01 Acceptance of these terms
These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and CipherChat ("CipherChat", "we", "us", or "our") governing your access to and use of the CipherChat applications and related services (the "Service"). By creating an account, downloading, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
02 Eligibility & age
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service, or older if required by the laws of your country (for example, 16 in parts of the European Union). By using the Service, you represent that you meet the applicable age requirement and that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind that organization to these Terms.
03 Your account & responsibilities
To use the Service, you register an account using a phone number and/or email address. You are responsible for:
- Providing accurate registration information and keeping it up to date.
- Maintaining the security of your devices and the credentials used to access your account.
- All activity that occurs through your account and devices.
- Notifying us promptly if you believe your account or a device has been compromised.
Because your encryption keys live on your devices, protecting your devices is an essential part of protecting your communications.
04 Acceptable use
You agree not to use the Service to do, or to facilitate, any of the following:
- Violate any applicable law or regulation, or infringe the rights of others.
- Send spam, malware, or other harmful or deceptive content.
- Harass, threaten, defraud, or abuse others, or distribute content that exploits or endangers minors.
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other users' accounts, or our systems; or interfere with, disrupt, or overload the Service.
- Reverse engineer, circumvent, or tamper with security features except to the extent such restriction is prohibited by applicable law.
- Use automated means to access the Service in a manner that harms or imposes an unreasonable burden on our infrastructure.
A note on enforcement. Because messages are end-to-end encrypted, we cannot monitor their content. We rely on user reports, account-level signals, and abuse-prevention measures to enforce these rules, and we may suspend or terminate accounts that we reasonably believe violate them.
05 End-to-end encryption disclaimer
The Service uses end-to-end encryption. This is central to how it works, and it has important consequences you should understand:
- We cannot read your messages. Message content, media, and calls are encrypted on your device, and our servers store only ciphertext. We do not possess the keys to decrypt them.
- We cannot recover lost keys or messages. Your private keys are stored on your devices. If you lose access to all of your devices, or your keys are otherwise lost, we cannot restore your encrypted message history. There is no "master key" or backdoor.
- You are responsible for your keys and backups. Keeping access to at least one linked device, and using any backup features we provide, is the only way to retain your message history.
- Verification is your tool. We provide safety numbers and device-change alerts so you can verify who you are communicating with. We are not responsible for communications you choose to continue without verifying.
06 Service availability ("as is")
The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we disclaim all warranties, whether express, implied, or statutory, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that messages will always be delivered. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue parts of the Service at any time. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above may not apply to you.
07 Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, CipherChat and its affiliates, officers, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the Service.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability for any claims relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid us to use the Service in the twelve months before the claim, or USD 50. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
08 Termination
You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time from within the app. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service if you violate these Terms, if required to protect the Service or other users, or if required by law. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ends. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including the encryption disclaimer, disclaimers of warranty, limitation of liability, and governing law — will continue to apply.
09 Changes to these terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice within the app. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you accept the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you should stop using the Service and may delete your account.
10 Governing law
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These Terms, and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Service, will be governed by the laws of [JURISDICTION TO BE INSERTED], without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in [VENUE TO BE INSERTED], except where applicable consumer-protection law grants you the right to bring proceedings in your country of residence. Any dispute-resolution, arbitration, or class-action-waiver provisions must be reviewed and finalized by counsel for each applicable jurisdiction.
11 Contact
If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at support@cipherchat.app. For help using the app, visit our Help Center.