Acceptance of these terms
By accessing or using PipChat! (“Service”, “app”), you agree to these Terms of Use and the related policies listed below. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
All four policies form a single agreement. Policy acceptance is recorded per-version in your account and may be required again when policies are updated significantly.
Eligibility and age
PipChat! is not intended for children under 13. By using the Service, you represent that you are at least 13 years old. Users under 18 may access PipChat! subject to additional restrictions, including media upload blocks and age-gated feature limitations enforced at the platform level.
If we learn that a user is under 13, we will take steps consistent with applicable law, which may include immediate account restriction or deletion. You must also comply with the laws of the country where you live.
Accounts, verification, and trust
- You are responsible for all activity under your account. Keep your credentials secure and do not share your account.
- PipChat! offers three account types: Normal, Business, and Government. Each type accesses different features and is subject to different plan tiers and rate limits.
- We may offer verification flows for Business and Government accounts. Verification status and badges may be publicly visible.
- Trust signals (reputation scores, badges, verification status) may be derived from your activity and displayed publicly to help the community assess credibility.
- You agree not to impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your account type or verification status.
Service description
PipChat! is a geo-social community platform for open, constructive, and location-pinned public conversation, designed for community discussion, local content discovery, and social connection worldwide. The Service includes:
- Geo-pinned threads: Public posts tied to a real-world location.
- Communities: Location-based groups with member roles and community chats.
- Status: Ephemeral 24-hour text, image, or video posts visible to your chosen audience (see §Ephemeral Status).
- Friends and followers: Follow users for their public content; send and receive friend requests for mutual connections and expanded privacy controls.
- Professional profiles: Advertise and discover professional services within the platform (see §Professional Profiles).
- Business Inbox CRM: For Business and Government accounts — manage customer conversations, contacts, automation, broadcasts, and service flows (see §Business Features).
- Forms: Create and respond to registration, survey, and feedback forms within the app.
- Bookings: Service providers can publish booking slots; users can book appointments (see §Bookings).
- P2P payments: A peer-to-peer trust-based transaction handoff system (see §P2P Payments).
- Catalog: Business/Government accounts may publish geo-discoverable catalog items.
- Profile website: Your public profile may be accessible at
web.pipchat.in/users/<username>. - Map and discovery: Explore nearby content, businesses, communities, and professional listings on a map.
User content
You are responsible for all content you create, upload, or share on PipChat!, including threads, replies, status posts, community messages, media uploads, catalog items, form content, and booking details.
- You represent that you have all rights required to post your content and that it does not violate any law or third-party rights.
- You grant PipChat! a non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, store, reproduce, process, and display your content as necessary to operate the Service.
- This license ends when your content is deleted, subject to any legal hold or safety retention requirements.
- We may remove or restrict content that violates these Terms, the Posting Policy, or applicable law.
Ephemeral status content
Status posts expire from display after 24 hours. However:
- Status content is subject to the same rules as all other user content and the Posting Policy.
- Status posts are visible to followers, friends, or the public depending on your audience settings and plan tier.
- We may retain status content for moderation, safety, or legal compliance even after the 24-hour display window.
- Reactions and viewer data associated with status posts are processed per our Privacy Policy.
Business features and CRM
Business and Government account holders may access the Business Inbox CRM system, which includes:
- Business Inbox: Receiving and managing customer conversations.
- CRM contacts: Storing contact information for customers who have messaged you.
- Broadcast messaging: Sending messages to opted-in contacts only.
- Automation rules: Configuring automated responses and workflow rules for incoming messages.
- Chatbot flows: Building intake and response flows for customer interactions.
- Scheduled messages and follow-ups: Sending messages at a future time.
- CSAT surveys: Collecting customer satisfaction feedback from service interactions.
- Forms: Creating registration, survey, or feedback forms. Plan limits apply.
- Quick reply templates: Saving and reusing common response texts.
- Away auto-reply: Automated responses during off-hours based on your operating hours settings.
- Staff assignment: Assigning incoming conversations to team members.
Business account holders are responsible for complying with applicable laws when using CRM features, including data protection, anti-spam, and marketing communications laws. Contacts must have opted in to receive broadcast messages.
Professional profiles and listings
Users may create Professional Profiles to advertise services and be discovered by others. This includes:
- Encrypted professional information stored in your profile.
- Service location data (personally identifiable information, stored with encryption at rest).
- Geo-discoverable service listings appearing in map-based searches by profession category and operating area.
You are responsible for the accuracy of your professional profile and for complying with any licensing or legal requirements applicable to your profession in your jurisdiction.
Bookings and appointments
- PipChat! facilitates the booking connection and stores booking records. We are not a party to any service agreement between the service provider and the customer.
- Service providers are responsible for delivering booked services and for any applicable consumer protection obligations.
- PipChat! does not process payments for booked services directly — payment arrangements are between the parties.
- Booking details and associated calendar events are processed per our Privacy Policy.
P2P payments and trust
PipChat! offers a peer-to-peer trust-based transaction handoff system. This is not a payment processor and does not hold, transfer, or guarantee funds.
- P2P transactions record a shared acknowledgment between parties that a value exchange occurred.
- Transaction reputation (trust badges and scores) may be derived from your transaction history and displayed publicly.
- Users may store up to 8 payment method references in their profile. These are descriptive identifiers — not payment card numbers.
- PipChat! does not mediate disputes, guarantee payment delivery, or provide consumer financial protections.
Prohibited conduct
You agree not to:
- Post illegal content, including CSAM/CSAE, or facilitate exploitation of minors.
- Harass, bully, threaten, or incite violence or self-harm.
- Dox people or share personal data without authorization.
- Impersonate others, run scams, phish, spread malware, or conduct fraud.
- Bypass moderation, rate limits, age gates, or security controls.
- Use automated tools or bots to interact with the Service without authorization.
- Send unsolicited broadcasts or spam through Business Inbox features.
- Post false or misleading professional credentials or business information.
- Manipulate the trust or reputation system, including fabricating transaction records.
- Infringe third-party intellectual property rights.
See the Posting Policy for more detail.
Intellectual property and DMCA
PipChat! respects intellectual property rights. To submit a DMCA takedown request, use the in-app Legal Center or email legal@pipchat.in.
- DMCA requests must include: identification of the copyrighted work, identification of the infringing content, your contact information, a good-faith statement, and a declaration of accuracy under penalty of perjury.
- Counter-notices may be submitted by the content owner.
- Repeat copyright infringement may result in account termination.
Billing and subscriptions
Paid subscription plans unlock features, higher rate limits, and advanced capabilities. Billing is processed through Google Play Billing or Apple In-App Purchases via RevenueCat.
- Your local currency and final price are determined by your app store at checkout.
- PipChat! does not receive or store your full payment card number.
- Subscription fees are non-refundable except as required by applicable law or app store refund policies.
- Features gated by your plan may become unavailable immediately upon downgrade or cancellation.
Rate limits and fair use
PipChat! enforces per-user rate limits on content posting, messaging, and other actions based on your account type and subscription plan. Higher tiers receive higher limits. Attempting to circumvent rate limits via multiple accounts or automation is prohibited.
Account deletion and data retention
When you delete your account:
- Your account is immediately deactivated and your content is hidden from other users.
- A 90-day legal retention window applies before permanent deletion, to support safety investigations, legal compliance, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution.
- After the retention window, your account data is permanently purged, subject to any active legal hold.
- Public content you posted may leave contextual artifacts (e.g., reply thread structure) handled in a privacy-respecting manner.
Moderation, enforcement, and appeals
We may suspend, restrict, or permanently ban access if you violate these Terms, the Posting Policy, or for safety or legal reasons.
- Appeals: Contact support@pipchat.in if you believe an enforcement action was made in error.
- Enforcement for serious violations (including CSAE) is final and not subject to appeal.
- Content removals and account actions for safety-critical violations are implemented immediately.
Disclaimers and limitation of liability
- PipChat! is not responsible for user-generated content or the actions of other users.
- PipChat! is not a party to any transaction, service agreement, or booking between users.
- To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim is limited.
Changes to terms
We may update these Terms as PipChat! evolves. Continued use after changes become effective indicates acceptance. For significant changes, we will provide in-app notice and may require re-acceptance before continued use.
Contact
For questions about these Terms, email support@pipchat.in. For DMCA/copyright matters: legal@pipchat.in.
For urgent safety issues involving minors, see CSAE Safety Standards.