Terms of Service

Version: 1.0

Last Updated: February 1, 2023

Welcome to Hi Social, and our vision for a new kind of social!

The following outlines the terms of service of the Hi Social website (TOS). Before using any of the Hi Social services, you are required to read, understand, and agree to these terms.

Please find Hi Social’s privacy policy here. By agreeing to these terms of service, you likewise agree to Hi Social’s privacy policy. 

You will comply with this Agreement and all applicable local, state, national and international laws, rules and regulations, including without limitation, privacy laws, intellectual property laws, anti-spam laws, and regulatory requirements.

We understand that everyone is not a lawyer and that a lot of this language is complicated. That’s why below each section, we’ve provided a simpler explanation of the legal terms (note: the simplified version is not technically legally binding, and is intended as a helpful companion to the fuller specific terms).

As an initial overview of these TOS, we’d like to share our philosophy behind our vision for Hi Social, its services, and our users.

Today’s Social Networks (“Social 1.0”) seek to maximize user screen time and data, minimizing privacy and influencing behavior.

Our vision for Social 2.0 is re-imagining how we use technology to make the real world more social. We want to keep our users off their screens as much as possible, to maximize your privacy, and to use data only as needed, with transparency and consent. Our main metric is to create meaningful in real life interactions and social experiences. 

Description of Service

Hi Social, Inc. (“Hi Social”, “we”, “us” or “our”) provides a platform via its website and apps (the “Site”, including but not limited to Hi.Social and SayHi.Social) to a community of registered users (“users” or “you”) to engage in a variety of activities, including to creating a profile, pre-vetting other users according to your and their preferences, and meeting other users and attending events (individually and collectively, the “Services”). The foregoing list of Services is not all-inclusive and additional Services may be offered by us from time to time. The following are the terms of use (“Terms”) for using the Site and the Services.

In short,

We enhance the social lives of our members by connecting people within communities. You start by making your profile and telling us what you’re interested in. We will develop more features and services in the future.

Acceptance of Terms

BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU ARE AGREEING, ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF AND THOSE YOU REPRESENT, TO COMPLY WITH AND BE LEGALLY BOUND BY THESE TERMS AS WELL AS OUR PRIVACY POLICY AND ALL APPLICABLE LAWS. IF YOU, FOR YOURSELF OR ON BEHALF OF THOSE YOU REPRESENT, DO NOT AGREE TO ANY PROVISION OF THESE TERMS, YOU MUST, FOR YOURSELF AND ON BEHALF ANY SUCH PERSON(S), DISCONTINUE THE REGISTRATION PROCESS, DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, AND, IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED, CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT.

In Short,

By using Hi Social, you agree to all the terms below.

Modification of Terms

Hi Social reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace the Terms at any time. If the alterations constitute a material change to the Terms, Hi Social will notify you by posting an announcement on the Site. What constitutes a material change will be determined at Hi Social’s sole discretion. You are responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any such modifications. Using any Service constitutes your acceptance of the Terms as modified.

In addition, when using particular features of the Services, you are subject to any posted guidelines, terms or rules applicable to such Services.

Your access to and use of the Site and our Services may be interrupted from time to time as a result of equipment malfunction, updating, maintenance or repair of the Site or any other reason within or outside of our control. Hi Social reserves the right to suspend or discontinue the availability of the Site, any Service, and to remove any content at any time at its sole discretion and without prior notice. Hi Social may also impose limits on certain features and Services or restrict your access to parts of or all of the Site and the Services without notice or liability. The Site should not be used or relied upon for storage of your content.

In Short,

If these terms change, we will notify you. As well, at times things can go wrong and the service may be interrupted. It’s unlikely, but sometimes things can go really wrong.

Registration

As a condition to using the Services, you are required to open an account with Hi Social, select a password and username, and to provide registration information including a valid email address. We are currently only available to individuals with a .edu email address but this may change in the future. The registration information you provide must be accurate, complete, and current at all times. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your access to the Services, by terminating your account. Any personal information that you provide to Hi Social is governed by the Hi Social Privacy Policy.

You may not use as a username the name of another person or entity or that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trademark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than you without appropriate authorization, or a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar, or obscene.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and are solely responsible for all activities resulting from the use of your password and conducted through your Hi Social account.

Services are available to authorized representatives of legal entities and to individuals who are at least 18 years old and present in the United States.

The Services are for use by individuals who are creating 1 account for personal use as themselves. You are not allowed to upload content for the purposes of self-advertising outside of the intended use of the service.

You cannot create an account IF you have been convicted of or pled no contest to a felony, or a sex crime or any crime involving violence or a threat of violence. IF you have received clemency for a non-violent crime and we have determined that you are not likely to pose a threat to other users of our Service, your account registration may be considered.

In Short,

To fully use the services, you need to create your own account, without violating other people’s rights or using the service for business or other spammy reasons. Likewise, for the general safety of our users, certain users are prohibited from creating an account.

User Conduct

All Content posted or otherwise submitted to the Site, and any comments, or other communications (“Communications”, with Visual Content and Communications collectively referred to as “Content”) is the sole responsibility of the account holder from which such Communications originate. You acknowledge and agree that you, and not Hi Social, are entirely responsible for all Content that you post, or otherwise submit to the Site, including via messages exchanged through Hi Social’s messenger service. Hi Social does not control user submitted Content and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Site, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, or objectionable.

As a condition of use, you promise to abide by our Content Guidelines and not to use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms, or any other purpose not reasonably intended by Hi Social. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree not to use the Services:

1) To abuse, bully, harass, threaten, impersonate, or intimidate any person;

2) To post or transmit, or cause to be posted or transmitted, any Content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, offensive, profane, or that infringes any copyright or other right of any person;

3) To communicate with Hi Social representatives or other users (digitally or in real life) in an abusive or offensive manner;

4) For any purpose (including posting or viewing Content or communicating with users) that is not permitted under the laws of the jurisdiction where you use the Services;

5) To post or transmit, or cause to be posted or transmitted, any Communication designed or intended to obtain password, account, or private information from any Hi Social user;

6) To create or transmit unwanted ‘spam’ or viruses or malware to any person (via URL);

7) To post copyrighted or trademarked Content that does not belong to you;

8) You agree not to use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission. Additionally, you agree that you will not: (i) take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (ii) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site or any activities conducted on the Site; or (iii) bypass any measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site;

9) To advertise to, or solicit, any user to buy or sell any third party products or services, or to use any information obtained from the Services in order to contact, advertise to, solicit, or sell to any user without their prior explicit consent;

10) To reverse engineer or copy any of our services for 3rd party or off-platform usage of any kind without written authorization by the Board of Directors of the Company.

11) To take screenshots of any profiles or communication on Hi Social (and to publicize it).

To report a suspected abuse of the Site or a breach of the Terms, please send written notice to Hi Social at email: help@Hi Social.com.

You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users of the Site. Hi Social reserves the right, but has no obligation, to review disputes between you and other users.

If the Services or Site are used in a manner that violates the Terms in any way, Hi Social may at its sole discretion, but is not required to, suspend or terminate your account, disable your access to the Site and/or take any steps that it deems appropriate to address the situation.

In Short,

You must follow our User Conduct Guidelines and can't use our site to harass people, send spam, etc. Be reasonable and responsible and fun and nice; don't do anything too stupid and you'll be fine.

Trademarks

Hi Social, Hi Social.com, and other Hi Social graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and service names are registered trademarks, trademarks, or trade dress of Hi Social. Hi Social’s trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of Hi Social.

In short,

Please respect our trademarks and brands!

Termination of Your Account

Hi Social may terminate or suspend any and all Services and/or your Hi Social account immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach the Terms. Upon termination of your account, your right to use the Services will immediately cease. If you wish to terminate your Hi Social account, you must do so in writing and select whether you wish to deactivate (i.e., temporarily suspend) or completely delete your account. Either way, your Content will be removed from the Site pursuant to these Terms. All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership and rights provisions and warranties, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Upon termination (by Hi Social or account deletion by you), Hi Social will remove your content. We will not save or send content from a terminated account, so it is your responsibility to be aware of such.

In short,

We may stop providing services at any time. You can also stop using your account or close your account at any time.

Warranty Disclaimer

YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SITE AND THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS, AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. HI SOCIAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. HI SOCIAL DISCLAIMS ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOSS, INJURY, CLAIM, LIABILITY, OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO (A) ANY ERRORS IN OR OMISSIONS FROM THIS SITE AND THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, TECHNICAL INACCURACIES AND TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS, (B) THIRD PARTY COMMUNICATIONS, (C) ANY THIRD PARTY WEBSITES OR CONTENT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ACCESSED THROUGH LINKS IN THE SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS, (D) THE UNAVAILABILITY OF ALL OR ANY PART OF THE SITE OR THE SERVICES, (E) YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR THE SERVICES, OR (F) YOUR USE OF ANY EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE OR THE SERVICES.

In Short,

Some lawyer, many years ago, got paid double for the all caps… so we copy and pasted that.

Limitation of Liability

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW, NEITHER HI SOCIAL NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, CLIENTS, OR AGENTS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS, INJURY, CLAIM, LIABILITY, OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE, ANY FACTS OR OPINIONS APPEARING THEREON, OR THE SERVICES. HI SOCIAL SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ATTORNEYS’ FEES) IN ANY WAY DUE TO, RESULTING FROM, OR ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR SERVICES. TO THE EXTENT THE FOREGOING LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS PROHIBITED OR FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE, HI SOCIAL’S SOLE OBLIGATION TO YOU FOR DAMAGES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

YOU AND HI SOCIAL AGREE THAT ANY PROCEEDINGS TO RESOLVE OR LITIGATE ANY DISPUTE ARISING HEREUNDER WILL BE CONDUCTED SOLELY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, AND THAT YOU WILL NOT SEEK TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE HEARD AS A CLASS ACTION, A REPRESENTATIVE ACTION, A COLLECTIVE ACTION, A PRIVATE ATTORNEY-GENERAL ACTION, OR IN ANY PROCEEDING IN WHICH YOU ACT OR PROPOSE TO ACT IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT NO PROCEEDING WILL BE JOINED, CONSOLIDATED, OR COMBINED WITH ANOTHER PROCEEDING WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF HI SOCIAL AND ALL PARTIES TO ANY SUCH PROCEEDING.

In Short,

Some lawyer, many years ago, got paid double for the all caps… so we copy and pasted that.

General Provisions

1) Controlling Law. The Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the great State of Delaware and the United States, as applicable, without regard to conflicts of laws principles. 

2) Disputes. Any controversies or disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms shall seek resolution between the parties prior to a legal dispute. In the event a legal dispute is brought against Hi Social, such dispute will be resolved at the discretion of Hi Social by either mediation or arbitration in a United States forum which Hi Social operates in. You consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction of courts in the United States which meet such condition and waive any claim that such courts constitute an inconvenient forum. If Hi Social prevails in such matter, Hi Social shall be entitled to recover its reasonable legal costs relating to that aspect of its claim or defense on which it prevails. The parties agree that, notwithstanding any otherwise applicable statute(s) of limitation, any proceeding brought against Hi Social shall be commenced within two years of the acts, events, or occurrences giving rise to the claim. In the very rare event of an action brought by Hi Social, Hi Social reserves all of its legal rights without limitation.

3) Assignment. These Terms shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties’ heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and permitted assigns. Hi Social may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms, including without limitation, any assignment resulting from any corporate reorganization, merger, sale of substantially all the assets to which these Terms relate. Your obligations under these Terms are personal and may be assigned only with Hi Social’s prior written consent; however, your right to receive payment may be assigned without Hi Social’s prior consent.

4) Relationship of the Parties. Nothing in these Terms will constitute the relationship of an employer and employee, a principal-agent, partnership, or a joint venture between the parties.

5) Notices. Notices to be served in accordance with these Terms may be served by email, or by mail, at the election of Hi Social. However, email shall be the predominant source of communication. You agree to notify Hi Social of any change in your email or mail address for the purpose of notification pursuant to this Agreement.

6) Severability. In the event that any provision of these Terms shall be unenforceable or invalid under any applicable law, or so held by applicable court decision, such enforceability or invalidity shall not render these Terms unenforceable or invalid as a whole, and in such event such provision shall be changed and interpreted so as to best accomplish the objectives of such provision.

7) Entire Agreement. These Terms incorporate the entire understanding of the parties concerning the subject matter contained herein and merges and/or supersedes all prior and contemporaneous communications and/or agreements. No action of Hi Social, other than the express or written waiver or amendment, may be construed as a waiver or amendment of these Terms.

8) Personal Information. Please refer to Hi Social’s Privacy Policy for additional information on how Hi Social stores, uses, and processes all personal information.

In Short,

If things go really wrong this is what will happen, along with some other general legal language.

Effective Date of This Terms of Service

This Terms of Service is effective as of February 1, 2023.