Terms of Service

These Terms govern your use of JoinLattice (joinlattice.app). JoinLattice helps students discover research labs and apply to research positions, and helps labs post positions and review applicants. By creating an account or using JoinLattice, you agree to these Terms and acknowledge our Privacy Policy.

JoinLattice is an independent platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of the University of Florida. JoinLattice is not an employer, recruiter, or staffing agency. The service is in an early-access stage: features may change, and the service may occasionally be unavailable.

• JoinLattice is currently available to students and faculty with a valid @ufl.edu email address.
• Professor accounts are verified by JoinLattice before they are activated.
• Lab roles (PI, manager, poster) are granted through lab claims or invitations and can be revoked.
• You must keep your credentials confidential, not share your account, and keep your profile accurate.
• You are responsible for activity under your account. Tell us right away at hello@joinlattice.app if you suspect unauthorized access.
• You may not use JoinLattice if you are suspended or barred by law.

You may not:

• Post false, misleading, or fraudulent opportunities
• Impersonate another person, professor, lab, or JoinLattice staff - including falsely claiming a lab
• Harass, threaten, or discriminate against other users
• Collect other users' personal information without their consent, or use applicant data for anything other than evaluating applicants
• Scrape, crawl, or bulk-download any part of JoinLattice, including the lab directory
• Reverse-engineer, probe, or compromise JoinLattice's security, or circumvent rate limits or access controls
• Manipulate AI screening (for example, hidden instructions in a resume)
• Send spam or use JoinLattice for any unlawful purpose

If you post a position, you agree to:

• Have authority to post for the lab
• Accurately describe the role, time commitment, and whether it is paid, for credit, or volunteer
• Respond to applicants within a reasonable time and close positions when they are filled
• Never charge applicants a fee

• Some lab profiles are created by JoinLattice from publicly available information (such as published research symposium abstracts, university directories, and faculty web pages), sometimes summarized with AI. They may be incomplete or out of date.
• A lab profile does not mean the lab is recruiting unless it shows an open position.
• Researchers can claim, correct, or hide their lab profile by emailing hello@joinlattice.app - no account needed.

• Your application goes to the people who manage that position: the poster and the lab's managers.
• They may use it only to evaluate you for that lab's opportunities, and may not redistribute or sell it.
• Acceptance decisions belong to the lab, not JoinLattice.

JoinLattice uses AI models (currently hosted by Groq) to summarize public research information, suggest related research areas for searches, and - only when a poster turns it on - help posters triage applications.

For applicants

• AI screening is off by default. If a post uses it, you are told before you apply.
• The AI produces a fit score and short summary visible only to the people managing the post.
• The AI does not accept or reject anyone. All decisions are made by people.
• If screening is unavailable, your application is still submitted normally.

For posters

• Review applications yourself. Do not rely on the AI score alone.
• When you close a position, you may choose to decline remaining applicants you have reviewed. This is never done automatically.
• Do not share AI scores or summaries outside JoinLattice.
• AI output may be inaccurate or biased and does not measure anyone's ability or qualifications.

• You own the content you submit - your profile, resume, applications, messages, and listings.
• You grant JoinLattice a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, store, process, display, and transmit your content as needed to operate and secure JoinLattice and as you direct (for example, sending your application to a lab), including processing by our service providers described in the Privacy Policy.
• The license ends when you delete the content or your account, except for copies already sent to a lab at your direction and records we must keep by law.
• You confirm you have the right to submit what you upload.

JoinLattice's software, design, compilation of lab information, and the JoinLattice name and logo belong to JoinLattice. These Terms do not give you rights to them beyond using the service. If you send us feedback, we may use it without obligation to you.

• Use messages only for professional communication about research opportunities.
• Do not send spam, solicitations, or harassing, threatening, discriminatory, or sexually explicit messages.
• Messages may be reviewed by our moderation team if they are reported.

• Posts or users with 3 or more valid reports may be hidden automatically pending review.
• Actions range from a warning to permanent suspension depending on severity, and you will be notified.
• You may appeal by emailing hello@joinlattice.app.

JoinLattice is currently free. If we introduce paid features, we will show prices and terms before you buy, and paid terms will apply only if you agree to them.

JoinLattice is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, to the extent permitted by law. We do not guarantee the accuracy or legitimacy of any listing or lab profile, the conduct of any user, the accuracy of AI output, or that using JoinLattice will result in a research position or any other outcome.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, JoinLattice and its founders will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost opportunities or data. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or $100.

• You may delete your account at any time from Settings > Security. Deletion is immediate and permanent.
• We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or create risk for others.
• Sections 8, 9, 13, and 14 survive termination.

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will give notice by email or in-app before they take effect. Continuing to use JoinLattice after that means you accept the updated Terms.

For legal questions or notices: hello@joinlattice.app