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Terms of Service

Effective: April 9, 2026 · Governing law: India · Jurisdiction: Mumbai, Maharashtra

1. Accepting These Terms

By registering, joining the waitlist, or using any part of the HearMeOut platform (website, mobile application, or related services), you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

These Terms constitute a binding legal agreement between you ("User") and HearMeOut ("Company"). For the purposes of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and rules thereunder, these Terms are the "terms of use" of our platform.

2. Eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years of age to use HearMeOut. By registering, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older.
• You must have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
• You must not have been previously banned or suspended from HearMeOut.
• HearMeOut is currently available only in India. Access from outside India is not supported and may violate local laws in your jurisdiction.

3. Nature of the Service

HearMeOut is a technology platform that connects individuals ("Users") seeking to talk through personal, emotional, or life challenges with trained volunteer peer listeners ("Listeners"). This service is:

• Peer support only — not therapy, counselling, or clinical mental health treatment of any kind.
• Anonymous — Users interact under a chosen username. Listeners do not see contact details.
• Pay-per-minute — Users are charged only for active session time. Listeners are compensated per minute as independent contractors.
• Not a crisis service — If you are in immediate danger or a psychiatric emergency, do not use HearMeOut.

HearMeOut makes no representation that its service is a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or psychiatric care. Any decision you make based on a conversation with a listener is entirely your own.

4. User Obligations

As a User, you agree to:

• Use the platform only for its intended purpose — honest personal conversation and emotional support.
• Treat all listeners with respect and dignity at all times.
• Provide accurate information during registration.
• Not record, screenshot, or share any session content without explicit written consent.
• Not engage in harassment, abuse, threats, solicitation, or conduct intended to harm a listener.
• Not use the platform to solicit legal, financial, medical, or professional advice.
• Not attempt to establish a romantic or personal relationship with a listener outside the platform.
• Not attempt to identify the real-world identity of any listener.
• Not share content that is obscene, defamatory, sexually explicit, hateful, or in violation of Indian law.
• Immediately leave and report to us if you believe a listener is behaving inappropriately.

5. Listener Status and Obligations

Listeners are independent contractors, not employees of HearMeOut. They are not licensed therapists, psychologists, or medical professionals. By accepting to listen, they agree to:

• Provide only empathetic active listening and validation — never to diagnose, prescribe, or provide clinical treatment.
• Follow HearMeOut's crisis protocol whenever a user expresses thoughts of self-harm or suicide, including immediately providing crisis helpline information and reporting the session to HearMeOut.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of all session content.
• Not contact users outside of the platform.
• Not solicit additional payment from users outside the platform's billing system.
• Complete HearMeOut's training programme and any mandatory updates to it.

HearMeOut reserves the right to suspend or permanently ban any listener who violates these obligations, without prior notice, and to withhold payment for sessions conducted in violation.

6. Pricing, Billing & Refunds

Sessions are billed per minute at the rate displayed on the platform at the time of booking, starting at ₹5 per minute. You pre-load a wallet within the app from which session charges are deducted in real time.

Unused wallet balance may be refunded on request within 7-10 business days via the original payment method. Charges for completed sessions are non-refundable except:

• The session was terminated early due to a technical failure on our platform.
• The listener was found to have violated our Code of Conduct during the session, confirmed after review.
• A billing error resulted in an overcharge.

Refund requests must be submitted within 7 days of the session to support@joinhearmeout.com with your session ID.

7. Intellectual Property

All content on the HearMeOut platform — including the name, logo, interface design, visual assets, training materials, and written content — is the intellectual property of HearMeOut, protected under the Copyright Act, 1957. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works without our express written permission.

You retain ownership of content you submit. By submitting, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display, store, and moderate it as necessary to operate the platform.

8. Disclaimers

The platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We make no warranty that:

• The platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or fully secure at all times.
• Any listener will be available at any given time.
• Any conversation with a listener will produce a specific emotional outcome or improvement in wellbeing.
• The platform is appropriate for or will be effective for any particular individual's circumstances.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted under Indian law, HearMeOut's total liability to you for any claim shall not exceed the total amount you paid to HearMeOut in the three months preceding the claim. We are not liable for any indirect, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages.

We are not liable for the acts or omissions of any listener, who is an independent contractor. However, we will take appropriate corrective action when misconduct is reported and verified.

10. Account Suspension & Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or permanently terminate your account with or without notice if:

• You violate these Terms or our Code of Conduct.
• Your use of the platform poses a risk to the safety of a listener or other users.
• We are required to do so by law or a government authority.
• You provide false information during registration.

On termination, any unused wallet balance above ₹10 will be refunded within 15 business days, subject to verification.

11. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Disputes shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within 30 days, disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Mumbai, Maharashtra.

For consumer disputes, you may also contact the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.