Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of EmberChat (the “Service”). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

The Service is operated by Evil Unicorn Oy, a limited company (osakeyhtiö) registered in Finland (“we,” “us,” or “our”).

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. Rooms are created and moderated by users rather than by us, and we require all account holders to be adults. By using EmberChat, you represent that you are 18 or older and that you have the capacity to enter into these Terms.

2. Your account and identity

EmberChat does not use passwords or email accounts. Your identity is a cryptographic keypair (ed25519) generated and stored on your device. You authenticate by signing a challenge we issue. The keypair is used only as your identity; the Service does not transfer, trade, or store funds or digital currency.

• You are solely responsible for safeguarding your key, your device, and any biometric or device-level protections you use.
• If you lose access to your key, you lose access to your account. Because we never hold your private key, we cannot recover it or reset access on your behalf.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.

3. User-generated content

The Service lets you create rooms and post text, images, and video (“Content”). You retain ownership of the Content you create. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, process, transmit, and display your Content solely to operate and provide the Service (for example, delivering messages to other room participants and generating media thumbnails or previews).

You represent that you have the rights necessary to post your Content and that it does not violate these Terms or any law.

4. Acceptable use

There is zero tolerance for objectionable content or abusive behaviour on EmberChat. You agree not to use the Service to:

• post or transmit pornography or sexually explicit material;
• post or transmit unlawful, harassing, hateful, discriminatory, threatening, or abusive content;
• share content that is sexually exploitative of minors, or otherwise illegal;
• post graphic violence, or content that promotes self-harm, terrorism, or extremist violence;
• infringe the intellectual property or privacy rights of others;
• distribute malware, spam, or engage in fraud or phishing;
• attempt to disrupt, overload, reverse engineer, or gain unauthorized access to the Service or its infrastructure;
• impersonate others or misrepresent your affiliation;
• evade moderation, bans, blocks, or access controls.

5. Reporting, blocking, and enforcement

Reporting. Every message and every user profile can be reported from within the Service. Reports are reviewed within 24 hours.

Blocking. You can block any user from their profile. Blocked users cannot contact you, and you will no longer see their messages.

Enforcement. We remove Content that violates these Terms and suspend or terminate the accounts responsible, without prior notice where appropriate. Users who post content that is sexually exploitative of minors are removed immediately and reported to the competent authorities.

To report content or abuse outside the app, email abuse@emberchat.live or see our Support page.

6. Realtime voice and video

Voice and video calls are delivered using a third-party realtime media platform (LiveKit). By joining a call you consent to your audio and video being transmitted to other participants in that room. Do not record other participants without their consent where consent is required by law.

7. Third-party services

The Service relies on infrastructure providers (for example, realtime media, hosting, object storage, and push notification services). Your use of the Service may be subject to those providers' availability. We are not responsible for third-party services outside our control.

8. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time (see Account & Data Deletion). We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms or if necessary to protect the Service or other users.

9. Disclaimers

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, access to your account, or Content, arising out of or related to your use of the Service.

Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under mandatory consumer protection law.

11. Apple App Store terms

The following applies to the version of the Service obtained through the Apple App Store:

• These Terms are between you and Evil Unicorn Oy only, not with Apple. Apple is not responsible for the Service or its content.
• Your licence to use the app is a non-transferable licence to use it on Apple-branded devices you own or control, as permitted by the App Store Terms of Service.
• Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app.
• If the app fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple may refund the purchase price. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation with respect to the app.
• Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims relating to the app, including product liability, regulatory non-compliance, or consumer protection claims.
• Apple is not responsible for the investigation, defence, settlement, or discharge of any third-party claim that the app infringes intellectual property rights.
• You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo or designated as a terrorist-supporting country, and that you are not on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will revise the “Last updated” date and, where appropriate, provide notice within the Service. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

13. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Finland. If you are a consumer resident in the European Union, you also enjoy the protection of the mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence, and you may bring proceedings in the courts of that country.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email support@emberchat.live.