Help Pages

Subscriptions

The Bodyguard, Virtual Defender Application and the Personal Security Network Service is funded using a subscription-based model. The Application extends this model to provide the necessary flexibility with a variety of options to fit almost any budget. The subscription-based model described in this section was chosen because it best fits the principle that the user should only pay for what the user consumes, not more, and not less.

The very nature of this Service has the potential for creating a large amount of security data. This data must be transferred and stored in a cloud database to allow for sharing among authorized users in a network environment. Transfer, storage, and accessibility of this information costs money. These costs are incurred by the network operator and the cloud services provider and are paid for by the user through the subscription payment model described in this section. The Application implements a tiered subscription system to allow for maximum flexibility in choosing the appropriate plan according to each user's needs.

The costs of the network services are calculated and billed by the cloud service provider -- Google -- based on the following criteria.

• The Number of Document Reads

• The Number of Document Writes

• The Number of Document Deletes

• The Document Storage Volume

• The Network Egress Volume

• The Data Storage Volume

• The Data Download Volume

• The Number of Upload Operations

• The Number of Download Operations

Each of these criteria has associated costs billed by Google that accrue daily.

The Bodyguard Application automatically applies these costs when calculating the usage-based price of each subscription tier. The Application bases its calculations of each subscription tier price on the following use-case scenarios according to the internal implementation of each use-case. All calculations apply only to the data transferred to and stored in the cloud database. Locally stored data is not considered in these calculations.

The following criteria are considered.

• The expected Number of Monthly Security Sessions

• The expected Duration of each Security Session

• The projected Number of Monthly Location Points

• The expected Number of Days Location Data is stored in the cloud

• The selected Quality of Audio Data transferred and saved in the cloud

• The projected Number of Shared Audio Files stored in the cloud

• The projected Storage Size of Shared Audio Files stored in the cloud

• The expected Number of Days Shared Audio Files are stored in the cloud

• The selected Quality of Image Data transferred and saved in the cloud

• The projected Number of Shared Image Files stored in the cloud

• The projected Storage Size of Shared Image Files stored in the cloud

• The expected Number of Days Shared Image Files are stored in the cloud

• The selected Quality of Video Data transferred and saved in the cloud

• The projected Number of Shared Video Files stored in the cloud

• The projected Storage Size of Shared Video Files stored in the cloud

• The expected Number of Days Shared Video Files are stored in the cloud

The Application uses the projected costs associated with each use-case scenario to calculate the price of each tier. To help users decide which subscription option is the right choice for them, a SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS page, accessible via the Subscription Options Main Menu item, is available in the Application.

The SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS page clearly enumerates each of the previously mentioned criteria in a summary view presented for each subscription tier defined below.

The following subscription tiers are defined for the Application. Not all of these tiers may be available to all users, as will be explained later.

• Tier I: Unlimited (prepaid, pay-as-you-go)

• Tier II: Limited (monthly quotas at a set price)

• Tier III: Basic (limited functionality at no cost)

• Tier IV: Sponsored (monthly quotas at no cost)

Tiers II and IV have additional levels based on usage.

• Heavy Usage

• Moderate Usage

• Light Usage

The Unlimited Tier

This is a pay-as-you-go, prepaid tier, designed for those users who would rather not be restricted by a usage quota. This tier does not place any limits on the use of the network, other than a nominal prepaid charge to begin the billing cycle. This tier gives the user maximum flexibility in selecting the frequency of media uploads and the amount of data stored in the cloud. It also permits the user to select any available video, photo, and audio resolution for their media files, based on personal preference.

When the user selects this tier, they are able to monitor the current charges as they accrue. This feature allows the user to gauge how to best utilize the functionality available in the network. The accrued charges value is available for viewing in the Subscription Details section of the MANAGE ACCOUNT page, but only when the Subscription Tier is Tier I.

As users in this tier continue to utilize the network resources, the network bandwidth, storage, etc., charges for the usage accrue at a predictable rate set by the cloud service provider -- Google. When the charges reach the prepaid amount, the user is prompted to renew their subscription, or to choose another subscription option. This is the pay-as-you-go prepaid model.

The Limited Tier

This tier is designed around a set of predefined usage cases that loosely fall into three broad categories -- the Heavy Usage category, the Moderate Usage category, and the Light Usage category. This tier is based on a monthly subscription fee charged every month on the same billing day. There is no automatic processing of monthly charges. The user is prompted to initiate a payment checkout procedure following expiration of the previous month's billing period. The user cannot continue using the Application until the next payment is processed, or another subscription option is selected and processed instead.

The initial billing date is automatically determined following the first payment of the monthly fee. This initial billing date remains in effect throughout the lifetime of the account, or until another subscription tier is selected. It determines the Next Payment Date value for the account, which is visible in the Subscription Details section of the MANAGE ACCOUNT page when the Subscription Tier is Tier II.

The Next Payment Date is always computed relative to the current date but is based on the initial billing day of the month. Therefore, it is possible to skip a month, or many months, and not owe any money for that time period. However, the Bodyguard Application does not prorate charges within the monthly billing cycle; therefore, beware of paying the monthly charge too close to the Next Payment Date if there is not enough time to adequately consume the corresponding network resources. In such cases, choose an alternate payment option, if another option is better suited to your needs.

The Bodyguard Application does not backdate charges, and no automatic charges are ever in effect. This differentiates the Bodyguard subscription model from other subscription models. The user is always charged just for what the user chooses to consume.

In fact, the Bodyguard subscription model goes even further.

The user is free to upgrade and downgrade subscription tiers and usage levels at will. The user is charged for any upgrades and credited for any downgrades. The Bodyguard Application keeps track of all charges and credits automatically. The credits never expire and are always available to supplement any future charge. If account credit is available, it can be viewed in the Available Credit value field in the Subscription Details section of the MANAGE ACCOUNT page. In addition, the Subscription Details for Tier II item also displays the associated Usage Model, the Monthly Rate of the chosen subscription, and the Payment Due amount, if the Next Payment Date has passed.

The Basic Tier

This is the default subscription tier that every user starts out with after first downloading and installing the Bodyguard Application. It is always possible to downgrade to this tier from any other tier, but not without some consequences as described below.

This tier does not require a payment of any kind because it is intended for those who prefer to monitor their Alliance Members, but do not have a need to be monitored themselves.

Because Tier III subscriptions do not allow transfer or storage of security media data to the network's cloud database, its use is limited to providing monitoring services to the members they have chosen for their Personal Security Network.

Users at Tier III subscription level can still record local video, audio, and take still image snapshots using the tools available in each Media Library, and they can still share their location data with other Alliance Members. However, they cannot share any security media within their alliance network, just the location data. This restriction means that, if a user downgrades for whatever reason from another subscription level to Tier III level, all cloud-based media files are immediately deleted. There is no way to reverse this action and restore the data.

The Sponsored Tier

This tier may not be available to all users. To sign up for this tier the user must have a valid Subscription Code provided to the user by a sponsoring authority. The sponsoring authority can choose to set the following limitations on the usage of the Sponsored Tier.

• Restrict Usage by Usage Model

  - Unlimited

  - Heavy Usage

  - Moderate Usage

  - Light Usage

• Set Usage Expiration Date

  - Does Not Expire

  - Number of Days Following the Date of Subscription

The sponsoring authority is responsible for covering the costs of their sponsored subscribers. The Bodyguard Application aggregates the usage of each Sponsored Subscription Code by all the subscribers of that code and presents the total cost for payment to the sponsoring authority.

Each valid Subscription Code can be used only once by the subscriber. It is therefore not recommended to downgrade from a Tier IV subscription to any other subscription level, unless of course, there is a compelling reason to do so.

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