Terms of Use

Last updated: October 26, 2026

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) are an agreement between you and The Doe, Inc. (“The Doe,” “we,” “us” or “our”). They govern your use of www.thedoe.com (the “Site”) and the stories, newsletters, donation pages, accounts and other services we offer through it (together, the “Services”). By using the Services, you agree to these Terms and confirm that you are at least 13 years old and able to form a binding contract. If you are under 18, you may use the Site only with the permission of a parent or guardian. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

IF YOU LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES, THESE TERMS REQUIRE YOU TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH US THROUGH INDIVIDUAL BINDING ARBITRATION RATHER THAN JURY TRIALS OR CLASS ACTIONS, AS DESCRIBED IN THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AT THE END OF THESE TERMS.

1. About The Doe

The Doe publishes anonymous first-person stories about work, love, family, race, politics, health and identity. The Site is operated by The Doe, Inc. The Doe works alongside Narratives, a nonprofit media network run by Narratives Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, which receives and processes donations and other payments made through the Site.

2. Disclaimer about our stories

The stories on the Site are personal accounts. They reflect the experiences, memories and opinions of their authors, not the views of The Doe. Authors write anonymously, and some details may be changed to protect the identity of the author or other people. We review stories before we publish them, but we do not guarantee that every detail in a story is complete or accurate.

Nothing on the Site is medical, mental health, legal, financial or other professional advice. Do not rely on a story in place of advice from a qualified professional who knows your situation.

Some stories describe sex, drug and alcohol use, violence, abuse, self-harm or suicide. If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or contact your local emergency services.

3. Using the Site

We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable license to access and read the Services for your own non-commercial use. You may share links to stories and quote short passages with credit to The Doe.

You may not: (a) copy, republish, sell, license or otherwise commercially exploit the Services or their content, except as allowed above or by law; (b) modify, reverse engineer or create derivative works of the Site; (c) use robots, scrapers or other automated means to access, collect or copy content or data from the Services, including to build datasets or to train or improve machine learning models or other automated systems; (d) attempt to identify or contact an anonymous author, or encourage anyone else to; (e) interfere with the security or operation of the Services; or (f) use the Services in violation of any law.

We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of the Services at any time, and we are not required to provide support or maintenance.

4. Accounts

Some features may require an account once accounts are available. You agree to give accurate information, keep your sign-in details confidential and tell us promptly at admin@thedoe.com if you believe someone has used your account without permission. You are responsible for activity under your account. You may close your account at any time.

5. Pitching and submitting stories

You must be at least 18 years old to pitch or submit a story. Our Contributor Privacy Policy explains how we handle your identity and personal information as a contributor.

Your promises. When you pitch or submit a story, you confirm that it is your own work and a truthful account of your own experience, that you have the right to share it, and that it does not infringe anyone’s rights or include another person’s private information without a lawful basis. You may change names and identifying details to protect yourself and others, and we may ask you to.

Editing and publishing. We decide whether to publish a story. We may edit it for clarity, length, accuracy, style, privacy and legal reasons, add a headline, summary, images and content notes, and we will publish it under an alias. We are not required to publish or keep publishing any story.

Anonymity. We will not publish your legal name or contact details with your story, and we will protect your identity as described in the Contributor Privacy Policy.

License. You keep ownership of your story. By submitting it, you grant The Doe a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual and irrevocable license to reproduce, edit, publish, distribute, display, translate and adapt your story, including into audio and video, in any media now known or later developed, to promote it and The Doe, and to sublicense these rights to Narratives Inc. and to our partners for these purposes. To the extent the law allows, you waive any moral rights or rights of attribution in your story, which you agree is necessary for us to publish it anonymously.

Payment. We pay for a story only when we agree to in writing. Any payment terms will be set out in that agreement.

Removal requests. If you want a published story changed or removed, contact us. We will consider every request in good faith, especially requests about safety, but we are not required to remove a story, and copies may remain in archives, caches and third-party services that we do not control.

6. User content and acceptable use

“User Content” means anything you submit to the Services, including pitches, stories, messages and comments. You are responsible for your User Content. You agree not to submit or use the Services to share anything that:

• infringes anyone’s copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other rights;
• is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, threatening, hateful, obscene or knowingly false or misleading;
• exposes another person’s identity, location or private information without a lawful basis;
• harms or exploits minors in any way;
• contains viruses or other harmful code, or is spam or unsolicited advertising; or
• impersonates any person or misrepresents your connection to anyone.

We may review, edit, refuse or remove User Content, and suspend or end your access to the Services, if we believe you have broken these Terms or the law. We may report unlawful activity to the authorities.

7. Donations

Donations made through the Site go to Narratives Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and support its nonprofit mission. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and you will receive a receipt by email.

Donations are processed by Zeffy, a fundraising platform, and its payment processors, under their own terms. Zeffy may invite you to add an optional contribution to support its platform. That contribution goes to Zeffy, not to Narratives Inc., and you can set it to zero.

Monthly donations continue until you cancel. You can cancel at any time through the link in your donation receipt or by writing to admin@narratives.com. Donations are generally not refundable, but if you made a mistake, contact us within 30 days and we will work with you to correct it.

8. Memberships and other payments

If we offer paid memberships or other paid features, the price, billing period, renewal terms and how to cancel will be shown to you before you pay, and those terms will apply to your purchase. Payments are processed by Narratives Inc. through its payment providers. Unless the purchase terms say otherwise, memberships renew automatically until you cancel, you can cancel online at any time, and cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

9. Newsletters and emails

If you subscribe to a newsletter, we will send it to the email address you provide. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link in any email.

10. Advertising and third-party links

The Services may display advertising and may link to or embed content from third parties. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party websites, ads or content, and your use of them is at your own risk and subject to their terms and policies.

11. Our content and trademarks

Except for User Content, the Services and their content, including stories, illustrations, design, logos and software, are owned by The Doe or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark and other laws. “The Doe” and our logos are trademarks of The Doe, Inc. You may not use them without our written permission. We reserve all rights not expressly granted in these Terms.

12. Feedback

If you send us ideas or suggestions about the Services, we may use them without any obligation to you.

13. Copyright complaints

We respect intellectual property rights and respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512). If you believe content on the Services infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our Copyright Agent that includes:

• your physical or electronic signature;
• identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed;
• identification of the material you claim is infringing and enough information for us to locate it, such as its URL;
• your name, address, telephone number and email address;
• a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
• a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.

Copyright Agent: The Doe, Inc., Attn: Copyright Agent, 5318 E. 2nd Street, PMB 42540, Long Beach, California 90803. Email: admin@thedoe.com, with the subject line “Copyright notice.”

If your content was removed and you believe it was a mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notice with the information required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g). Under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), anyone who knowingly makes a material misrepresentation in a notice or counter-notice may be liable for damages. We end the accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

14. Other concerns about a story

If you believe a story identifies you, invades your privacy or is defamatory, write to admin@thedoe.com with the story’s URL and a description of your concern. We review every report and may edit or remove content where appropriate.

15. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE DOE AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY CONTENT IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR RELIABLE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THESE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

16. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE DOE AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT ON THE SERVICES, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICES IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS (US $50). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THESE LIMITATIONS, SO THEY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

17. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Doe and its affiliates, officers, employees and agents from any third-party claim, liability, cost or expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Services, your User Content or your violation of these Terms or the law. We may assume the defense of any such claim at your expense, and you agree not to settle any claim without our written consent.

18. Release

To the extent permitted by law, you release The Doe and its affiliates, officers, employees and agents from claims arising out of disputes between you and other users of the Services or third parties. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.”

19. Termination

We may suspend or end your access to the Services at any time if we believe you have violated these Terms or to protect our contributors, readers or the Services. Sections 3, 5, 6, 11 and 13 through 22, and the Arbitration Agreement, survive termination.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms here with a new “Last updated” date and, for significant changes, give additional notice, such as an email or a notice on the Site. Changes take effect 30 days after we post them, except that changes for new users and changes required by law take effect immediately. If you keep using the Services after changes take effect, you accept the updated Terms.

21. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of laws rules, except that the Federal Arbitration Act governs the Arbitration Agreement. If you live in the United States, the Arbitration Agreement below applies. For any dispute not subject to arbitration, you and The Doe agree to the jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California. If you live in the European Union, the United Kingdom or another country whose consumer protection laws give you rights that cannot be waived, nothing in these Terms limits those rights, and you may bring a claim in the courts of the country where you live.

22. General

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Contributor Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and The Doe about the Services. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the rest will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of assets. You agree to receive communications from us electronically and that electronic notices satisfy any requirement that they be in writing. You agree to comply with all applicable export control and sanctions laws. If you are a California resident, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.

23. Contact us

The Doe, Inc.
5318 E. 2nd Street, PMB 42540
Long Beach, California 90803
Email: admin@thedoe.com

Arbitration Agreement (United States users)

Please read this Arbitration Agreement carefully. It is part of your agreement with The Doe and affects your rights. It requires binding individual arbitration and waives class actions and jury trials.

(a) Scope. You and The Doe agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services that cannot be resolved informally or in small claims court will be resolved by binding arbitration on an individual basis. This Arbitration Agreement applies to you and The Doe and to our respective affiliates, agents, employees, successors and assigns.

(b) Informal resolution first. Before starting an arbitration, the party with a claim must send the other a written notice describing the claim and the relief requested. Notices to The Doe should be sent to 5318 E. 2nd Street, PMB 42540, Long Beach, California 90803, and to admin@thedoe.com. If the dispute is not resolved within 30 days after the notice is received, either party may start an arbitration.

(c) Rules and fees. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, which are available at www.adr.org, before a single neutral arbitrator. If the AAA is unavailable, the parties will agree on another provider. Payment of filing, administrative and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules. For claims under US $10,000, the party bringing the claim may choose to have the arbitration conducted by phone, video or written submissions. Any in-person hearing will take place within 100 miles of your residence unless the parties agree otherwise. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court with jurisdiction.

(d) Authority of the arbitrator. The arbitrator may award the same individual relief a court could award, will issue a written decision explaining the essential findings and conclusions, and may not consolidate claims or award relief on behalf of anyone other than the individual parties.

(e) Waiver of jury trial and class actions. YOU AND THE DOE WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND AGREE THAT CLAIMS MAY BE BROUGHT ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, CONSOLIDATED OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

(f) Exceptions. Either party may bring an individual action in small claims court, and either party may seek emergency equitable relief in court to keep the status quo while an arbitration is pending. Claims of defamation, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and infringement or misappropriation of a party’s copyright, trademark, trade secrets or patents are not subject to this Arbitration Agreement.

(g) Time limits. An arbitration must be started within the statute of limitations that would apply to the claim in court.

(h) Opting out. You may opt out of this Arbitration Agreement by emailing admin@thedoe.com within 30 days after you first accept these Terms, with your name and a statement that you opt out of arbitration.

(i) Severability and survival. If the class action waiver is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim will be decided by a court and not in arbitration. If any other part of this Arbitration Agreement is found unenforceable, the rest will remain in effect. This Arbitration Agreement survives the end of your relationship with The Doe.

(j) Courts. Where this Arbitration Agreement allows a dispute to be decided in court, the parties agree to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California.