These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) govern your use of the Connections Plus mobile application, website, and related services (together, the “Service”). The Service is owned and operated by GBI Technologies, Inc. (“GBI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
Please also read our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal information. The Privacy Policy is separate from these Terms.
1. Who may use Connections Plus
You must be at least 13 years old and located in the United States to use the Service. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use the Service only with the permission of a parent or legal guardian. By using the Service, you represent that you meet these requirements and are legally able to agree to these Terms, or that your parent or guardian has agreed on your behalf.
You may not use the Service if we previously removed your account for a serious or repeated violation of these Terms, unless we give you permission to return.
2. Your account
You are responsible for providing accurate account information, keeping your login credentials secure, and activities that occur through your account. Tell us promptly at [support contact to be added] if you believe your account has been accessed without permission. You may not impersonate another person, create an account using someone else’s identity, or transfer your account without our permission.
3. What the Service offers
Connections Plus lets users publish posts, exchange direct messages, take part in conversations and group discussions, and participate in public Communities organized around shared interests. Features may change over time. Content that you make public, including posts and contributions to public Communities, may be seen by other users and potentially by people outside the Service if it is shared or captured by others. Direct messages and private conversations are intended for their participants, subject to the operation and safety provisions in these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
Other users may save, copy, or share content they can see. Please consider this before posting or sending anything. We cannot control copies made outside the Service.
4. Your content and permissions
You retain ownership of the text, images, and other content you create or upload (“Your Content”). You are responsible for Your Content and must have the rights needed to post it.
You give GBI a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, process, display, and transmit Your Content solely as needed to provide, maintain, secure, and improve the Service and to make it available to the audience you choose through the Service. This includes technical changes needed to display content across devices. This license ends when Your Content is deleted from the Service, subject to copies that other people may have made outside the Service and any limited retention required by law or necessary to resolve a dispute or investigate abuse.
This permission does not allow GBI to use your posts or images in advertising or marketing for Connections Plus without asking you separately. We do not claim ownership of Your Content.
5. Rules for using the Service
You may not use the Service to:
- Threaten, harass, bully, stalk, exploit, or intimidate anyone, or encourage violence or self-harm.
- Share child sexual abuse material, sexually exploit minors, or solicit sexual content from minors.
- Post unlawful sexual content, nonconsensual intimate imagery, or content that violates another person’s privacy.
- Promote hatred or violence against people based on protected characteristics.
- Impersonate someone, deceive others about your identity or affiliation, or conduct fraud, scams, or phishing.
- Publish another person’s private information without permission, including contact, financial, or identifying information.
- Infringe copyright, trademark, or other rights, or post content you do not have permission to share.
- Send spam, unwanted commercial solicitations, malware, or content designed to disrupt the Service.
- Access accounts or systems without authorization; scrape, automate, or interfere with the Service without our written permission; or evade restrictions, blocks, or enforcement actions.
- Use the Service for unlawful activity or to encourage others to break the law.
These rules apply to posts, profiles, images, direct messages, discussions, and Communities. We may publish additional Community Guidelines that explain these rules in more detail. If we do, they will supplement these Terms and will not silently replace them.
6. Communities and conversations
Public Communities and discussions are spaces for user contributions. Their existence does not mean GBI endorses their content or views. You are responsible for what you post and for respecting other participants. Community tools and moderator roles, if offered, do not limit GBI’s ability to enforce these Terms throughout the Service.
Do not assume a discussion or direct message will remain confidential after a recipient sees it. Participants may capture or disclose what they receive. We may access or review content when reasonably necessary to operate the Service, respond to reports, enforce these Terms, protect users, or comply with law, as further described in the Privacy Policy.
7. Reporting, blocking, and moderation
You can report content or accounts that you believe violate these Terms using [in-app reporting method to be confirmed] or by contacting [safety contact to be added]. You can block another user using [in-app blocking method to be confirmed]. We may review reports and take action, including limiting distribution, removing content, restricting features, suspending or terminating accounts, and notifying appropriate authorities when warranted.
We decide how to enforce these Terms based on the circumstances. We may use automated systems and human review. We are not obligated to monitor every post or message, and we cannot guarantee that all objectionable content will be removed immediately. If your content or account is affected by a decision, you may request a review at [appeals contact to be added].
8. Deleting your account and content
You can delete your account in the app. When you do, we will delete the posts, messages, and uploaded images associated with your account from the Service so they are no longer visible to any user, including other participants in a conversation. We will explain any processing time and narrow legal or security retention exceptions in the Privacy Policy before launch. Deleting an account cannot erase screenshots, downloads, or other copies that someone made outside the Service.
You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access if you violate these Terms, create risk or legal exposure for others or GBI, or if we discontinue the Service. Where appropriate, we may give notice or an opportunity to appeal, but urgent safety or legal concerns may require immediate action.
9. Intellectual property and feedback
The Service, including its software, design, name, and branding, belongs to GBI or its licensors and is protected by applicable law. We give you a personal, limited, revocable, nontransferable permission to use the Service as these Terms allow. These Terms do not transfer ownership of the Service to you.
If you send us suggestions or feedback, we may use them to improve the Service without paying you. This does not change your ownership of content you post through the Service.
10. Third-party services and links
The Service may link to third-party sites or use services provided by others. We do not control their content or practices. Their terms and privacy policies may apply when you use them. App stores may also have separate terms governing your download and use of the app.
11. Changes and availability
We may change features, interrupt access for maintenance, or discontinue all or part of the Service. We will make reasonable efforts to communicate material changes that affect users.
We may revise these Terms. We will post the updated version with a new effective date and give additional notice of material changes when appropriate. Unless a different date is stated, revised Terms take effect when posted. If a change requires your consent under applicable law, we will seek it. Continuing to use the Service after revised Terms take effect means you accept them.
12. Disclaimers
The Service is provided “as is” and “as available” to the extent permitted by law. We do not promise uninterrupted or error-free operation, that all user content is accurate, or that interactions with other users will be safe or satisfactory. You are responsible for evaluating information and interactions on the Service. Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties or rights that cannot legally be excluded.
13. Limits on liability
To the extent permitted by law, GBI and its directors, officers, employees, and agents will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, or goodwill arising from your use of the Service. To the extent permitted by law, our total liability for claims arising out of or relating to the Service or these Terms will not exceed the greater of $100 or the amount you paid GBI for the Service in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. These limits do not apply where prohibited by law or to liability that cannot legally be limited.
14. Governing law and disputes
California law governs these Terms and disputes concerning the Service, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where applicable law requires otherwise. Any lawsuit relating to these Terms or the Service will be brought in the state or federal courts located in [California county to be confirmed], unless applicable law gives you the right to bring it elsewhere. You and GBI consent to those courts’ jurisdiction. Before filing a lawsuit, please contact us at [legal contact to be added] so we can try to resolve the issue informally. This paragraph does not prevent either party from seeking urgent court relief when necessary.
15. General terms
If a provision of these Terms is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later. You may not assign your rights or obligations under these Terms without our consent; we may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of the Service, subject to applicable law. These Terms and any policies expressly incorporated into them form the agreement between you and GBI about the Service.
16. Contact
Connections Plus is owned and operated by GBI Technologies, Inc., a California corporation.
Questions about these Terms: [legal email address to be added]
Safety reports: [safety email address to be added]
Mailing address: [business mailing address to be added]