Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By using the Service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms. These Terms constitute a binding agreement between you and the operator of Roomie.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. If you are under 18, you must not use the Service. Registered users must provide their true date of birth, and the Service refuses accounts whose date of birth shows they are under 18. By using the Service, you represent that you are 18 or older and that the date of birth you provide is accurate. The operator may suspend or remove any account it reasonably believes belongs to someone under 18.

3. Accounts

• You must register an account to use the Service.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• You may not share your account or allow others to access it.
• You may register with an email address and password, or sign in using Google, Apple, or Facebook. By using one of those services you agree to its terms, as applicable, in addition to these Terms. If you choose your Google or Facebook picture during sign-up, or sign in with Google and have no profile photo, that picture is copied and used as your profile photo, which you can change at any time.
• Profile completion: A registered account must have a username, first name, date of birth, gender, and profile photo before it can send messages, upload images or audio, react to or pin messages, create or join rooms, join Audio Rooms, or create or vote in polls. Until the profile is complete you can still sign in, view content, edit your profile, report or block users, and delete your account. Older app versions that cannot collect these details may need to be updated.
• Accurate profile: Your first name, date of birth, gender, and profile photo must be your own and accurate. Your profile photo must show you and must follow the acceptable use rules in Section 4. Your date of birth and gender cannot be changed after they are set; to correct a mistake, contact the operator (Section 21).
• Profile visibility: Other users can see your username, first name, age (not your date of birth), gender, profile photo, the rooms you host, and, if you choose to add it, your city. People lists only show accounts with a username and profile photo. See the Privacy Policy for details.
• You may sign in on up to three devices at a time, and you may sign out any of them remotely from the app. You are responsible for activity from devices signed in to your account.
• You may delete your registered account from the Profile screen in the app at any time. If your account has a password, you must enter it to confirm.
• Registered accounts that have never been used may be removed. An account counts as unused if it was created at least six months ago and nobody has signed in to it since it was created. Before removal, we email the address registered to the account at least 14 days in advance. Signing in once before the date given in that email keeps the account. Removed accounts cannot be recovered, but you can register again with the same email address. See the Privacy Policy for details.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Post, transmit, or share content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
• Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service, its servers, or any related systems.
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
• Use automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to interact with the Service without prior written permission.
• Send spam, unsolicited messages, or commercial solicitations through the chat or direct message features.
• Collect or harvest personal data of other users without their consent.
• Violate any applicable local, national, or international law or regulation.

The operator reserves the right to remove content and/or terminate or suspend accounts that violate these Terms without notice.

The operator may also limit the visibility of accounts it reasonably believes are fake, automated, or used for testing, automatically or manually. A limited account may be left out of people lists, user search, and room member lists, and its chat room messages may be shown only to that account.

5. User Content

You retain ownership of content you submit to the Service. By submitting content, you grant the operator a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, display, and transmit that content solely for the purpose of operating the Service.

You are solely responsible for the content you post. The operator does not pre-screen user content and is not liable for any content posted by users.

Room hosts: The host of a room may pin one message as a banner at the top of the room and may delete any message posted in that room. Hosts must use these tools in good faith to moderate their rooms and not to harass or mislead members. The operator is not responsible for hosts' moderation decisions, but may act on hosts who misuse them. You may delete your own messages at any time.

Site moderators: Moderators appointed by the operator may delete messages in any room and close or delete any poll.

Invites: You may invite people to rooms by username or email address. Only enter the email address of someone you know and who would expect to hear from you, and do not use invites to send spam.

Blocking: Registered users may block other users. A block stops direct messages and other interaction between the two accounts. The operator is notified of blocks and may review them for abuse.

6. Polls

Registered users may create polls in chat rooms. Poll questions and options are subject to the same acceptable use rules as chat messages (Section 4). Polls are visible to all users in the room and can be shared externally via a unique URL.

• You must not create polls with misleading, abusive, or otherwise objectionable content.
• Each user may cast one vote per poll. Votes are recorded and cannot be anonymous — they are linked to your user account.
• Poll data (questions, options, votes, and creator identity) is stored in the database and is not automatically deleted.
• The operator may close or remove polls that violate these Terms without notice.

7. Direct Messages

The direct messaging feature is available to registered users only. Direct messages are private between sender and recipient.

• End-to-end encryption: Direct messages sent from current app versions, including images and voice messages attached to them, are end-to-end encrypted. The operator stores them only in encrypted form and cannot read them unless they are reported (see Moderation below). The operator can still see who messaged whom and when.
• Your PIN: To read your messages on a new device, your encryption keys are backed up in a form encrypted with a PIN you choose. You are responsible for remembering your PIN; the operator cannot see or recover it. After 10 wrong PIN attempts the backup is locked permanently, and resetting your keys means messages encrypted with your old keys can no longer be read on any new device. The operator is not liable for messages that become unreadable this way.
• Unencrypted messages: Direct messages sent before encryption was introduced, or from app versions without encryption, are stored as readable text, and the operator may access their content where required by law or to investigate violations of these Terms.
• Moderation: Because the operator cannot otherwise read encrypted messages, it relies on reports. If you report a user from an encrypted conversation, the app shares that user's most recent messages to you (up to 10) so the operator can verify and review them, and you may add details to the report. Encryption does not change the acceptable use rules in Section 4.
• Voice calls: Registered users may make one-to-one voice calls from a direct message conversation, unless one has blocked the other. Calls need microphone permission. Call audio is relayed through Roomie's own LiveKit server and is not recorded or stored; a record of each call (who called whom, when, and how it ended) is kept in the conversation. Conduct on calls is subject to the acceptable use rules in Section 4, and you must not record a call without the other person's consent where the law requires it.

8. Voice Messages

Users may record and send voice messages in chat rooms and direct messages. Using this feature requires granting microphone permission to the app. Denying microphone permission does not affect your ability to use any other part of the Service.

• Voice message content is subject to the same acceptable use rules as other messages (Section 4). Do not record or send audio that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, or otherwise objectionable.
• You must have the right to record and transmit any audio you send. Do not record conversations or sounds involving other people without their knowledge or consent where required by applicable law.
• Audio files are uploaded to and stored on Roomie's servers. Those sent in chat rooms or unencrypted direct messages are automatically deleted after 90 days from the date of upload. Voice messages sent in encrypted direct messages are stored in encrypted form and are not automatically deleted.
• The operator may remove voice messages that violate these Terms without notice.

9. Audio Rooms

Registered users may create and host live audio rooms, and users may join them as speakers or listeners for real-time voice conversation. Joining as a listener does not require microphone permission; you only need to grant it if you choose to speak. Real-time audio is relayed through Roomie's own LiveKit server — while you are connected, your voice is routed through that server to the other participants in the room.

• Conduct in audio rooms is subject to the same acceptable use rules as other content (Section 4).
• Unlike voice messages (Section 8), live audio room conversations are not recorded or stored by Roomie.
• The host of an audio room may mute, remove, or change the role (speaker/listener) of any participant, and may end the room at any time, disconnecting all participants.
• Live audio sessions are time-limited: a room ends automatically approximately one hour after it goes live, disconnecting all participants. An audio room that has ended cannot be reopened; a host may create a new one.
• Listeners may request to speak ("raise hand"); the host may accept or decline such requests at their discretion.
• On some devices, staying connected to an audio room while the app is in the background requires the app to run an ongoing background process, which displays a persistent notification indicating you are connected, so the microphone can remain active.

10. GIFs, Memes & Stickers

Users may send GIFs, memes, and stickers in chat rooms and direct messages using the in-app picker, which is powered by the Klipy API. When you browse or search the picker, a customer identifier (your account ID or username) and any search query you enter are sent to Klipy. The media URLs you send as messages are stored in the database as part of chat and direct message history.

• GIFs, memes, and stickers are subject to the same acceptable use rules as other messages (Section 4). Do not use these features to share content that is offensive, harmful, or objectionable.
• This media is sourced from a third-party service. The operator is not responsible for the content of the trending or search results returned by Klipy.
• The picker may include sponsored content (advertisements) served by Klipy alongside trending and search results. Such content is provided by Klipy and is identified as advertising within the picker.

11. Advertising

The Service is free to use and is supported by advertising. Ads are served by Google AdMob and appear as labelled cards in the Rooms and People lists, and occasionally as a full-screen ad, which may include video, after you leave an Audio Room. Ads do not appear inside chat rooms, direct messages, calls, or Audio Rooms. A full-screen ad can be closed once it allows it, usually after a few seconds.

• Ads are provided by third-party advertisers through Google. The operator does not choose individual ads, does not endorse the products or services advertised, and is not responsible for advertisers' content, products, or websites.
• Tapping an ad may open a website, an app store, or another app. Your dealings with an advertiser are solely between you and that advertiser.
• How advertising uses your data, and how to change your choices, is described in the Privacy Policy.
• You must not interfere with ads, for example by tapping ads you are not interested in, automating ad interactions, or encouraging others to do so.

12. User Reporting

You may report another user if you believe that user has violated these Terms.

• Reports must be submitted in good faith. Do not submit false, frivolous, or malicious reports.
• Submitting a report does not guarantee any particular outcome. The operator reviews reports and may take action at their sole discretion.
• Report data (including the identities of both reporter and reported user, the reason, any details provided, and copies of the reported user's recent messages) is stored in the database and may be reviewed by site administrators.

13. Feedback

Any user may submit general product feedback through the in-app feedback form. Feedback submissions are stored in the database and may be reviewed by the operator. Do not include personal data or sensitive information in feedback submissions.

14. Notifications

Roomie may ask for permission to send you notifications to alert you about new chat messages or direct messages when the app is in the background or closed, and about new Audio Rooms and room invites.

• Roomie uses push notifications delivered through Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), a service operated by Google. To enable this, your device generates a push notification token which is sent to and stored on our servers and associated with your registered account. The token is used solely to deliver notifications to your device and is removed if you delete your account.
• For chat room messages and unencrypted direct messages, limited message details — such as the sender's username and a short preview of the message text (or an indication that an image, GIF, or voice message was sent) — are transmitted through Google's FCM infrastructure to your device in readable form. Do not treat these notifications as private or end-to-end encrypted.
• For end-to-end encrypted direct messages, the notification carries only the sender's username and the encrypted message, which your device decrypts to show a preview. Once shown, the preview is visible on your device's lock screen and notification history according to your device settings.
• Your use of push notifications is subject to Google's terms and privacy policy as the provider of Firebase Cloud Messaging.
• Notification permission is entirely optional. You can deny or revoke permission at any time through your device settings without affecting your ability to use the Service.

15. Privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

16. Disclaimers

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The operator does not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components.

17. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the operator shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or related to your use of, or inability to use, the Service, even if the operator has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

18. Termination

The operator may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause or notice. You may stop using the Service at any time. Registered users may delete their accounts from the in-app profile/settings modal. Unused registered accounts are removed as described in Section 3.

19. Changes to These Terms

The operator may update these Terms from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page will be updated when material changes are made. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

20. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with applicable law. Any disputes arising under or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts.

21. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact the operator at info@mail.roomieverse.net.