Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using NextChat ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service. These Terms apply to all users including visitors, registered users, and contributors of content.

2. Eligibility — Age Requirement

NextChat is strictly for users who are 18 years of age or older. By creating an account or using the Service, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old. If we discover or have reason to believe that a user is under 18, we will immediately suspend or terminate that account and delete all associated data.

Parents and guardians are responsible for monitoring their children's internet activity. If you believe a minor is using NextChat, please report it to support@nextchat.in immediately.

3. Account Registration

To use most features of NextChat, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information during registration
• Keep your login credentials confidential and not share your password with others
• Notify us immediately at support@nextchat.in if you suspect unauthorized access to your account
• Be responsible for all activity that occurs under your account

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that provide false information or violate these Terms.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree to use NextChat only for lawful purposes. You must not:

• Post, send, or share content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or obscene
• Share, solicit, or distribute any sexually explicit content involving minors (CSAM) — this is a criminal offence and will be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcement immediately
• Distribute spam, chain letters, or unsolicited bulk messages
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely represent your affiliation with any person or entity
• Upload or transmit viruses, malware, or any other malicious code
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other accounts, or computer systems
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated tools to collect data from the Service without permission
• Use the Service to harass, bully, or intimidate other users
• Share personal information of others without their explicit consent (doxxing)
• Post content that promotes or incites violence, terrorism, or self-harm
• Engage in non-consensual sharing of intimate imagery
• Use the Service to facilitate human trafficking or exploitation
• Post content that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others
• Use the Service for any commercial solicitation without prior written consent

5. Content You Post

You retain ownership of the content you post on NextChat. By posting content, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, display, and transmit that content solely for the purpose of operating and providing the Service.

You are solely responsible for the content you post. We do not pre-screen all content but reserve the right to remove any content that violates these Terms or that we determine to be inappropriate, at our sole discretion.

6. Content Moderation

NextChat is committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and lawful environment. Moderation on NextChat is human-reviewed, not automated — we do not run automated content scanning, image analysis, or an automatic ban system. Enforcement happens when something is reported to us or otherwise comes to our attention, and is acted on by a person. Full details are in our Content Moderation Policy.

7. Reporting Violations

If you encounter content or behaviour that violates these Terms, you are encouraged to report it. You can report:

• In-app: Open the menu on any direct-message conversation in your sidebar and choose "Report User"
• By email: Send a report to support@nextchat.in with the subject line "Report: [brief description]". Include as much detail as possible (username, screenshots, timestamps)

All reports are treated confidentially. We do not disclose the identity of the reporting user to the reported user. If you are unsatisfied with how a report was handled, you may appeal by emailing support@nextchat.in with the subject line "Appeal: [report reference]".

You can also block a user directly from a direct-message conversation. Once blocked, any direct message they send you is rejected before it's ever delivered or stored. Blocking is personal to you — in a shared public or private room, it hides their messages from your own view but does not remove them from the room or notify them that they've been blocked.

8. Privacy

Your use of NextChat is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand our practices regarding the collection and use of your information.

9. Intellectual Property

The NextChat name, logo, design, and all software underlying the Service are the intellectual property of the developers. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from any part of the Service without explicit written permission.

10. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, for any reason including violation of these Terms. You may also delete your account at any time through the Settings page.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including ownership provisions, disclaimers, and limitations of liability.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure
• Any defects or errors will be corrected
• The Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
• The results of using the Service will meet your requirements

You use the Service at your own risk. We are not responsible for any loss or damage to data, including messages and uploaded files.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Our total liability to you for any claims arising from the use of the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the twelve months preceding the claim (or ₹0 if you have not paid anything).

13. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any disputes arising from these Terms or the Service shall first be attempted to be resolved through good faith negotiation. If unsuccessful, disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts of India.

14. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will update the "Last updated" date when changes are made. Your continued use of NextChat after any changes constitutes acceptance of the new Terms. If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must stop using the Service.

15. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, need to report a violation, or require assistance with your account, please contact us: