Terms of Service

Last updated: May 28, 2026 — version 2026-05-28

Welcome to Urban Archive. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Urban Archive website and services (the "Service"), operated by Urban Archive Inc ("we," "us," or "our"). By using the Service or contributing content, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Our mission

Urban Archive is a public archive of historic photographs and the stories behind them. We welcome contributions from cultural institutions and the public so that more of our shared history can be discovered, preserved, and enjoyed. Content contributed by users is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license (see Section 4).

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account or contribute content. By using the Service, you represent that you meet this requirement. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use the Service only with the involvement of a parent or guardian.

3. Your account

You can sign in using a one-time email "magic link" or through a third-party provider (such as Google, Microsoft, or Facebook). Magic-link sign-in tokens expire 15 minutes after they are issued. You are responsible for maintaining access to the email account or third-party account you use to sign in. To request deletion of your account, contact us at team@urbanarchive.org.

4. Content you contribute

When you contribute content (such as photographs and accompanying information), you grant us and all other users a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable license to use, reproduce, distribute, and create derivative works from that content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license ("CC BY-SA 4.0").

You retain copyright in the content you contribute. You are not transferring ownership — you are granting the license above so that the archive and the public can use the content under CC BY-SA 4.0. This license cannot be revoked once content is contributed.

5. Content warranties

By contributing content, you represent and warrant that:

  • You own the content or otherwise have the right to contribute it and to grant the CC BY-SA 4.0 license described above.
  • The content does not infringe the copyright, privacy, or other rights of any third party.

You acknowledge that people depicted in historic photographs do not, solely by virtue of being depicted, have a right to demand removal of those photographs. We may, however, remove any content at our discretion (see Section 7).

6. Prohibited conduct

You agree not to:

  • Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
  • Harass, threaten, or abuse others.
  • Upload unlawful content.
  • Send spam or commercial solicitations.
  • Upload malware or attempt to disrupt or compromise the Service.

7. Editorial review

All user submissions are reviewed by Urban Archive staff before publication. We may accept, reject, edit metadata for, or remove any submission at any time, with or without prior notice. Rejected submissions are deleted approximately 30 days after the decision.

8. Copyright complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, contact us at team@urbanarchive.org with enough detail to identify the work and the allegedly infringing material. We will review valid complaints, remove infringing content where appropriate, and may terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

9. No accuracy warranty

Urban Archive does not verify the accuracy of captions, dates, identifications, locations, or other information associated with submitted photographs. Such information reflects the contributions of users and may contain errors.

10. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service for any violation of these Terms. You may stop using the Service at any time and may request deletion of your account by contacting team@urbanarchive.org.

11. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED US$100.

12. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the version date below and may require you to accept the updated Terms before continuing to use authenticated features.

This document is version 2026-05-28. Adapted from the Wikimedia Foundation Terms of Use, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.