Terms of use
Working draft — plain-language summaryThese are the working terms for chotu.studio, an AI short-film studio by Platypus Engine. They are written in plain words. A formal document will replace this draft.
What the studio is
You write one brief. chotu writes the script, draws each shot, animates it and cuts the video. You can change any step and redo only that step.
chotu is in private beta, and it is paid. You need credits to write and to render. There is no free tier. Payments are not open yet, so access is by invitation while we finish them.
You never give us an API key
chotu does not ask for, receive, or store your API keys for any AI provider. Generations run on the studio's own provider accounts and you pay for them in credits, so there is nothing for you to connect and nothing of yours for us to guard.
Your work
- You own the briefs you write, and the films you generate are yours to use, including commercially, on every plan. The content policies of the AI providers that produced them still apply.
- Your projects are private to your account. We do not use your briefs or your generated work to train models.
- You are responsible for what you make, and for having the right to use anything you upload.
Every video is labelled as AI-generated
Every film chotu makes carries a mark saying it was AI-generated, along with a C2PA content credential. This cannot be removed, on any plan, at any price. It is a legal requirement under India's IT Rules and the EU AI Act, not a feature we are holding back. We will refuse any request to remove it.
Credits: what they are and how long they last
Credits are how the studio meters work. Different models, resolutions and lengths cost different amounts. The price for exactly what you are about to make is shown before you make it, and that is the price you are charged.
| Kind of credits | How long it lasts |
|---|---|
| Credits included with a subscription | Carry over month to month, up to 3× your monthly amount. They live as long as your subscription does. |
| Credits you buy as a top-up | Never expire. Nothing that happens to a subscription affects them. |
Subscription credits are spent first, and bought credits last, so credits with a time limit are always used up before credits without one.
If your subscription ends
Your subscription credits stay for 7 days after the subscription ends. We email and text you when that starts. Resubscribe within those 7 days and you keep them; after that they expire.
Credits you bought are not touched. They never expire.
Cancelling
You can cancel at any time from your account, without contacting us and without giving a reason. Cancelling stops the next renewal; you keep the period you have already paid for.
Refunds
Work is charged as it happens, never up front. If a generation fails on our side or at a provider, its credits are returned to your balance automatically — you do not have to ask.
Credits spent on work that was delivered are not refundable, because the compute has been bought and paid for. If you think a charge is wrong, write to us and we will look at the record for that run.
How long a video can be
| Plan | Longest single video |
|---|---|
| Starter | 1 minute |
| Creator | 2 minutes |
| Studio | 5 minutes |
| Anchor | 5 minutes |
Five minutes is the ceiling on every plan. Note that Instagram Reels cuts off at 90 seconds, so anything longer is not postable there as a Reel.
Quality is not rationed by plan
Every plan can pick every model. Resolution changes the price, not your plan — we do not give you worse quality because you pay less. The only limits are what each model itself can render.
Fair use
- Don't use the studio for illegal, harmful or deceptive content. That includes material that sexualises children, non-consensual intimate imagery, a realistic depiction of a real person saying or doing something they did not presented as real, and content inciting violence or hatred against a group.
- Don't attempt to break, overload or reverse the service, or use another person's account.
- Generation runs through third-party AI providers; their content policies apply and some prompts will be refused.
We may suspend or close accounts that abuse the platform.
What we don't promise
chotu is young and evolving. Generative models are not deterministic: the same brief can give different results, and a result can be wrong, odd or unusable. We do not promise a particular creative outcome, and we cannot promise uninterrupted service. We depend on outside model providers; if one is down or changes what it offers, parts of chotu are affected.
Changes to these terms
If we change something that affects what you have already paid for, we will tell you before it takes effect. We will not shorten the life of credits you already hold without telling you first.
Where we are
Platypus Engine is registered in India. Prices shown to Indian customers include GST. Indian law applies.
Questions about these terms, or about a charge: hello@platypusengine.com