Terms of Service

Kessi ("Kessi," "we," "us," or "our") is a social discovery platform that helps adults connect through local events, community groups, shared places, and in-app messaging. These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Kessi governing your access to and use of the Kessi mobile application, website, and all related services (collectively, the "Services").

By creating a Kessi account, downloading the application, or otherwise accessing or using any part of the Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not create an account or use the Services.

These Terms apply to all users of the Services, including event hosts, group administrators, and regular members.

By registering for a Kessi account, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 21 years of age.
• You are a natural person (not a corporation, partnership, or automated entity).
• You have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement in your jurisdiction.
• You are not prohibited from using the Services under any applicable law.
• You have not previously been permanently banned from using the Services.

We reserve the right to request age verification at any time. If we have reasonable cause to believe a user is under 21, we will suspend and terminate the account immediately and delete all associated personal information. Providing a false date of birth or otherwise misrepresenting your age constitutes a material breach of these Terms.

To access most features of the Services, you must register for an account. When registering and maintaining your account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate information: Your name, email address, date of birth, and any other information you submit must be truthful, accurate, current, and complete.
• Keep your information updated: Promptly update your account if your information changes.
• Maintain one account: You may only maintain one account on Kessi. Creating multiple accounts, especially to evade a suspension or ban, is strictly prohibited.
• Protect your credentials: You are responsible for safeguarding your password and any other login credentials. Do not share your account with anyone. You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not you authorized it.
• Report unauthorized access: Notify us immediately at kessiapp@outlook.com if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security.
• No impersonation: Do not impersonate another person, create an account on behalf of someone else without their explicit consent, or use a name you are not authorized to use.

By using the Services, you acknowledge and agree to take full responsibility for your personal safety. We strongly encourage you to follow these common-sense safety guidelines:

• Attend public events: Prioritize events held in public, well-lit, and populated venues. Be cautious about attending private, isolated, or poorly described gatherings.
• Tell someone where you're going: Before attending any in-person event, inform a trusted friend or family member of the event details, including location, time, and the names of people you expect to meet.
• Verify venues independently: Before attending, independently confirm that the event venue is legitimate. If a venue or address seems unusual or unverifiable, exercise caution or decline to attend.
• Apply common sense: If something feels wrong — a host's profile seems fake, an event location seems sketchy, or the situation feels uncomfortable — trust your instincts and do not attend.
• Arrange your own transportation: Do not rely on hosts or other attendees for transportation. Plan your own way to and from any event.
• Meet in groups when possible: When meeting people from the app for the first time, consider doing so in a group setting rather than one-on-one.
• Report suspicious behavior: Use the in-app reporting tools to flag suspicious profiles, events, or conduct. You may also contact us at kessiapp@outlook.com.
• Alcohol and substances: Kessi is a 21+ platform. Events may involve alcohol. Never drive impaired, never accept drinks from sealed containers you did not open yourself, and always drink responsibly.

Kessi is not responsible for the conduct of any user, host, or attendee, on or off the platform. By attending an event arranged through Kessi, you accept the inherent risks of in-person social activities and release Kessi from all liability arising from such participation to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

Kessi is built on the premise of genuine community. All users are expected to treat one another with respect and to contribute positively to the platform. By using the Services, you agree to:

• Treat others with respect: Do not harass, bully, threaten, intimidate, stalk, or discriminate against any other user on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, or any other characteristic.
• Be authentic: Use your real identity. Do not misrepresent who you are, your qualifications, your affiliations, or your intentions.
• Be accurate: Post truthful information about events, places, and groups. Do not create fake or misleading event listings.
• Respect others' privacy: Do not photograph, record, or share personal information about other users without their explicit consent.
• Comply with law: Obey all applicable local, state, federal, and international laws when using the Services and in connection with any in-person activities organized through the Services.
• No solicitation or spam: Do not use the Services for unsolicited commercial promotions, advertising, or spam. Do not solicit money, gifts, loans, or financial information from other users.
• No manipulation: Do not attempt to manipulate, brigade, or game the platform — including artificially inflating event attendance, poll results, or reputation scores.

The following activities are strictly prohibited on the Services. Violation may result in immediate account suspension or permanent termination:

• Using the Services if you are under 21 years of age.
• Posting, transmitting, or sharing content that is obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, violent, threatening, or promotes self-harm or illegal activity.
• Posting content that is defamatory, libelous, or maliciously false about another person or entity.
• Harassing, stalking, threatening, or attempting to intimidate any user or Kessi staff member.
• Impersonating any person or entity, or falsely claiming affiliation with a person or organization.
• Creating multiple accounts, or creating a new account after suspension or termination without our written permission.
• Sharing another person's private information (including home address, phone number, financial details, or identifying documents) without their consent.
• Soliciting money, financial products, loans, or items of value from other users.
• Promoting or facilitating illegal activity, including but not limited to drug sales, prostitution, human trafficking, or weapons trafficking.
• Using automated tools, bots, scrapers, or AI systems to interact with the Services, harvest user data, or send bulk messages without our written consent.
• Reverse engineering, decompiling, or attempting to extract source code from the Services.
• Interfering with or disrupting the Services, servers, or networks connected to the Services.
• Attempting to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Services or another user's account.
• Using the Services for any commercial purpose not expressly authorized by Kessi in writing.
• Posting content that infringes on any third party's copyright, trademark, privacy right, or other intellectual property or proprietary right.

"User Content" means any content you submit, post, upload, or otherwise make available through the Services, including event listings, group posts, messages, reviews, photos, and profile information.

Your Ownership

You retain ownership of User Content you create. By posting User Content, you grant Kessi a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify (for formatting and technical purposes), display, distribute, and communicate your User Content solely to operate and improve the Services. This license ends when you delete the content or your account, except where the content has been shared with others (such as in group chats or event comments), where residual copies may remain.

Your Representations

By posting User Content, you represent and warrant that:

• You own or have the necessary rights and permissions to post the content.
• The content does not violate these Terms, our community standards, or any applicable law.
• The content does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party.
• You have obtained the consent of any identifiable individuals depicted in images or videos you post.

Our Rights to Remove Content

We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to review, monitor, remove, or restrict access to any User Content at any time, for any reason, without notice or liability. This includes content that we determine, in our sole discretion, violates these Terms or is otherwise harmful to the community or the Services.

Feedback

Any feedback, ideas, suggestions, or improvements you submit to us regarding the Services ("Feedback") may be used by Kessi without restriction or compensation to you. You hereby assign all rights in such Feedback to Kessi.

While Kessi offers optional identity verification, this process only confirms that a profile photo appears to match a submitted identification document. It does not verify criminal history, prior conduct, professional credentials, or any other information about a user's background.

We reserve the right to conduct publicly available records searches and to use third-party services to screen users for known safety violations, but such screening is not comprehensive, not guaranteed to be accurate, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for your own judgment and precautions.

YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR EXERCISING APPROPRIATE CAUTION IN ALL INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS, BOTH ON AND OFF THE PLATFORM.

Subscription Plans

Kessi offers free and paid subscription tiers ("Pro"). Paid subscriptions provide access to additional features as described at the time of purchase. Subscription features and pricing are subject to change with reasonable notice.

Automatic Renewal

Paid subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless you cancel before the renewal date. By subscribing, you authorize Kessi (or the relevant app store platform — Apple App Store or Google Play) to charge your payment method the applicable fee at the start of each renewal period. Renewal charges occur at the then-current subscription price, which may differ from your initial price if rates have changed.

Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time. If you subscribed through the Apple App Store or Google Play, you must manage and cancel your subscription through your respective app store account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you retain access to Pro features until that date. No partial refunds are provided for unused time in a billing period.

Refund Policy

All purchases are generally final and non-refundable except as required by applicable law. If you believe you are entitled to a refund under applicable consumer protection laws, please contact us at kessiapp@outlook.com or, for app store purchases, contact Apple or Google directly through their respective refund processes.

Price Changes

We reserve the right to change subscription prices at any time. We will provide you with advance notice of any price increase. Your continued subscription after the effective date of a price change constitutes your acceptance of the new price.

Chargebacks

Initiating a chargeback or payment dispute without first contacting us may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account. Please contact us at kessiapp@outlook.com to resolve any billing issues before pursuing a chargeback.

The Services, including all software, design, graphics, text, functionality, features, trademarks, service marks, logos, and other content created by or for Kessi (collectively, "Kessi Content"), are owned by or licensed to Kessi and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws.

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Services for your personal, non-commercial purposes in accordance with these Terms. This license does not include any right to:

• Sublicense, sell, resell, or commercially exploit any part of the Services or Kessi Content.
• Reproduce, duplicate, copy, or distribute Kessi Content for any commercial purpose.
• Modify or create derivative works based on the Services or Kessi Content.
• Use data mining, scraping, robots, or similar data gathering tools on the Services.

Any use of the Services outside the scope of this license is prohibited and may violate copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws, resulting in civil or criminal penalties.

DMCA / Copyright Infringement

If you believe any content on the Services infringes your copyright, please send a notice to kessiapp@outlook.com containing: (1) identification of the copyrighted work, (2) identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location, (3) your contact information, (4) a statement of good faith belief that the use is not authorized, and (5) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf. We will terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

Termination by You

You may stop using the Services and delete your account at any time through the Settings section of the app. Upon deletion, your profile will be removed from public view and your personal data will be handled as described in our Privacy Policy.

Termination by Kessi

We may suspend, restrict, or permanently terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, for any reason including — but not limited to — violation of these Terms, conduct that we determine in our sole discretion endangers other users or the community, fraudulent activity, or conduct that harms the reputation or operation of Kessi.

We are not required to disclose the specific reason for a termination, particularly where disclosure could compromise safety, privacy, or an ongoing investigation.

Effect of Termination

Upon termination for any reason, your right to access and use the Services ceases immediately. All provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, limitations of liability, and indemnification — will continue in full force and effect.

No refunds will be issued upon account termination unless required by applicable law.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Kessi expressly disclaims:

• Any warranty that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components.
• Any warranty regarding the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of any content provided through the Services, including user-generated event listings, place descriptions, and profiles.
• Any warranty that events, venues, or activities listed on the Services are safe, legitimate, accurately described, or will take place as stated.
• Any warranty regarding the character, intentions, identity, or conduct of any other user, whether online or in person.
• Any warranty that use of the Services will meet your expectations or achieve any particular result.

You expressly acknowledge that your use of the Services and your participation in any event, meetup, or activity organized through the Services is entirely at your own risk.

Without limiting the above, Kessi specifically disclaims all liability for:

• Any harm — physical, emotional, financial, or otherwise — arising from in-person meetings, events, or interactions arranged through the Services.
• The conduct, actions, or omissions of any other user, whether on or off the platform.
• The accuracy, safety, or legality of any event, place, or activity listed on the Services.
• Unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data.
• Any content posted by third parties on the Services.

Liability Cap

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will not exceed the greater of: (a) one hundred U.S. dollars ($100.00), or (b) the total amount you paid to Kessi in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the claim.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages. Accordingly, some of the above limitations may not apply to you. In such jurisdictions, Kessi' liability will be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Kessi and its officers, directors, employees, shareholders, affiliates, agents, licensors, and service providers from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, and fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your use of or access to the Services.
• Your User Content.
• Your violation of these Terms or any applicable law or regulation.
• Your interactions with any other user, whether on or off the platform.
• Any event or activity you host or organize through the Services.
• Your violation of any third party's rights, including intellectual property rights or privacy rights.

We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate fully with us in asserting any available defenses.

Informal Resolution First

Before initiating any formal dispute, you agree to first contact us at kessiapp@outlook.com with a written description of your dispute, including your name, account information, the nature of the claim, and the relief you are seeking. You and Kessi agree to negotiate in good faith for a period of sixty (60) days before either party may proceed with formal dispute resolution. Completion of this informal process is a prerequisite to arbitration or litigation.

Binding Individual Arbitration

Arbitration will be conducted under the rules of a recognized arbitration organization (such as the American Arbitration Association or JAMS) in effect at the time the claim is filed. The arbitration will be conducted in English. The arbitrator's decision will be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Class Action Waiver

YOU AND KESSI EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO FILE OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION. The arbitrator may only award relief on an individual basis and may not consolidate claims of multiple individuals.

Exceptions

The following disputes are exempt from mandatory arbitration and may be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction:

• Claims for injunctive or other equitable relief to prevent unauthorized use or misappropriation of intellectual property.
• Disputes that qualify for small claims court in the applicable jurisdiction.
• Claims arising from sexual assault or sexual harassment as defined under applicable law, at your option.

Opt-Out

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within thirty (30) days of first agreeing to these Terms by sending written notice to kessiapp@outlook.com with the subject line "ARBITRATION OPT-OUT\" and your name and account email address. If you opt out, neither party will be bound by the arbitration clause, but all other provisions of these Terms will remain in effect.

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or related to them or the Services will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

For any disputes not subject to arbitration, you agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Athens County, Ohio. If you are accessing the Services from outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with local laws.

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Effective" date at the top of this page.
• Provide notice via in-app notification or email, or both.
• For material changes to arbitration, liability, or indemnification provisions, require your affirmative acceptance before you may continue using the Services.

Your continued use of the Services after any updated Terms become effective constitutes your agreement to be bound by the revised Terms. If you do not agree to an update, you must stop using the Services and delete your account.

We also reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Services (or any part thereof) at any time, with or without notice, and without liability to you.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding these Terms, please contact us:

We aim to respond to all legal inquiries within 30 days. For urgent safety concerns, please use the in-app reporting tools available on any profile, event, or group.