Terms of Use

Effective 1 October 2026

Arbiter is a free tool that helps a group of friends decide where to eat. By using it, as a guest or with an account, you agree to these terms and to the third-party terms listed below. If you don't agree, please don't use Arbiter.

Third-party services

Arbiter uses other companies' services, and using Arbiter means you also agree to their terms:

• Google Maps. Place information comes from Google Maps Platform. You agree to be bound by the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy.
• fatsecret. Nutrition information for chain restaurants is provided by the fatsecret Platform API and is subject to the fatsecret Platform API Terms of Use.

Using Arbiter

• Use it for its purpose: deciding where to eat with people you know.
• Don't misuse it: no attempts to break, overload or get around its limits, no automated scraping, no using someone else's account, and nothing illegal, abusive or harassing (including in your display name).
• If you make an account, give a real email address and keep your password to yourself.
• Access may be limited or removed for anyone who misuses Arbiter.

What Arbiter's information is, and isn't

• Place details (names, prices, ratings, opening hours, distances) come from Google and may be out of date or wrong. Check before you go.
• Nutrition information is not nutrition, dietary or medical advice. Chain menu figures come from fatsecret and may not match what you're served; "sample" nutrition is invented for testing; what the group marks is people's opinion. It isn't a substitute for advice from a doctor or dietitian.
• Allergies: Arbiter never checks whether a place is safe for an allergy and never chooses places based on allergies. Always check with the restaurant.
• Suggestions are a starting point for the group's decision, not a recommendation or endorsement.

Your content

Your name, preferences and reactions stay yours. You let Arbiter store and use them to run the service, as described in the Privacy Policy.

No warranty

Arbiter is a personal project, provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind. It may change, have errors, or stop working at any time, and sessions in progress can be lost (for example when the server restarts).

Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, whoever runs Arbiter isn't liable for any loss or harm from using it, including decisions about where or what to eat.

Changes

These terms may change. The new version will be posted here with a new effective date; continuing to use Arbiter means you accept it.

Contact

Questions about these terms: the project owner via Arbiter's GitHub page.