Provision record
OpenRouter · OpenRouter Terms of Service · View original document ↗

Acceptable Use and Prohibited Conduct

Low severity High confidence Explicit document language Common · 282 of 352 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

The agreement prohibits a range of activities including scraping, automated access beyond reasonable human rates, spam transmission, system interference, uploading malicious code, harvesting personal information, commercial solicitation, identity misrepresentation, and circumventing access controls.

This analysis describes what OpenRouter's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This provision defines the boundaries of permitted service use and establishes grounds for account enforcement action. Violations may result in account suspension or termination, and the clause authorizes OpenRouter to assess what constitutes an unreasonable load on infrastructure at its sole discretion.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium Aug 5, 2026

The updated terms establish that users are responsible for all account activity and charges occurring under their API credentials, with the exception of activity directly caused by OpenRouter's breach of the terms. Users are required to promptly notify OpenRouter of any actual or suspected compromise or unauthorized use of API credentials. OpenRouter reserves the right to suspend, revoke, or limit API credentials or account access if OpenRouter reasonably believes doing so is necessary to protect the service, the user, OpenRouter, or any third party. Additionally, promotional credits provided by OpenRouter have no cash value, cannot be refunded or exchanged except under specific conditions, are non-transferable between accounts, and expire on dates specified at issuance or in accordance with the terms. You can manage your API credentials through your account settings and should promptly contact OpenRouter if you suspect unauthorized access.

View change record →
Medium Jul 7, 2026

The updated terms clarify that enabling prompt logging automatically activates chat logging as well, and grant OpenRouter a perpetual, worldwide license to use your content for service provision and commercial purposes. This includes the explicit right to license or sell your user content in anonymized form. Users accessing Stealth Program models must now also agree to a separate End User License Agreement. You can disable prompt logging in your account settings if you do not wish to grant these permissions.

View change record →

Clause Stability Stable

0
Changes
3
Months Monitored
May 21, 2026
First Seen
May 22, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 4245 other provisions on other platforms.

Change history

added May 24, 2026

This new provision establishes clear restrictions on automated access, scraping, and improper use of the service infrastructure.

View full change record →

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Under this clause, users are contractually prohibited from a defined list of activities including scraping, automated over-access, spam, and identity misrepresentation. OpenRouter retains sole discretion to determine whether a user's activity imposes an unreasonable infrastructure load, which may affect account standing.

How other platforms handle this

Tinder Medium

Use our Services in relation to any political campaign financing or for the purpose of influencing any election, other than sharing your own personal political opinions;

Mailchimp Medium

Send bulk emails, meaning commercial or marketing emails directed to a number of individuals with the same content, through Mailchimp Inbox.

TikTok Medium

use TikTok Content...another user's content or generative AI-enabled features for commercial purposes unless permitted by TikTok USDS Joint Venture or the user, respectively...

See all platforms with this clause type →
▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
You agree not to engage in any of the following prohibited activities: (i) copying, distributing, or disclosing any part of the Service in any medium, including without limitation by any automated or non-automated "scraping"; (ii) using any automated system, including without limitation "robots," "spiders," "offline readers," etc., to access the Service in a manner that sends more request messages to the OpenRouter servers than a human can reasonably produce in the same period by using a conventional online web browser; (iii) transmitting spam, chain letters, or other unsolicited email; (iv) attempting to interfere with, compromise the system integrity or security or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running the Service; (v) taking any action that imposes, or may impose at our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (vi) uploading invalid data, viruses, worms, or other software agents through the Service; (vii) collecting or harvesting any personally identifiable information, including account names, from the Service; (viii) using the Service for any commercial solicitation purposes; (ix) impersonating another person or otherwise misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or entity, conducting fraud, hiding or attempting to hide your identity; (x) interfering with the proper working of the Service; (xi) accessing any content on the Service through any technology or means other than those provided or authorized by the Service; or (xii) bypassing the measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Service.

Excerpt from OpenRouter's Terms of Service

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (regulatory & governance intelligence)

1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The prohibition on harvesting personally identifiable information may engage the CFAA (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act) and applicable state computer crime statutes.

Insight

Unlock the full institutional analysis

Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.

Applicable agencies

  • Federal Trade Commission (ftc)
    Oversees unfair or deceptive business practices and can investigate companies that mislead consumers about data collection, sharing, or use.
    Who can file: Anyone affected by the company's practices (US or international)
    What you need: Your account details, a timeline of relevant events, and a description of the specific issue
    What to expect: Complaints inform FTC enforcement priorities and investigations but do not result in individual resolution or compensation
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

Trump Executive Order on AI Policy Framework
US

Provision details

Document information
Document
OpenRouter Terms of Service
Entity
OpenRouter
Document last updated
May 12, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 21, 2026
Last verified
May 21, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-012771
Document ID
CA-D-00810
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
d22aa40bd1da8ba43c39e2622b935e1df3d8acb5d7abfae7670c288b44c0e544
Analysis generated
May 21, 2026 01:17 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: OpenRouter
Document: OpenRouter Terms of Service
Record ID: CA-P-012771
Captured: 2026-05-21 01:17:28 UTC
SHA-256: d22aa40bd1da8ba4…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/openrouter/openrouter-terms-of-service/provision/CA-P-012771/acceptable-use-and-prohibited-conduct/
Accessed: Aug. 26, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Low
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does OpenRouter's Acceptable Use and Prohibited Conduct clause do?

This provision defines the boundaries of permitted service use and establishes grounds for account enforcement action. Violations may result in account suspension or termination, and the clause authorizes OpenRouter to assess what constitutes an unreasonable load on infrastructure at its sole discretion.

How does this clause affect you?

Under this clause, users are contractually prohibited from a defined list of activities including scraping, automated over-access, spam, and identity misrepresentation. OpenRouter retains sole discretion to determine whether a user's activity imposes an unreasonable infrastructure load, which may affect account standing.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 282 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with OpenRouter?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OpenRouter.