ConnectIRL

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and ConnectIRL ("ConnectIRL," "we," "us," or "our") governing your use of the ConnectIRL mobile application, the website at https://connectirl.app, and related services (the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

PLEASE READ SECTION 14 (DISPUTE RESOLUTION; BINDING ARBITRATION; CLASS-ACTION WAIVER) CAREFULLY. It requires most disputes to be resolved by individual arbitration and waives your right to a jury trial and to participate in a class action, unless you opt out as described.

1. Eligibility (18+)

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. By using it, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older, that the information you provide is accurate, and that you are not barred from using the Service under applicable law or previously suspended or removed by us. Accounts created with a false age are subject to deletion, and we may block re-registration.

2. Your account

One account per person, tied to a real email address you control (or a Google/Facebook login you control).
You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use.
Your profile (name, photo, links) must represent you — not another person — and must not be false or misleading.

3. What the Service is — and consent to visibility

By default, you are not visible to anyone.
When you choose to be discoverable, other registered, adult, discoverable users near you can see your display name, photo, an optional gender label, an approximate (fuzzed) distance, and the social links you chose to show, and may send you a connection request.
You can pause visibility at any time. The Service is designed so that no one who did not sign up and choose to be discoverable can appear.
Distance is always approximate and deliberately fuzzed; the Service does not provide exact locations, maps, or tracking.

4. Acceptable use

Your use of the Service is subject to our Community Guidelines & Acceptable Use Policy, which are incorporated into these Terms. Among other things, you agree not to harass, stalk, impersonate, or track any person; not to scrape or harvest data; not to falsify your location; not to use the Service for any unlawful, commercial-spam, or abusive purpose; and not to attempt to identify or contact anyone who has not chosen to be visible to you. Violations may result in suspension or termination.

5. Your content and the license you grant

You retain ownership of the content you provide (your display name, photo, and social links). You grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, display, and transmit that content solely to operate and provide the Service according to your chosen visibility settings, for as long as your account exists.
You represent that you have the rights to the content you provide and that it does not infringe or violate anyone's rights or any law.
We may remove content that violates these Terms or our Community Guidelines.

6. Third-party platforms and links

Social links lead to third-party platforms we do not control. We are not responsible for those platforms, their content, or any interaction that occurs on them or otherwise off the Service. Your use of third-party platforms is governed by their terms, not ours.

7. Safety and assumption of risk (meeting people in real life)

CONNECTIRL IS A PLATFORM FOR OPT-IN DISCOVERY; IT IS NOT AN INTRODUCTION OR BACKGROUND-SCREENING SERVICE. We do not conduct criminal background checks, identity verification, or screening of users, and we do not verify statements users make about themselves or the social links they provide. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users, whether online or in person.

Use caution and good judgment, as you would when meeting anyone new. See our Safety Tips.
You assume all risk associated with contacting, communicating with, or meeting other users. Meet in public places, tell someone where you are going, and trust your instincts.
We are not responsible for the conduct of any user, on or off the Service, and we make no guarantee about the identity, truthfulness, or intentions of any user.
If you feel unsafe, contact local emergency services first, then report the user to us.

8. Enforcement: block, report, suspend

You can block and report other users from every place a person appears in the Service. Blocking is mutual and immediate.
We may, in our discretion and to the extent permitted by law, remove content, limit features, or suspend or terminate accounts — including permanently and, in serious cases, without prior notice — for violations of these Terms or our Community Guidelines, or to protect users or the Service.
We may report suspected unlawful conduct to authorities as permitted or required by law.

9. Fees

The Service is currently offered free of charge. If we introduce paid features, we will disclose the price and terms before you incur any charge, and any purchases made through the Apple App Store or Google Play are also subject to those stores' terms.

10. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, logos, and the ConnectIRL name and brand, is owned by ConnectIRL and its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, distribute, reverse engineer, or create derivative works except as permitted by law.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DISTANCE ESTIMATES OR PROXIMITY RESULTS WILL BE ACCURATE, OR THAT ANY USER, PROFILE, OR SOCIAL LINK IS GENUINE OR TRUSTWORTHY. See our Disclaimers for more, including that we do not perform background checks. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions, so some of the above may not apply to you.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CONNECTIRL, CONNECTIRL, AND OUR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, OR FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF ANY USER OR THIRD PARTY OR ANY IN-PERSON MEETING, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US, IF ANY, IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU; NOTHING IN THESE TERMS LIMITS LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

13. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ConnectIRL and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your content; (c) your violation of these Terms, our Community Guidelines, or any law; or (d) your interactions with any other user, including any in-person meeting.

14. Dispute resolution; binding arbitration; class-action waiver

Please read this section carefully — it affects your legal rights.

Informal resolution first. Before starting arbitration, you agree to contact us at legal@connectirl.app and give us 30 days to resolve the dispute informally.
Binding arbitration. Except as noted below, you and we agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its applicable consumer rules, rather than in court. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this section.
Class-action waiver. You and we agree that each may bring claims against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims.
Exceptions. Either party may bring a claim in small-claims court if it qualifies, and either party may seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual-property or unauthorized-access matters. Nothing here waives any right that cannot be waived by law.
30-day opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailing legal@connectirl.app with your name and a statement that you opt out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect the rest of these Terms.

15. Governing law and venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware and applicable U.S. federal law, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. To the extent any dispute is not subject to arbitration, you and we agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in New Castle County, State of Delaware, and waive any objection to that venue.

16. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time from Settings. We may suspend or terminate your access as described in Section 8. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including content license limits, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution) will survive.

17. Changes to the Service and these Terms

We may modify the Service or these Terms. If we make a material change to these Terms, we will provide notice (for example in the app or on this site) before it takes effect where required. Your continued use after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

18. Apple and Google app store terms

If you download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, you also agree to those stores' terms. For iOS: these Terms are between you and ConnectIRL only, not Apple; Apple is not responsible for the app or its support; and Apple is a third-party beneficiary of these Terms and may enforce them. Similar terms apply for Google Play.

19. Miscellaneous

Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the Community Guidelines are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service.
Severability. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
Force majeure. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.
Notices. We may provide notices to you in the app, by email, or on this site.

20. Contact

Questions about these Terms: legal@connectirl.app or ConnectIRL, United States.