Draft for review. This text has not yet been reviewed by a lawyer.
1. About these Terms
NearRoots is an app that helps people find others from their homeland, and businesses connected with their communities, in the United States, Canada and Australia. NearRoots is run by BridgeWell Strategies LLC, a Virginia limited liability company ("BridgeWell," "we" or "us"). NearRoots is the name of the app, not a separate company.
These Terms are an agreement between you and BridgeWell. By creating an account or using NearRoots, you agree to them. Please also read our Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines and Business Listing Policy. They are part of how NearRoots works, and these Terms refer to them.
Contact: contact@nearroots.com · Mailing address: available on request at contact@nearroots.com
2. Who can use NearRoots
- You must be 18 or older to create an account. We don't knowingly allow anyone under 18. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 18, we will close it.
- You may have one personal account.
- You may not use NearRoots if we have removed you before, or if the law does not allow you to use it.
- Anyone can browse approved business listings without an account. People search and messaging are for signed-in members only.
3. Your account
- Give accurate information, and keep it up to date. Your display name may be a first name or nickname, but it must not pretend to be someone else.
- Keep your password private. You can turn on two-step login for extra protection. You are responsible for activity in your account unless someone else got in without your fault.
- Tell us right away at contact@nearroots.com if you think someone else has used your account.
4. Community rules
NearRoots works because members treat each other well. You agree to follow the Community Guidelines. In short, do not:
- harass, threaten, bully or abuse anyone, or attack people for their origin, religion, race, gender, sexuality, disability or similar characteristics;
- scam, defraud or ask members for money, or send spam or unwanted advertising;
- pretend to be another person or business, or create fake profiles or listings;
- share someone else's private information, such as an address, phone number or immigration details, without their permission;
- collect or copy information about members or businesses, by hand or with software;
- use NearRoots to find, follow, intimidate or report someone to authorities in order to harm them;
- post anything illegal, sexually explicit or violent;
- try to break, overload or get around NearRoots' security.
5. Messaging
- You can send a message request to a member who appears in search. They can accept, decline or block you.
- Messages are private between the two people in the conversation. They are encrypted in transit and stored securely, but they are not end-to-end encrypted.
- We do not read members' messages. The exception is a conversation reported to us: our moderators may then read it to handle the report, and every such review is logged.
- Do not use messages for advertising, chain messages or anything the Community Guidelines prohibit.
- If either person deletes their account, the whole conversation is deleted for both people. If you need to keep something from a conversation, save it yourself. If a conversation worries you, report it before it's deleted.
6. Your safety
NearRoots does not run background checks on members and does not verify their identity. Use the same care you would with anyone you meet online:
- meet in public places;
- tell someone you trust where you are going;
- never send money or personal documents to someone you met on NearRoots.
If you feel unsafe, block and report the member. In an emergency, call 911 in the United States or Canada, or 000 in Australia.
7. Your content
- You own what you post, including your profile, photo, messages, business listings, suggestions and feedback.
- You give BridgeWell permission to store, copy, display and send your content only as needed to run NearRoots. For example, we show your profile to members when you choose to be visible, deliver your messages, and display approved listings. This permission is worldwide, free and non-exclusive. We cannot sell your content or license it to anyone else.
- The permission ends when you delete the content or your account, with three exceptions:
- copies in routine backups, until those backups expire;
- a copy kept with a safety report, as described in the Privacy Policy;
- business listings, which stay public as business information.
- Only post content you have the right to share. Don't upload someone else's photo without permission.
8. Reports, moderation and enforcement
You can report a member, a conversation or a listing. We review reports and may take the steps in the Community Guidelines: a warning, limiting a feature, removing content, suspending or closing an account, or removing a listing. We act in proportion to the problem and the risk to others. In serious cases we may act immediately, without a warning.
NearRoots is run by a small team. We do our best to review reports promptly, but we can't promise a response time or 24-hour moderation. If you think we made a mistake, email contact@nearroots.com and we will take another look.
9. Business listings
The Business Listing Policy applies to anyone who lists, suggests or claims a business. In short:
- List or claim a business only if you own it or are authorized to represent it, and keep its details accurate.
- Every listing is reviewed before it appears. We may edit, decline or remove a listing.
- Some listings are added by NearRoots from public information and have not been claimed by the business. You can claim or correct them.
- "Verified" means we checked that the business exists at that address. It is not an endorsement, and it does not confirm who owns the business or their background.
- Owner community is shown only when the owner reports it, and it is labeled as reported by the owner.
- We do not recommend or guarantee any business. Your dealings with a business are between you and the business.
10. NearRoots' content and name
The NearRoots name, logo, design and software belong to BridgeWell. You may use NearRoots for its intended purpose. You may not copy, sell or reuse the app or its content without our written permission.
11. Copyright complaints
If you believe content on NearRoots infringes your copyright, email contact@nearroots.com. Include the work, where it appears on NearRoots, your contact details, and a statement that you believe in good faith the use is not authorized. [TO CONFIRM: designated DMCA agent details, if you approve registration.]
12. Other websites and services
NearRoots links to business websites and uses outside services, such as maps from Mapbox. We are not responsible for other websites or their content, and their own terms and privacy policies apply.
13. Locations and search
NearRoots works at city level. Member locations are the city and state or province they choose, never an exact location. Business map pins may be approximate: a business is pinned at the center of its city until we place it precisely. Search results depend on what members and businesses share, so they may be incomplete.
14. Availability and changes to NearRoots
NearRoots is free for members and for basic business listings. It is in an early stage, and features may change, pause or end. We will try to give notice of significant changes. We don't promise that NearRoots will always be available or error-free.
15. Leaving NearRoots
You can delete your account at any time from your profile. Deletion is immediate. The Privacy Policy explains what is deleted and the little that is kept. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these Terms or puts others at risk. If we close your account, you may ask us to review the decision.
16. Disclaimers
To the extent the law allows, NearRoots is provided "as is" and "as available." We don't guarantee that information from members or businesses is accurate, or that NearRoots will meet your needs. Nothing in these Terms limits any right you have under consumer protection law that cannot be limited by agreement (see section 19).
17. Limits on liability
To the extent the law allows, BridgeWell is not liable for:
- indirect, incidental, special or consequential losses, or lost profits or data;
- the conduct of members or businesses you meet through NearRoots.
This section does not limit liability that cannot be limited by law. That includes liability for our own fraud, our gross negligence, death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or rights under consumer protection laws (see section 19).
18. Law and disputes
- These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, except where the law of the country or province where you live says otherwise.
- Please contact us first at contact@nearroots.com; most problems can be solved that way.
- If we can't resolve a dispute, either of us may take it to a court with jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, you keep any right to bring a claim in the courts where you live.
- No arbitration and no class-action waiver. These Terms do not require arbitration or limit class actions.
19. Country-specific terms
United States. If you live in a US state with a consumer privacy law that applies to NearRoots, the rights in the Privacy Policy's US section apply.
Canada. Nothing in these Terms limits your rights under Canadian federal or provincial consumer protection or privacy laws. If you live in Quebec, the Consumer Protection Act and Quebec's privacy law apply where they cannot be excluded.
Australia. Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law or other laws that cannot be excluded. You can also contact the eSafety Commissioner (esafety.gov.au) about serious online abuse.
20. Paid features
NearRoots has no paid features today. If we offer paid business features in the future, such as promoted listings or subscriptions, they will have their own terms. We will show the price, renewal and cancellation terms clearly before anyone signs up.
21. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms. For an important change, we will tell members in the app or by email before it takes effect, and we may ask you to agree to the new version. The "Last updated" date shows the current version. If you don't agree with a change, you can delete your account.
22. General
- These Terms, together with the policies they refer to, are the whole agreement between you and BridgeWell about NearRoots.
- If part of these Terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies.
- If we don't enforce a term right away, we can still enforce it later.
- We may transfer these Terms if NearRoots is transferred to another company. We will tell you, and you can delete your account if you don't agree.
23. Contact
BridgeWell Strategies LLC · contact@nearroots.com · mailing address available on request at contact@nearroots.com