Terms of Service

1. Introduction

PostTrotters is an online platform designed to facilitate the exchange of handwritten postcards between members located around the world. The Service is intended to encourage cultural exchange, creativity, mindfulness, and respectful communication through traditional postal correspondence.

The Service enables registered users to participate in postcard exchanges by sharing certain personal information, including postal addresses, with other participating members as described in these Terms and our Privacy Notice.

Your use of the Service is voluntary. You acknowledge that postcard exchanges occur directly between independent users and that PostTrotters acts solely as the operator of the platform facilitating such exchanges.

These Terms apply to all visitors, registered users, and any other individuals who access or use the Service.

2. Eligibility

To use the Service, you represent and warrant that:

• you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement under the laws applicable to you;
• you will comply with all applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations;
• the information you provide during registration is accurate, complete, and kept up to date.

3. User Accounts

In order to participate in postcard exchanges, you must create a user account.

You agree to provide truthful, accurate, and current information during registration and to maintain the accuracy of your account information throughout your use of the Service.

You are solely responsible for:

• maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials;
• restricting access to your account
• all activities that occur under your account;
• promptly notifying PostTrotters of any suspected unauthorized use or security breach affecting your account.

You may not:

• create accounts using false identities;
• pimpersonate another individual or organization;
• pcreate accounts for unlawful purposes;
• ptransfer or sell your account without our prior written permission.

PostTrotters reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that present a risk to the safety, integrity, or proper functioning of the Service.

4. Use of the Service

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

You agree to use the Service responsibly and respectfully.

You agree that you will not:

• use the Service for any unlawful purpose;
• interfere with or disrupt the operation or security of the Service;
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to any systems, accounts, or data;
• use automated tools, bots, scripts, or other means to scrape, harvest, or collect information from the Service without authorization;
• reverse engineer, modify, or attempt to derive the source code of any portion of the Service except where expressly permitted by applicable law;
• use the Service to distribute spam, unsolicited advertising, malicious software, or fraudulent communications;
• engage in conduct that could reasonably be expected to harm other users or the reputation of PostTrotters.

PostTrotters may introduce, modify, suspend, or discontinue features of the Service at any time without prior notice where reasonably necessary for operational, technical, security, or legal reasons.

Nothing in these Terms guarantees uninterrupted availability of the Service or any particular feature.

5. Community Standards and Acceptable Use

PostTrotters is intended to foster meaningful cultural exchange, creativity, and respectful communication through handwritten correspondence. All users are expected to contribute to a welcoming and safe environment.

By using the Service, you agree to interact with other users respectfully and in good faith.

You shall not use the Service to:

• engage in harassment, intimidation, threats, or abusive conduct;
• discriminate against or target individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic;
• send obscene, defamatory, unlawful, or otherwise inappropriate communications;
• impersonate another individual or organization;
• deceive or mislead other users regarding your identity or intentions;
• solicit money, investments, donations, or financial assistance from other users;
• promote commercial products, services, or advertising without prior written authorization from PostTrotters;
• distribute spam or unsolicited communications;
• facilitate illegal activity;
• encourage or assist others in violating these Terms.

Users are expected to respect cultural differences and communicate in a manner that promotes mutual understanding and goodwill.

PostTrotters reserves the right, but not the obligation, to investigate reports of misconduct and to remove content, restrict access, suspend accounts, or permanently terminate accounts where violations of these Terms are reasonably determined to have occurred.

Repeated violations or particularly serious misconduct may result in immediate termination without prior warning.

6. Postal Exchanges

The Service facilitates introductions between users who voluntarily participate in handwritten postcard exchanges.

PostTrotters is not a postal carrier and does not participate in the physical delivery of postcards or other mail. Delivery is performed by independent postal operators and courier services over which PostTrotters has no control.

Accordingly, PostTrotters does not guarantee:

• that a postcard will be sent;
• that a postcard will be delivered;
• the condition of any postcard upon arrival;
• delivery times;
• the accuracy of postal systems or customs authorities;
• that users will continue participating after being matched.

Each user remains solely responsible for:

• the content of postcards they send;
• ensuring that mailed items comply with the laws and postal regulations applicable in both the sending and receiving jurisdictions;
• paying all postage, customs fees, taxes, or other charges associated with mailing;
• ensuring that mailed items do not violate applicable import or export restrictions.

Users acknowledge that postcard exchanges occur exclusively between independent individuals.

PostTrotters is not a party to any exchange and assumes no responsibility for disputes arising between users.

Users should exercise reasonable judgment when participating in exchanges and should immediately report suspected misuse of the Service.

7. Postal Addresses

The exchange of physical postal addresses is a fundamental feature of the Service.

By registering for and participating in postcard exchanges, you expressly acknowledge and agree that your postal address may be disclosed to one or more randomly selected PostTrotters users for the sole purpose of facilitating postcard exchanges through the Service.

You understand and accept that participation in postcard exchanges necessarily requires the sharing of your postal address with other users and that you voluntarily consent to such disclosure.

PostTrotters requires all users to treat postal addresses as confidential personal information.

Users shall not:

• use another user's postal address for any purpose other than participating in a postcard exchange;
• publish, distribute, sell, or otherwise disclose another user's postal address to third parties;
• compile mailing lists or databases using addresses obtained through the Service;
• use postal addresses for advertising, solicitation, political campaigning, or commercial activities;
• use postal addresses to harass, intimidate, stalk, threaten, or otherwise harm another individual.

While PostTrotters implements reasonable technical, organizational, and administrative measures intended to safeguard personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction, no method of electronic storage, internet transmission, or information security can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Accordingly, you acknowledge and agree that:

• no security system can eliminate all risks of unauthorized access or data breaches;
• participation in the Service involves the inherent risk that personal information, including postal addresses, could be accessed, disclosed, or compromised despite reasonable security measures;
• PostTrotters cannot guarantee absolute security of information stored or transmitted through the Service.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, PostTrotters shall not be liable for losses or damages resulting from unauthorized access to user information, cyberattacks, security incidents, criminal acts of third parties, or other events beyond its reasonable control.

Nothing in these Terms shall exclude or limit liability where such exclusion or limitation is prohibited by applicable law.

Users are encouraged to exercise reasonable caution when sharing personal information beyond that required to participate in postcard exchanges.

8. User Content

The Service may allow you to submit, upload, post, or otherwise make available content, including but not limited to profile information, text, images, and other materials ("User Content").

You retain all ownership rights in your User Content.

By submitting User Content through the Service, you grant PostTrotters a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to use, host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute such User Content solely for the purpose of operating, improving, and providing the Service.

You represent and warrant that:

• you own or have obtained all necessary rights to submit your User Content;
• your User Content does not infringe the rights of any third party, including intellectual property rights and privacy rights;
• your User Content complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

PostTrotters does not claim ownership of User Content but reserves the right to remove or restrict access to any User Content that violates these Terms or is otherwise deemed inappropriate or harmful.

9. Intellectual Property

All rights, title, and interest in and to the Service, including but not limited to the website design, software, code, logos, branding, graphics, and underlying technology, are and shall remain the exclusive property of PostTrotters or its licensors.

Except as expressly permitted in these Terms, you may not:

• copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service;
• reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service;
• use PostTrotters’ branding, logos, or trademarks without prior written consent.

No rights or licenses are granted except as expressly stated in these Terms.

10. Service Availability

PostTrotters aims to provide a reliable and continuous Service; however, we do not guarantee that the Service will be available at all times or free from interruptions.

The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to:

• maintenance or updates;
• technical failures;
• network or system outages;
• security incidents;
• events beyond our reasonable control.

PostTrotters reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice.

You acknowledge that PostTrotters shall not be liable for any loss or inconvenience resulting from Service downtime or unavailability.

11. Suspension and Termination

PostTrotters may, at its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without prior notice, if:

• you violate these Terms;
• your conduct poses a risk to other users or the integrity of the Service;
• suspicious, fraudulent, or abusive activity is detected;
• required by law or regulatory authority;
• necessary for security or operational reasons.

Upon termination:

• your right to access and use the Service will immediately cease;
• we may delete or retain your data in accordance with applicable laws and our Privacy Notice;
• certain provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall remain in effect.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis.

PostTrotters makes no warranties or representations of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to:

• that the Service will meet your expectations or requirements;
• that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free;
• that any postcard or communication will be delivered, received, or accurate;
• that defects or errors will be corrected.

You use the Service at your own risk.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, PostTrotters, its directors, employees, partners, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to:

• loss of profits;
• loss of data;
• loss of goodwill;
• personal injury;
• property damage;
• loss arising from postal delays, failures, or misdelivery;
• unauthorized access to or alteration of user data.

14. Changes to Terms

PostTrotters reserves the right to modify, update, or replace these Terms at any time, at its sole discretion.

Where material changes are made, PostTrotters will make reasonable efforts to provide notice, which may include notification through the Service, email, or other communication channels.

Your continued use of the Service after any changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

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

15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which PostTrotters operates, without regard to conflict of law principles.

16. Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or notices regarding these Terms, you may contact PostTrotters.

We will make reasonable efforts to respond to legitimate inquiries in a timely manner.

End of Terms of Service

By using PostTrotters, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms of Service.