Terms of service
Last updated 13 November 2026
- The free plan checks 20 references a day.
- Pro costs $9 a year (renews yearly until you cancel) or $30 once for lifetime access.
- All sales are final. We don't offer refunds, except where the law requires one.
- RefSure's results are a guide. Check flagged references yourself before acting on them.
1. The service
RefSure ("we", "us") is a website that checks reference lists against public scholarly databases (Crossref, arXiv and Semantic Scholar) and reports whether each reference could be found and whether its details match the record. By using RefSure you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the service.
2. Free plan
Anyone can check up to 20 references per day for free, without an account. The daily count is kept in your browser and resets each day. We may change the free allowance in the future; changes won't affect plans you've already paid for.
3. Pro plans and prices
RefSure Pro removes the daily limit and adds a corrected .bib download and a full report you can copy. It's available in two ways:
- Pro yearly: US$9 per year. This is a subscription. It renews automatically every 12 months at the price shown at checkout until you cancel. You can cancel at any time through the customer portal link in your purchase email; Pro stays active until the end of the year you've already paid for, and you won't be charged again.
- Pro lifetime: US$30, paid once. No renewals. "Lifetime" means for as long as we operate RefSure.
Prices are in US dollars. Sales tax or VAT may be added at checkout depending on where you live. If we ever change the yearly price, we'll tell you by email before your next renewal, and the change will apply only from that renewal.
4. Payments
Payments are processed by Polar Software Inc. ("Polar"), which acts as the merchant of record for RefSure purchases. Polar handles your payment details, tax and receipts, and its own buyer terms also apply to your purchase. We never see or store your card details.
5. No refunds
All sales are final. Because RefSure gives you immediate access to Pro and a free plan to try before you buy, we don't offer refunds for yearly or lifetime purchases, including for partly used subscription periods, except where a refund is required by the law that applies to you. If you think you've been charged in error, contact us at tinyusefulthings003+refsure@gmail.com and we'll look into it.
6. License keys
After you buy Pro you receive a license key. It's for you personally: you may use it on your own browsers and devices, but please don't share or publish it. We may disable a key that's being shared widely or used to abuse the service. A yearly key stops working if the subscription is cancelled and the paid year ends, or if the payment is reversed.
7. Accuracy
RefSure matches references automatically against third-party databases that can be incomplete or contain errors. A reference marked "Not found" may still be real (for example a book, thesis, report or very new paper), and a reference marked "Verified" may still contain other mistakes. RefSure doesn't decide whether a reference is fabricated or whether anyone has acted dishonestly. You're responsible for checking results before relying on them, especially before making decisions about other people's work.
8. Fair use
Please use RefSure as a person would, through the website. Don't use scripts or bots to send large volumes of requests, try to get around the free limit, or interfere with the service. We may limit or block access that puts the service or the databases it relies on at risk.
9. Availability and changes
We work to keep RefSure available, but we don't guarantee it will always be available or free of errors, and the databases it relies on may be slow or unavailable at times. We may improve, change or stop parts of the service. If we ever shut RefSure down completely, we'll give at least 30 days' notice on the website.
10. Liability
RefSure is provided "as is". To the extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from your use of the service, and our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under consumer law that can't be limited.
11. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. The date at the top shows when they last changed. If a change materially affects paying customers, we'll let you know by email.
12. Contact
Questions about these terms: tinyusefulthings003+refsure@gmail.com