Terms of Service

1. Definitions

"App" The BookMySessions mobile application and all associated services, features, and content.

"Company" [COMPANY NAME], its directors, officers, employees, agents, and assigns.

"Seeker" A User who uses the App to access peer support and guidance services from Experts.

"Expert" An independent service provider listed on the Platform — covering peer listening, mentoring, and coaching support.

"Session" Any interaction (text chat, voice call, or video call) between a Seeker and an Expert facilitated through the App.

"BMS Coins" The in-app virtual currency used to pay for Sessions.

"Platform" The App, its backend infrastructure, and all related services.

"Content" Any text, audio, video, images, or other material transmitted on or through the Platform.

2. Eligibility — Strict 18+ Only

USE OF THE PLATFORM BY PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

By registering, you represent and warrant that:

• (a) You are at least 18 years of age
• (b) You have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872
• (c) You are not prohibited from using the Platform under any applicable law

If you are under 18 and use this Platform:

• Your account will be permanently terminated immediately upon discovery
• All associated data will be purged
• The incident will be reported to authorities under POCSO Act, 2012 or Juvenile Justice Act, 2015
• The individual who facilitated the minor's access bears full personal legal liability
• The Company bears zero liability for any harm arising from a minor's use facilitated by User misrepresentation

3. Nature of the Platform — Critical Disclaimer

SAFE SPACE IS A PEER SUPPORT MARKETPLACE — NOT A HEALTHCARE OR MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT PROVIDER.

The Company:

• Does NOT provide medical, psychiatric, psychological, clinical, or therapeutic services
• Does NOT employ or control Experts; Experts are independent contractors, not employees or agents of the Company
• Does NOT supervise, verify the completeness of, or endorse any advice, guidance, or content shared by Experts
• Is NOT responsible for outcomes of Sessions, including any deterioration in mental or emotional health

Experts are not substitutes for licensed mental health professionals, medical doctors, lawyers, or financial advisors. For any crisis, emergency, legal matter, or clinical concern, seek licensed professional help.

4. Expert Terms — Independent Contractor Obligations

4.1 Professional Conduct

• Provide services honestly, competently, and with reasonable care
• Not misrepresent your qualifications, credentials, experience, or identity
• Not impersonate any licensed professional unless verified by the Company

4.2 Strict No-Contact-Outside-Platform Rule

ATTEMPTING TO CONTACT A SEEKER OUTSIDE THE SAFE SPACE PLATFORM IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

This includes:

• Soliciting or sharing personal phone numbers, email addresses, or social media handles
• Meeting Seekers in person arranged through the Platform
• Building a parallel service relationship to circumvent BMS Coins

Violation constitutes:

• (a) Immediate permanent account termination without refund
• (b) Forfeiture of all accrued BMS Coin earnings
• (c) Potential civil liability to the Seeker and to the Company
• (d) Reporting to law enforcement if contact constitutes harassment or stalking

4.3 Anti-Scam and Anti-Fraud

You must not:

• Request payments outside the Platform
• Make false representations to induce Seekers to purchase additional Sessions
• Use the Platform to market or sell external products, services, or subscription schemes
• Harvest Seeker data for any purpose beyond conducting the Session

Violations will result in permanent ban, forfeiture of all earnings, and referral to the Cyber Crime Cell under the IT Act, 2000.

4.4 Confidentiality of Seeker Information

Experts must treat all Seeker disclosures as strictly confidential. You must not:

• Disclose a Seeker's identity, personal details, or session content to any third party
• Screenshot, record, or store session content outside the App
• Use Seeker information for any purpose other than conducting the Session

Breach of Seeker confidentiality makes the Expert solely and fully liable for all damages suffered by the Seeker and any regulatory penalties imposed on the Company.

5. Seeker Terms — User Obligations

• Use the Platform solely for lawful personal peer support purposes
• Not share personal identifying information with Experts beyond what is necessary for the Session
• Not use the Platform to obtain prescriptions, clinical diagnoses, legal filings, or other regulated professional outputs
• Report any Expert who attempts to contact you outside the Platform immediately via the in-app reporting feature
• Accept that Expert advice is peer support — you bear sole responsibility for decisions made based on Session content

6. Prohibited Conduct — All Users

• Uploading, transmitting, or soliciting content that is obscene, pornographic, or in violation of POCSO, IPC/BNS, or any applicable law
• Harassment, bullying, threats, or abuse of any kind
• Impersonation of any person or entity
• Attempting to circumvent the BMS Coin payment system
• Reverse engineering, scraping, or attempting to extract data from the Platform
• Coordinated manipulation (fake reviews, coordinated reporting abuse, bot usage)
• Any activity that disrupts, damages, or impairs the Platform or other users' access
• Using the Platform to recruit, solicit, or advertise services outside the Platform
• Any form of money laundering, fraudulent payment activity, or misuse of the refund/dispute system

Violations may result in immediate account termination, legal action, and referral to law enforcement authorities.

7. BMS Coins — Payment, Refunds, and Disputes

7.1 Nature of BMS Coins

BMS Coins are non-legal tender virtual credits used exclusively within the Platform. 1 INR = 1 BMS Coin. BMS Coins hold no monetary value outside the Platform and are not redeemable for cash by Seekers.

7.2 Payment Gateway Fund Freezes

In the event that a payment gateway freezes, withholds, or delays transfer of funds:

• The Company is not liable to Seekers or Experts for unavailability of funds during such freeze
• The Company will make commercially reasonable efforts to recover and transfer funds once the freeze is lifted
• Experts whose payouts are affected will be notified and will receive their earnings upon resolution
• The Company does not guarantee payout timelines during third-party payment gateway disruptions

7.3 Refund Policy

• Completed Sessions are non-refundable unless there is a verified technical failure attributable to the Company's infrastructure
• Sessions that fail to start due to Expert no-show will be refunded in BMS Coins
• BMS Coins already credited are non-refundable to cash under normal circumstances
• Refund disputes must be raised within 7 days of the session date via in-app support

7.4 Fraudulent Chargebacks

Any User who initiates a fraudulent chargeback after receiving services will be permanently banned and may be pursued for recovery of amounts plus costs.

8. Platform Availability and Service Outages

8.1 No Uptime Guarantee

The Company does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted, or error-free operation of the Platform. The App is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis.

8.2 Third-Party Infrastructure

The Platform relies on third-party infrastructure including a real-time voice/video provider, Google Firebase (database/auth), and payment gateways. The Company is not liable for any outage, degradation, or failure of these third-party services, including:

• Voice/video provider outages during peak hours preventing session connectivity
• Firebase downtime affecting login or messaging
• Payment gateway unavailability

Users are advised to not rely on the Platform for any emergency or time-critical communication.

8.3 App Store Availability

The Company is not liable for any removal, suspension, or delisting of the App by a platform operator. In such an event:

• The Company will endeavour to restore availability or provide an alternative
• Users' BMS Coin balances will be maintained and honoured upon service restoration
• No compensation is payable for any period of App unavailability due to store removal

9. Expert Availability and Service Continuity

The Company does not guarantee the continuous availability of any specific Expert or any minimum number of Experts. In the event of significant reduction in active Experts:

• The Company is not obligated to maintain a minimum service level
• Seekers' unused BMS Coin balances will remain valid for any available Experts
• No refund obligation arises solely due to reduced Expert availability

10. Intellectual Property

All technology, design, trademarks, logos, and proprietary content of the Platform are owned by or licensed to the Company. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the App for its intended purpose only. You must not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from any Platform content without express written permission.

11. User-Generated Content

You retain ownership of content you submit on the Platform. By submitting content, you grant the Company a royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to process and store such content solely to provide the service.

You represent that your content does not violate any law or third-party rights. You are solely responsible for your content and indemnify the Company against all claims arising from it.

12. Privacy

Your use of the Platform is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. By using the Platform, you consent to the collection and processing of your personal data as described in the Privacy Policy.

13. Crisis, Suicide, and Emergency Situations

SAFE SPACE IS NOT A CRISIS INTERVENTION OR EMERGENCY SERVICE.

If you are in crisis:

• Emergency: 112
• iCall: 9152987821
• Vandrevala Foundation: 1860-2662-345 (24/7)
• NIMHANS Helpline: 080-46110007

The Company explicitly disclaims all liability for:

• Any self-harm, suicide, attempted suicide, or harm to others occurring before, during, or after use of the Platform
• Any failure by a Expert to identify or appropriately respond to a crisis situation
• Any advice given by a Expert that a Seeker acts upon to their detriment

Users acknowledge that Experts are peer support providers, not emergency responders, and that the Platform is not a substitute for emergency services or licensed mental health care.

14. DPDP Act Compliance — Data Principal Acknowledgements

By using the Platform, you acknowledge:

• You have received and reviewed the Privacy Policy and consent to the processing described therein
• You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account, subject to legally mandated retention obligations
• The Company will process your data only for the purposes disclosed in the Privacy Policy
• You have the right to access, correct, and erase your data as described in the Privacy Policy
• You may nominate a representative to exercise your rights in case of incapacity or death

15. Limitation of Liability

15.1 Exclusion of Consequential Damages

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, the Company shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, including:

• Loss of data
• Loss of revenue or profits
• Emotional distress or psychological harm
• Physical harm
• Reputational damage
• Loss arising from reliance on Expert advice or session content

15.2 Cap on Direct Liability

The Company's total aggregate liability to any User for direct damages shall not exceed the value of BMS Coins purchased by that User in the 3-month period immediately preceding the claim, or INR 1,000 (whichever is lower).

15.3 Peer-to-Peer Transactions

Sessions are direct transactions between Seekers and Experts. The Company acts as a marketplace intermediary only and is not a party to the service transaction. Disputes arising from session quality, Expert conduct, or Expert advice are between the Seeker and the Expert.

15.4 Third-Party Conduct

The Company is not liable for any harm caused by:

• A Expert contacting a Seeker outside the Platform
• A Expert misrepresenting their qualifications
• A Seeker or Expert sharing another user's personal information
• Fraud or scams perpetrated by Users
• Platform abuse by bad-faith Users

15.5 Infrastructure Failures

The Company is not liable for losses arising from voice/video provider outages, Firebase downtime, payment gateway failures, internet connectivity issues, or any other third-party infrastructure failure.

16. Indemnification

You (the User) agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company from and against all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including legal fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use of the Platform in violation of these Terms
• Your User-Generated Content
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation
• Any harm caused by you to another User
• False representations made by you (including false age declaration)
• Your breach of any obligation as a Expert (including unauthorised contact, scams, confidentiality breach)
• Any POCSO, DPDP, or IT Act violation attributable to your conduct

17. Account Termination

17.1 Termination by User

You may delete your account at any time through in-app settings. Deletion is irreversible after the 30-day grace period. BMS Coin balances are forfeited upon account deletion and are non-refundable.

17.2 Termination by Company

The Company may suspend or permanently terminate your account, with or without notice, for:

• Breach of these Terms
• Fraudulent activity
• POCSO violations or suspected minor access
• Law enforcement direction
• Repeated reports of misconduct
• Any conduct that the Company reasonably determines is harmful to Users, the Platform, or the Company's reputation

18. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

18.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India.

18.2 Mandatory Pre-Litigation Notice

Before initiating any legal proceeding, the aggrieved party must send a written notice to the other party. The parties shall attempt to resolve the dispute amicably within 30 days of such notice.

18.3 Arbitration

If the dispute is not resolved amicably, it shall be referred to binding arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Arbitration shall be:

• Conducted by a sole arbitrator mutually appointed
• Conducted in Pune, India
• Conducted in the English language
• Decided based on Indian law

The arbitral award shall be final and binding.

18.4 Class Action Waiver

YOU WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO BRING CLAIMS AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. All claims must be brought individually.

19. Changes to Terms

The Company reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated via in-app notification at least 15 days before taking effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to revised Terms, you must delete your account before the effective date.

20. Contact and Grievance

Grievance Officer: [NAME]

Company: [COMPANY NAME]

Address: Pune, Maharashtra, India

Email: legal@bookmysessions.in

Response Time: Within 72 hours of receipt

For consumer disputes, you may approach the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.