Terms of Use

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 **Terms of Use**
+Updated November 20th, 2025 Welcome to ScientificAmerican.com, a service of Scientific American, a division of Springer Nature America, Inc. Please read these Terms of Use. By using this website, you accept all the terms and conditions below. You may wish to print this page for your reference.
+Updated February 20th, 2025
+Welcome to ScientificAmerican.com, a service of Scientific American, a division of Springer Nature America, Inc. Please read these Terms of Use. By using this website, you accept all the terms and conditions below. You may wish to print this page for your reference.
 These Terms of Use apply only to individual licenses to Scientific American or to visitors without any license to the site. If you are affiliated or employed by an institution that has an Institutional License to Scientific American, please consult your librarian for the terms that govern your use, which are set forth in the Institutional License agreement.
 **I.** **General Provisions**
 ScientificAmerican.com includes both free and fee-based services. This document outlines Terms of Use for both free and fee-based services that you have purchased or may purchase in the future.
 The subscription plans and digital products offered on ScientificAmerican.com are offered to individual customers for their personal use only. Schools, libraries, colleges, universities, hospitals, government agencies, businesses or other organizations requiring enterprise-wide access by multiple users to Scientific American digital content should request pricing for an Institutional License. The Institutional License is an unlimited-IP based subscription. For information about this institutional subscription, please contact the Institutional License team.
 . Print Subscriptions: Print subscriptions to Scientific American are offered on an annual basis. Print issues are delivered 10 times per year with combined issues in July/August and December/January. Print subscriptions include access to digital issues and articles on [ScientificAmerican.com](http://scientificamerican.com/), as well as mobile issues available in our iOS and Android Apps. Scientific American print and Scientific American Digital plans include all subscription issues available in the Archive. Please contact customer service for more information.
 . Digital Subscription Formats: Scientific American Digital Subscriptions provide flexibility. Digital subscribers may read feature articles directly on ScientificAmerican.com provided that they are logged in. They may also download PDFs of issues and/or articles included in their subscription. Scientific American subscribers are also entitled to corresponding mobile issues available in our iOS and Android Apps.
 . Archival content may not be available in all digital formats.
+. **Subscription Automatic Renewal Program for subscriptions sold on ScientificAmerican.com: Please note that you have consented to the following automatic renewal terms as part of your purchase: Your subscription will automatically renew for an additional 12 months at the end of your current term and subsequent terms. The payment method you provided will be charged the then-current subscription rate at the time of renewal, which may differ from your original subscription rate. Current subscription rates are available** [**here**](https://www.scientificamerican.com/page/frequently-asked-questions/products/)**. We will email you prior to the renewal to remind you of the renewal rate and the date of the expected charge. You may cancel at any time by accessing your** [**subscription management page**](https://www.scientificamerican.com/account/) **or contacting us at** [**help@sciam.com**](https://scientificamerican.com/page/terms-of-use/help@sciam.com)**. Cancellations will take place at the end of your current, paid subscription term and are not eligible for a refund.**
+. Any material subscription change such as issue count, price, or billing frequency will come with advance notice and an easy way to cancel.
+. Subscription Cancellation Policy: Effective 3/24/2025, cancellations will take place at the end of your paid subscription term and are not eligible for a refund. You can email us at help@sciam.com if you have questions or need assistance.
+. **Subscription Automatic Renewal Program for subscriptions sold on ScientificAmerican.com: Please note that you have consented to the following automatic renewal terms as part of your purchase: Your subscription will automatically renew for an additional 12 months at the end of your current term and subsequent terms. The payment method you provided will be charged the then-current subscription rate at the time of renewal, which may differ from your original subscription rate. Current subscription rates are available** [**here**](https://www.scientificamerican.com/page/frequently-asked-questions/products/)**. We will email you prior to the renewal to remind you of the renewal rate and the date of the expected charge. You may cancel at any time by accessing your** [**subscription management page**](https://www.scientificamerican.com/account/) **or contacting us at** [**help@sciam.com**](https://scientificamerican.com/page/terms-of-use/help@sciam.com)**. Cancellations will take place at the end of your current, paid subscription term and are not eligible for a refund.**
+. Scientific American Gift Subscription Terms: Purchasing, using, or redeeming the Scientific American gift subscription constitutes acceptance of the Scientific American Terms of Use, which may change. Gift subscriptions provide one year of access to Scientific American magazine. Gift subscriptions are non-refundable and do not automatically renew. The gift recipient will not be charged after the term of the gift subscription expires. It is the gift purchaser's responsibility to ensure the gift recipient's name, email address, mailing address, and other details are accurate at the time of purchase. Gifts are redeemed immediately upon sending to the gift recipient and may be scheduled for delivery up to 366 days later. For questions about gift subscriptions or delivery, please contact us at [help@sciam.com](mailto:help@sciam.com).
+. Subscription Cancellation Policy: Effective 3/24/2025, cancellations will take place at the end of your paid subscription term and are not eligible for a refund. You can email us at help@sciam.com if you have questions or need assistance.
+. Synching of print/digital subscription plan service: For subscriptions purchased by phone or by mail, your subscription needs to be [activated on ScientificAmerican.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20240514204529/https://www.scientificamerican.com/page/frequently-asked-questions/subscriptions/)
+. Scientific American Gift Subscription Terms: Purchasing, using, or redeeming the Scientific American gift subscription constitutes acceptance of the Scientific American Terms of Use, which may change. Gift subscriptions provide one year of access to Scientific American magazine. Gift subscriptions are non-refundable and do not automatically renew. The gift recipient will not be charged after the term of the gift subscription expires. It is the gift purchaser's responsibility to ensure the gift recipient's name, email address, mailing address, and other details are accurate at the time of purchase. Gifts are redeemed immediately upon sending to the gift recipient and may be scheduled for delivery up to 366 days later. For questions about gift subscriptions or delivery, please contact us at [help@sciam.com](mailto:help@sciam.com).
+. Synching of print/digital subscription plan service: For subscriptions purchased by phone or by mail, your subscription needs to be [activated on ScientificAmerican.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20240514204529/https://www.scientificamerican.com/page/frequently-asked-questions/subscriptions/)
     . For subscriptions purchased at ScientificAmerican.com, your digital access begins immediately at the time of purchase. In the event that we must future start the print component of your subscription plan because we are out of inventory on an issue, your subscription expire date, not it's first print issue date, determines the length of your digital access. This policy ensures that customers receive 12 months of synched print/digital service.
+. Other Products and Services: Scientific American may offer other products and services on ScientificAmerican.com, including merchandise. Unless the product or service offered specifically references the inclusion of fee-based content, the purchase of any other product or service on ScientificAmerican.com excludes any entitlement to fee-based digital or print content.
+. Other Products and Services: Scientific American may offer other products and services on ScientificAmerican.com, including merchandise. Unless the product or service offered specifically references the inclusion of fee-based content, the purchase of any other product or service on ScientificAmerican.com excludes any entitlement to fee-based digital or print content.
+. Service Emails: Consumers who purchase the fee-based products and services agree to receive email communications from Scientific American in connection with providing the fee-based Services ("service emails"). The service emails may include account related billing information, renewal information, and new issue/content availability notifications.
+. Service Emails: Consumers who purchase the fee-based products and services agree to receive email communications from Scientific American in connection with providing the fee-based Services ("service emails"). The service emails may include account related billing information, renewal information, and new issue/content availability notifications.
 **IV. Fee-Based Service Charges**
 Certain features of this site are available only through the purchase of individual issues or a digital subscription or print/digital subscription plan ("Fee-Based Services").
 . You agree to pay, (by using a valid credit card accepted by Scientific American) the subscription charges set forth on the site, applicable taxes and other charges incurred on your account in order to access Fee-Based Services. Scientific American reserves the right to increase fees, surcharges, and site subscription fees, or to institute new fees at any time, upon reasonable notice by email or posted in advance on this Site. Scientific American will automatically charge your credit card for renewal of your subscription plan. Renewal rates may vary. If you subscribed through a special offer, please refer to the original offer's terms and conditions. In the event Scientific American is not able to charge your account, we reserve the right to invoice you, or terminate your access to the fee-based Services.