Ethics Charter

Seven promises.
No exceptions.

This is not a legal document. It's a public commitment — to every person who trusts us with something irreplaceable. These principles are not policies we can revise when they become inconvenient. They are the reason we exist.

We are building a product in an area that demands unusual care: the preservation of human life and memory. That means we have responsibilities that go beyond typical software ethics. We wrote this charter because we believe companies should be held to explicit promises — not vague values — and because you deserve to know exactly what we stand for before you trust us with your family's story.

The Seven Principles

What we
commit to, always.

These are not aspirations. They are operational commitments that govern every product decision, every business decision, and every partnership we consider. If EverStory ever violates these principles, it should not exist.

01
Dignity Over Engagement
We will never optimize for time-on-site, notification frequency, or any metric that treats emotional content as engagement fodder. A life is not content. We will never use dark patterns, emotional manipulation, or algorithmic amplification to keep people on the platform. Every design decision is evaluated against one question: does this serve the person, or the platform?
Our commitment
No engagement metrics. No dark patterns. No emotional manipulation.
02
Private by Default. Always.
Every story begins private. Visibility is a choice the user makes — never an obligation, never a default that quietly changes. We will never shift default privacy settings to benefit EverStory's growth. We will never make a story more public than the person who created it intended, for any reason. When in doubt, we err toward privacy.
Our commitment
Privacy defaults never change without explicit user action.
03
You Own Everything. Permanently.
The story belongs to the person or family entrusted with it — not to EverStory, not to our investors, not to any future acquirer. We will never claim ownership, license rights, or commercial use of user content. You can export your entire archive at any time in a standard format. If we shut down, your data comes with you.
Our commitment
Full data export available anytime, in standard formats.
04
No Ads. Not Ever. Not for Anyone.
We do not monetize emotional vulnerability. There are no advertisements on EverStory — not now, not in a future "premium" tier, not through partner integrations, not through sponsored content. We will never accept money from a third party to influence what you see on this platform. Our only revenue is subscription fees paid directly by users. That's how it stays.
Our commitment
Zero advertising. Zero sponsored content. No exceptions.
05
Consent Beyond Life
People have the right to decide who manages their story after they're gone — and when or whether it becomes visible to others. We will never make a story public without the consent of a designated successor. We will provide clear, simple tools for people to designate who holds their legacy, and we will honor those decisions absolutely.
Our commitment
Legacy permissions honored in full, without exception.
06
Cultural & Faith Humility
Memory, death, and legacy are not universal. They are shaped by culture, faith, language, and family tradition in ways that a technology company should approach with humility, not assumptions. We will never impose a single cultural template on how a life should be remembered. We will actively seek input from diverse communities and design with flexibility at the core.
Our commitment
Designed for cultural diversity, not cultural default.
07
Technology Should Be Invisible
If the technology is noticed, we've failed. EverStory should feel like a quiet, trustworthy place — not a platform. We will never introduce features that add complexity without adding meaning. We will never ship AI-generated content as a substitute for genuine human storytelling. The product exists to amplify a person's voice, not to replace it.
Our commitment
Simplicity is a feature. Complexity requires justification.
🛡

The hardest promise
we make.

These seven principles are easy to write. The hard part is holding them when business pressure suggests otherwise. When an investor asks why we don't monetize with advertising. When a growth metric suggests loosening privacy defaults. When a partnership offer requires compromising on content ownership.

Our answer will always be the same: we'd rather be a smaller, slower, more honest company than a larger one that violated your trust.

If EverStory ever violates these principles at a structural level, it should not exist. That's not a slogan. It's the founding condition of this company.

What we will
never do.

Specific prohibitions, not vague promises. These are actions we commit to never taking — regardless of business conditions, investor pressure, or market trends.

✕
Sell your personal dataTo advertisers, data brokers, research firms, or any third party, ever.
✕
Use grief to drive engagementNo nudges, reminders, or notifications designed to exploit emotional states.
✕
Train AI models on your storiesYour family's content will never be used to train artificial intelligence systems.
✕
Change these principles silentlyAny material change to this charter requires public notice, explanation, and 90 days notice.
✕
Make a story public without consentNo story becomes visible beyond its privacy settings without explicit permission from the owner or designated successor.
✕
Hold your data hostageYou can export everything, cancel anytime, and take your stories with you — permanently and completely.

How we hold
ourselves accountable.

Principles without accountability are just marketing. Here's how we build real accountability into how we operate — not just what we say.

✓
This charter is publicly linked from every page of our product
✓
Any change requires 90-day public notice with full explanation
✓
Users can report perceived violations directly to our founders
✓
New features are evaluated against these principles before shipping
✓
Business partnerships that conflict with these principles are declined
Ethics Charter v1.0 — Published January 2026 · Northwren Technologies, USA · Contact: ethics@everstory.digital

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