Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of these Terms

By creating an account, using the Services, or otherwise indicating that you accept these Terms, you agree to be bound by them. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information; accepting these Terms does not replace any separate consent required for data processing or device permissions. If you use the Services for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and “you” includes that organization.

If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access or use the Services.

2. What Rooky does

Rooky provides an independent path for people to request and provide a time-bound confirmation through a trusted device. It is designed to help you assess whether a person or a request is genuine when the original communication channel may not be reliable.

Rooky is not a bank, payment processor, emergency service, law-enforcement agency, or substitute for your own security procedures. Do not use the Services as the sole basis for sending money, sharing sensitive information, approving account changes, or responding to emergencies.

3. Eligibility and accounts

You may use the Services only if you can form a binding contract with Rooky and are permitted to receive the Services under applicable law. You must provide accurate, current information, protect your credentials and trusted devices, and promptly notify us if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization.

You are responsible for activity that occurs through your account, except to the extent caused by our failure to use reasonable safeguards. We may require steps to confirm account ownership or to protect the security of the Services.

You must control the phone number you register and request authentication codes only for that number. Requesting a code authorizes us to send a service-related SMS; it does not authorize marketing messages. Do not share authentication codes or private keys. Tell us promptly if you lose control of your phone number or trusted device.

4. Your responsibilities

You agree to use the Services lawfully, respectfully, and only for legitimate verification purposes. In particular, you will not:

• impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity, authority, or relationship to anyone else;
• send unwanted, deceptive, threatening, harassing, or fraudulent verification requests;
• attempt to bypass security measures, conduct unauthorized security testing, or interfere with the availability of the Services;
• scrape contact-discovery results, enumerate phone numbers or accounts, or use the Services to compile a directory or send unsolicited messages;
• reverse engineer, copy, modify, or create derivative works from the Services except where applicable law does not allow us to restrict that activity;
• use the Services to violate privacy, data-protection, consumer-protection, export-control, or other applicable laws; or
• use the Services in a way that could harm Rooky, its users, or the public.

You may report suspected abuse, fraudulent requests, or security concerns to hello@rooky.app. Good-faith security research must follow the guidance in our Trust center.

5. Permissions and device features

Certain features may require access to device capabilities, such as notifications, contacts, or biometric confirmation. You control these permissions through your device settings. If you decline or revoke a permission, some features may be unavailable or work differently.

You must have the rights and permissions needed to use contact information or other information in connection with a verification request. Do not submit information about another person unless you have a lawful basis to do so.

Contact matching processes phone-number hash prefixes and stores relationships between matched Rooky users, as explained in the Privacy Policy. Device authentication is performed by your operating system; Rooky does not receive your biometric templates or device passcode.

You retain your rights in information you enter or deliberately share into Rooky. You give us only the permission needed to process, encrypt, store, and deliver it to operate the feature you request. Send only information needed for the verification. The recipient can read and may retain the information you send; encryption does not prevent the recipient from copying or disclosing it.

6. Fees and purchases

If a paid feature is offered, its price, billing period, included features, trial conditions, payment terms, and any applicable additional terms will be presented before purchase. Purchases through Apple’s App Store or Google Play are subject to that store’s billing and refund rules and applicable consumer law. These Terms do not restrict refund or cancellation rights provided by the store or by law.

If you choose an automatically renewing subscription, it renews until you cancel through the app store or payment provider used for the purchase, according to the terms shown before purchase. Cancellation normally stops future renewal; access for an already paid period follows the purchase terms and applicable law. Deleting your Rooky account, signing out, or uninstalling the app does not by itself cancel a store subscription. Manage cancellation and refund requests through the relevant store or provider.

Prices and taxes may change for a future billing period with notice and consent where required by law or the applicable store. You are responsible for taxes that apply to your purchase, other than taxes based on Rooky’s net income.

7. Organization accounts

If we separately agree to provide an organization-managed service, its account controls, administrator access, and data handling must be described in that agreement and the applicable privacy notice. Using Rooky for work does not by itself give your employer access to your personal account.

Where a separate commercial agreement conflicts with these Terms, that agreement controls for the Services covered by it.

8. Our intellectual property and feedback

Rooky and its licensors own the Services, including their software, design, text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual-property rights. Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to use the Services for their intended purpose.

Except for this limited right, these Terms do not grant you any ownership interest or right to use Rooky’s name, marks, or other intellectual property without our prior written permission.

If you send us suggestions, comments, or other feedback, you give us permission to use it without restriction or compensation to you. Please do not send confidential information unless we have agreed in writing to receive it.

For the iOS app distributed through Apple’s App Store, Apple’s Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement governs the licence to the app unless a separate custom licence is supplied through the App Store. These Terms govern Rooky’s Services and do not replace or restrict that app licence or the store’s permitted usage rules. Third-party and open-source components remain subject to their applicable licences.

9. Third-party services

The Services may work with, link to, or be distributed through third-party products, platforms, app stores, or communication services. Your independent use of those services is governed by their terms and privacy policies. Rooky remains responsible for its own Services and for handling personal information as described in our Privacy Policy; using a provider does not remove those responsibilities.

Rooky does not control and is not responsible for any third-party communication, account, transaction, or decision that may be associated with a verification request.

10. Service availability and changes

We work to keep the Services available and secure, but they may be interrupted, delayed, changed, or discontinued. We may modify or remove features when reasonably necessary for security, legal, operational, or product reasons. Where practicable, we will provide notice of material changes that negatively affect your use of a paid Service.

You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining the devices, software, network access, and data plan needed to use the Services. Your mobile carrier or internet provider may charge you for data or messaging services.

11. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Services at any time. We may suspend or end your access if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, created a security or legal risk, or misused the Services. Where appropriate, we will provide notice and an opportunity to address the issue.

You can request deletion of your account and associated personal information using the instructions on the account deletion page. Signing out or uninstalling the app does not delete your server-side account. Deletion and any limited retention of records are governed by that policy and applicable law. If you have a subscription, cancel it separately through the store or provider used for the purchase.

On termination, your right to use the Services ends. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination—including ownership, disclaimers, limits of liability, and dispute provisions—will survive.

12. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Rooky and its affiliates, officers, employees, agents, and licensors from claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to your misuse of the Services, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of another person’s rights or applicable law.

13. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Services are provided “as is” and “as available.” Rooky does not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure in every circumstance, or sufficient for any particular purpose. We do not guarantee that a verification result will prevent fraud, impersonation, loss, or harm.

Nothing in these Terms excludes rights or warranties that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

14. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Rooky and its affiliates, officers, employees, agents, and licensors will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, goodwill, or business opportunities, arising from or related to the Services.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Rooky’s total liability for claims arising from or related to the Services will not exceed the greater of the amounts you paid to Rooky for the Services in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100).

These exclusions and limits do not apply to fraud, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Your mandatory consumer and data-protection rights remain unaffected.

15. Resolving concerns and disputes

Before starting a formal claim, please contact us so we can try to resolve the concern informally. Nothing in these Terms limits consumer protections that cannot be waived under the law that applies to you. If a dispute proceeds to court, it must be brought in a court with jurisdiction over the dispute, unless a separate written agreement between you and Rooky provides otherwise.

16. General legal terms

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any terms presented for a specific Service, are the entire agreement between you and Rooky about the Services. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.

You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we will provide notice through the Services, by email, or by another reasonable method before it takes effect, unless a change is needed sooner for security, legal, or operational reasons. Your continued use after the effective date means that you accept the updated Terms.

18. Contact us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us using the details below.