Terms of Service

1. About these terms

These terms are the agreement between you and Mistify Labs Ltd (“Mistify”, “we”, “us”), a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17229665), registered office 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ.

In these terms, “Mistify Parties” means Mistify Labs Ltd and its directors, officers, shareholders, employees, contractors and agents.

They cover the Mistify app and everything in it. Our Community Guidelines are part of these terms. Our Privacy Policy explains how we use your personal data.

When you create an account and tap to continue, you agree to these terms. If you don’t agree, don’t use Mistify. Please read them: they explain what you are responsible for, and what we are responsible for. You can save or print this page at any time.

2. Who can use Mistify

You can use Mistify only if all of these are true:

• you are 18 or over;
• you give your real date of birth and don’t pretend to be someone else;
• we haven’t previously banned you, and you aren’t barred by law from using a service like Mistify;
• you are not subject to sex offender notification requirements, or to a court order restricting your contact with others or your use of the internet.

We check your age from the date of birth you give us. Giving a false date of birth is a serious breach of these terms, and we will close any account we believe belongs to someone under 18.

3. Your account

• You can have one personal account.
• Keep your phone, and your Google or Apple account, secure. You are responsible for what happens on your Mistify account, unless it happens because of something we did wrong.
• Tell us straight away at support@mistify.app if you think someone else is using your account.
• Your username must not impersonate anyone, mislead, or break our Community Guidelines. We may ask you to change it.

4. What Mistify is

Mistify is a free, map-based social app. So that you know exactly what you are signing up to, these are its main features. We explain what other people can see in each one in our Privacy Policy.

• Spaces. A “Space” is a community for a real place, such as a university campus, with a chat room, a social feed and a Popularity Board. You join from within the Space’s join radius. “Space posts” are the photos and videos posted in a Space’s feed. Membership, Space chats, Space posts and the Popularity Board are public to everyone on Mistify, even if your account is private, and Space content is permanent unless its author deletes it.
• Individual Posts. An “Individual Post” is a photo or video you post on the map, not in a Space, pinned to a point you choose within 25 km of where you are. Everyone on Mistify can see your Individual Posts, or only the followers you approve if your account is private. An Individual Post is on the map for 24 hours, then leaves the map. Unless it is a disappearing post, it stays in The World and Following feeds, and on your profile and footprint map, until you delete it. A disappearing post is removed from everywhere (the map, The World, Following and your profile) 24 hours after you post it.
• Feed and engagement. People can view, like, dislike, comment on and share all posts, both Space posts and Individual Posts. Share links can be opened by anyone, including people without a Mistify account. A link to a post keeps working as long as the post exists.
• Profiles. Public by default. You can make your account private so that only followers you approve see your Individual Posts. A private account doesn’t hide anything you post or say in a Space.
• Direct messages. Text conversations between two people. Unless you change your “Who can message you” setting, anyone on Mistify can message you. If either person deletes their account, the conversation is deleted for both.
• Notifications about activity involving you.

Mistify is a platform for people to connect. We don’t check the identity, background or intentions of anyone on it, other than the date of birth they give us.

5. Your content, and your responsibility for it

“Your content” means everything you post, send or share on Mistify: photos, videos, captions, comments, messages, your profile, the places you pin Individual Posts to, and your reports.

You alone are responsible for your content

You decide what you post, where you pin it, who you message and what you say. You alone are responsible for your content, and for how you deal with other people, on and off Mistify. That includes the consequences of sharing your content, and what it reveals about you and about anyone else. This doesn’t reduce our own legal duties, such as removing illegal content once we know about it. By posting or sending anything on Mistify you promise that:

• it is yours, or you have every right and permission needed to share it;
• anyone identifiable in it has agreed to appear, and you are not revealing anyone else’s private information or location without their consent;
• it is lawful, and follows our Community Guidelines.

You own your content

You keep ownership of your content. So that we can run Mistify, you give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence to host, store, use, copy, adapt (for example, resize or compress), display, distribute and make your content available on Mistify and through the share links you or others create, and to let our service providers do the same for us. This licence is for operating, securing, protecting and improving Mistify. It ends when you delete the content or your account, except for:

• copies we keep for safety, legal or regulatory reasons, or to deal with claims, as explained in our Privacy Policy;
• copies in our backups, until they are overwritten;
• copies other people have already saved or shared outside Mistify, which we can’t control.

Mistify isn’t a storage service. We don’t promise to keep your content, so keep your own copies of anything that matters to you.

We won’t use your content in our advertising or marketing without asking you first.

We host your content; we don’t publish it as ours

Content on Mistify comes from its users. It isn’t written or endorsed by us, and it doesn’t represent our views. We don’t check content before it appears, and we have no general duty to monitor it beyond what the law requires of us. We act on content that breaks the law or these terms when we become aware of it, as described below.

6. Location and what you choose to share

Mistify uses your location to show you what’s nearby, to let you pin Individual Posts, and to check you are near a space when you join it. How we use it is explained in our Privacy Policy.

• Where you pin an Individual Post is your choice, and others can see it. It appears at the exact point you chose. Don’t pin Individual Posts at places you don’t want linked to you, such as your home.
• Location, distances and place names on Mistify come from your device and from mapping services. They can be wrong. Don’t rely on them for navigation or safety.
• Joining a space shows everyone on Mistify that you are a member of a place, such as your university. Only join spaces you are happy to be publicly associated with.

7. Other people on Mistify

Your dealings with other users are between you and them. In particular:

• Messages. If your profile is public and you allow messages from everyone, people you don’t know can contact you. You can limit who can message you, block anyone, and report them.
• Meeting in person. If you meet someone you connected with on Mistify, or go to an event or party someone posted, you do so by your own choice and at your own risk. Please follow the safety advice in our Community Guidelines. We don’t organise, supervise or check meetings or events. We aren’t responsible for what other users do, online or offline, except where the harm is caused by our own failure to do what the law or these terms require of us.
• Events you organise. If you post an event or party, you are responsible for it being lawful and safe, and for anything you promise the people who come.
• Disputes. We aren’t a party to disputes between users, but we will act on reports that someone has broken these terms.

8. Rules of use

There is no tolerance on Mistify for objectionable content or abusive users. You must follow our Community Guidelines. In addition, you must not:

• use Mistify for anything illegal, or to help anyone else break the law;
• harass, threaten, stalk or track anyone, or use Mistify to find someone who doesn’t want to be found;
• access or collect data from Mistify by automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) without our written permission;
• copy, change, reverse-engineer or interfere with the app or our systems, or get around any security, rate limit, block, ban, age check or location check (except where the law allows this and it can’t be excluded);
• upload viruses or harmful code, or overload our systems;
• fake your location, create fake engagement, or run accounts that aren’t really you;
• sell, rent or transfer your account;
• use Mistify for advertising or commercial activity without our written permission;
• make reports you know to be false.

9. How we protect people from illegal content

Mistify is a user-to-user service under the Online Safety Act 2023. This section sets out how we protect people from illegal content. We apply it consistently to everyone.

What we do

• Our rules prohibit all illegal content, and our Community Guidelines set out the kinds we see most risk of. Our team reviews content against those rules.
• Terrorism content: we remove it as soon as we become aware of it, remove any account run by or for a proscribed organisation, and report it to the police where appropriate.
• Child sexual abuse and exploitation content: Mistify is for adults only: we ask for your date of birth at sign-up and don’t let anyone under 18 join. We remove this content as soon as we become aware of it, ban the account, and report it to the National Crime Agency, as UK law requires. We keep the material securely, and only for as long as the law requires.
• Other priority illegal content (such as threats, harassment and stalking, hate offences, intimate image abuse, encouraging self-harm, fraud, and selling drugs or weapons): we remove it as soon as we become aware of it and act against the accounts involved.
• Any illegal content: when someone reports it to us or we become aware of it in any other way, we review it and swiftly take it down.
• Intimate images shared without consent: when we receive a report about intimate image content, we take it down as soon as possible, and always within the time limit the law sets.
• Reducing how long illegal content stays up: we make reporting available on Space posts, Individual Posts, profiles and space chat messages, prioritise the most serious reports, and automatically hide space content that several people report while we review it (see our Community Guidelines).

Proactive technology

We do not currently use proactive technology (automated tools that scan content, profiles or behaviour to detect illegal content). If we start to, we will update this section to say what kind of technology it is, when it is used and how it works.

Who is responsible

The person accountable for our online safety duties is a senior person at Mistify Labs Ltd.

10. Reporting

You can report Space posts, Individual Posts, profiles and space chat messages in the app. To report a direct message, report the sender from their profile, or email us. Anyone, including people without an account, can report content by emailing support@mistify.app. How to report each kind of content is in our Community Guidelines.

Reporting an intimate image

If an intimate image of someone is shared on Mistify, the person shown in it, or someone acting for them, can report it, whether or not they use Mistify. Email support@mistify.app with the subject “Intimate image report” and include:

• a statement that the content is an intimate image of you, or of the person you act for;
• that you are the person shown, or that you act for them;
• that your report is made in good faith and is true to the best of your knowledge;
• a link, username or description that lets us identify the content;
• your contact details.

We take it down as soon as possible, and always within the time limit the law sets. If you use Mistify, you can also report it in the app: report the post or profile and choose the nudity or sexual content reason.

11. What we can do when the rules are broken

We decide what stays on Mistify. We can remove or restrict any content, and restrict, suspend or ban any account, at any time and without notice, where we believe it breaks these terms or the Community Guidelines, could harm anyone, or could expose any of the Mistify Parties to legal, regulatory or reputational risk. We may also close any account for any other reason by giving you 30 days’ notice.

The law requires us to tell you that if we remove your content, or restrict, suspend or ban your account, in breach of these terms, you can bring a claim against us for breach of contract.

The steps we can take include:

• remove content or limit who can see it, including blurring it as sensitive;
• record a violation on your account and warn you;
• pause your ability to post or chat in a space while we review a report;
• ban you from a space permanently;
• suspend your account, or ban you from Mistify permanently;
• report the matter to the police or other authorities, and keep what the law requires.

The steps that happen automatically after a number of reports, and the decisions our team makes, are explained in our Community Guidelines. We’ll normally tell you when we act on your content or account, unless the law or someone’s safety prevents it. Making reports you know to be false is itself a breach of these terms.

Our moderation decisions, including bans, are final within Mistify. There is no appeals process. If you believe we made a mistake, you can email support@mistify.app and we’ll look at it when we can. This doesn’t affect your legal rights.

12. Complaints

You can complain to us about:

• content on Mistify you believe is illegal;
• the way we handle reports, or anything else you believe shows we aren’t meeting our duties under the Online Safety Act;
• a decision to remove your content or to restrict, suspend or ban your account. We’ll consider it, but there is no appeals process and no set timeframe;
• how we use your personal data (see our Privacy Policy).

How to complain

Email support@mistify.app with “Complaint” in the subject, your username, and what you want us to look at. Complaints about intimate image content reported to us are handled as a priority.

What we do

We look at complaints and take the action we consider appropriate. We act on complaints about illegal content, and especially intimate image content, as quickly as we can. We don’t promise a reply to every complaint, or a timeframe, except where the law requires one. We don’t respond to complaints that are abusive, or that repeat one we have already decided.

13. Spaces and places

• Spaces are Mistify community spaces. Mistify is independent. We aren’t affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any institution or place that has a space on Mistify. Names, photos and locations are used only to identify public places, and all content in a space is created by Mistify users.
• You must acknowledge our Community Guidelines each time you join a space. Leaving a space doesn’t delete what you posted there. You can delete it yourself at any time.
• A ban from a space applies to that space only. It doesn’t affect your account or your other spaces.
• Popularity Board. Posting in a Space’s feed automatically includes you in that Space’s Popularity Board. It ranks everyone who has posted in the Space’s feed by the likes, comments and shares their Space posts have received (group chat messages don’t count), and shows each person’s name, username, profile photo, score and those counts to anyone on Mistify who views the Space. If you don’t want to be ranked, don’t post in that Space’s feed, or delete your posts there.
• The Popularity Board is just for fun. It reflects activity on Mistify only and says nothing about anyone’s worth, popularity or reputation. Rankings can be incomplete or inaccurate, and we can change how they work, or reset or remove them, at any time. As far as the law allows, the Mistify Parties are not responsible for any ranking, how it’s calculated or shown, or anything anyone does or feels because of it.
• If you represent a place or institution and have a concern about its space, email support@mistify.app.

14. Content from third parties

• Maps, place names and event details come from third parties such as Mapbox, Google and event providers. We aren’t responsible for their accuracy, or for events run by others.
• Links to other websites and services are there for convenience. Their own terms apply, and we aren’t responsible for them.

15. Our app and our brand

Mistify, its app, design, logo and software belong to us or our licensors. We give you a personal, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the app on devices you own or control, for your own personal use, in line with these terms. You may not use our name or logo without our written permission. If you send us ideas or feedback, we may use them freely, without paying or crediting you.

16. Changes to Mistify and to these terms

Changes to Mistify

We are always improving Mistify, so features will change. We may change, suspend or stop any part of Mistify at any time. Where a change significantly affects you, we’ll tell you as soon as we can.

Changes to these terms

We may change these terms, for example for legal, regulatory, safety or security reasons, or because Mistify changes. We’ll tell you about important changes before they take effect, in the app or by email, where we can. If you don’t agree, stop using Mistify and delete your account before they take effect. If you keep using Mistify, the updated terms apply.

17. Ending your use of Mistify

You can leave at any time

You can stop using Mistify whenever you like, and delete your account from Settings in the app, or by asking us (see Delete your account). What happens to your data when you do is in our Privacy Policy.

When we can suspend or close your account

We may suspend or close your account if:

• you have seriously or repeatedly broken these terms or our Community Guidelines;
• we believe you are under 18, or not allowed to use Mistify;
• we believe you are a risk to other people’s safety, or have committed fraud or another crime on Mistify;
• the law, a court or a regulator requires it;
• for any other reason, by giving you 30 days’ notice.

We’ll normally tell you why, unless the law or someone’s safety prevents it. Our moderation decisions, including bans, are final within Mistify. There is no appeals process. If you believe we made a mistake, you can email support@mistify.app and we’ll look at it when we can.

We may also stop providing Mistify altogether. If we do, we’ll tell you as soon as we can.

18. Our responsibility to you

Subject to that, and as far as the law allows, the following protect each of the Mistify Parties:

• A limit on our liability. Because Mistify is free, the total liability of the Mistify Parties to you, together, for all claims arising out of or in connection with Mistify or these terms is limited to £100. This limit does not apply to the matters in the box above or to your rights under data protection law.
• Mistify is free, and provided as it is. We use reasonable care and skill in running it, but we can’t promise that it will always be available, uninterrupted or error-free, or that content on it is accurate.
• Other users. We aren’t responsible for what other users post, send or do, on or off Mistify, except where we have failed to act as the law or these terms require after being told about it.
• What you share. We aren’t responsible for the consequences of content, locations or information you choose to share, including what other people do with it, except where we caused the harm by breaking these terms or the law.
• Unforeseeable loss. We are only responsible for loss or damage that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these terms or our negligence. We aren’t responsible for loss or damage that wasn’t foreseeable when you agreed to these terms.
• Business losses. Mistify is for personal, non-commercial use, so we aren’t responsible for loss of profit, business or opportunity.
• Things outside our control. We aren’t responsible for delays or failures caused by events we couldn’t reasonably control.

19. Your responsibility to us

If you break these terms or the law on Mistify, for example by posting content that infringes someone else’s rights or is unlawful, and that causes any of the Mistify Parties loss (including a claim from someone else, and reasonable legal costs), you are responsible for that loss to the extent it was caused by what you did and was a foreseeable result of it.

20. Which law applies, and disputes

If you have a problem, please contact us first at support@mistify.app. Most issues can be sorted out quickly.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales deal with any dispute. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also rely on the mandatory protections of the law where you live, and you can bring proceedings in your local courts.

Using Mistify outside the UK

If you live outside the UK, English law applies and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except where the law of your country gives you rights that can’t be excluded. You must follow the laws where you use Mistify, and you must not use Mistify if you are subject to UK, UN or US sanctions. We may limit or withdraw Mistify in any country.

21. App Store and Google Play

If you downloaded Mistify from Apple’s App Store, the following also applies:

• These terms are between you and us, not Apple. We, not Apple, are responsible for Mistify and its content.
• Your licence to use the app is limited to Apple-branded devices you own or control, as the App Store’s Usage Rules allow.
• Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app. Contact us at support@mistify.app for support.
• Apple isn’t responsible for any warranty. If the app fails to meet a warranty that applies, you may tell Apple, and Apple may refund any price you paid for the app (Mistify is free). Apple has no other warranty obligation for the app.
• We, not Apple, are responsible for dealing with any claim relating to the app, including product liability claims, claims that it doesn’t meet a legal or regulatory requirement, and consumer protection, privacy or similar claims.
• If anyone claims that the app or your use of it infringes their intellectual property rights, we, not Apple, are responsible for investigating and dealing with that claim.
• You confirm that you aren’t in a country subject to a US Government embargo, or designated a “terrorist supporting” country, and that you aren’t on any US Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• You must also follow any third-party terms that apply when you use the app.
• Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms. Once you accept them, Apple has the right to enforce them against you.

If you downloaded Mistify from Google Play, Google Play’s terms also apply to your download, and Google isn’t responsible for Mistify.

22. General

• If a court decides that part of these terms can’t be enforced, the rest still applies.
• If we don’t enforce a term straight away, we can still enforce it later.
• We may transfer this agreement to another organisation, for example if Mistify is sold. We’ll tell you, and your rights under these terms won’t be reduced. You can’t transfer your account or this agreement.
• Apart from Apple, as described above, and the Mistify Parties, who may rely on “Our responsibility to you” and “Your responsibility to us”, nobody else has any right to enforce these terms.

23. Contact us

Mistify Labs Ltd, 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ. Company number 17229665. Email: support@mistify.app.