Introduction‍

Welcome to Circle, an app created by Circle App SRL (“Circle,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By using Circle, you agree to these Terms of Service (“Terms”) and our Privacy Policy. You agree to our Terms of Service by installing or using our apps, services, or website (together, “Services” or “Platform”).

About our services

• Eligibility. You must be at least 16 years old to use Circle. By using Circle, you represent and warrant that you are at least 16 years old. The minimum age to use our Services without parental approval may be higher in your home country. If you are below the age of consent to agree to our Terms in your country or region, your parent or legal guardian must agree to our Terms on your behalf to enable you to use our Services. We encourage you to read these Terms together with your parent or legal guardian.
• Account Registration. In order to use our services, you must register for an account using your phone number. During the registration process, you agree to receive text messages and phone calls (from us or our third-party providers) containing verification codes to complete the registration. By providing your phone number, you consent to receive such messages and calls.
• Connecting you with other users.Our aim is to facilitate and enhance your ability to communicate with other users on Circle. This includes the use of various features, such as messaging (text or voice), media sharing (such as images and videos), status updates, and location sharing. In order to offer you more comprehensive communication options, we collaborate with partners, service providers, and affiliated companies.
• Privacy of user data. Circle does not sell, rent, or monetize your personal data or content in any way, ever. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand how we protect the information you provide while using our Services. By using our Services, you agree to our data practices as described in our Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your encrypted information and metadata to the United States and other countries where we have or use facilities, service providers, or partners.

Using Circle

• Legal and Acceptable Use. By using our Services, you agree to use them only for lawful and authorized purposes. You must not use (or assist others in using) our Services in a manner that violates or infringes upon the rights of Circle, our users, or any third party, including but not limited to privacy, publicity, intellectual property, or other proprietary rights. In addition, you agree not to use our Services to send illegal or impermissible communications, such as bulk messaging, auto-messaging, and the like. Additionally, you may not use our Services for illegal activities or to publish content that is obscene, defamatory, threatening, intimidating, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or that instigates or encourages illegal behavior or other inappropriate conduct. This includes promoting violent crimes, endangering or exploiting children or others, or coordinating harm. You are also not allowed to publish falsehoods, misrepresentations, or misleading statements, or impersonate someone else. Finally, any non-personal use of our Services must be authorized by us. We reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates this provision, including without limitation, reporting you to law enforcement authorities.
• Harm to Circle or Our users. Unauthorized use of our Services is strictly prohibited. You agree not to access, use, modify, distribute, transfer, or exploit our Services in any way that is not expressly authorized by Circle. You must not engage in any activities that may harm Circle, our Services, or our systems, or that may violate the rights of our users or others. This includes, but is not limited to, attempting to gain unauthorized access to our Services or systems, disrupting the integrity or performance of our Services, creating accounts for our Services through unauthorized or automated means, collecting information about our users in any unauthorized manner, or selling, renting, or charging for our Services. Any violation of these terms may result in the immediate termination of your account without notice.
• Account security. It is your responsibility to ensure the security of both your device and Circle account. In the event of a lost phone, please refer to our Support site for guidance on how to re-register for our Services. Please note that registering with a new device will render your old device incapable of receiving any messages or calls.
• No Access to Emergency Services. Circle is not intended to be used as a substitute for emergency services, and we do not provide access to emergency service providers such as the police, fire department, hospitals, or other public safety organizations through our Services. It is important that you have access to emergency service providers through a mobile, fixed-line telephone, or other appropriate means. Please do not rely on our Services for any emergency communications or services.
• Fees and Taxes. When using our Services, you are responsible for any data and mobile carrier fees and taxes associated with the devices you use to access our platform.
• Third Party Services. When you use our Services, you may have the option to access, use, or interact with third-party websites, apps, content, and other products and services. If you choose to use third-party services, you do so at your own risk and subject to their terms of service and privacy policies. We are not responsible for any third-party services or their content, and we do not endorse or sponsor them.
• User Content. Circle allows you to post content, including messages, photos, and other materials (“User Content”). You retain all rights in, and are solely responsible for, your User Content.
• Prohibited Conduct. You agree not to engage in any of the following conduct in connection with your use of Circle:
  * Violate any applicable law or regulation;
  * Post User Content that is illegal, offensive, harmful, or discriminatory;
  * Use Circle for any commercial purpose;Impersonate any person or entity or falsely claim an affiliation with any person or entity;
  * Attempt to gain unauthorized access to Circle, other users’ accounts, or any computer systems or networks used by Circle;
  * Engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts Circle or its servers or networks;
  * Use any robot or other automated device or manual process to monitor or copy any content on Circle;
  * Engage in any other conduct that we, in our sole discretion, believe is harmful to Circle, other users, or any third party.

Your Rights and License with Circle

• Ownership of Information. You retain ownership of all information and content that you submit through our Services. By signing up for a Circle account, you confirm that you have the necessary rights to the phone number you use to register
• License of use. Circle provides you with a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use our Services in accordance with these Terms. This license is revocable, meaning we can terminate or suspend your license at any time, for any reason.

Disclaimers and Limitations

• Disclaimers. We want to inform you that the use of our Services is at your own risk and is subject to certain disclaimers. We offer our Services on an "as is" basis, and we do not provide any express or implied warranties, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, and freedom from computer virus or other harmful code. We cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided by us or the operational, error-free, secure, or safe nature of our Services. Our Services may have disruptions, delays, or imperfections, and we do not control or take responsibility for how our users or third parties use our Services. You hereby release Circle Parties from any claims, complaints, causes of action, controversies, or disputes (together, "claims") and damages, known and unknown, relating to, arising out of, or in any way connected with any such claims you have against any third parties.
• Limitation of liability. Circle is not responsible for any lost profits or indirect, special, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages relating to or arising from our Terms, us, or our Services, even if you have been informed of the possibility of such damages. Our total liability in connection with our Terms, us, or our Services will not exceed one hundred dollars ($100). The above disclaimer of certain damages and limitation of liability applies to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. Some states or jurisdictions may not permit the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some or all of the exclusions and limitations listed above may not apply to you. In such cases, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in our Terms, the liability of the Circle  will be limited to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
• Availability of Our Services. We may also terminate or suspend your access to our Services at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. We may also delete your account and any information associated with it. If we terminate your account without cause, and you have a subscription to our paid services, we will refund you a pro-rated portion of your subscription fee for the remainder of the subscription term. However, we will not refund any portion of the subscription fee if we terminate your account due to a violation of these Terms.

Resolving Disputes and Ending Terms

• User Disputes. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Circle users. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other users.
• Intellectual Property. Circle and its content, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, icons, images, audio clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software, are the property of Circle or its content suppliers and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not use any Circle trademarks or logos without our prior written consent.
• Disclaimer of Warranties. Circle is provided “as is” and without warranty of any kind. We do not guarantee that Circle will meet your requirements or be error-free or uninterrupted. We are not responsible for any User Content or the conduct of any user.
• Limitation of Liability. We will not be liable for any damages, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages, arising out of or in connection with your use of Circle. Our total liability to you for all claims arising out of or in connection with Circle will not exceed the amount you paid us, if any, in the preceding twelve months.
• Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold Circle, its officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in connection with your use of Circle, your User Content, or your violation of these Terms.
• Termination. We reserve the right to terminate your access to Circle at any time, for any reason or no reason, without notice or liability.
• Governing Law. These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Romania and the European Union without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law.

General

• Circle reserves the right to update its Terms of Service periodically, and the updated version will be indicated by the "Last Modified" date. Your continued use of the Services implies acceptance of any updated terms, superseding any previous agreements. You must comply with all applicable export control and trade sanctions laws. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Circle with regard to the Services. If you do not agree with these Terms, you should discontinue use of the Services.
• Circle’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not waive its right to enforce them later. If any provision is deemed unlawful, void, or unenforceable, it will be removed without affecting the remaining provisions. The Services are not intended for distribution or use in any country where it would violate local law or regulations. Circle may limit the availability of the Services in any country.