Terms and Conditions

1. Introduction and Acceptance

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", or "your") and Zcribbler Software Labs Private Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of India ("Zcribbler", "we", "us", or "our").

Zcribbler operates the Zcribbler mobile application and associated services (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service.

2. Definitions

• "Service" means the Zcribbler mobile application, website, API, and all related services operated by Zcribbler Software Labs Private Limited.
• "Content" means any text, images, photographs, videos, audio recordings, polls, and other materials that Users create, upload, or share through the Service.
• "Zcribble" means a piece of content created within the Service, which may be one of twelve types: memory, thought, quote, opinion, conversation, card, event, poll, photo, video, audio, or text.
• "Blip" means ephemeral content that automatically expires and is deleted after a set duration.
• "Space" means a private group within the Service where members can share content and interact.
• "Stamp" means a reaction applied to a Zcribble or reply.
• "Connection" means a mutual social link between two Users.
• "Direct Message" or "DM" means a private message exchanged between two Users within the Service.
• "Personal Data" has the meaning assigned under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (India) and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU).
• "Data Fiduciary" means Zcribbler Software Labs Private Limited, as defined under the DPDP Act, 2023.
• "Data Principal" means you, the User, as defined under the DPDP Act, 2023.

3. Eligibility and Age Requirements

You must be at least 16 years of age to create an account and use the Service.

• Under 16: You are not permitted to use the Service. If we discover that a User is under 16, we will immediately terminate the account and delete all associated data.
• 16 to 17: You may use the Service only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you have obtained such consent. We require you to confirm parental or guardian consent during the registration process, and we record this confirmation in our audit trail (consent type, timestamp, IP address, and user agent), which is preserved even after account deletion to meet our legal obligations.
• 18 and above: You may use the Service without restriction, subject to these Terms.

Your date of birth is required during profile completion and may be changed only once. This restriction exists to prevent circumvention of age-based protections.

These measures are designed to meet our obligations under Section 9 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and Article 8 of the GDPR.

4. Account and Authentication

The Service uses Google Sign-In and Apple Sign-In as the sole authentication methods. We do not store passwords.

• You may create only one account per authentication provider identity.
• You are responsible for securing your authentication provider account (Google or Apple). We are not liable for unauthorised access resulting from compromise of your provider credentials.
• Account deletion requires re-authentication with your sign-in provider to prevent unauthorised deletion.

5. User Content and Intellectual Property

5.1 Ownership

You retain full ownership of all Content you create and share through the Service. Zcribbler does not claim ownership of your Content.

5.2 Licence Grant

By posting Content to the Service, you grant Zcribbler a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable (solely to our infrastructure service providers for hosting and delivery), and revocable licence to store, display, distribute, and transmit your Content solely for the purpose of operating and providing the Service.

This licence:

• Terminates when you delete your Content or your account, subject to the data retention periods described in Section 9.
• Does not grant us the right to sell, license, or distribute your Content outside the Service.
• Does not grant us the right to use your Content for advertising or marketing.

5.3 Content Processing

The Service may generate descriptive labels for your Content to improve search and discovery (for example, categorising content by type). These labels describe general content categories, not personal attributes. Your Content is not sent to third-party AI services for processing.

6. Prohibited Content and Conduct

You agree not to create, upload, share, or transmit Content or engage in conduct that constitutes:

• Spam: Unsolicited bulk messages, repetitive content, or commercial solicitation.
• Harassment: Targeted abuse, threats, intimidation, or bullying of any individual.
• Hate speech: Content that promotes violence, discrimination, or hostility against individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics.
• Inappropriate content: Sexually explicit material, graphic violence, or other content not suitable for the platform.
• Impersonation: Falsely representing yourself as another person or entity.
• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM): Any content depicting or promoting the sexual exploitation or abuse of minors. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy in accordance with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (India) and other applicable laws. A single report is sufficient to trigger immediate action.
• Illegal activity: Content that violates any applicable law, including but not limited to the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• Security circumvention: Attempts to circumvent rate limits, authentication mechanisms, or other security measures of the Service.

Zero tolerance. Zcribbler has zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. Content that violates these standards will be removed, and the accounts responsible may be restricted, suspended, or permanently terminated without prior notice. By using the Service you agree to these standards and that you will not post objectionable content or engage in abusive behaviour toward other Users.

7. Content Moderation

We moderate Content to maintain the safety and integrity of the Service.

7.1 Community Reporting

Any User may report Content or another User for violating these Terms. Reports are categorised by reason (spam, harassment, hate speech, inappropriate content, impersonation, child safety, or other).

7.2 Automated Thresholds

Content that accumulates a defined number of reports may be automatically hidden from the Service pending review. Child safety reports trigger immediate action with a single-report threshold.

7.3 Administrative Review

Our moderation team reviews reports and takes appropriate action, which may include dismissing the report, removing the Content, restricting the User's account, or suspending the User's account.

7.4 Notification

If action is taken against your Content or account, you will be notified with the reason, the specific Content or conduct that triggered it, and instructions for filing an appeal.

7.5 Appeals

You have the right to appeal any moderation decision. Appeals are reviewed by our team and a response is provided within 15 days of submission, consistent with Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

7.6 Final Authority

Zcribbler reserves the right to make final decisions regarding content removal, account restriction, and account termination. While we are committed to fair and transparent moderation, the final determination on all moderation matters rests with us.

8. Account Restriction and Suspension

Depending on the severity and nature of the violation, your account may be placed in one of the following states:

• Restricted: You may continue to view the feed and send Direct Messages, but you cannot create new content or appear in discovery. You may file an appeal.
• Suspended: Your access is limited to viewing your own profile, filing an appeal, and logging out. You may not interact with the Service in any other way.

In both cases, an appeal mechanism is available through the app. We will review appeals within the timelines specified in Section 7.5.

9. Account Deletion

You may request deletion of your account at any time through the app (Settings > Account > Delete Account). The process is as follows:

1. Confirmation: You must type "DELETE" and re-authenticate with your sign-in provider (Google or Apple) to confirm. This protects against unauthorised deletion.
2. Immediate effect (Day 0): Your account becomes invisible to all other Users. Your profile, content, and interactions are no longer visible or discoverable.
3. Grace period (180 days): Your data is retained in a soft-deleted state for 180 days. During this period, you may contact us to restore your account. This retention period complies with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
4. Media purge (approximately 50 days): Your uploaded photos, videos, and audio files are moved to a deletion queue and automatically purged.
5. Permanent deletion (after 180 days): All remaining data is permanently and irreversibly deleted from our databases, including all Zcribbles, replies, stamps, blips, notifications, and account information.

Exceptions:

• Direct Messages you sent will show "[Deleted User]" as the sender, but the message content is preserved for the other participant.
• Spaces you created will be transferred to the next administrator or oldest member.
• Report details are anonymised upon deletion, except for pending child safety reports, which are preserved as required by law (GDPR Article 17(3)(b), POCSO Act).
• Consent audit records are anonymised (your user ID is removed) but preserved for legal compliance.

10. Third-Party Services

The Service relies on the following categories of third-party service providers:

• Google — Authentication (Google Sign-In), analytics (Firebase Analytics), crash reporting (Firebase Crashlytics), and push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging).
• Apple — Authentication (Sign in with Apple).
• Cloud infrastructure providers — Compute, database hosting, media storage, and content delivery. Our primary infrastructure is based in India with geo-redundant backups.

These providers act as data processors on our behalf and are bound by data processing agreements. For details on what data is shared with each, see our Privacy Policy.

We do not use advertising networks, data brokers, or third-party tracking services.

11. Service Availability

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or secure access. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature at any time.

We will make reasonable efforts to notify Users in advance of material changes to the Service.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• Zcribbler shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of data, revenue, or profits, arising out of or relating to your use of the Service.
• Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising from or relating to the Service shall not exceed the amount you have paid to Zcribbler in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or INR 5,000, whichever is greater.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for fraud, gross negligence, death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Zcribbler Software Labs Private Limited, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use of the Service in violation of these Terms.
• Content you create, upload, or share through the Service.
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation.
• Your violation of any third party's rights, including intellectual property rights.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Kannur, Kerala, India.

Before initiating any legal proceedings, you agree to attempt resolution through good-faith negotiation by contacting us at the address provided in Section 17.

15. Changes to These Terms

Zcribbler reserves the right to update or modify these Terms and the Privacy Policy at any time. When we make material changes:

• We will provide at least 30 days' advance notice before the changes take effect.
• Notice will be provided through an in-app notification and, where possible, by email.
• The updated documents will include a new effective date and version number.
• Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and may delete your account.

16. Our Data Practices

Our current data practices reflect the following commitments regarding your personal data:

• We do not sell, rent, lease, or trade your personal data to third parties.
• We do not share your personal data with advertisers or data brokers for targeted advertising, and we do not operate an advertising network.

If we change any of these practices, we will update these Terms and our Privacy Policy and provide notice in accordance with Section 15. Business transfers are addressed in our Privacy Policy.

17. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and Section 13 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, we have appointed the following Grievance Officer:

• Office: Grievance Cell, Zcribbler Software Labs
• Designation: Grievance Officer
• Email: [email protected]
• Location: Kerala, India

We will acknowledge your grievance within 24 hours and endeavour to resolve it within 15 days of receipt.

18. General Provisions

18.1 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

18.2 Waiver

The failure of Zcribbler to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

18.3 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Zcribbler regarding your use of the Service.

18.4 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case your personal data will continue to be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

18.5 Contact

For general enquiries: [email protected]

For privacy and grievance enquiries: [email protected]