Effective Date: [INSERT DATE]
Last Updated: [INSERT DATE]
DRAFT TEMPLATE — NOT LEGAL ADVICE. This document is a starting point modeled on the general structure of agreements used by consumer social apps. It has not been reviewed by an attorney, is not tailored to any specific state, country, or business structure, and must not be published or relied upon until a licensed attorney has reviewed it — in particular the age/eligibility requirements, the in-person meetup liability waiver, the arbitration and class-action-waiver clause (unenforceable or restricted in some jurisdictions), and any marketplace/payments provisions, all of which are heavily regulated and vary by location.
These Terms of Service and User Agreement (“Terms”) form a binding legal agreement between you (“you” or “User”) and K9 Ventures LLC (“K9,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), governing your access to and use of the K9 mobile application, website, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
K9 is intended only for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to create or use a K9 account — no one under 18 may register for or use the Service. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18; if we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will suspend or terminate it and delete the information.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to provide accurate information during registration and to keep it up to date. You may not create an account on behalf of another person without their permission, impersonate any person or entity, or maintain more than one account for deceptive purposes.
“Your Content” means any photos, videos, text, comments, dog profile information, reviews, or other material you post, upload, or otherwise make available through the Service. You retain ownership of Your Content.
By posting Your Content, you grant K9 a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, use, display, reproduce, modify (for formatting purposes, such as cropping for thumbnails), and distribute Your Content solely in connection with operating, promoting, and improving the Service. This license ends when you delete Your Content or your account, except to the extent it was shared with, saved, or re-shared by other users beforehand, or where retention is required for legal, safety, or backup purposes.
You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to post Your Content, and that it does not infringe or violate the rights of any third party, including intellectual property, privacy, and publicity rights. This includes obtaining the consent of any identifiable person who appears in photos or videos you post, and confirming you have the right to share the likeness of any pet that is not your own.
K9 exists to be a positive, low-pressure space centered on dogs. To keep it that way, you agree not to:
We may remove content, restrict features, or suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, in our sole discretion and without prior notice where we believe it is necessary to protect the community.
The Service allows users to organize and attend in-person meetups, playdates, and walks with other users and their dogs (“In-Person Activities”). K9 does not organize, supervise, vet, or control these events, the users who attend them, or the animals involved.
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT PARTICIPATING IN ANY IN-PERSON ACTIVITY ARRANGED THROUGH THE SERVICE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. Dogs are animals and their behavior can be unpredictable, even when described as friendly, trained, or well-socialized. You are solely responsible for evaluating whether a meetup, location, or other participant (human or animal) is appropriate for you and your dog, for complying with all applicable leash and animal-control laws, and for any injury, property damage, or dispute that arises from an In-Person Activity, whether involving you, your dog, another user, another user's dog, or a third party.
K9 is not responsible for verifying the identity, temperament, vaccination status, or behavior of any user or dog you meet through the Service. We strongly encourage you to meet in public, dog-friendly locations, to ask about temperament and vaccination status directly, and to supervise your dog at all times.
The Service may allow third-party businesses (such as groomers, veterinarians, insurers, and product sellers) to maintain listings, respond to reviews, and offer discount codes (“Business Listings”). Business Listings are provided by independent third parties, not by K9. K9 does not endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for the quality, safety, legality, or accuracy of any Business Listing, product, service, review, or discount code.
Any transaction, appointment, purchase, or agreement you enter into with a business or another user discovered through the Service is solely between you and that party. K9 is not a party to that transaction and disclaims all liability arising from it, including with respect to payments, refunds, or the quality of goods or services rendered.
Users may submit reviews and recommendations of businesses in good faith based on their own experience. Businesses that believe a review is false or violates these Terms may report it for review; we do not guarantee removal of any specific review.
Certain features (including Playdates, Spots, and local Marketplace results) rely on your device's location. You may decline to share your location, though this will limit the availability of location-based features. We do not publicly display your precise, real-time location to other users; approximate location may be used to show relevant nearby content.
The Service, including its design, features, graphics, logos, and underlying software, is owned by K9 or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. Except for Your Content and the limited license granted to you to use the Service for its intended personal purpose, no rights are transferred to you under these Terms.
Our collection and use of personal information in connection with the Service is described in our Privacy Policy. By using the Service, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described there.
The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by K9, including business websites, mapping services, and payment processors. K9 is not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or terms of any third-party site or service.
If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, please send a notice to our designated agent at support@joink9.app including: (a) identification of the copyrighted work; (b) identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location on the Service; (c) your contact information; (d) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized; and (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
You may delete your account at any time through the app's settings. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms, created risk or legal exposure for us or other users, or if required by law. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ends immediately; provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 3, 5, 13, 14, 15, and 16) will survive.
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. K9 DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY USER-GENERATED CONTENT, INCLUDING SPOT VERIFICATIONS, BUSINESS REVIEWS, OR PLAYDATE LISTINGS.
No medical, veterinary, or professional relationship. K9 is a technology platform, not a veterinary, medical, insurance, or legal provider. Content, care reminders, automated suggestions, and messages you exchange with businesses or professionals through the Service are for general informational purposes only and do not create a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) or any medical, fiduciary, insurance, or professional relationship, even with a “Verified” Business Account. Always seek prompt in-person veterinary care for any urgent or emergency medical issue, and consult a qualified professional before making medical, insurance, financial, or legal decisions.
Service animals and support-animal documents. K9's document locker is storage you control — it is not a registration, certification, credential, or endorsement of any kind. K9 is not a government agency, certifying body, or medical provider, does not register, certify, or verify service animals or emotional-support animals, and uploading or storing any letter, record, or document does not create a healthcare, fiduciary, or professional relationship. You store such documents at your own risk, and you are solely responsible for complying with all applicable laws governing service and support animals, including the ADA, Fair Housing Act (FHA), and Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), and applicable state law. Misrepresenting an animal as a service animal or emotional-support animal may be unlawful and may carry civil or criminal penalties.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, K9 AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR PERSONAL INJURY TO YOU, ANOTHER PERSON, OR ANY ANIMAL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR ANY IN-PERSON ACTIVITY, EVEN IF K9 HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. K9'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID K9 IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) $100 USD. THIS CAP APPLIES ACROSS ALL CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION IN THE AGGREGATE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER THEORY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THESE LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless K9 and its officers, employees, and affiliates from any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) Your Content; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any law or third-party right; (d) any In-Person Activity you participate in or arrange through the Service; (e) any injury, damage, or death caused by your dog or other pet; (f) any dispute between you and any business, professional, or other user; and (g) any fraudulent, false, or misleading verification information or service-animal or emotional-support-animal representation you submit or make.
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY — IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.
Informal resolution first. Before starting an arbitration or lawsuit, you and K9 agree to try to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days after one party gives the other written notice of the dispute (notice to K9 at support@joink9.app).
Binding individual arbitration. Except as stated below, you and K9 agree to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service through final and binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. The arbitration will take place in Florida or, at your election, by telephone, by video, or based solely on written submissions. The arbitrator's award may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Class-action and jury-trial waiver. You and K9 agree that each may bring claims against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any class or representative proceeding. YOU AND K9 EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.
Exceptions. This arbitration agreement does not apply to (a) claims that qualify for small-claims court, which may be brought individually in small-claims court, or (b) claims for injunctive or other equitable relief to stop actual or threatened infringement or misuse of intellectual property, which may be brought in the courts identified below. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by sending written notice to support@joink9.app; opting out will not affect any other part of these Terms.
Venue for non-arbitrable matters. For any dispute not subject to arbitration, you and K9 agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Florida, and you waive any objection to that jurisdiction or venue.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, except where superseded by mandatory local consumer-protection law.
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the Service or by other reasonable means before the changes take effect. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and K9 regarding the Service.
Questions about these Terms can be sent to support@joink9.app.