Terms of Service

1. The short version

RankSmith is operated by Tapnet Solutions (Pty) Ltd. You subscribe to a plan, we run the platform and keep it available. Your client data stays yours and we never sell it or train on it. We measure search and AI visibility honestly, including when the number is bad, and we do not promise any particular ranking. Either side can leave with notice. If something goes wrong we talk first and escalate second.

2. Parties

These terms apply between Tapnet Solutions (Pty) Ltd, trading as RankSmith ("RankSmith", "we", "us"), and any individual or company that creates an account, subscribes to a plan, or otherwise uses the service ("you", "the customer").

3. What the service is

RankSmith is a subscription software platform that samples traditional and AI search results for the clients you configure, reports on visibility, citations and competitors, and produces prioritised recommendations and client-facing reports. Plan limits, including the number of client projects, tracked prompts and engines, are published on our Pricing page and form part of these terms.

Where we agree a bespoke arrangement in a written order form or statement of work, that document takes precedence over these terms for the items it covers.

4. Accounts and acceptable use

• You are responsible for the security of your account credentials and for the actions of every user you invite.
• You must have the right to connect any property, domain or data source you add to a workspace, including on behalf of your own clients.
• You may not resell raw platform access to a third party as if it were your own product, attempt to reverse engineer the platform, or use it to scrape or attack systems you do not control.
• You may present the output of the platform to your clients under your own brand where your plan includes white-labelling. That is what it is for.
• We may apply fair-use limits to protect platform stability, and will tell you before enforcing one against your account.

5. Subscriptions, pricing and payment

• Prices are as published on the Pricing page, in the currency shown there, and are exclusive of VAT and any local taxes unless stated otherwise.
• Monthly plans are billed monthly in advance. Annual plans are billed yearly in advance at the annual rate shown.
• Invoices are due within 14 days of issue. Late payment may incur interest at the South African prime lending rate plus 2 percent per month.
• Usage above your plan limits is either blocked or billed at the published overage rate, and we will tell you which before it happens.
• We may change pricing with 30 days written notice. A change never applies to a period you have already paid for, and you may cancel before it takes effect.
• Fees already paid are non-refundable except where required by South African consumer law.

6. Availability and support

• We target 99.5 percent monthly availability, excluding scheduled maintenance announced in advance.
• We respond to support requests within one working day, Monday to Friday, Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00 SAST.
• Data collection depends on third party search engines and answer engines. Where one of those changes its interface, rate limits or availability, collection for that engine may be delayed or interrupted. We will say so in the product rather than quietly reporting a gap as a decline.

7. Measurement, and what we do not promise

AI answers are generated, not ranked. The same question asked twice can return different companies, and our figures are estimates produced from a sample of observations, with the observation count shown alongside every number. Our measurement methodology sets out how sampling, estimation and error actually work, and it forms part of what you are agreeing to here.

We do not warrant any specific search engine ranking, AI citation, traffic level or commercial outcome, because those depend on search engine algorithms, model updates and business decisions outside our control.

8. Your data and ownership

• You own your data. The client data you connect, the workspace configuration you create, and the reports generated from them remain yours.
• We own the platform. RankSmith retains all rights in the software, models, methodology, design system and internal tooling. Nothing in these terms transfers them to you.
• We do not train on your data. Your data is not used to build a cross-customer dataset or to train any model, and it is not shared with other customers.
• Export on exit. You may export your data at any time during the subscription and for 90 days after it ends.
• We may describe an engagement in a public case study only with your written consent.

9. Confidentiality

Both parties treat confidential information shared during the relationship as confidential and will not disclose it outside the relationship without written permission. This obligation survives termination for a period of three years.

10. Third party services

We use a small set of third party operators to deliver the service. The full list, their locations and the contractual protections in place are published on our Operator Agreements page. By subscribing you consent to the processing of personal information by those operators for the purposes described there.

11. Warranties and limitation of liability

We warrant that the service will be provided with reasonable skill and care in line with industry standards. Beyond that, and to the maximum extent permitted by South African law, the service is provided as is.

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, RankSmith's total liability under any subscription is limited to the total fees paid under that subscription in the twelve months preceding the event that gave rise to the claim. RankSmith is not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential losses, including lost profits, lost rankings or lost data.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

12. Suspension and termination

• You may cancel at any time, effective at the end of the current billing period.
• We may suspend an account for non-payment after written notice and a 7 day cure period, or immediately where use threatens the security or stability of the platform.
• Either party may terminate for material breach if the breach is not cured within 14 days of written notice.
• On termination you pay for the period used, we keep your data available for export for 90 days, and then delete it in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

13. Privacy and POPIA

The handling of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy. Tapnet Solutions (Pty) Ltd is the responsible party under POPIA for personal information we process in our own right. For the client data you connect on behalf of your own clients, you are the responsible party and we act as your operator, on the terms set out in Section 11 of the Privacy Policy.

14. Changes to the service and these terms

We improve the platform continuously and may add, change or retire features. We will give 30 days notice before removing a feature that a plan is sold on. We may update these terms from time to time; material changes are announced on this page and, where appropriate, by email to active customers.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute is subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the South African courts.

16. Contact

• Legal entity: Tapnet Solutions (Pty) Ltd
• Phone: 079 174 8357
• Email: wynand@tapnet.co.za
• Registered office: 594 Bombani Street, Elarduspark, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa