Last updated: July 13, 2026
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Northern Inference platform, API, and related services ("Service") operated by Northern Inference ("we", "us", "our"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms.
Northern Inference is an LLM API routing gateway. We route your API requests to third-party model providers (such as AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Google Vertex AI, Anthropic, and OpenAI) based on the model route you select. We are not the model provider. We provide the routing infrastructure, billing, and privacy controls.
Credit-Based Model: You purchase credits in advance. Credits are denominated in Canadian Dollars (CAD). Credits are a balance against which per-request charges are deducted at the rate in effect at the time of each request; they are not a prepayment for a fixed quantity of tokens.
Prompt Processing: Your prompts and API request content are processed in-memory for routing purposes. We do not store prompt content by default; request logging keeps metadata only (token counts, model, latency, cost). The only exceptions are opt-in features you or your team control: PII Substitution, the Audit and Compliance tier, and Content Debug Mode (see below and our Privacy Policy).
Provider Forwarding: Your prompts are forwarded to the model provider you select (or the provider serving the model route you select). Each provider has its own data handling policies. See our Privacy Policy for details.
PII Substitution: When enabled (opt-in per API key or per request), personally identifiable information in your prompts is detected and replaced with realistic substitutes before forwarding to the model provider. Original values are restored in responses. This is a best-effort feature; it may not detect all PII instances. An audit log of substitutions is available to platform administrators.
Content Debug Mode: An optional support tool, off by default, that logs the full content of your prompts and responses to help us diagnose an issue. It requires a double opt-in (a Northern Inference administrator requests it and your team owner approves by email), runs for at most 7 days before turning off automatically, is encrypted at rest, can be turned off by you at any time, and the captured content is deleted within 30 days of being turned off (or immediately on request). See our Privacy Policy section 5.
Data Residency: Every request carries a chain-of-custody record identifying the entity, region, and jurisdiction to which Northern Inference routed your data at each hop, so the route is auditable rather than assumed. Northern Inference attests this record up to the point a request enters a third-party provider. Once a request enters a provider, whether inference executes in the stated region, and how the provider handles the data, is governed by that provider's own published documentation, attestations, and contractual commitments, which we cite per route in each model's data-use posture; Northern Inference does not operate inside and cannot independently verify the provider's infrastructure. The data residency of your requests depends on the model route you select. Tier 3 models route to Canadian data centres (AWS ca-central-1, Azure Canada East), enforced at the routing layer: a Tier 3 request that cannot be served in a Canadian region is blocked rather than routed elsewhere. Tier 4 models use provider-default or non-Canadian routes and may process data outside Canada; the custody record shows the exact route. We do not warrant that the underlying cloud regions or provider policies never change. Our infrastructure runs on AWS, a US-headquartered company operating Canadian data centres.
Tool Substitution and Local Execution: Some hosted provider tools, such as server-side web search, are not available on every model route. On Canadian-residency routes we also deliberately avoid provider-run web search, because it would send your query to a search service outside Canada. When your request includes a tool we cannot run on the selected route, Northern Inference removes that tool before sending the request to the model, and may instruct the model to accomplish the task using the tools you supplied in your own request, such as a shell or file-fetch tool that runs on your own machine. Northern Inference does not perform web searches on your behalf, and no query is sent to a third-party search service by Northern Inference or the provider.
Disclosure for Abuse Investigation: When an upstream provider notifies us of suspected acceptable-use violations in traffic we routed on your behalf, or when we receive a lawful request from Canadian or allied law enforcement, you authorize us to disclose your identity, account metadata, request logs, response bodies, and chain-of-custody records to the requesting provider or authority for the scope of the investigation. We do this because we are contractually the account holder on the upstream side; refusing disclosure would result in our account being suspended, impacting every customer. See our Acceptable Use Policy §6 for details of this flow.
Your use of the Service is governed by our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. The AUP enumerates prohibited content and uses in detail, describes the upstream provider policies that flow through to your traffic, and sets out our enforcement rights.
At minimum, you agree not to use the Service to:
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or the AUP without prior notice. Upstream providers (AWS Bedrock, Azure, Vertex AI, Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.) may independently notify us of violations in your traffic; when they do, we will investigate using your request logs, identify the responsible customer, disclose that identity and relevant records to the reporting provider, and take enforcement action per the AUP.
When your request is routed to a third-party model provider, you are bound by that provider's acceptable-use policy as if it were a direct agreement between you and them. The relevant policies are enumerated and linked in our Acceptable Use Policy §5. If any upstream policy imposes a stricter restriction than this document or our AUP for a given use, the stricter restriction governs. If an upstream provider updates its policy, the updated version takes effect for your traffic as soon as it takes effect with the provider, without separate notice from us.
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account immediately and without prior warning upon receiving an abuse notification from an upstream provider, for the duration required to investigate and remediate. Account credit is not refundable for termination-for-cause arising from such investigations.
You retain ownership of your prompts and the responses generated by the models you access through our Service. Northern Inference does not claim any intellectual property rights over your content.
The Northern Inference name, logo, and platform software are our intellectual property and may not be used without permission.
We provide the Service on a best-effort basis. We do not guarantee any specific uptime or availability SLA. Outages at third-party model providers (AWS, Azure, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic) are beyond our control and are not Northern Inference's responsibility.
We may perform maintenance, updates, or modifications to the Service at any time. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you of planned downtime in advance.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Northern Inference and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to:
We may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' notice via email or a prominent notice on our website. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario, Canada.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, the remainder of the Terms remains in full force and effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified by a court or arbitrator to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable while preserving the parties' original intent. Invalidity in one jurisdiction does not affect enforceability in any other jurisdiction.
Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Acceptable Use Policy, the Privacy Policy, and any order forms or written agreements expressly referencing these Terms, constitute the entire agreement between you and Northern Inference regarding the Service and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications, representations, or agreements, whether oral or written. No representation, warranty, or course of dealing not contained in these Terms forms part of the agreement.
Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent, and any attempted assignment without such consent is void. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or to an affiliate, in each case on written notice to you.
No waiver. A failure or delay by either party to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision. A waiver of any breach is not a waiver of any other or subsequent breach. No waiver is effective unless in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the waiving party.
Survival. The following sections survive termination of these Terms or your account: §3 (with respect to charges accrued or refunds owed prior to termination), §4 (with respect to data already collected), §5 and §6 (with respect to past use), §7 (Intellectual Property), §9 (Limitation of Liability), §10 (Indemnification), §12 (Governing Law), and this §13.
Notice. We may give you notice required under these Terms by email to the address associated with your account, by a banner or in-app message in our customer portal or admin UI, or by a posted update to the published version of these Terms or the relevant published rates page on our website. Notice is effective on the earlier of (a) actual receipt, or (b) the date a reasonable person in your position would have seen it given the means of notice used. You agree that electronic notice satisfies any legal requirement that notice be in writing.
Independent contractors. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, employment, or agency relationship between you and Northern Inference. Each party is an independent contractor.
Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.
Language. The English-language version of these Terms is the binding version. Any translation we provide is for convenience only.
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at support@northerninference.ca. Abuse reports: abuse@northerninference.ca.