Blinkist Terms of Service

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1. Object and Validity of these TOS

Welcome to Blinkist’s Terms of Service (the “TOS”). These TOS set out the legal basis for your use of Blinkist's services and we want you to know your and our rights before you use the Blinkist website or Services.

Please be aware that if you subscribe to our services for a term (the “Initial Term”), then the terms of your subscription may be automatically renewed for additional periods of the same duration, unless you cancel your subscription in accordance with Section 10 below.

Please take a few moments to read through these TOS:

1. The company
   Blinks Labs GmbH,
   Sonnenallee 223, 12059 Berlin
   E-Mail address: [email protected]
   (hereinafter referred to as “Blinkist”) operates a platform for mobile reading and listening on the internet portals http://www.blinkist.com, http://www.blinkist.de and other websites, as well as on mobile applications (a.k.a. Apps, hereinafter referred to as “Platform”). In this context, Blinkist’s authors transform the key insights of non-fiction books and other content for you into a concise format. This gives you the opportunity to discover new books through delivering the key insights from non-fiction books or other content on your computer or mobile device. In addition, you have the possibility to purchase content on the Platform for download into your Blinkist account library.
2. The use of the Platform shall be subject to the following TOS in the version valid at the time of your registration or order, or as amended from time to time in accordance with Section 14. Blinkist does not accept any deviating general terms and conditions from you unless Blinkist agrees to their validity in writing.
3. These TOS, together with the specific information provided as part of the registration (see Section 3), when ordering a paid subscription (Section 4) and/or other individual content (see Section 6), constitute the complete user contract. The provided information is saved by Blinkist and is available in your user account at any time.
4. You accept the validity and applicability of these TOS when registering, purchasing a paid subscription or individual content pieces, as the case may be.
5. These TOS also apply, with a few exceptions which are explained in detail in each case, if you have been granted your Blinkist account by your employer (in this case you have a ”B2B License”).

2. Blinkist’s Services and Rights

1. Blinkist provides the key insights from non-fiction books, articles and other content (the ”Platform Content”), which allow you to grasp their essence within a few minutes. Moreover, Blinkist may provide a personal profile to you, which you can fill with your preferred platform content and text markers as well as sorting this content into different categories and lists. Subject to availability, you can purchase additional individual content on the Platform.
2. The extent of the platform Content and the options to use (the “License”) depend on the type of account you selected. There is a difference between a free account (see Section 3), a paid subscription (see Section 4) and a free trial (see Section 5) and a purchase of individual content (see Section 6). In terms of duration, the license is limited to the validity period of the respective subscription. In case of a purchase of individual content its availability in your account will be unlimited (subject to Section 6).
3. The rights to Blinkist's service and the content distributed through the service are and will remain with Blinkist and /or Blinkist's licensors. Our Platform Content is usually protected by copyrights and may not be redistributed by you. The Blinkist software applications and Platform Content are licensed to you within the scope of the contractual use. We only grant you a non-exclusive (simple), time-limited right to personal use of the Blinkist service and its contents. When using our Services, you must always observe our Acceptable Use Policy, which you can find here.
4. All Blinkist trademarks as well as our trade names, logos, domain names and other distinctive features of the Blinkist trademark are the sole property of Blinkist. The license does not give you any right to use the Blinkist trademarks, our trade names, logos, domain names or any other distinctive features of the Blinkist trademark, be it for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

3. Registering with Blinkist

1. In order to be able to use Blinkist’s services, a registration with Blinkist is required. Individuals over the age of 18 have the right to register. As a minor, you may only register with Blinkist if you are at least 14 years old and your legal representatives have provided their consent. Blinkist reserves the right to make the use of Blinkist services contingent on proper proof of your identity, your legal age, or your legal representative’s consent.
2. The registration itself is free of charge (“Basic Account”) and does not oblige you to obtain a paid subscription. By registering, you are entering an agreement with Blinkist for a limited, free use of the Platform. If you have been granted your Blinkist Account by your employer, registering with Blinkist via the option communicated to you by your employer is all you need to do - you can immediately use all the content covered by the contract with your employer.
3. You can use your e-mail address as well as a password of your choice to register. Alternatively, you may register using a single sign-on service (for example, Facebook login). You can register via our website or after downloading our iOS or Android apps.
4. Any information required for registration must be complete and correct and always up-to-date.
5. The password used must be kept confidential. Keeping it a secret is solely and fully your responsibility. The Blinkist user account may only be used by you. Any unauthorized use of your user account, as well as any such suspicion to that effect should be communicated to Blinkist immediately.

4. Executing an Agreement for a Paid Subscription

1. To be able to fully benefit from Blinkist's services, additional service packages in the form of paid subscriptions (“Subscription Access”) are available to you after registering. These can be purchased for different, and variable periods of time, which you will see in the order options.
2. Blinkist's Subscription Accesses are paid subscriptions that allow you to access additional content and features through our mobile and web-based applications. We currently offer the following subscription / service package:
   • The Blinkist Premium service package includes access to our whole library, i.e. to all of our Platform Content in both text and audio. In addition, it gives you the right to use our premium features Send-to-Kindle.
   • If you receive your Blinkist access through your employer, you generally have access to the Blinkist Premium service package. However, there may be deviations due to individual agreements between Blinkist and your employer.
   You will have access to the respective services as long as your subscription is valid.
3. If you want to purchase your Blinkist Premium subscription via our website, you submit a legally binding offer for a fee-based subscription, by you entering the information requested in the online order form and then clicking on the “Subscribe now” (or similar) button.
4. The contract is concluded when Blinkist issues a notice of acceptance (order confirmation), which will be sent to you by email within a reasonable time. If you purchased your fee-based subscription via Blinkist’s web-based app Blinkist will send the order confirmation to you by email together with the receipt confirmation immediately following your order. If you purchased your fee-based subscription via an in-app purchase (please also see Section 4 (5)) you will receive a receipt confirmation following your order from the third party appstore and Blinkist will send to you the notice of acceptance (order confirmation) by separate email. In both cases, the text of the contract (consisting of the order, the General Terms and Conditions and the order confirmation) will be sent to you by Blinkist on a permanent data carrier (email) (contract confirmation). Your subscription begins on this date.
5. You can also sign up for a paid subscription through an in-app purchase through our iOS or Android apps. In order to do this, you must select the desired option on the subscription screen within the app, and a pop-up will appear where you have to enter your password for the third party appstore. As soon as you finish, a pop-up will appear in which you have to confirm the purchase of the subscription again. At this point you can still cancel the process. You should then receive a receipt confirmation from the third party appstore (not directly from Blinkist).

5. Trials/ Testing Phases

1. Blinkist occasionally offers in particular to new users free-of-charge Subscription Access for testing purposes for a certain period of time (“Trial”). Blinkist determines, at its sole discretion, if you may participate in a Trial. In case of an important reason, Blinkist may discontinue or change such free Trial at any time without prior notice or notification.
2. You can only participate in certain Trials if you enter your payment details when you sign up for the Trial. In such a case, we need your consent at the beginning of the Trial that your free access will be converted into a paid Subscription Access (Section 4) on the day following the end of the Trial. Your subscription then generally renews on a recurring basis. It can be terminated up to one day before the end of the respective subscription period (Section 10 (2)). You will always be clearly informed of this process before you subscribe to your Trial.
3. If, in a case of Section 5 (2) , you do not wish to have the Subscription Access and the charge associated with it, you must cancel your Subscription Access before the end of the Trial (for example, by simply going to your Blinkist Account Settings or the respective app store settings).
4. We grant a 14-day money-back guarantee for subscriptions that are purchased via our website (Section 4 (3-4)). If you have purchased a Subscription Access as an in-app purchase (Section 4 (5)), we have no influence on refunds and therefore cannot guarantee a refund within 14 days. Your statutory claims remain unaffected by this.

6. Individual Purchase of Content

1. From time to time, we also offer you the opportunity to purchase additional, individual Platform Content to test our offer without having to purchase a full Subscription Access
2. You submit a legally binding offer for the individual content that you have selected, if you enter the information requested in the online order form and then click on the button “Buy now” (or similar). By doing so, you submit a legally binding offer for a paid contract.
3. The contract is concluded when Blinkist issues a notice of acceptance (order confirmation), which will be sent to you by email within a reasonable time. If you purchase your individual content via Blinkist’s web-based application or via an online checkout offered by Blinkist, we will send the order confirmation to you by email together with the receipt confirmation and these TOS.
4. When you purchase individual content, Blinkist grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable, non-sublicensable license to download such content to your Blinkist Library for your personal, non-commercial use. You are not entitled to alter, modify, sell, transfer, share, lease, decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, copy, reproduce, duplicate, distribute, publicly perform, create derivative works from or otherwise commercially exploit the content or otherwise use and/or export the Content outside the Blinkist Library.

7. Cancellation Policy

1. If you are a consumer (i.e., a person completing the legal transaction for purposes that can be predominantly attributed to neither their commercial nor their independent professional activity), you are entitled to a statutory withdrawal right when concluding a distance selling agreement, about which Blinkist provides information below in accordance with the statutory model. Please note that in the case of an in-app purchase, you have a right of withdrawal within the respective app store, i.e. Apple-App-Store or Google Play Store. A model withdrawal form can be found in Section 7.3.

   - BEGIN INSTRUCTIONS ON WITHDRAWAL -

   Right of withdrawal

   You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract.

   To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us

   Blinks Labs GmbH
   Sonnenallee 223
   12059 Berlin
   Germany
   E-mail: [email protected]

   of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

   To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

   
   

   Effects of withdrawal

   If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us) without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

   If you requested to begin the performance of services during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

   - END INSTRUCTIONS ON WITHDRAWAL -

2. The right of withdrawal expires with regard to individual content contracts if we already provided you the services (i.e. you downloaded the individual content to your Blinkist Library) with your prior consent before the end of the withdrawal period and your acknowledgment that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal.
3. We hereby provide you with a sample withdrawal form, according to legal requirements:
   Sample Cancellation Form
   (Please fill out this form and send it back if you wish to cancel the Agreement.)
   – To:
   Blinks Labs GmbH
   Sonnenallee 223
   12059 Berlin
   Germany
   [email protected]
   
   – I hereby revoke the Agreement executed by me relating to the purchase of the following products (*)/the following service (*) provided
   – Ordered on (*)/received on (*)
   – Consumer name(s)
   – Consumer address
   – Consumer signature (only if notification is on paper)
   – Date
   (*) Cross out if it does not apply.

8. Reimbursement and Payment Methods, Compensation and Retention Rights

1. The Subscription Access for our Blinkist Premium subscription (Section 4) is subject to a fee. The costs are to be paid at the beginning of the subscription (or, in the case of a Trial, after its expiry). The purchase of individual content is also subject to payment. If you have been granted your Blinkist Account by your employer, your Subscription Access is generally free of charge - it is usually already covered by your employer. Please note that if you purchase additional individual content that may be available, this might not be covered by your employer.
2. As payment methods, Blinkist offers credit card, Paypal and additional payment methods, if available, specified before beginning of the order process. You can also use a Blinkist Gift Card (see Section 11).
3. When purchasing a subscription with the Blinkist iOS or Android apps, payment is made by Apple's or Google's in-app purchase process.
4. You are not entitled to offset any claims against claims of Blinkist, unless your counterclaims are finally determined with legal effect or undisputed. You are also entitled to offset against the claims of Blinkist, if you make complaints for defects or counterclaims based on the same agreement.
5. You may only exercise your right of retention if your counterclaim results from the same agreement.

9. Third Party Links and Advertising

1. The Service may contain links to third-party websites, advertisers, services, special offers, or other events or activities that are not owned or controlled by Blinkist. We do not endorse or assume any responsibility for any such third-party sites, information, materials, products, or services. If you access any third party website, service, or content from Blinkist, you understand that these TOS and our Privacy Policy do not apply to your use of such sites. You expressly acknowledge and agree that Blinkist shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss arising from your use of any third-party website, service, or content.
2. In consideration for Blinkist granting you access to and use of the Service and if you do not use a paid service, you consent to Blinkist showing you promotional information on the Platform. Our paid service occasionally includes content that has been developed in collaboration with other companies.

10. Term and Cancellation

1. Term of the Basic Account: The Basic Account starts from the time you register according to Section 3 of these Terms of Service and runs indefinitely. You may cancel the your Basic Account at any time. To this effect, you can delete your account via our web app in the "Settings" menu item.
2. A: Term of the paid subscription, if you are a consumer and have your permanent residence in Germany: The paid subscription for the Subscription Access (see Section 4) will run for at least the term you originally selected (the “Initial Term”) and will automatically renew for an indefinite period (the “Indefinite Term”) if it is not canceled at least 24 hours before the end of that period. If you did not cancel during your Initial Term or did not cancel it in time, you can cancel the Indefinite Term at any time by giving one month's notice. You can cancel as instructed below:
   • You can cancel your Subscription Access purchased via our web app in the "Settings" menu item of the web app. To do this, you must log in, open the settings in the context menu and click on “Cancel subscription”. If you cancel your Indefinite Subscription before the end of each 12-month period, we will refund the cost of the unused months on a pro-rata basis to your chosen payment method.
   • A Subscription Access purchased via our iOS or Android apps can be canceled in your iTunes or Google Play settings. If you cancel your Indefinite Subscription before the end of each 12-month period, the respective third-party app store provider will directly refund your costs for the unused months.
   • You can also cancel your Subscription Access by using the “Cancel Subscription” button on our website, and entering all required information to the form.
   B: Term of the paid subscription, if you are either not a consumer or have your permanent residence outside Germany: The paid subscription for the Subscription Access (see Section 4) will run for at least the Initial Term and will automatically renew for the same period if it is not canceled with at least 24 hours before the end of the respective period (the “Renewal Term”). You can cancel as instructed below:
   • You can cancel a Subscription Access completed via our web app in the "Settings" menu item of the web app. To do this, you must log in, open the settings in the context menu and click on “Cancel subscription”.
   • A Subscription Access completed in our iOS or Android apps can be canceled in your iTunes or Google Play settings.
3. The Subscription Access cancellation takes effect on the day following the last day of your current subscription period. You will then automatically be downgraded to a Basic Account. This also applies if your Account was provided to you by your employer: In this case, your account will automatically be downgraded to a Basic Account after the contract between your employer and Blinkist expires. However, once you purchase a new Subscription Access, you will be able to access your old status and reading lists. If you wish to delete your entire account, you can do so from the settings in our web app (see Section 10 (1)). In that case, your data will be deleted irrevocably.
4. Blinkist’s right to blocking and/or canceling your account for an important reason due to a good cause remains unaffected by the preceding provisions.

11. Gift Cards and Special Offers

1. If you are the holder of a Blinkist gift card that allows the use of a Blinkist Premium subscription for the period mentioned in the accompanying email, card or paper receipt, you have the right to use the Blinkist Platform during the respective period of time.
2. To redeem the gift card, you must register with Blinkist first (see Section 3) and then activate the code indicated on the gift certificate on a dedicated page (currently: http://www.blinkist.com/friends).
3. Gift cards and other codes cannot be redeemed for cash and cannot be reimbursed, exchanged or used to purchase other codes.
4. Please note that in addition to these TOS, if you use a gift card or any other special offer, additional conditions that may apply.
5. Once the respective period expires, the subscription access ends automatically and you will be downgraded to the free account accordingly. If you want to continue to use the subscription access, you can sign up for a new subscription (Section 4) at any time. If you wish to delete your entire account, you can do so from the settings in our web apps (see Section 10 (1)). All data will be deleted irrevocably.

12. Liability

1. Blinkist disqualifies any claims for damages coming from you. This does not apply to claims for damages arising from fatal injuries, physical injuries, health damage or from the breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations) as well as liability for other damages that are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by Blinkist, its legal representatives or affiliates. Essential contractual obligations are those the fulfillment of which enables the proper execution of the Agreement in the first place and on the fulfillment of which you can trust.
2. In the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations, Blinkist shall only be liable for the typical, foreseeable damages stipulated in a contract, if they were simply caused by negligence, unless it also involves claims for damages due to fatal injuries, physical injuries or damages to health.
3. The restrictions mentioned in Section 12 (1) and 12 (2) also apply to breaches of duty by Blinkist’s affiliates and legal representatives, if claims are made directly against them.

13. Data Protection

1. When you use the Platform, Blinkist processes your personal data. You can find out more in the Blinkist Privacy Policy, which you can view here.
2. If your Blinkist account is provided to you via your employer, Blinkist processes your personal data partly on behalf of your employer. This means that your employer may be able to access, edit, delete or control your account, as well as view insights into your usage behavior. Your employer can provide you with more detailed information on this.

14. Change of Terms and Conditions

1. Blinkist reserves the right to amend and/or supplement these TOS with effect for the future, provided that this is reasonable for you taking into account Blinkist’s interests. If no explicit consent is obtained from you to adapt the TOS, you will be notified by Blinkist of any amendments and/or supplements to the TOS in a timely manner (at least four weeks before the amended TOS enter into force). To this end, Blinkist will send you the new version of the TOS to the e-mail address specified by you in the registration. In this context, Blinkist will expressly point out to you the possibility and deadline for an objection to the new version of the TOS, as well as the consequences, should you not object.
2. If you do not object to the applicability of the new version of the TOS within four weeks after receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph (1) of this Section, the new version of the TOS shall be deemed accepted by you.
3. If you object to the new version of the TOS in due time, the contractual relationship shall be continued under the previous TOS, but Blinkist may decide to terminate the Basic Account or the Subscription Access with effect from the next possible regular termination date.

15. Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution

For the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes, the European Union has set up an Online Dispute Resolution (“OS Platform”) platform that can be accessed at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The platform serves as a point of contact for the out-of-court resolution of disputes concerning contractual obligations arising from online agreements. According to § 36 VSBG [Verbraucherstreitbeilegungsgesetz, Consumer Dispute Resolution Act], Blinkist points out that Blinkist is neither obligated nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.

16. Final Provisions

1. If any provision of these General Terms and Conditions is invalid, the remainder of the agreement remains valid. The statutory provisions shall take effect over the invalid regulations.
2. If you are an entrepreneur/businessperson (in the meaning of § 14 BGB, german civil code), the following applies: The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, excluding the provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If no exclusive legal court of jurisdiction is given, all disputes arising out of or in connection with the contractual relationship shall be settled exclusively by the court at Blinkist’s registered office, thus Berlin.

Valid as of May 6, 2024.

If you subscribed to Blinkist before March 1, 2022, these Terms of Service apply to you. If you subscribed to Blinkist before May 6, 2024, these Terms of Service apply to you.