Terms of Use

1. How Heartlynks Inc. Works

Heartlynks Inc. provides private social platform infrastructure for organizations, associations, brands, nonprofits, professional groups, creators, companies, and other community operators.

A Heartlynks Inc.-powered community may include features such as:

• Member profiles
• Activity feeds
• Groups and forums
• Direct messaging
• Events and ticketing
• Blogs and articles
• Photos, files, videos, livestreams, and reels
• Polls, surveys, and challenges
• Offers, jobs, fundraising, donations, subscriptions, or marketplace features
• AI-assisted writing, recommendations, search, moderation, insights, or analytics
• Administrative tools and member engagement dashboards

A person or organization that creates, owns, sponsors, manages, or controls a community is a “Host.” People who join or participate in a community are “Members.” People who visit a public website, landing page, or community preview without registering are “Visitors.”

Each Host may choose its own community name, branding, rules, membership criteria, privacy settings, payment options, features, content, and moderation practices. Hosts may also require Members to follow additional community rules, codes of conduct, membership agreements, or privacy notices.

If a Host’s rules conflict with these Terms, these Terms control with respect to your use of the Heartlynks Inc. Service. A Host may, however, provide additional terms that apply between you and that Host.

2. Who May Use the Service

You may use the Service only if you can form a binding legal contract with Heartlynks Inc. and are not barred from using the Service under applicable law.

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use the Service only with permission from a parent or legal guardian. Hosts may impose higher age requirements for their communities.

You may not create or operate a community on behalf of an organization unless you have authority to bind that organization.

3. Accounts and Registration

To use many parts of the Service, you must create an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep it updated.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately at aus@heartlynks.org if you believe your account has been compromised.

You may not impersonate another person, misrepresent your affiliation with an organization, create accounts for abusive or deceptive purposes, or use another person’s account without permission.

4. Privacy

Our privacy practices are described in the Heartlynks Inc. Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms.

By using the Service, you understand that certain information you provide may be shared with:

• Heartlynks Inc.;
• the Host and authorized administrators or moderators of the community you join;
• other Members, depending on the community’s settings and your own activity;
• service providers who help us operate the Service;
• payment processors, analytics providers, hosting providers, communication tools, and other integrated services; and
• legal authorities when required or permitted by law.

Hosts may have their own privacy policies. You should review the Host’s privacy policy before joining a community.

5. Community Privacy Settings

A Host may configure a community or portions of a community as public, private, invite-only, paid, secret, or otherwise restricted.

Depending on those settings:

• Visitors may be able to see public community pages, posts, profiles, or previews.
• Members may be able to see other Members’ names, profile photos, bios, posts, comments, activity, group memberships, event registrations, or other information.
• Hosts and authorized administrators may be able to see Member account information, profile data, engagement activity, content, reports, payments, support requests, and analytics.
• Search engines may index public areas unless the Host has restricted indexing.
• Private or invite-only areas are intended to be visible only to authorized users, but no online system can guarantee absolute confidentiality.

Do not post information you are not comfortable sharing with the audience permitted by the community settings.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to misuse the Service. You may not:

• violate any law, regulation, court order, or third-party right;
• post unlawful, defamatory, fraudulent, misleading, harassing, hateful, threatening, abusive, exploitative, or invasive content;
• promote violence, self-harm, terrorism, exploitation, or illegal activity;
• upload malware, spyware, viruses, or harmful code;
• scrape, crawl, data mine, copy, harvest, or collect data from the Service without our written permission;
• use bots, scripts, or automated tools to access the Service except as expressly allowed by us;
• interfere with or disrupt the Service;
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to accounts, data, systems, or networks;
• reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the Service except where legally permitted;
• use the Service to send spam or unsolicited commercial messages;
• misrepresent endorsements, affiliations, sponsorships, credentials, professional qualifications, or identity;
• post content that infringes intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or contractual rights;
• use Member data for unrelated commercial purposes, resale, lead scraping, or unauthorized solicitation;
• train, fine-tune, or build AI or machine-learning systems using other users’ content or data without authorization;
• use the Service in a way that harms Heartlynks Inc., Hosts, Members, or the integrity of private communities.

We may remove content, restrict features, suspend accounts, terminate accounts, or take other action if we believe these Terms or community rules have been violated.

7. Your Content

“Your Content” means content you upload, post, submit, display, transmit, create, or make available through the Service, including posts, comments, messages, articles, photos, videos, audio, livestreams, event content, files, listings, polls, reviews, profile information, and other materials.

You keep ownership of Your Content.

By posting or making Your Content available through the Service, you grant Heartlynks Inc. a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to host, store, copy, display, transmit, publish, distribute, modify for formatting or technical purposes, and otherwise use Your Content only as reasonably necessary to operate, improve, secure, support, and provide the Service.

This license allows us to:

• display Your Content to the audiences permitted by the community settings;
• make Your Content available to Hosts, administrators, moderators, and other Members as applicable;
• process Your Content for security, search, accessibility, moderation, notifications, analytics, backups, and technical performance;
• enable integrations or services you or your Host choose to use;
• preserve or disclose Your Content when required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety, or the Service.

You represent that you have all rights necessary to post Your Content and grant this license.

8. User-Generated Content Belongs to Its Owner

You may not copy, modify, reproduce, publish, sell, license, distribute, exploit, scrape, export, train AI models on, or otherwise use another user’s content without that user’s permission or another lawful basis.

Heartlynks Inc. does not endorse user-generated content and is not responsible for the accuracy, quality, legality, safety, or reliability of content posted by Hosts, Members, Visitors, or third parties.

9. Host Data and Member Lists

If you are a Host, you may receive access to Member names, email addresses, profile fields, activity data, payments, engagement information, analytics, and other information associated with your community.

Hosts may use Member information only for legitimate purposes related to operating, supporting, improving, moderating, communicating about, and growing the community, or as otherwise disclosed to Members and permitted by law.

Hosts agree not to:

• sell Member lists;
• disclose Member data to unrelated third parties without proper authorization;
• use Member data for unrelated commercial solicitations;
• send unlawful marketing emails;
• violate privacy, data protection, consumer protection, anti-spam, or membership laws;
• use Member data in a manner inconsistent with the Host’s own privacy promises.

Hosts are responsible for their own compliance with applicable privacy, consumer protection, tax, membership, advertising, fundraising, employment, professional, and industry-specific laws.

10. Host Responsibilities

If you operate a community, you are responsible for:

• the community name, branding, content, rules, membership criteria, and moderation decisions;
• ensuring you have rights to any logos, trademarks, content, or data you upload;
• responding to Member questions and complaints relating to the community;
• obtaining required consents for emails, texts, subscriptions, donations, payments, events, and other communications;
• honoring refund, cancellation, membership, event, and subscription representations you make;
• complying with applicable laws, including privacy, advertising, fundraising, employment, intellectual property, and consumer protection laws;
• ensuring that admins and moderators act appropriately;
• promptly reporting misuse or legal issues to Heartlynks Inc..

Heartlynks Inc. may provide tools to help Hosts manage communities, but Hosts remain responsible for their own community operations and legal obligations.

11. Payments, Subscriptions, Events, Donations, and Marketplace Features

The Service may allow Hosts or Members to offer paid memberships, subscriptions, tickets, events, donations, products, services, offers, jobs, sponsorships, or marketplace listings.

Payment processing may be handled by third-party payment providers. Their terms and privacy policies may apply.

Unless otherwise stated in a separate written agreement:

• fees are due when charged;
• paid features may renew automatically if disclosed at purchase;
• taxes, chargebacks, refunds, and disputes may be the responsibility of the Host or seller;
• Heartlynks Inc. may charge platform fees, transaction fees, processing fees, or other fees;
• Heartlynks Inc. is not responsible for products, services, donations, events, listings, promises, or transactions offered by Hosts or Members;
• Hosts must clearly disclose pricing, renewal terms, refund terms, cancellation rules, eligibility, delivery terms, and material restrictions.

Heartlynks Inc. may suspend payment features or withhold payouts where required by law, payment processor rules, risk controls, fraud concerns, chargebacks, sanctions, or violations of these Terms.

12. AI-Assisted Features

Heartlynks Inc. may provide AI-assisted features, including content suggestions, community insights, recommendations, moderation support, search, summaries, prompts, analytics, or automated assistance.

AI outputs may be incomplete, inaccurate, biased, or inappropriate. You are responsible for reviewing AI-generated or AI-assisted content before relying on it, publishing it, or using it to make decisions.

You may not use AI features to:

• make unlawful, discriminatory, deceptive, or harmful decisions;
• generate spam, impersonation, harassment, or misinformation;
• violate intellectual property or privacy rights;
• bypass community rules or platform safeguards;
• make medical, legal, financial, employment, housing, insurance, immigration, or other high-impact decisions without appropriate human review and professional judgment.

Heartlynks Inc. may process prompts, inputs, outputs, and related usage data to provide, secure, monitor, and improve AI features, subject to our Privacy Policy and any applicable customer agreement.

13. Integrations and Third-Party Services

The Service may allow you or your Host to connect third-party services, such as payment processors, email tools, analytics providers, video providers, CRM systems, social platforms, identity providers, AI providers, calendar tools, or other applications.

When third-party services are enabled, data may be shared with or received from those services. Third-party services are governed by their own terms and privacy policies. Heartlynks Inc. is not responsible for third-party services, their availability, their data practices, or their content.

Hosts are responsible for choosing integrations that are appropriate for their communities and for disclosing their use where required.

14. Heartlynks Inc. Materials

The Service, software, design, source code, systems, templates, documentation, workflows, algorithms, logos, trademarks, text, graphics, interfaces, and other materials provided by Heartlynks Inc. are owned by Heartlynks Inc. or its licensors.

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service for its intended purpose.

You may not copy, modify, sell, lease, sublicense, reverse engineer, decompile, exploit, or create derivative works from Heartlynks Inc. materials except as expressly allowed by us in writing.

15. Feedback

If you send us ideas, suggestions, requests, or feedback, you grant us permission to use them without restriction or compensation. We are not obligated to treat feedback as confidential.

16. Copyright and Trademark Complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights, contact us at:

aus@heartlynks.org

Your notice should include:

• your name and contact information;
• identification of the work or mark claimed to be infringed;
• identification of the content you believe is infringing;
• the URL or location of the content;
• a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is unauthorized;
• a statement that the information in your notice is accurate;
• your physical or electronic signature.

We may remove or disable content and may terminate repeat infringers where appropriate.

17. Suspension and Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. You may be able to close your account through account settings or by contacting us.

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account, content, community, or access to the Service at any time if we believe:

• you violated these Terms;
• you violated community rules;
• your use creates risk, legal exposure, security concerns, fraud concerns, or harm;
• your account is inactive;
• required fees are unpaid;
• we are required to do so by law or third-party provider rules;
• continuing to provide the Service is no longer commercially, legally, or technically practical.

Termination does not relieve you of obligations incurred before termination.

18. Service Changes and Availability

We may add, modify, suspend, discontinue, or remove features at any time. We may also impose limits on storage, usage, communities, members, API access, messaging, or other features.

We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or available at all times.

19. Disclaimers

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Heartlynks Inc. disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, quiet enjoyment, accuracy, availability, security, and non-infringement.

Heartlynks Inc. does not warrant that:

• the Service will meet your requirements;
• the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, timely, or error-free;
• content, analytics, recommendations, AI outputs, or information will be accurate or reliable;
• communities, Hosts, Members, products, services, events, jobs, donations, or transactions will meet your expectations;
• third-party services will remain available or secure.

You use the Service at your own risk.

20. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Heartlynks Inc. and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, service providers, and partners will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, punitive, or enhanced damages, including lost profits, lost revenue, lost goodwill, loss of data, business interruption, reputational harm, or cost of substitute services, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Heartlynks Inc.’s total liability for any claim arising out of or related to the Service or these Terms will not exceed the greater of:

• the amount you paid to Heartlynks Inc. for the Service in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim; or
• one hundred dollars ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these limitations may not apply to you.

21. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Heartlynks Inc. and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, service providers, and partners from and against claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to:

• your use of the Service;
• Your Content;
• your community, if you are a Host;
• your products, services, events, donations, subscriptions, listings, or transactions;
• your violation of these Terms;
• your violation of law;
• your violation of another person’s rights;
• your interactions with Hosts, Members, Visitors, or third parties.

We may control the defense of any matter subject to indemnification, and you agree to cooperate with us.

22. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

23. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

Please contact us first at aus@heartlynks.org so we can try to resolve any issue informally.

Before starting arbitration or litigation, each party agrees to provide written notice describing the dispute and requested relief and to try in good faith to resolve the dispute for at least thirty (30) days.

Except for claims that may be brought in small claims court, claims involving intellectual property misuse, or claims where arbitration is prohibited by law, you and Heartlynks Inc. agree to resolve disputes through individual binding arbitration administered by a neutral arbitration provider under its applicable rules, with proceedings conducted by video call.

You and Heartlynks Inc. agree that disputes will be resolved only on an individual basis and not as a class, collective, consolidated, private attorney general, or representative action.

If a dispute proceeds in court rather than arbitration, you and Heartlynks Inc. consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California, and each party waives the right to a jury trial to the extent permitted by law.

You may opt out of arbitration by sending written notice to aus@heartlynks.org within thirty (30) days after first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your name, account email, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration.

24. International Use

The Service is operated from the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, you are responsible for complying with local laws.

You may not use the Service in violation of U.S. export control laws, sanctions laws, or other applicable trade restrictions.

25. Mobile Applications

If you access the Service through an Apple, Google, or other app store, you understand that the app store provider is not responsible for the Service and may have its own terms.

Your wireless carrier may charge data, messaging, roaming, or other fees.

26. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice by email, in-product notice, website posting, or another reasonable method.

The updated Terms become effective on the date stated in the notice or on the updated Terms. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms.

If you do not agree to the updated Terms, stop using the Service.

27. Notices

We may send notices to you by email, in-product notice, or posting on the Service.

You may send legal notices to us at:

Heartlynks Inc. Email: aus@heartlynks.org

28. General Terms

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms that expressly apply to specific features, are the entire agreement between you and Heartlynks Inc. regarding the Service.

If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect.

You may not assign these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms as part of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or by operation of law.

Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.

These Terms do not create a partnership, agency, employment, joint venture, fiduciary, or franchise relationship.

29. Contact

Questions about these Terms may be sent to:

Heartlynks Inc. Email: aus@heartlynks.org