Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated: September 27, 2026

Draft for review. This is a first draft, not legal advice. Have it reviewed, fill in every {{PLACEHOLDER}}, and confirm each statement matches how Briefly actually operates before relying on it.

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern the Briefly website at brieflyforbusiness.com (the "Site") and the Briefly Shift Line text-message service (the "Service"), both operated by Colton McKinney ("Briefly," "we," "us," or "our").

Who these Terms apply to. These Terms apply to businesses that apply for or use the Service (each a "Business," or "you") and to visitors to the Site. A Business accepts these Terms when it applies for the beta, and in any case before its Briefly Shift Line goes live, when we ask it to confirm in writing (email is fine) that it accepts them. The person accepting for a Business confirms they are authorized to do so. Team members who receive texts from a Business's line are not bound by the Business obligations in these Terms; see Section 5.

1. The beta

Briefly is in a private, pre-release pilot (the "beta"). Participation is by invitation. Applying does not guarantee that your business will be selected. During the beta:

  • Features may change, be interrupted, or be removed as we improve the Service.
  • We may end the beta, or your participation in it, at any time. We will give you reasonable notice when we can.
  • We may ask for your feedback on how the Service is working for you.

2. Fees

The Service is free during the beta. Before any fees apply, we will tell you at least 30 days in advance, and you will not be charged unless you agree to a paid plan.

3. What Briefly does and does not do

Briefly helps coordinate shift coverage over text, based on the team list, schedule, and settings you provide. It is a coordination tool, not a staffing service or an employer. In particular:

  • We do not guarantee that any shift will be covered, that any team member will respond, or that any text message will be delivered or read on time. Delivery depends on mobile carriers and our providers, which are outside our control.
  • Descriptions of the Service on our Site explain how it is designed to work. They are not guarantees or warranties.
  • You remain responsible for staffing your business, for your scheduling and employment decisions, and for complying with the employment, wage and hour, scheduling, and other laws that apply to you, including any local laws about schedule changes, shift offers, or pay for time spent responding to messages.
  • Briefly acts on the schedule and team information you give us. If that information is out of date, the Service may ask the wrong people or miss the right ones.
  • Do not rely on Briefly for emergencies or for urgent safety communications.

4. Your responsibilities as a Business

  • Accurate information. Give us an accurate team list and schedule, and tell us promptly about changes, including when someone joins or leaves your team.
  • Consent. Only ask us to add team members who have signed up at brieflyforbusiness.com/signup or signed our text message consent form, and confirm to us that each person who signs up actually works for you. Keep each signed paper form for at least four years after that person stops receiving texts, and give us a copy if we ask. We keep the records of online sign-ups.
  • Consent must be voluntary. Do not make consent a condition of employment, and do not penalize anyone for declining to join, for opting out, or for declining a coverage request.
  • Opt-outs. If a team member tells you they want to stop receiving texts, tell us promptly so we can stop sending to their number. Do not ask us to add back a number that opted out unless that person gives consent again.
  • Your name. You authorize us to send texts on your behalf that identify your business by name.
  • Proper use. Use the Service only to coordinate shifts with your own team. Do not use it to send marketing or unrelated messages.

5. Team members

If you receive texts from a Briefly Shift Line as a team member, our SMS Terms and Privacy Policy explain how the texts work and how we handle your information, and you can stop them at any time. The Business obligations in these Terms, including Sections 4 and 12, do not apply to you. Your employer, not Briefly, is responsible for your schedule and your employment. Briefly only relays shift coverage requests and updates for your employer.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Site or Service for anything unlawful, harmful, or fraudulent.
  • Send spam or messages to people who have not agreed to receive them.
  • Try to access data that does not belong to you, or impersonate someone else.
  • Interfere with, overload, or disrupt the Site or Service, or try to get around its security.
  • Copy, reverse engineer, or resell the Service, except as the law expressly allows.

7. Your data

You keep ownership of the information you give us about your business and your team ("Business Data"). You give us permission to use Business Data to provide, secure, support, and improve the Service, as described in our Privacy Policy. We process your team members' information on your behalf and only as that policy describes. We may also use aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify you or any individual to understand and improve Briefly. When your use ends, we delete Business Data as described in the Privacy Policy, except opt-out records, which we keep so we can keep honoring them.

8. Feedback

If you send us ideas or feedback, we may use them without any obligation to you.

9. Our property

The Briefly name, logo, Site, and Service, including the software behind them, belong to Colton McKinney and are protected by law. During the beta, we give you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service for your business. We may revoke that right as described in these Terms.

10. Disclaimers

The Site and Service are provided "as is" and "as available," especially during the beta. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or always available.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Briefly will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, uncovered or missed shifts, staffing shortfalls, or lost data, arising out of or related to the Site or Service. Our total liability for any claim related to the Site or Service will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or $100. These limits do not apply where the law does not allow them to, such as for gross negligence or willful misconduct in some places.

12. Indemnity

If you use the Service as a Business, you will defend and indemnify Briefly against claims, losses, and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from your Business Data, your failure to obtain, keep, or honor a team member's consent or opt-out, your scheduling or employment decisions, or your violation of these Terms or the law, including claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or similar laws. We will tell you promptly about any such claim and cooperate reasonably. You may not settle a claim in a way that admits fault on our behalf or requires us to act without our consent.

13. Ending your use

You may stop using the Service at any time by telling us at hello@brieflyforbusiness.com. We may suspend or end your access if you violate these Terms, if required by law, or if we end the beta. When your use ends, we will handle your data as described in our Privacy Policy. Sections 7 through 12 and 14 through 17 continue to apply after your use ends.

14. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to its conflict of law rules. Before starting a lawsuit, each side agrees to first contact the other in writing and try in good faith to resolve the dispute for at least 30 days. After that, any dispute related to these Terms will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Washington, and you and Briefly consent to their jurisdiction.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will change the "Last updated" date above, and if the changes are significant, we will let Businesses know by email before they take effect. If you keep using the Site or Service after changes take effect, you accept the updated Terms.

16. Notices

We will send notices to the email address you gave us. Send notices to us at hello@brieflyforbusiness.com. A notice counts as given when it is sent.

17. General

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and SMS Terms, are the entire agreement between you and Briefly about the Site and Service. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, including outages at mobile carriers or our providers. You may not transfer these Terms without our consent. We may transfer them to a company we form or control to operate Briefly, or as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

18. Contact us

Colton McKinney
hello@brieflyforbusiness.com