Meower’s Terms of Use & Privacy Policy Version 3 (See VERSION HISTORY below). #Definitions #Introduction Welcome to Meower! These terms outline the rules and regulations for utilizing our platform. By consenting to use and register on our platform, you agree to abide by these terms. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you may not access or utilize Meower. For the love of Meowy, please read this document! We strive to make these terms as understandable and user-friendly as possible. Our goal is to present information in a clear, straightforward manner to ensure that all users can comprehend and engage with our terms without unnecessary complexity. #Scope and purpose Meower is a privacy-focused, free, and open-source social media platform. We prioritize user privacy by abstaining from tracking, avoiding advertisement spam, refraining from selling user information, and respecting user data permissions. Come for the community, stay for the fun At Meower, we’re not just about social media; we’re about creating a welcoming, safe, and downright enjoyable community for everyone. Who says you can’t have a blast on social media while keeping your privacy intact? We certainly don’t! We’re thrilled to have you join us on this adventure of connecting, sharing, and enjoying the digital world without compromising your privacy. Let’s make this journey together a fun and memorable one! Just so you understand Our main service, app.meower.org, operates as a publicly hosted instance of the open-source Meower social media platform project, meticulously maintained by Meower Media. You can explore our source code anytime on github.com/meower-media-co.These terms exclusively apply to the app.meower.org publicly available instance, hosted by Meower Media. The world is your oyster; FOSS is your friend Given the open-source nature of the Meower social media platform project, you have the liberty to establish your own instance and establish your terms of service, to which our terms do not extend. Meower Media holds no responsibility for unofficial instances and disclaims any liability for any issues arising from the use of unofficial instances. #Updates to these terms We are committed to maintaining transparency and openness in our community. As part of this commitment, we will offer public discussions for any proposed revisions to our terms of service prior to their enforcement. Announcement When considering updates or revisions to our terms of service, we will make a public announcement on Meower and other relevant communication channels. Discussion period Following the announcement, there will be a designated period during which the community at large can participate in discussions related to the proposed revisions. This discussion period will allow for feedback, questions, and suggestions from the community. Feedback consideration We will carefully consider the feedback received during the discussion period. If feasible and appropriate, adjustments may be made to address valid concerns or incorporate valuable insights from the community. Finalization After the discussion period concludes and feedback is considered, the final version of the revised terms will be published along with a summary of the key changes. 30-Day Grace Period Prior to the enforcement of the revised terms, there will be a 30-day grace period. During this time, users will have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the changes and adjust their usage accordingly. Notification We are committed to notifying users by any means possible prior to the enforcement of the updated terms. This may include notifications on Meower, emails, or other communication channels, ensuring that users are well-informed about the upcoming changes. Participation We encourage all users and stakeholders to actively participate in these public discussions. Your input is valuable to us, and these discussions aim to ensure that our terms of service align with the expectations and needs of the Meower community. #Disclaimers and limitation of liability Please note that these terms have been prepared with AI assistance and might not cover all legal cases, and know that Meower Media did not have legal or professional assistance during the creation of these terms. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to a member of Meower Media via [email protected]. We’re not a legal entity… Meower is an open-source software initiative operated by a group of individuals collaborating under the alias “Meower Media”. Meower Media is not a business entity, corporation, or legally recognized organization, and does not engage in commercial activities, trade, or the provision of services for profit. Meower Media is a purely volunteer-driven, non-commercial and community-driven effort to develop and provide the open-source Meower social media platform to the public. … and you agree to that fact By using Meower Media’s software, services, or resources, you acknowledge that Meower Media is not a business or legal entity, and its operation is conducted on a volunteer and non-commercial basis. Therefore, any legal or contractual obligations, liabilities, or warranties associated with traditional business entities do not apply to the Meower social media platform project or Meower Media. We try our best, but beware the risks By using Meower, you do so at your own risk. We do not guarantee the accuracy, availability, or reliability of Meower. Meower is provided “as is”. We will not be held liable for any damages or losses arising from your use of Meower. Nobody likes lawsuits By using Meower within the United States, you waive your right to file a class action lawsuit against us. Force majeure (the man upstairs has the final say) In the event that Meower Media is unable to perform its obligations under these terms due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond its control, including but not limited to acts of God, war, natural disasters, government actions, or other force majeure events, Meower Media shall not be held liable for such non-performance. Meower Media will make reasonable efforts to resume its obligations as soon as the force majeure event has ended. #Termination and suspension These terms will apply throughout your use of Meower. You have the option to delete your account and leave Meower at any time. If you choose to do so, these terms will cease to be in effect after a grace period of 7 days. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts for any reason, whether expressed or implied, with or without prior warning. Our commitment is to enforce these terms to maintain the integrity and safety of Meower. #Age requirements You must be at least 13 years or older to use Meower. In the event that the digital consent age for your jurisdiction is different than 13 years of age, your jurisdiction’s age requirements hereby supersede our age requirements. Account termination If we have reasonable suspicion that you are under 13 years of age or below your jurisdiction’s digital consent age, we will terminate your account, with or without prior notice. Reporting unauthorized use To report a minor using our service, please contact us at [email protected]. Simply provide the child's account username, provide proof that the account is in violation of our minors policy, and we will take action accordingly. Reports will be handled in a professional, confidential, and timely manner. Any and all personally-identifying information provided in your report(s) will be permanently deleted from our records after they have been reviewed and handled by a member of Meower Media’s moderation team. #Community guidelines Account setup To register on Meower, you must provide a username and password. You agree to secure your account, not share your credentials, promptly report any suspected unauthorized use, and respect other users’ privacy and wishes. Multiple accounts You can create multiple accounts (“alts”), so long as your alternative accounts (“alts”) are in accordance with these terms. Automated accounts You can create multiple automated accounts (“bots”). Automated accounts must be explicitly labeled a “bot,” or we may terminate them. Please note that we will provide a dedicated tool for creating these kinds of accounts. Use of aliases While encouraged to use aliases or pseudonyms, you’re free to use your real name if comfortable. Password and username caution We’re not responsible for issues arising from using your real name or passwords from other websites. Username modification We reserve the right to modify your username if needed for Meower’s safety. Prohibited Actions While using Meower, you must NOT:

Spam - Send unsolicited content in rapid succession.

Harass - Send defamatory, libelous, fraudulent, slanderous, or threatening messages.

Use malicious bots - Use automated processes (“bots”) for harmful purposes with or without Meower Media-approved APIs.

Impersonate/fraud/scam others - Attempt to obtain personal information or assets under false pretenses.

Exploit/hack - Try to bypass or defeat security measures without prior permission.

Go phishing - Attempt to access other users’ systems or data under false pretenses.

Dox/Data leak - Expose personal or confidential information without consent.

Spread malicious software - Spread computer viruses, including (but not limited to) adware, malware, spyware, and trojans.

Publish NSFW content - Share adult/mature/pornographic/minor abuse content.

Be a pirate (Yarr!) - Distribute illegally obtained copyrighted media / Attempt Piracy on Meower.

Turn the lights off (Not even the thermostat!) - Attempt to disrupt, damage, or disable our infrastructure (e.g. Denial of Service “DoS” / Distributed Denial of Service “DDoS” attacks).

Evade your bans (Patience is a virtue) - Attempt to bypass restrictions from previous bans.

Use Meower Unlawfully/offensively - Use Meower in a manner that’s unlawful, offensive, or harmful.

Be a sellout - Use Meower for commercial purposes without authorization.

Share advertisements (Nobody likes them!) - Use Meower for advertising your commercial products, goods, and/or services. Non-commercial advertising is permitted (e.g. sharing media, announcing upcoming events, collaborations/community projects, etc. Exceptions may be granted by Meower Media upon review.

#Privacy policy Your privacy rights At Meower Media, we are committed to respecting your privacy and providing transparency in our data practices. These rights are available to all users of Meower, regardless of their location, in line with our worldwide commitment to privacy. We respect your right to use our services without invasive tracking or commercial data sharing. Your data and information are used solely for the purposes of providing and improving our services and enhancing your user experience. To this end, we offer the following rights: #Consent When you register an account on Meower, we will seek your consent to process your information, a fundamental requirement to utilize our services. #Be Informed We are dedicated to clearly explaining what information we collect, how we store your data, and the duration for which we retain your information, ensuring you are well-informed about our data practices. #Access You have the right to request a copy of your account data at any time, and we are committed to providing you with access to your information when you choose to exercise this right. #Rectify If you discover an error in your account records, you may request its correction at any time, and we will promptly address any inaccuracies. #Erase (“Be Forgotten”) You have the right to request the permanent deletion of your account and all your user-generated content from Meower at any time, and we respect your choice to be forgotten and will assist you in this process. #Security We employ appropriate technological and organizational security measures to protect your data and implement data protection principles. Your data security is our priority. #Data Portability We do not use close-source, proprietary methods or means to store or export your data, aiming to maintain openness and flexibility in facilitating your data portability. Consent to these privacy rights By using Meower, you acknowledge and agree to our commitment to upholding your privacy rights. Your content and information will be stored and processed with privacy and data protection principles in mind, regardless of your location. #How to use these rights You are free to exercise these rights at any time by contacting [email protected]. Simply describe the right you wish to exercise, and we will assist you with facilitating your request. Your account and the data we collect Regarding your account, we will keep your account for as long as you wish to use Meower. If you request to delete your account, your account and all your user-generated content will be permanently deleted after 7 days. The following is an inclusive list of all the information we collect, process, and store for the operation of our service. We will not collect any other information outside of this list as detailed below: #Username We collect a username to identify your account, and it will persist as long as you wish to use Meower. #Password Your password is stored in a hashed and salted manner for authentication purposes and will persist as long as you wish to use Meower. #Email Address We collect your email address to facilitate communication and account-related notifications. Email addresses will persist as long as your account remains active. #IP Address We collect your IP address for moderation, security, and to detect suspicious activity. IP address logs are stored for a maximum of 28 days at a time. #Session Cookies or Tokens We use session cookies or tokens for seamless access to your account. These cookies contain only a token to resume access to our service and do not collect personal information or serve tracking cookies. #Posts or MessagesAny posts or messages you create will persist as long as your account remains active. Deleted posts will be retained for a maximum of 28 days. #Media Media files you upload, such as photos, screenshots, music, documents, or videos, will be retained as long as your account remains active. Deleted media will be retained for a maximum of 28 days. #Communication Channels Records of communication channels, including group chats, direct messages, subscribed communities, and followed discussions, will be retained as long as you remain subscribed to them. #User Settings and Preferences Records of your settings and preferences will persist as long as your account remains active. #Followed or Blocked Users Records of any other Meower users you follow or block will be retained as long as your account remains active. #Multi Factor Authentication Devices If you choose to enable multi factor authentication, we may collect information related to your authorized device(s) for enhanced security. #Account Access Logs We retain logs of account access to monitor and enhance security. These logs include information such as login timestamp, device used, multi-factor method, email address and IP addresses. These details provide a comprehensive understanding of our data collection and retention practices to ensure your privacy and security while using our service. Protecting your rights & resisting legal requests Meower Media will make reasonable efforts to comply with data protection laws and regulations and to resist legal requests for user data or information that may compromise your privacy rights, to the extent allowed by applicable laws and regulations. However, please recognize that we may be legally obligated to comply with certain requests, such as court orders or warrants, in cases that do not jeopardize the investigation or compromise legal requirements. User-generated content By using Meower, you are solely responsible for any user-generated content posted on our platform, and you grant Meower Media and other Meower users the right to view and interact with your content on our platform. You will retain ownership of your content, and you may delete your content at any time. User-generated content disclaimer It’s important to note that other Meower users may have copied or saved your content, which we are not responsible for. Meower Media reserves the right to delete, modify, or restrict access to content if needed to comply with copyright or legal requests or to protect Meower and its users. Please be aware that in the event of moderator actions or content reports, we will retain a permanent record of such content for administrative, legal, or investigative purposes. Inactive accounts For accounts that remain inactive for a period of 2 years, we have a retention policy in place. To ensure account owners are informed, we will send a notification during the last 14 days of the 2-year inactivity period. After 14 days have passed since the notification, we will schedule the account for deletion 7 days afterward. #Notification A notification will be sent to the email address associated with the inactive account during the last 14 days of the 2-year inactivity period. This notification provides account owners with information about the upcoming deletion and the opportunity to prevent it by logging into the account. #Deletion Scheduling After 14 days have passed since the notification, the account will be scheduled for deletion 7 days afterward. #Post-Deletion Notification After the entire 2-year inactivity period has expired (with respect to the 14 days after the initial notification), one final notification will be sent to the account owner stating that the account will be permanently deleted 7 days later. This provides a final opportunity for the account owner to prevent deletion by logging in. #Preventing Deletion If the user logs back in during the 2-year inactivity period or after the final notification, the deletion request will be aborted, and the account will remain active. #Final Deletion If the user logs back in after the 2-year inactivity period (with respect to the 14 days after the initial notification), the account will permit access but will be permanently deleted after an additional 7 days. The data associated with inactive accounts slated for deletion adheres to all aforementioned items in our data collection and retention policy. Our retention policy, coupled with notifications, ensures that we are only storing data that is actively contributing to the Meower community. If you have concerns or wish to prevent your account from being marked for deletion, simply log in to your account within the 2-year inactive period. Third party services To enhance the functionality, security, and performance of Meower, we utilize the following third-party services: Cloudflare (cloudflare.com) Purpose We use Cloudflare to provide efficient and secure access to our platform. Cloudflare’s services include content delivery network (CDN), DDoS protection, and web application firewall (WAF) to safeguard Meower and its users from advanced web attacks. Data usage Cloudflare may process user IP addresses, device information, and other data for security and performance optimization purposes. Please refer to Cloudflare’s privacy policy for more details. IPHub (iphub.info) Purpose We utilize IPHub to identify and block malicious networks and known malicious VPNs, enhancing the overall security of Meower. Data Usage IPHub may process data related to IP addresses for the purpose of detecting and blocking malicious activity. Please refer to IPHub’s privacy policy for more details. These third-party services play a crucial role in ensuring a secure and reliable environment for Meower users. While we carefully choose and work with reputable service providers, we recommend reviewing the privacy policies of Cloudflare and IPHub to understand how they handle data. #Access to user data by authorized individuals At Meower, we prioritize user privacy and data security. To ensure the smooth operation of our platform and community, authorized individuals (strictly Meower moderators and administrators) may access certain user data on a need-to-know basis. This access is granted for specific purposes, such as content moderation and user support. The data that may be accessed includes, but is not limited to: This access is granted to authorized individuals to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all Meower users. We take data protection and privacy seriously, and access to user data is strictly controlled and monitored. Rest assured that any access to user data is governed by our internal policies, and individuals with access are bound by confidentiality and data protection obligations. We do not share user data with third parties except as required by law or in compliance with our privacy policy. #Intellectual property rights Meower Media, the Meower social media platform project, and its associated assets, including logos, designs, and branding are owned by the individuals operating Meower Media. Meower Media follows open-source licensing principles for its software and other assets. Users are encouraged to review and comply with the individual licenses associated with these assets. These terms and conditions are available in the project’s documentation. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or modification of Meower Media assets is strictly prohibited, except as explicitly allowed by the assets’ open-source licenses. This includes, but is not limited to, the source code, designs, and branding. (We’re pretty lenient about this. Unless you try to do something very illegally or morally wrong, we honestly don’t care what you do.) We entrust our users to respect the copyright and trademark rights associated with Meower Media and its assets. The use of these assets should be in accordance with applicable laws and licenses. Copyright claims and infringement policy Meower Media respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects our users to do the same. All content and materials provided by Meower are protected by open-source licenses as specified in the individual components’ documentation. You may use our services and materials in compliance with the applicable licenses. If you need to file a copyright claim, please contact [email protected]. Provide your organization’s name, valid email address, a link to the content in violation of your intellectual property rights, and proof of copyright ownership. If you are found victim to a copyright claim, you may also contact [email protected], providing the victim account’s username, a valid email address, a link to the claim report, and provide your counterclaim. We will review all requests in a timely and confidential manner. Depending upon our rulings, we may either agree to take down the offending content and/or terminate accounts, or refuse the claim/counterclaim. We will make a best-effort attempt to handle copyright claims in a timely and confidential manner. We reserve the right to refuse any and all future claims in the event that we suspect that you are abusing copyright claims, or ignoring fair use laws. #Governing law / service provider, data storage and processing location, international data backup / replication policy These terms of use, your use of Meower, and any disputes arising from or related to these terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any legal actions, claims, or disputes that arise from your use of Meower or these terms of use shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and you hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction and venue of such courts. Meower is provided by and maintained by the individuals operating Meower Media. By using Meower, you agree that your content and information may be stored and processed within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, where Meower is hosted and operated. By using Meower, you acknowledge and agree that Meower Media may backup or replicate data, including user data, internationally for the purpose of data redundancy and system stability. This means that your data may be stored in multiple locations around the world to ensure its availability and integrity. By using our services, you consent to this international data replication. We take reasonable measures to secure and protect your data during backup and replication processes. As of the time of writing this revision of our terms, Meower Media currently does not replicate or backup user data internationally. All user content and data currently resides within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. This section regarding international data backup/replication is reserved for future use. Dispute resolution In the event of any legal disputes or concerns related to your use of Meower, we encourage you to first seek resolution through open and constructive communication with Meower Media. If a dispute remains unresolved, you may contact our designated dispute resolution contact: Mike J. Renaker @MikeDEV [email protected] Please be aware that Meower Media and its designated contact are not legal professionals or a formal legal entity. Their role is to facilitate and explore amicable resolutions to disputes. By engaging in the dispute resolution process with our designated dispute resolution contact, you acknowledge that Meower Media is not a business entity or a legal organization. #Email support response time and availability Meower Media strives to provide email support to our users and community members to the best of our abilities. However, please be aware that Meower Media is a volunteer-driven project, and our response times may vary based upon the availability and commitments of our contributors. We will make reasonable efforts to reply to your emails and support inquiries within 30 days. Nevertheless, we cannot guarantee specific response times or responses to every inquiry due to our volunteer-based structure. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work diligently to assist you with your questions and concerns. We value your feedback and contributions to our project and will do our best to address your needs within our available resources. Your support and engagement are crucial to the success of Meower, and we thank you for being a part of our community. #Technical support, business enquiries, questions, comments, complaints, or requests Please reach out to [email protected], or feel free to contact a member of Meower Media within Meower at any time. #Version history Version 3 Initial draft: March 23, 2024.
Last updated: March 23, 2024.
Effective: April 22, 2024.
Status: Current These terms are an amendment to Version 2, aimed at making our age requirements stricter. Version 2 Initial draft: September 18, 2023
Last updated: December 8, 2023.
Effective: December 8, 2023.
Status: Transitional These terms were rewritten from the ground up to clearly explain our policies for our community. Version 1 Initial draft: January 7, 2022.
Last updated: November 13, 2022.
Effective: January 7, 2022.
Status: Historical This is our previous terms and privacy policy. It served us well during our transitional period from Scratch 3 to Svelte. You may view the latest revision of this version on the Internet Archive. You can also view the archived Scratch forums version here. Version 0 Terms of service last updated: June 3, 2021.
Privacy policy last updated: April 26, 2021.
Status: Historical This is our historical, archived version of our preliminary terms of service and privacy policy, back in the Scratch 3-built Meower era. You may view the latest revision of this version on the Internet Archive.