OpenRouter
OpenRouter requires binding arbitration and class action waivers for all disputes. They can grant themselves perpetual, irrevocable licenses to your content if you opt into product improvement, including the right to sell your data in anonymized form. Credits expire after 365 days and have strict refund windows.
If you're under 18, you can't use this service anymore—the age limit went from 13 to 18, and there's no parental consent option now. If you have leftover credits when your account gets shut down (unless it's for breaking the rules), you'll now get refunded instead of losing them. They've added a bunch of new rules about API keys, file uploads, free promotional credits, and made it clear they're not responsible if third-party tools you connect to mess up.
See the full change →The Bottom Line
AI-generated summary of the terms as we read them. Opinion, not legal advice.
OpenRouter requires binding arbitration and class action waivers for all disputes. They can grant themselves perpetual, irrevocable licenses to your content if you opt into product improvement, including the right to sell your data in anonymized form. Credits expire after 365 days and have strict refund windows.
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Notable Clauses
“By way of example only, this license provides OpenRouter permission to (1) log and store your User Content, (2) log, copy, store, and distribute your Inputs and associated tokens for purposes of debugging, and (3) license or sell your User Content in anonymized form, where your User Content is not a...”
“YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT, BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND OPENROUTER ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.”
“If you have opted into OpenRouter using your inputs/outputs to improve the product in your account settings, you grant OpenRouter a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid right and license (with the right to sublicense) to host, store, transfer, display, perform, ...”
“OpenRouter reserves the right to expire unused credits three hundred sixty-five (365) days after purchase.”
“If you have opted into OpenRouter using your inputs/outputs to improve the product in your account settings, you grant OpenRouter a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid right and license”
“In addition, OpenRouter may in its sole discretion terminate your user account on the Service or suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time for any reason or no reason, with or without notice.”
“THE SERVICE AND ALL MATERIALS AND CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE ARE PROVIDED " AS IS " AND ON AN " AS AVAILABLE " BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.”
“Once purchased, refunds for unused Credits may be requested within twenty-four (24) hours from the time the transaction was processed. If no refund request is received within twenty-four (24) hours following the purchase, any unused Credits become non-refundable.”
“Some AI Models may store or train on your Inputs for improving their own large language models and may allow you to opt-out of model training, as described in their AI Model Terms. Where possible, OpenRouter has opted out of model training with the AI Models it uses.”
Protect Yourself
ACTIONABLESettings and actions you can take to limit your exposure
Check Product Improvement Setting
Verify that product improvement is disabled to avoid the perpetual content license
- Log into your OpenRouter account
- Go to account settings
- Look for 'Product Improvement' or similar option
- Ensure it's set to OFF/disabled
Review AI Model Terms
Check which models have training opt-outs and data retention policies
- Visit the AI Model Terms page linked in their documentation
- Review data policies for models you plan to use
- Choose models with better privacy practices when possible
Monitor Credit Expiration
Set calendar reminders to use credits before the 365-day expiration
- Note your credit purchase dates
- Set reminders at 300 days to use remaining credits
- Consider smaller, more frequent purchases instead of large amounts
Disable Auto-Recharge
Prevent automatic billing by turning off the auto-recharge feature
- Go to your account page
- Find Auto Recharge settings
- Disable automatic credit purchases
- Monitor credit balance manually instead
Request Refunds Quickly
Act within 24 hours if you need to refund unused credits
- Visit the Credits page immediately after purchase if needed
- Use the refund button within 24 hours
- Note that platform fees are non-refundable
Better Alternatives in AI
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Disclaimer: The clauses shown above are excerpts from publicly available Terms of Service documents. Ratings and severity levels reflect community and AI assessment, not legal advice, factual claims, or determinations about a company's legality or intent. Clauses marked “VERIFIED” have been confirmed as exact quotes from the source document. Clauses marked “AI-extracted” were identified by AI and may contain errors. Always verify against the original TOS.
Get notified when OpenRouter updates their TOS
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By subscribing, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.