Terms of Service

1. About these terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and CommonRoom ("CommonRoom", "we", "us") for your use of the CommonRoom mobile app, CommonRoom Web, public pages such as Common ID profiles, and related services (together, the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service you accept these Terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the Service.

2. Who can use CommonRoom

• You must be at least 18 years old. Accounts for minors are not allowed.
• You must sign up with a mobile number that belongs to you, and keep it up to date.
• You may hold one personal account. Do not create accounts for someone else or impersonate anyone.
• You may not use the Service if we have previously suspended or removed your account, unless we agree otherwise.

3. Your account

You sign in with a one-time code sent to your phone. Keep your phone and its codes to yourself: anyone who receives your code can sign in as you. You can turn on an app lock (PIN or biometrics) on your device. Tell us at support@commonroom.space straight away if you think someone else has accessed your account. You are responsible for activity on your account that results from your failing to protect it.

4. Spaces, roles and group responsibilities

Groups on CommonRoom are organised as spaces (and organisations), with rooms inside them. Whoever creates a space is its owner. Owners and the officers they appoint (such as administrators, organisers, secretaries, treasurers and moderators) decide who may join, what each role can do, and how the space is run.

• Officers must use their powers only for the group's legitimate purposes and in line with the group's own rules and the law.
• Some officers can see members' phone numbers so they can run the group. Each time they do, it is recorded. They must not share those numbers outside the group or use them for unrelated purposes.
• An owner who wants to leave or delete their account must first hand ownership to someone else.
• CommonRoom is a tool for your group. We are not a party to your group's decisions, agreements or disputes.

5. Money groups

Money groups (for example merry-go-rounds, savings groups and investment groups) let a group keep a record of contributions, payouts, savings, shares and similar entries.

• CommonRoom does not hold, move or pay out money. Payments happen outside CommonRoom, for example by M-Pesa, bank or cash. We are not a bank, sacco, deposit-taker, payment service or investment adviser.
• Records are entered by the group's managers (such as the treasurer) or reported by members and confirmed by managers. The group, not CommonRoom, is responsible for their accuracy.
• Corrections are added as new entries and the original is kept, so the history can be checked.
• If your group is regulated (for example a registered sacco), you remain responsible for meeting your legal and reporting duties.

6. Your content

You own what you post: messages, files, photos, documents, polls, tasks and other content ("Your Content"). You give CommonRoom a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, copy, process, display and transmit Your Content only as needed to run, secure and improve the Service and to show it to the people you share it with. This licence ends when Your Content is deleted from the Service, except for copies we must keep for legal reasons or that remain in backups for a limited time.

Messages you send to a group stay part of that group's record after you leave or delete your account; they are then shown as from a "Former member". You must have the right to share everything you post.

7. Acceptable use

You must follow the Community Standards. In particular, you must not:

• break the law or help others to do so, including fraud, scams, money laundering or pyramid schemes;
• harass, threaten, bully or abuse anyone, or share someone's private information without their consent;
• send spam or unsolicited bulk messages, or use phone numbers you obtained on CommonRoom for marketing;
• access accounts, spaces or data you are not allowed to, or try to get around limits or security controls;
• upload malware or interfere with the Service, including by scraping, overloading or reverse engineering it (except where the law allows this);
• infringe anyone's intellectual property or privacy rights.

8. Safety, reports and enforcement

You can report messages, users and spaces, and block people, from the app. We review reports and may remove content, limit features, or suspend or close accounts or spaces that break these Terms or the Community Standards, or where we must do so by law. Where it is safe and lawful, we will tell you what action we took and why, and you can ask us to review it by writing to support@commonroom.space.

9. Plans, fees and changes to the Service

Core features are free. Some limits apply to free accounts (for example the number of spaces you can own), and we may offer paid plans in future. We will show any price clearly before you agree to pay. We may add, change or remove features; if a change significantly reduces what you can do, we will give reasonable notice where we can. App versions that are no longer supported may need to be updated before you can continue.

10. Our intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, name and logos, belongs to CommonRoom and its licensors. These Terms give you a personal, non-transferable right to use the Service as intended; they do not give you any other rights in it.

11. Third-party services

The Service relies on providers such as mobile networks and SMS gateways, app stores, push notification services, cloud storage and video meeting infrastructure. Links and services from third parties are governed by their own terms.

12. Leaving CommonRoom

You can leave any space at any time, and delete your account from the app. Deletion takes effect after a 30-day grace period, during which you can change your mind by signing in again. We may suspend or end your access as described in section 8. Sections that by their nature should survive (such as 5, 6, 13 and 14) continue to apply.

13. Disclaimers and limits on liability

We work hard to keep CommonRoom available, accurate and secure, but the Service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent allowed by law, we do not promise that it will always be uninterrupted or error-free, and we are not responsible for content posted by users, for decisions or agreements made within groups, or for money handled outside CommonRoom.

To the fullest extent allowed by law, CommonRoom is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for loss of profits, data or goodwill. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or KES 10,000. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, or your rights as a consumer.

14. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of Kenya. If you have a complaint, please contact us first at support@commonroom.space and we will try to resolve it. If we cannot, disputes will be decided by the courts of Kenya, without affecting any right you have to bring a claim where you live.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. If a change is significant, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect, and may ask you to accept the new Terms to keep using the Service. The date at the top shows when they last changed.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms: support@commonroom.space.