Draft — not yet in force. Highlighted details are still being finalised; email us with any question in the meantime.

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Ekko app, website and related services (together, the “Service”), provided by [Company Name] (“Ekko”, “we”, “us” or “our”). The Service lets people send you anonymous text and voice messages through your personal link.

By using the Service you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy, which forms part of them. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Definitions

An “ekko” is a text or voice message sent through the Service. An “owner” is a person with an Ekko account who receives ekkos through their link. A “sender” is anyone who sends an ekko; senders do not need an account. “Content” means any text, voice recording or other material sent, posted or uploaded through the Service, including an owner’s replies and profile.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or to use the Service in any way. The Service is not directed at anyone under 18, and nothing about it — including links owners share and prompts they post — may be aimed at children.

We ask for your date of birth when you sign up, and may ask the App Store or Google Play to confirm your age range. We may ask you to verify your age at any time, including before adult content is delivered to you. If we believe an account belongs to someone under 18, we will close it and delete its data.

You must be able to enter into a binding agreement. If you accept these Terms on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you have authority to bind it.

3. Anonymity of senders

Senders are anonymous to owners — not to Ekko. We never show an owner a sender’s name, account, IP address, precise location or contact details.

An owner may see a hint about an ekko, drawn only from real data recorded when it was sent: the city and country the sender was in, the kind of device they used (for example iPhone or computer), or the app they came from (for example Instagram). A hint never identifies a sender on its own, and is never guessed or made up. Senders are told which hints an owner could see before they send, and can turn hints off for their ekko.

Voice ekkos are disguised by default. A sender can choose to let the owner hear a short clip of their real voice; this never happens without that choice.

We keep limited technical information about senders, described in the Privacy Policy, for safety, abuse prevention and legal compliance, and may disclose it where the law requires or to protect someone from serious harm.

Ekko never creates or sends a message pretending to come from a person. Anything from Ekko is clearly labelled as coming from Ekko, and sample messages are labelled as examples.

4. Conduct and prohibited content

You are responsible for the Content you send, post or upload. You must not send, post or upload Content that:

• threatens, harasses, bullies, intimidates or targets anyone
• encourages or promotes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders
• sexualises anyone under 18 in any form — this is always prohibited, is preserved as evidence and reported to the authorities, and leads to a permanent ban
• is sexual and aimed at someone who has not chosen to receive adult content, or keeps being sent after the owner has blocked or reported you
• attacks or demeans anyone because of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, age or a similar characteristic
• impersonates a real person, including by imitating their voice, or reveals someone’s private information without their consent
• is unlawful, promotes unlawful activity or infringes anyone’s rights
• is spam, fraud or unsolicited advertising
• tries to harm or disrupt the Service, including malware, automated scraping, reverse engineering or any attempt to identify a sender

Ekko carries text and voice only. Sexual text and voice ekkos are delivered only to owners whose age we have verified and who have not switched adult content off; everyone else never receives them.

5. Safety and enforcement

Every ekko is checked by automated moderation before it is delivered, and voice ekkos are transcribed so their words can be checked too. Owners can report any ekko and block the device it came from. Safety features are free and never behind a paid plan.

Reports are reviewed by people. We aim to respond to reports within [Response window]. You can also report abuse by emailing hey@ekko.onl.

We may remove Content, restrict features, block a sending device, or suspend or close an account that breaks these Terms. Except as below, we will tell you about the violation and give you a chance to respond before suspending or closing an account. You can appeal an enforcement decision by emailing hey@ekko.onl.

We may act without notice where needed to deal with child safety, threats of violence, fraud, a risk of imminent harm or a legal requirement, and may report it to law enforcement and disclose information, including sender information, as the law permits.

6. Accounts

Keep your login details confidential; you are responsible for activity on your account. Tell us promptly about any unauthorised access. One account per person. Accounts may not be sold, rented or transferred.

You can delete your account at any time in Settings → Delete account. The Privacy Policy explains what happens to your data.

7. Content and licence

You keep ownership of the Content you create.

You give Ekko a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, process, display and transmit your Content only as needed to operate, secure and improve the Service — including applying voice effects and moderating it. The licence ends when your Content is deleted, except for backup copies kept for a limited time, Content we must keep by law, and Content others have already saved or shared.

When you export an ekko you received as a video or image and share it elsewhere, that platform’s own rules apply to it. We will not sell your messages or use them to advertise to anyone.

We may use feedback you give us without restriction or payment.

8. Intellectual property

The Service, including its name, logo, software and design, belongs to [Company Name] and its licensors. We give you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service under these Terms. You may not copy or resell it or use it to build a competing product.

9. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available”. As far as the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose and uninterrupted availability. Moderation reduces harmful content but cannot catch everything.

Ekko is not responsible for Content sent by users or for interactions between users.

As far as the law allows, our total liability to you for any claim arising from these Terms or the Service is limited to the greater of [Liability cap] and the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including for death, personal injury or fraud.

10. Changes to these Terms

We may change these Terms. We will give at least fourteen days’ notice of a material change in the app or by email before it takes effect. If you do not agree, you can delete your account before then; continuing to use the Service after that date means you accept the change.

11. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Jurisdiction], without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Disputes go to the courts of [Courts], except where mandatory consumer protection law gives you other rights.

12. General

These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and Ekko about the Service. If any part is unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Not enforcing a provision is not a waiver of it. If these Terms are translated, the English version governs.

13. Contact

[Company Name], [Address]. Email hey@ekko.onl.