Terms of Service

Revised: December 7, 2023

Welcome to SmartInmate.com, a convenient way for incarcerated individuals to communicate with their friends and family. This service is operated by Smart Communications Holdings, Inc. and its affiliated companies (Collectively, "Smart Communications"). By using the SmartInmate.com Website, (the "Website") you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (this "Agreement"), whether or not you register as a user of SmartInmate.com ("Member"). If you wish to become a Member and make use of the Smart Communications service (the "Service"), please read these Terms of Service. If you object to anything in this Agreement or the Smart Communications Privacy Policy, do not use the Website or the Service. The Terms of Service are subject to change by Smart Communications at any time, effective upon posting on the SmartInmate.com website, and your use of the Service after such posting will constitute acceptance by you of such changes.

  1. Acceptance of Terms of Service Agreement
    1. Electronic Agreement - This Agreement is an electronic contract that sets out the legally binding terms of your use of the Website and your membership in the Service. This Agreement may be modified by Smart Communications from time to time, such modifications to be effective upon posting by Smart Communications on the Website. This Agreement includes Smart Communications' Acceptable Use Policy for Content Posted on the Website, Smart Communications' Privacy Policy, Smart Communications' subscription policies and any notices regarding the Website. By accessing the Website or becoming a Member, you accept this Agreement and agree to the terms, conditions and notices contained or referenced herein.
    2. Electronic Form - By accessing the Website or becoming a Member, you consent to have this Agreement provided to you in electronic form.
    3. Non-electronic Copy - You have the right to receive this Agreement in non- electronic form. You may request a non-electronic copy of this Agreement either before or after you electronically sign the Agreement. To receive a non-electronic copy of this Agreement, please send an e-mail to [email protected] or a letter and self-addressed stamped envelope to: Smart Communications, ATTN Legal, 10491 72nd St., Seminole, FL 33777.
    4. Withdrawing Your Consent - You have the right at any time to withdraw your consent to have this Agreement provided to you in electronic form.
      1. Effect - Should you choose to withdraw your consent to have this Agreement provided to you in electronic form, we will discontinue your then-current username and password. This means that you will not have the right to use the Service unless, and until, we issue you a new username and password. We only will issue you a new username and password after we receive a signed copy of a non-electronic version of this Agreement, which we will send to you upon request.
      2. Notice - To withdraw your consent and/or request a non-electronic copy of this Agreement, please send an email to [email protected] or a letter and self-addressed stamped envelope to: Smart Communications, ATTN Legal, 10491 72nd St., Seminole, FL 33777.
      3. Prospective Nature - Your withdrawal of consent shall be effective within a reasonable time after we receive your withdrawal notice described above. Your withdrawal of consent will not affect the legal validity or enforceability of the Agreement provided to, and electronically signed by, you prior to the effective date of your withdrawal.
    5. Access and Retention - In order to access and retain this electronic Agreement, you must have access to the World Wide Web, either directly or through devices that access web-based content, and pay any service fees associated with such access. In addition, you must use all equipment necessary to make such connection to the World Wide Web, including a computer and modem or other access device. Please print a copy of this document for your records. To retain an electronic copy of this Agreement, you may save it into any word processing program. Via the Website, we will notify you of any changes in the hardware or software requirements needed to access and/or retain this Agreement that create a material risk that you will not be able to continue to access and/or retain this electronic Agreement.
  2. Eligibility - You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age to register as a Member of the Website. Membership in the Service is void where prohibited. By using the Website, you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into this Agreement and to abide by all the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Those under the age of 18 may use the Website under the authorization and supervision of a registered Member.
  3. Membership and Subscription; Pricing - You may become a Member of the Service at no cost. As a Member, you will have the ability to participate in some, but not all, of the features and services available within the Service. In order to access additional features and services, including the ability to communicate with other Members, you must become a paying subscriber to the Service. Please note that the subscription policies that are disclosed to you in subscribing to the service are deemed part of this Agreement. Please see Billing Details for a description of such policies. For purposes of this Agreement the term "Member" includes subscribers, unless where its usage indicates otherwise. From time to time, Smart Communications may remove the accounts of non-subscribers.
  4. Term - This Agreement will remain in full force and effect while you use the Website and/or are a Member. You may terminate your membership and/or subscription at any time, for any reason, by following the instructions in the Account Settings section of the Website, or by sending Smart Communications written notice of termination to Smart Communications, ATTN Legal, 10491 72nd St., Seminole, FL 33777 or email notice of termination to [email protected]. If you resign or cancel your membership and/or subscription via the Website, to help Smart Communications analyze and improve the Service, you may be asked to provide a reason for your resignation/cancellation. You may bypass this brief resignation survey page and continue the resignation/cancellation process by clicking the "Continue Cancellation" or another similar button on the page. Smart Communications may terminate your membership and/or subscription by sending notice to you at the email address you provide in your application for membership, or such other email address as you may later provide to Smart Communications. If Smart Communications terminates your membership in the Service because you have breached this Agreement, you will not be entitled to any refund of unused subscription fees except where required by law. All decisions regarding the termination of accounts shall be made in the sole discretion of Smart Communications. Smart Communications is not required to provide you notice prior to terminating your membership and/or subscription. Smart Communications is not required, and may be prohibited, from disclosing a reason for the termination of your account. Even after your membership or subscription is terminated, this Agreement will remain in effect. All terms that by their nature may survive termination of this Agreement shall be deemed to survive such termination.
  5. Non-commercial Use by Members - The Website is for the personal use of individual Members only and may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors that have not been approved by Smart Communications in advance in writing. Organizations, companies, and/or businesses may become Members and apply to connect to incarcerated individuals at some correctional facilities and may be required to provide additional documentation before being approved at the sole discretion of each correctional facility. Illegal and/or unauthorized uses of the Website, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of members by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email and unauthorized framing of or linking to the Website may be investigated, and appropriate legal action will be taken, including without limitation, civil, criminal, and injunctive redress. Use of the Website is with the permission of Smart Communications, which may be revoked at any time, for any reason, in Smart Communications' sole discretion.
  6. Account Security - You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the username and password that you designate during the Registration process, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your username and password. You agree to (a) immediately notify Smart Communications of any unauthorized use of your username or password or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. When using the Website from a mobile device, ensure that proper security measures are in place on your device such as automatically locking when not in use, and requiring PIN code or biometrics to unlock your device. Smart Communications will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this provision. You should use caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.
  7. Your Interactions with Other Members - You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Members. You understand that Smart Communications does not in any way screen its Members, nor does Smart Communications inquire into the backgrounds of its Members or attempt to verify the statements of its Members. Smart Communications makes no representations or warranties as to the conduct of Members. In no event shall Smart Communications be liable for any damages whatsoever, whether direct, indirect, general, special, compensatory, consequential, and/or incidental, arising out of or relating to the conduct of you or anyone else in connection with the use of the Service, including without limitation, bodily injury, emotional distress, and/or any other damages resulting from communications with other registered users of this Service or persons you meet through this Service. You agree to take reasonable precautions in all interactions with other Members of the Service. You should not provide your financial information (for example, your credit card or bank account information) to other Members.
  8. Content on SmartInmate.com
    1. Proprietary Rights - Smart Communications owns and retains license to all proprietary rights in the Website and the Service. The Website contains the copyrighted material, trademarks, and other proprietary information of Smart Communications, and its licensors. Except for that information which is in the public domain or for which you have been given written permission, you may not copy, modify, publish, transmit, distribute, perform, display, or sell any such proprietary information.
  9. Content Posted by You on SmartInmate.com
    1. You are solely responsible for the Content that you publish or display (hereinafter, "post") on the Service, or transmit to other Members. You will not post on the Service, or transmit to other Members, any defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, offensive, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, racially offensive, or illegal material, or any material that infringes or violates another party's rights (including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights, and rights of privacy and publicity). You will not provide inaccurate, misleading, or false information to Smart Communications or to any other Member. If information provided to Smart Communications, or another Member, subsequently becomes inaccurate, misleading or false, you will promptly notify Smart Communications of such change.
    2. You understand and agree that Smart Communications or the correctional facility where incarcerated individuals are housed may review and delete any content, messages, photos, phone calls, video visitation sessions, postal mail, or other materials sent through or handled by the Services (collectively, "Content"), in each case in whole or in part, that in the sole judgment of Smart Communications or the correctional facility violate this Agreement or which might be offensive, illegal, or that might violate the rights, harm, or threaten the safety of Members.
    3. By posting Content to SmartInmate.com, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to Smart Communications, its affiliates, licensees and successors, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, reproduce, adapt, modify and distribute such information and content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You further represent and warrant that public posting and use of your content by Smart Communications will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.
    4. The following is a partial list of the kind of Content that is illegal or prohibited on the Website. Smart Communications reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action in its sole discretion against anyone who violates this provision, including without limitation, removing the offending communication from the Service and terminating the membership of such violators. It includes, but is not limited to, Content that:
      • is patently offensive to the online community, such as Content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
      • harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
      • involves the transmission of "junk mail", "chain letters," or unsolicited mass mailing or "spamming";
      • promotes information that you know is false, misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
      • promotes an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person's copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated images, audio or video, or links to pirated images, audio or video files;
      • contains restricted or password only access pages, or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page);
      • provides material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner, or solicits personal information from anyone under the age of 18;
      • provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone's privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
      • solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users; and
      • engages in commercial activities and/or sales without our prior written consent such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, and pyramid schemes.
    5. Your use of the Service, including but not limited to the Content you post on the Service, must be in accordance with any and all applicable laws and regulations.
    6. You may not engage in advertising to, or solicitation of, other Members. This includes but is not limited to solicitation or advertising to buy or sell any products or services through the Service or networking for commercial purposes. You may not transmit any chain letters or junk email to other Members. It is a violation of these rules to use any information obtained from the Service in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person, or in order to contact, advertise to, solicit, or sell to any Member without our prior explicit consent. In order to protect our Members from such advertising or solicitation, we reserve the right to restrict the number of electronic messages, photos, video visitation sessions, documents, telephone calls, etc. which a Member may send to other Members in any 24-hour period to a number which we deem appropriate in our sole discretion.
    7. All information you include in your Member profile must be accurate, current and complete.
  10. Prohibited Activities - Smart Communications reserves the right to investigate and terminate your membership if you have misused the Service, or behaved in a way which could be regarded as inappropriate or whose conduct is unlawful or illegal. The following is a partial list of the type of actions that you may not engage in with respect to the Service:
    • You will not copy and paste or otherwise pass messages between or act as a courier between incarcerated individuals. Incarcerated individuals will not ask other Members to relay communications to another incarcerated individual.
    • You will not impersonate any person or entity.
    • You will not "stalk" or otherwise harass any person.
    • You will not express or imply that any statements you make are endorsed by Smart Communications without our specific prior written consent.
    • You will not use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application, or other manual or automatic device or process to retrieve, index, "data mine", or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Service or its contents.
    • You will not post, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information without obtaining the prior consent of the owner of such proprietary rights.
    • You will not remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in the Service.
    • You will not interfere with or disrupt the Services or the site or the servers or networks connected to the Services or the site.
    • You will not post, email, or otherwise transmit any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.
    • You will not forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any information transmitted through the Service.
    • You will not "frame" or "mirror" any part of the Service or the Website, without Smart Communications' prior written authorization. You also shall not use meta tags or code or other devices containing any reference to Smart Communications or the Service or the site in order to direct any person to any other web site for any purpose.
    • You will not modify, adapt, sublicense, translate, sell, reverse engineer, decipher, decompile, or otherwise disassemble any portion of the Service or the Website or any software used on or for the Service or cause others to do so.
  11. Customer Service - Smart Communications provides assistance and guidance through its customer care representatives. When communicating with our customer care representatives, you may not be abusive, obscene, profane, offensive, sexist, threatening, harassing, racially offensive, intentionally misgender, or otherwise behave inappropriately. If we feel that your behavior towards any of our customer care representatives or other employees is at any time threatening or offensive, we reserve the right to immediately terminate your membership and you will not be entitled to any refund of unused subscription fees except where required by law.
  12. Subscriptions; Charges on Your Billing Account
    1. General - Smart Communications bills you through an online account (your "Billing Account") for use of the Service. You agree to pay Smart Communications all charges at the prices then in effect for any use of the Service by you or other persons (including your agents) using your Billing Account, and you authorize Smart Communications to charge your chosen payment provider (your "Payment Method") for the Service. You agree to make payment using that selected Payment Method. Smart Communications reserves the right to correct any errors or mistakes that it makes even if it has already requested or received payment.
    2. Recurring Billing - Smart Communications does not make use of recurring billing. Each charge is individually authorized at the point of purchase.
    3. Current Information Required - YOU MUST PROVIDE CURRENT, COMPLETE AND ACCURATE INFORMATION FOR YOUR BILLING ACCOUNT. YOU MUST PROMPTLY UPDATE ALL INFORMATION TO KEEP YOUR BILLING ACCOUNT CURRENT, COMPLETE AND ACCURATE (SUCH AS A CHANGE IN BILLING ADDRESS, CREDIT CARD NUMBER, OR CREDIT CARD EXPIRATION DATE), AND YOU MUST PROMPTLY NOTIFY SMART COMMUNICATIONS IF YOUR PAYMENT METHOD IS CANCELED (E.G., FOR LOSS OR THEFT) OR IF YOU BECOME AWARE OF A POTENTIAL BREACH OF SECURITY, SUCH AS THE UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OR USE OF YOUR USER NAME OR PASSWORD. CHANGES TO SUCH INFORMATION CAN BE MADE AT ACCOUNT SETTINGS.
    4. Payment Method - The terms of your payment will be based on your Payment Method and may be determined by agreements between you and the financial institution, credit card issuer, or other provider of your chosen Payment Method (the "Payment Method Provider"). If Smart Communications does not receive payment from your Payment Method Provider, you agree to pay all amounts due on your Billing Account upon demand.
    5. Reaffirmation of Authorization - Your non-termination or continued use of the Service reaffirms that Smart Communications is authorized to charge your Payment Method. Smart Communications may submit those charges for payment and you will be responsible for such charges. This does not waive Smart Communications' right to seek payment directly from you. Your charges may be payable in advance, in arrears, per usage, or as otherwise described when you initially subscribed to the Service or as described at the point of purchase.
    6. Refund Policies
      1. Service Credits - Smart Communications will not issue refunds on any portion of fees charged for service credits that you later decide not to use. Service Credits apply to unregulated Services such as electronic messaging, photo delivery, and/or video visitation sessions.
      2. Prepaid Institutional Calling Services - Payment for Prepaid Institutional Calling Services and any Available Usage in the Prepaid Account is refundable upon request by the called party. After one hundred eighty (180) days of continuous account inactivity have passed, or any alternative period set by state law, Smart Communications will make reasonable efforts to refund the balance in the account to the account holder. If Smart Communications' reasonable efforts to refund the balance of the account fail, the Company will treat the remaining funds in accordance with applicable state consumer protection law requirements concerning unclaimed funds or the disposition of such funds.
    7. Liability - In some situations a correctional facility may refuse to deliver an electronic message or photo to an incarcerated individual. In these situations, regardless of the reason for refusal, neither the correctional facility nor Smart Communications shall be liable to you for the cost of service credits used to send the message and/or photo. If an incarcerated individual is relocated, transferred, discharged, placed in confinement, has their account disabled, or otherwise is temporarily or permanently no longer able to use the Service for any reason, neither the correctional facility nor Smart Communications shall be liable to you for the cost of service credits used to send unread messages and/or photos, nor for unused service credits remaining on your account or unused service credits that have been transferred to the incarcerated individual's account.
  13. Modifications to Service - Smart Communications reserves the right at any time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that Smart Communications shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.
  14. Blocking of IP Addresses - In order to protect the integrity of the Service, Smart Communications reserves the right at any time in its sole discretion to block Members from certain IP addresses from accessing the Website.
  15. Copyright Policy - You may not post, distribute, or reproduce in any way any copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary information without obtaining the prior written consent of the owner of such proprietary rights. Without limiting the foregoing, if you believe that your work has been copied and posted on the Service in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our Copyright Agent with the following information: an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Website; your address, telephone number, and email address; a written statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. Smart Communications' Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached as follows: Smart Communications, ATTN Legal, 10491 72nd St., Seminole, FL 33777.
  16. Member Disputes - You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Members. Smart Communications reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other Members.
  17. Privacy - Use of the Website and/or the Service should not be considered private. Electronic messages, photos, video visitation sessions, telephone calls, processed postal mail (except legal mail), uploaded documents, etc. between Members may be monitored by Smart Communications or the correctional facility that houses incarcerated individuals. Use of the Service is Governed by our Privacy Policy. Communications of a privileged nature (e.g electronic messages, photos, legal mail, uploaded legal documents, or other communications which are identified as privileged at the point where it is sent) where a Member has a privileged connection to an incarcerated individual as a private attorney, public defender, religious counselor, or other type of "privileged" connection available at a given correctional facility, are exempt from monitoring and Smart Communications will only disclose the contents of privileged communications to the intended recipient or if ordered to disclose such materials by a court order or other legal proceeding.
  18. Disclaimers - Smart Communications is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate Content posted on the Website or in connection with the Service, whether caused by users of the Website, Members or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Service. Smart Communications is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the Website or Member of the Service. Smart Communications assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, user or Member communications. Smart Communications is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of email or players on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Website or combination thereof, including injury or damage to users and/or Members or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in connection with the Web and/or in connection with the Service. Under no circumstances will Smart Communications or any of its affiliates, advertisers, promoters or distribution partners be responsible for any loss or damage, including personal injury or death, resulting from anyone's use of the Website or the Service, any Content posted on the Website or transmitted to Members, or any interactions between users of the Website, whether online or offline. The Website and the Service are provided "AS-IS" and Smart Communications expressly disclaims any warranty of fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. Smart Communications cannot guarantee and does not promise any specific results from use of the Website and/or the Service.
  19. Links - The Service may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because Smart Communications has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that Smart Communications is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that Smart Communications shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of, or reliance upon, any such Content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.
  20. Limitation on Liability - Except in jurisdictions where such provisions are restricted, in no event will Smart Communications be liable to you or any third person for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages, including also lost profits arising from your use of the Web site or the Service, even if Smart Communications has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, Smart Communications' liability to you for any cause whatsoever, and regardless of the form of the action, will at all times be limited to the amount paid, if any, by you to Smart Communications for the Service during the term of membership.
  21. U.S. Export Controls - Software from this Website (the "Software") is further subject to United States export controls. No Software may be downloaded from the Website or otherwise exported or re-exported (i) into (or to a national or resident of) Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Syria, or any other Country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods; or (ii) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department's Table of Deny Orders. By downloading or using the Software, you represent and warrant that you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country or on any such list.
  22. Jurisdiction and Choice of Law - If there is any dispute arising out of the Website and/or the Service, by using the Website, you expressly agree that any such dispute shall be governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict of law provisions, and you expressly agree and consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts of the State of Florida, in Pinellas County, for the resolution of any such dispute.
  23. Indemnity by You - You agree to indemnify and hold Smart Communications, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and other partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Service in violation of this Agreement and/or arising from a breach of this Agreement and/or any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above.
  24. No Third Party Beneficiaries - You agree that, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, there shall be no third party beneficiaries to this Agreement.
  25. Prepaid Institutional Calling Services - Prepaid Institutional Calling Services provide alternative payment arrangements for incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities. Prepaid Institutional Calling Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Access to telephone service by an incarcerated individual may be subject to time of day and usage restrictions imposed by individual correctional facilities. No minimum service period applies. Network usage for Prepaid Institutional Calls is deducted from the Available Usage Balance in full minute increments. For debiting purposes, call timing is rounded up to the nearest one (1) minute increment. Usage charges are computed and rounded up to the nearest penny on a per call basis. The called party is automatically informed of the Available Usage Balance remaining in the Prepaid Account prior to acceptance of the call. Network usage is deducted from the Available Usage Balance in the account on a real time basis as the call progresses. A reminder message is also provided when the account balance has one minute of usage remaining. All calls must be charged against an account that has sufficient available balance. Calls in progress will be terminated by Smart Communications if the balance on the account is insufficient to continue the call.
  26. Other - This Agreement contains the entire agreement between you and Smart Communications regarding the use of the Website and/or the Service. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.

Please contact us with any questions regarding this agreement.

Required Notifications

Some of the icons on this website are used under license from the following providers: