Jols

DISCLAIMER — NOT LEGAL ADVICE. This document is a drafted template prepared as a starting point only. It is not legal advice and has not been reviewed by a lawyer. It must be reviewed, completed, and approved by a qualified South African attorney (ideally one experienced in consumer protection, tech, and POPIA) before it is published or relied upon. Placeholders in [SQUARE BRACKETS] must be completed before publishing.

Jols Terms of Service

Effective date: [DATE]

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and [LEGAL ENTITY NAME] ("Jols", "we", "us", or "our") and govern your use of the Jols mobile application and related services (the "App" or "Service").

Jols is a South African social event-discovery platform that helps you find parties and events ("jols"), discover venues, and connect with friends on a map.

Please read these Terms carefully. By creating an account, tapping to accept, or otherwise using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.

These Terms include important provisions that limit our liability and require you to assume certain risks (see Sections 8, 9, and 10). They are drawn to your attention as required by the Consumer Protection Act, 2008.

1. Eligibility and age

  • You must be at least 18 years old to use Jols. By using the App, you confirm that you are 18 or older.
  • You must have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.
  • If we learn that a user is under 18, we may suspend or delete their account.

We set the minimum age at 18 because Jols facilitates discovery of and attendance at real-world parties and nightlife events.

2. Your account

  • You must provide accurate information when you register and keep it up to date.
  • You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity that happens under your account.
  • Notify us promptly at support@jols.co.za if you suspect unauthorised use of your account.
  • You may not share, sell, or transfer your account, or create an account on behalf of someone else without authority.
  • We may offer sign-in via email/password and, where available, Google or Apple Sign-In.

3. Acceptable use

You agree not to use Jols to:

  • Harass, bully, threaten, stalk, intimidate, or abuse any person.
  • Post or share content that is unlawful, defamatory, hateful, discriminatory, obscene, sexually explicit involving minors, or that incites violence.
  • Create, promote, or attend events that are illegal, or that breach venue rules, licensing laws, or public-safety regulations.
  • Impersonate any person or misrepresent your identity or affiliation.
  • Collect or harvest other users' personal information, or use the contacts/friend features to spam people.
  • Use another person's location information to track, surveil, or harm them.
  • Upload viruses or malicious code, or attempt to hack, overload, reverse-engineer, scrape, or disrupt the Service.
  • Use the App for unsolicited advertising, spam, or any commercial purpose we have not authorised.
  • Violate any applicable law, or any other person's rights.

We may investigate and take action — including removing content, restricting features, or suspending or terminating accounts — for conduct we reasonably believe breaches these Terms.

4. User content

"User content" means anything you create, upload, or share through the App, including events ("jols"), photos, chat messages, photo tags, ratings, and "vibe tags".

4.1 You are responsible for your content

You are solely responsible for your user content and the consequences of sharing it. You confirm that you have the rights to share it and that it does not breach these Terms or any law or third-party rights (including the privacy and image rights of other people you photograph or tag).

4.2 Licence you grant us

To operate the Service, you grant [LEGAL ENTITY NAME] a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute your user content solely for the purpose of providing and improving the App and as needed to show it to the relevant users (for example, displaying an event you created or a message you sent). This licence ends when you delete the content or your account, except where the content has been shared with others, is retained in backups, or must be kept by law.

We do not claim ownership of your user content. You keep your rights in it.

4.3 Moderation

We may, but are not obliged to, review, remove, or restrict user content that we reasonably believe breaches these Terms. We are not responsible for user content created by others.

5. Events and venues — Jols is a discovery platform, not the organiser

This is important.

  • Jols is a discovery and connection platform. Events ("jols") on the App are created, organised, hosted, and run by users, hosts, or venues — not by Jols.
  • We do not organise, host, sponsor, supervise, endorse, or take responsibility for any event listed on the App, nor for any venue.
  • We do not verify the accuracy of event details (such as time, location, age restrictions, entry requirements, or safety arrangements), the conduct of hosts or attendees, or whether any event is lawful or safe.
  • Any agreement, payment, or arrangement relating to an event is between you and the host or venue. Jols is not a party to it.

If you host an event, you are responsible for ensuring it is lawful, safe, properly authorised, and accurately described, and for complying with all applicable laws, licences, and venue rules.

6. Location and Ghost Mode

The App can show your live location to your friends on a map. You control this through your device's location permission and through Ghost Mode, which hides your live location from other users. You are responsible for managing your own location-sharing settings. See our Privacy Policy for details.

7. Meeting people and attending real-world events — assumption of risk

Jols helps you discover events and connect with people, including people you may not already know. Interacting with other users and attending real-world events carries inherent risks.

By using Jols, you understand and agree that:

  • We do not conduct background checks on users, hosts, or venues, and we do not verify any user's identity, character, or intentions.
  • You are solely responsible for your own safety and decisions when chatting with, meeting, or attending events with other people.
  • You voluntarily assume all risks associated with meeting other users and attending events, including risk of injury, loss, or harm.
  • You should take sensible precautions: meet in public where possible, tell someone where you're going, and trust your judgment.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you release Jols from claims arising out of your interactions with other users, hosts, or venues, or your attendance at any event.

8. Disclaimers

  • The App is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, we do not give warranties that the App will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or that any event, venue, or user information is accurate or reliable.
  • We are not responsible for the conduct of any user, host, or venue, whether online or offline.
  • Maps and location features depend on third parties and your device, and may be inaccurate or unavailable.

Nothing in these Terms excludes any rights or warranties you have under the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 or other South African law that cannot lawfully be excluded.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law:

  • Jols, its owners, directors, employees, and partners will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, data, goodwill, or opportunity, arising from your use of (or inability to use) the App.
  • Jols will not be liable for any harm, loss, injury, or damage arising from events you attend, people you meet, content posted by other users, or the acts or omissions of hosts, venues, or other users.
  • Where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, our total liability to you is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

This section does not limit liability that cannot be excluded by law, including liability for gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or rights protected under the Consumer Protection Act.

10. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless [LEGAL ENTITY NAME] and its team from claims, damages, losses, and reasonable legal costs arising out of: (a) your user content; (b) your use of the App; (c) any event you host or attend; (d) your breach of these Terms; or (e) your violation of any law or any third party's rights.

11. Third-party services

The App relies on third-party services (including Supabase, Expo, and Mapbox) and may link to or integrate other services. We are not responsible for third-party services, and your use of them may be subject to their own terms.

12. Suspension and termination

  • You may stop using Jols and delete your account at any time (see the Privacy Policy and any in-app deletion option).
  • We may suspend or terminate your access, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, create risk or legal exposure, or if we discontinue the Service.
  • On termination, your right to use the App ends. Sections that by their nature should survive (including content licence terms already granted to others, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnity, and governing law) will survive.

13. Changes to the App and these Terms

  • We may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the App at any time.
  • We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the App or by other reasonable means and update the "Effective date" above. Your continued use of the App after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the App.

14. Privacy

Our handling of your personal information is described in our Privacy Policy at https://jols.co.za/privacy, which forms part of these Terms.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. You agree to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the South African courts for any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App, subject to any rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act and any applicable dispute-resolution process.

Founder note: Confirm with your attorney whether to name a specific court or include an arbitration/mediation step.

16. General

  • Entire agreement: These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the App.
  • Severability: If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
  • No waiver: Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.
  • Assignment: You may not transfer your rights under these Terms; we may transfer ours in connection with a business transfer.

17. Contact us

  • General support: support@jols.co.za (placeholder — confirm before launch)
  • Privacy / data requests: privacy@jols.co.za (placeholder — confirm before launch)
  • Legal entity: [LEGAL ENTITY NAME]
  • Registered address: [REGISTERED ADDRESS]