds, etc.) ("Game Items"), and other content, features and services available in Animal Jam, including content posted by users (collectively, the "Animal Jam Content") are owned by us or our suppliers or licensors and are protected by copyright and other laws throughout the world. We grant you a non-exclusive license to reproduce portions of the Animal Jam Content for the sole purpose of reviewing and using the Animal Jam Content as permitted in this TOS. We may require you to pay a fee for a non-exclusive license to use certain Animal Jam Content. You acknowledge that Animal Jam Content has no real world value, is licensed as part of, and may only be used in, Animal Jam. Accordingly, you may not sell or transfer the Animal Jam Content (including your account access information) and all such transfers or sales are null and void. All copyright and other proprietary notices on any Animal Jam Content must be retained on any copies. Any unauthorized reproduction or modification, distribution, or performance of any Animal Jam Content is strictly prohibited.

You will not copy, reproduce, republish, upload, display, post, or transmit any Animal Jam Content, and will not make or distribute things where you include the Animal Jam Content. It is a violation of our rights to do this, even if you are not selling the items, but are only giving them away. The only time you can do this is if we specifically give you permission. The use of Animal Jam Content for any other purpose is a violation of our copyright and other proprietary rights.

Translation: The virtual items that you purchase, create, or acquire in Animal Jam -- including memberships, avatar accessories, den items, and in-game currency -- are not property owned by you. As a result, you do not have the right to modify, share, transfer or sell this stuff.

12. Refunds. We want everyone to be completely satisfied with our products, so we have developed the following refund rules to avoid any surprises. Refunds are granted at our sole discretion.

12.1 Recurring Transactions. As a convenience for our premium club members, some membership subscriptions automatically renew at the end of the membership term, unless the recurring/renewal feature of the membership is cancelled. Recurring membership plans are clearly labeled as such in the Animal Jam purchase interface. Parents can cancel automatic membership renewal at any time by logging into their Parent Tools and using their account controls. You will not be charged for any further renewal fees if you cancel a recurring membership.

12.2 Customer Satisfaction. If notice of cancellation is received within 7 days of the initial purchase date, you will be eligible for a full refund. No refunds will be granted AFTER 7 DAYS from the date of purchase (except as described below for duplicate and unauthorized charges.) If a membership package has automatically renewed, you also have up to 7 days to request a refund. No refunds will be granted for renewal charges AFTER 7 DAYS.

12.3 Retail Gift Cards. All gift card redemptions are final. NO refunds will be given. Information regarding gift card issue resolution can be found on the gift card itself or at the store where it was purchased.

12.4 AJ Outfitters Online Gift Certificates. All gift certificate redemptions are final. NO refunds will be given. Additionally, we do not offer refunds on Gift Certificates bought through our AJ Outfitters website.

12.5 Banned Accounts. Club member accounts that have received a permanent account ban for violating the Animal Jam rules will NOT be eligible for any refunds.

12.6 Unauthorized Purchase. If notice of cancellation is received within the first 30 days of purchase and the account has been accessed (logged into) fewer than three times, you will be eligible for a refund. If more than four play sessions have occurred or notice is received after 30 days of purchase, you will not be eligible for a refund. The unauthorized purchase policy only applies to initial purchases (not any automatic renewal charges).

12.7 Duplicate Orders. If you have inadvertently placed duplicate orders, please contact customer support. You will be eligible for a refund of the duplicate charge(s) within 45 days of the purchase date. After 45 days, you will not be eligible for a refund of any duplicate charges.

12.8 Membership Transfer. Memberships cannot be transferred from one player account to another. If a membership was purchased for the wrong account, you will need to cancel the existing membership and purchase club membership for the correct player account.

12.9 Other Fees. You are solely responsible for any and all fees charged by your payment method provider, including your payment card issuer, bank, or financial institution; charges which may include, but are not limited to, membership, overdraft, insufficient funds and over-the-credit-limit fees.

12.10 Additional Information. Refunds can only be issued to your original form of payment. Refunds cannot be issued to a different credit card or via a different payment method. If the credit card used for the purchase has been cancelled or has expired, we cannot issue a refund for that transaction.

Translation: Here are our refund policies. They’re pretty straightforward but there’s a lot of information, so just read what’s above.

13. Data Storage in the U.S. and Export of Animal Jam Software. WildWorks is based in the United States, and we make no representation that Animal Jam is appropriate or available for use in other countries. Those who choose to access Animal Jam from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable, and understand that information they provide to us will be sent out of their home country to the United States. Furthermore, the United States government places controls on exporting downloadable software into certain countries listed on the Office of Foreign Asset Control Sanction List. If you are in such a sanctioned country, or your name appears on the U.S.’s Specially Designated Nationals or Table of Deny Orders, then you may not download or use Animal Jam software.

Translation: Animal Jam is made for use in the United States. WildWorks makes no promises about whether Animal Jam is appropriate for use outside of the United States.

14. Feedback. We are grateful for any ideas or feedback you provide to us about our products, but we need to maintain our rights to our intellectual property. Accordingly, please do not send us any original creative materials such as stories, character or program ideas or original artwork, unless we have specifically requested that you do so. Any unsolicited submissions received by us will be deemed our property. To the extent any part of your submission is deemed not to be owned by us, then you, and your parents or guardians if you are under 18, agree to assign to us any right, title and interest in and to the submissions and waive any "moral rights" you may have in the submission.

Translation: We love hearing your ideas about our games, but before you send us anything, you must understand and agree that any ideas or concepts you voluntarily share with us become our property.

15. REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITIES. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, AND/OR GUARANTEE OF THE SUITABILITY OF ANIMAL JAM FOR YOUR PURPOSES, OR THAT THE USE OF THE SAME WILL BE SECURE, UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR FUNCTION PROPERLY IN COMBINATION WITH ANY THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGY, HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, SYSTEMS OR DATA.

ANIMAL JAM IS PROVIDED “AS IS" AND ALL CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. FURTHER, WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE SAME, OR TO THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, COMMUNICATIONS, MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS AND SERVICE CONTAINED THEREIN.

YOUR USE OF ANIMAL JAM IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF ANIMAL JAM, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, EXCEED A TOTAL OF FIVE DOLLARS ($5.00). THIS LIMITATION APPLIES TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTION OR CLAIMS IN THE AGGREGATE FOR ANY REASON. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION DO NOT WAIVE OR LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO OBTAIN INJUNCTIVE OR OTHER EQUITABLE RELIEF FOR BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT.

Translation: WE AREN’T PROMISING THAT ANIMAL JAM WILL WORK PROPERLY OR THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO. USE ANIMAL JAM AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE ARE NOT LIABLE IF YOU SUFFER ANY HARM THROUGH YOUR USE OF ANIMAL JAM. THERE ARE MANY LIMITATIONS ON OUR LIABILITY IN THIS PART, SO WE PUT EVERYTHING IN CAPS TO SHOW YOU HOW IMPORTANT IT IS. EVEN THOUGH THERE’S PLENTY OF OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF IN THIS AGREEMENT AND WE DIDN’T PUT THE WHOLE THING IN CAPS. MAYBE WE SHOULD. WE’LL TALK ABOUT IT AND LET YOU KNOW.

16. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold us, our parent and affiliated companies, and all officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors, and licensees harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, damages, losses, liabilities and expenses (including attorneys' fees and costs) arising out of or in connection with your use of Animal Jam, Animal Jam Content, as well as your breach of this TOS. You shall use best efforts to cooperate with us in the defense of any claim. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you.

Translation: If you use Animal Jam and something bad happens because of it, neither WildWorks nor anyone affiliated with us will be held responsible.

17. Choice of Law and Dispute Resolution. You agree that: (a) Animal Jam is solely based in Utah, USA; and (b) Animal Jam’s availability in other locations shall not give rise to personal jurisdiction over us, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than Utah. The TOS shall be governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of Utah, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any claim or dispute between you and us that arises in whole or in part from Animal Jam shall be decided exclusively by arbitration taking place in person in Salt Lake City, Utah pursuant to the commercial arbitration rules then in effect of the American Arbitration Association; provided that said rules shall be modified as follows: (a) a party seeking arbitration shall notify the other party in writing of any claim, and provide sufficient detail about the nature and history of such claim together with sufficient documentary evidence of such claim; (b) there shall be only one arbitrator with sufficient knowledge and experience in the field of intellectual property and software development, which shall be chosen by an independent third party mutually acceptable to both parties; (c) the arbitrator shall reasonably mitigate all costs of the arbitration, and shall at all times attempt to avoid undue costs and expenses to the parties; (d) the arbitration in its entirety (including discovery, preparation, hearings, motions, etc.) shall not exceed a total of fifty (50) hours total, and shall begin and conclude within one hundred and eighty (180) days of the date the party seeking arbitration of a claim provides notice of such claim; (e) the parties may discover each other’s documents in accordance with the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, provided such discovery is limited by the arbitrator in a manner to comply with the time and budget constraints set forth in subsection (d) and (e); and (f) the prevailing party in any arbitration brought under the TOS shall be entitled to recover from the other party its reasonable attorney’s fees and related costs of the arbitration, which fees and costs shall be included in and become part of the arbitration award. Any award rendered shall be final and conclusive upon the parties and a judgment thereon may be entered in the highest court of the forum, state or federal, having jurisdiction.

Translation: If there is a dispute between you and WildWorks and it can’t be resolved through direct conversations, you agree that it will be resolved by arbitration taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah and following the specific rules set out above.

18. Links to Third Parties. As a service to you, we may provide links from Animal Jam to websites of third parties. Once you leave Animal Jam, we have no control over third parties and their respective websites, the content of those websites, or their terms of service. The same applies to links to third-party sites from other players.

Translation: WildWorks is not responsible for anything that might happen once you leave Animal Jam, even if your leaving Animal Jam was because of a link on Animal Jam.

19. Updates to the TOS. From time to time and in our sole discretion, may modify the TOS. If we update the TOS, we will let you know by emailing you (if we have your email address), or by posting an announcement on Animal Jam. Your continued use of Animal Jam will indicate your consent to the revised TOS.

Translation: We update the TOS sometimes. When we do, we will put up a notice or email you about the changes.

20. Miscellaneous. The TOS and Privacy Policy constitute the complete and final agreement between the parties (and your parent/guardian if you are a minor.) If any provision of the TOS is unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable and such decision shall not affect the enforceability of that provision under other circumstances, or of the remaining provisions under all circumstances. The parties are independent contractors, no joint venture, partnership, employment, agency or exclusive relationship exists. Our failure to enforce any right or provision in this TOS shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. We may transfer or assign this TOS or Animal Jam, in whole or in part, to any third party of our choosing. The TOS shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon either party’s respective successors and permitted assigns.

Translation: This TOS is the only agreement between us. If we decide not to enforce part of it in certain situations, that doesn’t mean the rules have changed. You and WildWorks are independent contractors. We can transfer the rights and obligations of the TOS but you cannot. The TOS will still be binding on anybody who takes over WildWorks or takes over your life.