Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing, downloading, installing, or using UniChat (“the App”), you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the App.

2. Eligibility and Account Requirements

University Student Verification

To use UniChat, you must:

• Be a currently enrolled university student with a valid and active university email address
• Be at least 18 years of age, or have verifiable parental or guardian consent if under 18
• Provide complete, accurate, and truthful information during registration
• Successfully complete verification using your university email address

One Account Per Individual

You may only create and maintain one UniChat account. Your university email address is used for verification and is uniquely tied to your account. Creating multiple accounts is strictly prohibited and may result in permanent suspension.

One Account Per Person

You may only create and maintain one UniChat account. Since verification is tied to your university email, creating multiple accounts is not permitted and may result in permanent suspension.

3. Acceptable Use Policy

Permitted Activities

• Engaging in respectful, constructive discussions related to university life, academics, or shared interests
• Connecting with verified students at your university through forums, chat, or Meet
• Sharing personal experiences, advice, and support in line with our community standards
• Choosing to post using a username or anonymously, as per your comfort level
• Using reporting tools to help enforce UniChat’s safety standards

Prohibited Activities

The following behaviors are strictly prohibited and may lead to immediate suspension or termination of your account:

Additional prohibited actions include, but are not limited to:

• Spamming, posting misleading or deceptive content, or using UniChat for promotional/advertising purposes
• Hate speech or discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, or other protected characteristics
• Posting or promoting illegal content or engaging in unlawful behavior
• Attempting to gain unauthorized access to other accounts, data, or UniChat systems
• Using automated tools (bots, scrapers, scripts) to interact with the App or users
• Bypassing or attempting to bypass moderation or security mechanisms

4. Content and Intellectual Property

Your Content

By posting content on UniChat, you retain ownership of anything you create (such as messages, forum posts, or profile text). However, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to:

• Display, reproduce, or distribute your content within the App
• Modify or adapt your content as needed for formatting or moderation
• Use your content for internal purposes such as safety review or feature improvements

This license ends when your content is deleted, unless it has been shared or stored by other users or retained for legal or safety compliance.

Content Responsibility

You are solely responsible for the content you post on UniChat. You agree not to post anything that:

• Violates laws or regulations
• Infringes upon any third party’s copyright, trademark, or intellectual property
• Is false, misleading, or deceptive
• Contains malware, viruses, or harmful code

We reserve the right to remove or restrict content that violates these Terms or our community guidelines, with or without notice.

UniChat Intellectual Property

The UniChat platform, including its name, branding, logo, design, features, and underlying technology, is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not:

• Copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of the App without our written permission
• Reverse-engineer, modify, or attempt to access the source code of the App
• Use UniChat’s brand, logo, or name in ways that suggest endorsement or affiliation without permission

5. Privacy and Anonymity

UniChat values your privacy and offers features that allow you to interact anonymously while still maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all users. All users are required to verify their university status through their email address, but your real identity is never shown publicly unless you choose to reveal it.

For more details on how we handle your data, please review our Privacy Policy.

Anonymity vs. Accountability

While your username or anonymous mode allows privacy in conversations and posts, we maintain internal account records to ensure community safety. This means that:

• Other users will not see your real name, university email, or identifiable details unless shared by you voluntarily
• UniChat can access your account information if required to investigate violations, respond to legal obligations, or protect community members from harm

What You Control

• Choose any username (and change it anytime)
• Toggle between posting as yourself or anonymously in the forum
• Choose whether to create a Meet profile (which is separate from your forum presence)
• Block, report, or restrict who can message you
• Delete your posts, messages, or entire account at any time

6. Reporting and Moderation

Community Safety is a Shared Responsibility

We rely on our verified student community to help maintain a respectful and safe environment. UniChat provides in-app tools to report content or behavior that violates our Terms or Community Guidelines.

What You Can Report

Users can report posts, profiles, messages, or activity that fall into the following categories:

• Harassment, bullying, or targeted abuse
• Threats of violence, self-harm, or harm to others
• Sexually explicit content or exploitation
• Spam, scams, or misleading content
• Hate speech or discrimination
• Privacy violations or doxxing
• Impersonation or fake identities

How We Respond

Once a report is submitted, our moderation team will:

• Review the content within 24–48 hours (or sooner for urgent cases)
• Evaluate whether it violates our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines
• Take appropriate action, including warning, removal, temporary suspension, or permanent ban
• Notify the reporting user if significant enforcement action is taken (where applicable)

False Reporting

Deliberately submitting false or malicious reports is itself a violation of our Terms and may lead to suspension or termination of your account.

Appeals Process

If you believe content was removed or your account was suspended in error, you can appeal the decision by contacting us at appeals@unichat.dev. All appeals will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

7. Account Suspension and Termination

Why Your Account May Be Suspended

UniChat reserves the right to suspend or permanently terminate accounts in response to violations of our Terms of Service, Community Guidelines, or legal obligations.

Examples of actions that may result in suspension include, but are not limited to:

• Repeated or severe harassment, bullying, or hate speech
• Impersonation or use of fake identities
• Sharing explicit or sexually exploitative content
• Attempts to bypass moderation, bans, or verification requirements
• Spam, scamming, or malicious behavior
• Violation of applicable laws or university conduct policies

Types of Enforcement

• Temporary suspension: For less severe or first-time violations; access may be restored after review or conditions are met
• Permanent termination: For serious, repeated, or dangerous violations; access to UniChat will be permanently revoked

One University Email, One Account

Each university email can only be used to create a single UniChat account. If your account is permanently terminated, you may not create a new account using the same or a different university email.

Appealing a Suspension

If you believe your account was suspended in error, you may request a review by contacting our support team:

Email: appeals@unichat.dev

Appeals must be submitted within 30 days of the suspension notice. We review all appeals carefully and respond as soon as possible.

8. Service Availability and Changes

Availability of the Service

We strive to keep UniChat available and fully functional at all times. However, we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access to the App.

• Service interruptions may occur due to maintenance, updates, outages, or factors beyond our control.
• We are not liable for any loss or inconvenience caused by temporary unavailability.

Changes to the App

UniChat is a continuously evolving platform. We may update, improve, or modify features, interfaces, or user experiences at any time to better serve our users and maintain security.

• Changes may include new features, design adjustments, or bug fixes.
• We reserve the right to discontinue any part of the App at our discretion.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our services, or user feedback.

• When we make significant changes, we will notify you via the App or email.
• By continuing to use UniChat after changes are posted, you agree to the updated Terms.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, UniChat and its affiliates, officers, employees, agents, or partners shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of the App.

• We are not responsible for content posted by users or third parties.
• We do not guarantee uninterrupted or secure access to the App.
• We are not liable for data loss, delays, or any communication failures.
• You assume full responsibility for your use of the App and any consequences that arise from it.

This limitation of liability applies regardless of the legal theory under which a claim arises, including contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or otherwise — even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

10. University Partnerships

UniChat is an independent platform and is not officially affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any university, college, or academic institution unless explicitly stated otherwise.

While we verify student status using university-issued email addresses, this process is for community eligibility purposes only and does not imply any formal relationship between UniChat and the educational institutions involved.

11. Governing Law

These Terms of Service are governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Türkiye, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

By using UniChat, you agree that any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the App shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Istanbul, Türkiye, unless otherwise required by mandatory local law in your country of residence.

For users outside of Türkiye, local consumer protection and data privacy laws may also apply, and we will comply with such applicable legal obligations where required.

12. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable under applicable law, that provision shall be deemed severable from the rest of the Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

We will endeavor to replace any invalid or unenforceable term with one that is as close as possible to the original intent, in a manner that complies with applicable law.

13. Contact Information

If you have questions about these Terms, need to report a violation, or want to contact us regarding legal matters, you can reach us at:

• General inquiries: legal@unichat.dev
• Appeals: appeals@unichat.dev
• Safety concerns: safety@unichat.dev