# Kogoto Terms of Service **Status: DRAFT — prepared for legal review. Not yet confirmed by a qualified legal professional. Effective date: 2026-08-13. Version: 2026-08-13.** These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Kogoto, a proximity-based social app that helps you discover, connect, and message with other Kogoto users physically near you. By creating a Kogoto account, you agree to these Terms and to the Kogoto Privacy Policy. ## 1. The service Kogoto lets you: create a profile; discover nearby Kogoto users over Bluetooth Low Energy while Nearby is turned on; send and receive connection requests, which the recipient may accept or decline; message users you've connected with; and post short-lived photo "Stories" visible to your accepted connections. Kogoto does not connect you to strangers automatically or anonymously — every connection requires an explicit request from one side and an explicit accept from the other; see `docs/GOOGLE_PLAY_AGE_CLASSIFICATION_REVIEW.md` for the full technical basis of this description. ## 2. Eligibility and minimum age You must be at least **16 years old** to create a Kogoto account. By registering, you confirm that the date of birth you provide is accurate. Kogoto enforces this both in the app and independently on its backend. ## 3. Your account You're responsible for keeping your password confidential and for all activity on your account. Notify Kogoto promptly (kogoto2026@gmail.com) if you believe your account has been compromised. You must complete email verification to use Nearby, connections, messaging, and Stories. You agree to provide accurate registration information. ## 4. User-generated content Anything you post, upload, or send through Kogoto — your profile information and photos, gallery photos, Stories, messages, and any Ask question/reply — is "user-generated content." You retain ownership of your content. By posting it, you grant Kogoto a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, store, transmit, and display that content solely as necessary to operate the service for you and the people you choose to share it with (e.g. showing your profile photo to a nearby user who discovers you, or delivering your message to its recipient). This license ends when you delete the content or your account, subject to `docs/DATA_RETENTION_POLICY.md`'s narrow retention exceptions (e.g. content already captured as moderation evidence in an active abuse investigation). You are solely responsible for the content you post and for making sure you have the right to post it. Kogoto does not pre-screen content before it's posted or sent. ## 5. Prohibited conduct You agree not to use Kogoto to: - Harass, stalk, threaten, or intimidate anyone. - Post or send hateful, discriminatory, or violent content. - Bully or engage in unwanted sexual behavior or communication. - Sexually exploit anyone, including any content or behavior involving a minor — see the Kogoto Child Safety Standards, which apply in full alongside these Terms. - Groom, or attempt to groom, a minor. - Share child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in any form — a zero- tolerance violation, reported to the relevant authorities where legally required. - Share intimate images of another person without their consent. - Scam, defraud, or attempt to extract money or financial information from another user. - Send spam or unsolicited commercial content. - Impersonate another person, or create a false identity. - Dox another user or otherwise expose their private information without consent. - Engage in illegal activity of any kind. - Infringe another person's intellectual property rights. - Misuse Kogoto's reporting system — including filing knowingly false reports to harass another user (see the "How reporting works" section of the Kogoto Community Guidelines). - Attempt to bypass a block, access another user's account or private data without authorization, or interfere with Kogoto's normal operation (e.g. scraping, automated abuse, or attacking the service's security). See the Kogoto Community Guidelines for a more detailed, user-facing explanation of these rules. ## 6. Real-world meetings Kogoto may lead to real-world meetings between users. **Kogoto has no way to verify the identity, intentions, or background of any user, and is not responsible for what happens when you meet someone in person.** You are solely responsible for your own safety in any interaction arising from Kogoto, on or off the app. See the safety guidance in the Kogoto Community Guidelines before meeting anyone in person. Kogoto is not an emergency service — if you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services directly. ## 7. Blocking, reporting, and moderation You can block another user at any time, which stops further interaction between you in both directions. You can report content or a user you believe violates these Terms or the Community Guidelines; reports are confidential and reviewed by the Kogoto operator, not automatically acted on. See the "How reporting works" page in the app for the full explanation. Kogoto reserves the right, but does not undertake an obligation, to review, remove, or restrict access to content, and to restrict specific features (e.g. disabling messaging or Nearby for an account), suspend, or permanently terminate an account, where the operator reasonably believes these Terms, the Community Guidelines, or applicable law have been violated, or where necessary to protect the safety of Kogoto's users or the integrity of the service. ## 8. Account restriction, suspension, and termination Kogoto may restrict, suspend, or terminate your account for violating these Terms, the Community Guidelines, or applicable law, or for behavior that puts other users or the service at risk. Where reasonably practicable and not inconsistent with an ongoing safety investigation, Kogoto will make reasonable efforts to explain the reason for a significant restriction, without disclosing confidential information about a reporter or safety investigation. You may delete your own account at any time (see the Privacy Policy, Section 10). ## 9. Service availability Kogoto is provided on an "as available" basis. The operator does not guarantee the service will always be available, uninterrupted, or error- free, and may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the service. ## 10. Limitation of liability and disclaimers **[LEGAL REVIEW REQUIRED]** This section requires review by a qualified lawyer before it can be treated as final or enforceable. The intent, pending that review, is: Kogoto is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind to the extent permitted by applicable law; the operator's liability is limited to the extent permitted by mandatory EU/Austrian consumer-protection law, which is never excluded or waived by these Terms. Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude or limit any liability, or any statutory right you have as a consumer, that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under EU or Austrian law. ## 11. Dispute resolution and governing law **[LEGAL REVIEW REQUIRED]** Kogoto does not require mandatory arbitration and does not attempt to waive your right to bring a claim in the courts of your own EU member state as a consumer, where such a right exists under applicable law. The specific governing law and venue for these Terms have not yet been finalized and require legal review before publication. ## 12. Changes to these Terms Kogoto may update these Terms from time to time. If a change is material, Kogoto will update the effective date above and make reasonable efforts to notify active users. A future update may require you to accept the new version again before continuing to use certain features (versioned acceptance — see `docs/OWNER_LEGAL_INPUTS_ REQUIRED.md` for the current status of that mechanism). ## 13. Contact Questions about these Terms: kogoto2026@gmail.com. ## 14. This is a draft These Terms of Service have been prepared to accurately describe how Kogoto actually works, but they have **not** yet been reviewed by a qualified lawyer, and sections marked `[LEGAL REVIEW REQUIRED]` above are explicitly incomplete. This document must not be relied upon as final or legally binding until that review has taken place.