Terms of Use

Last updated: October 3, 2026

These terms govern your use of this website. Services we provide to clients are governed by a separate written engagement agreement, which controls if there is any conflict with these terms.

Information, not advice

Content on this site, including articles, checklists and the exposure scorecard, is general information about personal security. It is not legal advice, not a security assessment of your specific situation, and not a guarantee of any outcome. Your circumstances differ. Use judgment, and talk to us or another qualified professional before relying on it.

No guarantees of platform outcomes

We do not have special access to, or influence over, Meta, TikTok, Google, X, or any other platform. We cannot guarantee that any account will be restored, any content removed, or any listing deleted. Anyone promising otherwise should be treated with suspicion. Our engagements describe the work we will perform, not results that depend on third parties.

Authorization

We only research, assess, or act on behalf of a person with that person’s written authorization, or the written authorization of someone legally entitled to give it. By contacting us about another person, you represent that you are authorized to do so. We decline requests to investigate, locate, or access accounts belonging to anyone who has not consented.

Acceptable use of this website

You agree not to misuse the site, including by attempting to access systems you are not authorized to access, submitting malicious content through forms, scraping, or interfering with its operation. We rate-limit and may block abusive traffic.

The exposure scorecard and breach check

The scorecard is a self-assessment and its score is an estimate, not a measurement. The breach check, where enabled, queries a third-party database and reflects only what that database contains. A clean result does not mean you are secure, and a breach result does not mean you are currently compromised.

Intellectual property

The ShutOut name, mark, and the content of this site belong to ShutOut unless otherwise noted. You may share links to our articles. You may not reproduce them commercially without permission.

Third-party links

We sometimes link to outside resources we think are useful. We don’t control them and aren’t responsible for their content or practices.

Disclaimer and limitation of liability

This website is provided “as is.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, ShutOut disclaims all warranties regarding the site and its content, and will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the site. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the state in which ShutOut is organized, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

Changes and contact

We may update these terms by posting a revised version here. Questions: lmerkle02@gmail.com.