TERMS AND CONDITIONS – FRIENDSMATES

Updated: September 30, 2023

These terms and conditions (the “Terms and conditions”) apply when you (“user’’ and/or the “Users”) view or use any of the FriendsMates services; collectively, (‘’the services’’), including www.FriendsMates.com (‘’the platform’’) or mobile applications owned by The Lighthouse Project Inc., located at 6001 W PARMER LN STE 370 AUSTIN, TX 78727 (hereinafter, “FriendsMates”, ‘’we’’, ‘’us’’). Please review the following Terms and conditions carefully.

You may only use this platform according with these Terms and conditions and may not use it to engage in any unlawful activity or fraudulent purpose or to infringe on the rights of FriendsMates or others.

LEGALLY BINDING TERMS

The provisions on these Terms and Conditions are legally binding, and they contractually bind the Users to FriendsMates. By accessing this platform, you agree to these Terms, and agree you are legally bound by them. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access this platform.

These provisions shall remain in force between the parties for the entire duration of the contract. That duration shall be determined in accordance with the chosen subscription.

REGISTRATION

To access this platform, you need to create an account and register as a user on our platform. You will be asked to provide personal information, and some property information, in case you are a house provider. In addition, you will be asked to provide a valid Government ID verification. If you do not provide accurate and real information, we will cancel your account. You commit that under no circumstances you will share your log-in credentials such username or passwords.

If you are under the age of 18, please do not submit personal information to the Services. Under no circumstances a minor can access this platform with or without the consent of the parent or guardian.

The records are personal and non-transferable, being the holder thereof solely responsible for the actions taken with their registration.

EVENT REGISTRATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS 

By registering for an event on the FriendsMates platform, you are creating a user account and expressly agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you should not register for the event or create a user account. Your registration for an event constitutes your acceptance of these Terms.

SHARING OF INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES:

By registering for events on the FriendsMates platform, you acknowledge and consent to the sharing of your information with third parties involved in organizing and hosting the events you register for. This sharing of information is for the purpose of facilitating event logistics, coordination, and communication.

The types of information that may be shared with third parties can include, but are not limited to, your name, contact details, event preferences, and any other information necessary for the successful organization and execution of the event.

FriendsMates is committed to safeguarding your privacy and will only share your information with trusted third parties who are directly involved in the event planning and execution process. However, FriendsMates cannot control the privacy practices of these third parties, and you are encouraged to review their privacy policies and terms of service for further information.

You understand and agree that FriendsMates shall not be responsible for the use, handling, or security of your information by third parties. FriendsMates encourages you to exercise discretion and caution when sharing personal information with event organizers and other participants.

EVENT TICKETS AND LIABILITY DISCLAIMER 

When registering for an event whether there is a ticket price or not on the FriendsMates platform, you acknowledge and agree that: 

1. Ticket Prices: Event ticket prices, if applicable, are set and managed by the event organizer. In the case where FriendsMates is not the organizer, FriendsMates is not responsible for the pricing, availability, or refund policies associated with event tickets.
2. Event Participation: Your decision to participate in the event is voluntary, and you understand that FriendsMates does not control or guarantee the quality, safety, or outcomes of the event. Event organizers are solely responsible for event planning and execution.
3. Non-FriendsMates Event Organizer Liability: If the event organizer is not FriendsMates, then FriendsMates shall not be liable for any actions, omissions, or outcomes related to the event. In such cases, you participate in events at your own risk, and FriendsMates makes no guarantees or warranties of any kind regarding the events, including but not limited to the event’s quality, safety, accuracy, or suitability for your needs. If any concerns or issues arise regarding an event, you must contact the organizer directly. Any requests for refunds must be directed at the organizer directly.
4. FriendsMates as Organizer: If FriendsMates is the organizer of the event, then FriendsMates is responsible for event planning and execution. However, FriendsMates shall not be liable for any costs or damages incurred by attendees and is not liable for any. If for any reason you would like to request a refund, you may request one at contact@friendsmates.com . Refunds are not guaranteed unless stated on the event page, but may be requested.
5. Event Organizer Responsibility: Event organizers are responsible for event content, logistics, and any disputes or issues related to event participation. You agree to direct any concerns or inquiries about the event to the event organizer.

By registering for an event and purchasing tickets, you acknowledge and accept these terms and release FriendsMates from any claims, demands, or liabilities related to event participation.

THE PLATFORM

This platform allows users to publish, list, post, access and communicate regarding a variety of accommodation. You will find people who are seeking accommodation; searching properties, and to get in contact with people who have available accommodation.

FriendsMates is not a party to or other participant in any contractual relationship between such Provider and User. We are not a real estate broker or insurer. We are not acting as an agent, representative or broker in any capacity for any user of the Services.

We may at any time update the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy in order to comply with legal requirements or mobile application operating changes.

ID VERIFICATION

The Government issued Verification ID is made by a 3rd party instant verification with a non-refundable payment of a small fee of $4.99. If you prefer a ‘’free’’ ID verification, you will need to do it ‘’manually’’ and wait up to 5 business days.

The ‘’Instant’’ ID Verification is nonrefundable whether you are accepted, restricted, paused, or banned from using our services.

RULES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

You agree that, while using our Services, you shall not:

1. – Engage in or encourage conduct that would violate any applicable law, rule, regulation, judicial or government order or give rise to civil liability or violate or infringe upon any intellectual property, proprietary, privacy, moral, publicity or other rights of ours or of any other person or entity;
2. – Enable or allow others to use the Services via your User Account;
3. – Promote through our Services any material or take any action that is or is likely to be unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, tortious, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, of another’s privacy or publicity rights.
4. – Engage in or encourage conduct that affects adversely or reflects negatively on or interferes with our brand, Services, business, goodwill or reputation or causes duress, distress or discomfort to us or anyone else, or discourage any person from using our Services, or from advertising or becoming a supplier to us in connection with our Services;
5. – Submit, post, email, display, transmit or otherwise make available through our Services any material that contains a software virus, worm, spyware, Trojan horse or other computer code, file or program designed to interrupt, impair, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
6. – Offer, as a Provider, any Accommodation that you do not yourself own or have the right to offer or permission to make available through the platform;
7. – Publish anyone’s identification documents or sensitive financial information;
8. – Promote junk mail, pyramid schemes, spamming, or other unsolicited messages;
9. – Advertise products or services different from ‘’renting’’.
10. – Solicit passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users or engage in spamming, flooding, harvesting of email addresses or other personal information.
11. – Discriminate against or harass anyone on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age or sexual orientation, or otherwise engage in any violent, harmful, abusive or disruptive behavior;
12. – Modify, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any part of this platform.

These obligations shall survive termination.

USER-POSTED IMAGES AND OWNERSHIP 

By posting images or visual content (collectively referred to as “User-Generated Content”) on the platform, you agree and represent that you have the legal right, authority, and ownership or appropriate usage rights to such User-Generated Content. You further grant the Company a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable, sub-licensable, and transferable license to use, display, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, distribute, and create derivative works from your User-Generated Content in any media now known or hereafter devised, for the purposes of providing, promoting, and improving the Company’s services.

You understand and acknowledge that you are solely responsible for the User-Generated Content you post, and the Company assumes no responsibility for any misuse, infringement, or violations of third-party rights arising from such content. If you do not have the necessary rights or permissions to use specific User-Generated Content, you should not post it on the Company’s platform.

The Company respects intellectual property rights and expects all users to do the same. If you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated by User-Generated Content on our platform, please follow the procedures outlined in our Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy.

The Company reserves the right to remove or disable access to any User-Generated Content that we believe, in our sole discretion, may infringe the rights of others or violate these Terms of Service. Additionally, the Company may terminate or suspend user accounts of individuals who repeatedly infringe or are believed to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.

This clause emphasizes that users are responsible for the content they post and must have the necessary rights or permissions to use any images they upload. It also grants the company a license to use that content for its legitimate purposes while addressing copyright infringement concerns. Always consult with legal counsel to ensure this clause is appropriate for your specific circumstances and legal jurisdiction.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The material and platform produced by FriendsMates are intellectual works protected by the Law of Intellectual Property and are protected by the applicable law of the United States. Each of the elements that compose them (such as design, text, video, know how, name, music, graphics, images, information, applications, sounds, colors, logos, web page layout, applications and tools, among others) are exclusive property of FriendsMates, and we are the only authorized to use the intellectual property rights of these elements.

It is prohibited any reproduction and/or full or partial representation, use, adaptation, or modification of the applications or any of the elements that compose them, under any format, or in any form, for other purposes, including commercial.

Any material made by a ‘’contributor’’ for us to post it on our blog will be owned by the author. FriendsMates is not responsible, or liable for the accuracy of the content of these posts.

Utilizing our site does not establish any form of commercial or professional affiliation with the contributor. Furthermore, users are expressly prohibited from using our logo or making any references that imply a professional or any other type of relationship with FriendsMates.

The access to our platform and services does not provide any exclusive license of use or disposition of these services.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The users are obliged to keep in absolute and complete confidentiality, any personal or business data, even if it is not mentioned that it is confidential, of all information available related to this platform or users’ information.

Protected or confidential information means all the information, regardless of the medium used, consisting of technical and non-technical, financial, commercial or technological, namely: intellectual and industrial property, “know-how”, conclusions, business models, working models, trade secrets, studies, formulas, methods, “drafts”, drawings, photographs, prototype samples, models, personal data, medical data, financial data, technical and related information, directly or indirectly, with the distribution of pre-release beta software framework, or any other commercial elements, legal, or any other information relating to the software.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

The User, expressly accepts that:

1.The use of the software is carried out at the expense and risk of the User, being of their sole responsibility.

2. The User declares and assumes that is legally able, capable and authorized to exercise their activity related in particular to the provision of FriendsMates services. It cannot, therefore, be assigned any responsibility to FriendsMates for any error arising from Users activity.

3. FriendsMates provides no assurance regarding: the matching of the software with the user requirements, the exemption of errors in the software, the quality or performance of the software.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

The User expressly understands and agrees that FriendsMates shall not be liable towards the User for any direct, indirect, incidental, or special, arising from the use of the platform. Also, we shall not be liable for the omission of any of the legally imposed obligations on the other users.

FriendsMates shall not have any liability whatsoever (whether in contract, tort including negligence, pursuant to statute or otherwise) to you for any direct or indirect loss or damage of whatsoever kind you suffer or incur as a result of, or in any way in connection with, your use of the Website or the Services, or which otherwise arises in connection with your dealings with the users of our platform.

We are not liable for users who misrepresent themselves.

No member who shares positive or negative experiences may be held liable for misleading any future person.

We are not liable for anyone who does not follow the rules relating to payment, background checks, reservations, deposits, or communication.

We are not responsible for any loss or damage incurred by the members on this site.

We are not responsible for the accuracy of information on member’s listings.

We are not responsible for any promises or claims made by another member, including the availability of the room, amenities, employment status, financial ability or any other personal information.

We are not liable to pause or remove an account at any time; if we consider such an account is not following these terms and any other legal policies posted on this site.

You own the content you share; and we are not responsible for the content shared by other members.

SYSTEM FAILURES

It is not allowed the use of any device, software, or other feature that might interfere in the activities and operations of FriendsMates and its software. Any interference attempt or activity that violates or contravenes the laws of intellectual property rights and/or the prohibitions set in these Terms and conditions, will make the responsible liable to the corresponding legal actions, and also responsible for compensations for possible damages.

FriendsMates is not responsible for any harm, loss, or damage to the equipment of the User caused by flaws in the system, server or the Internet. FriendsMates does not guarantee access and continuous use, without interruption of the application. Eventually, the system may not be available for technical reasons or Internet failures, or any other circumstances unrelated to FriendsMates.

HYPERLINKS

The mobile and web applications may contain links to other applications or sites on which FriendsMates has no control. The inclusion of links to other applications or sites is about informational content, so FriendsMates does not have any control over their content, services and/or products offered and cannot be held liable, in this regard, of any responsibility.

SAFETY AND INFORMATION QUALITY

FriendsMates assures the quality and integrity of the information provided by us. We have implemented the necessary measures, both technologically and organizationally, in order to keep information safe, accurate, updated and complete. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

PARTIAL INVALIDITY

If any provision of the Terms and conditions is held invalid or unenforceable, for any reason or to any extent, such invalidity or unenforceability will not affect, in any way, or render invalid or unenforceable the remaining provisions of the Terms and conditions and the application of that provision shall be enforced in the extent permitted by law.

THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS

By accepting these Terms and Conditions of Use, the user expressly agrees and understands that the processing of personal data might be carried out on behalf of FriendsMates by other processors for the purposes and functions described in these Terms and conditions and the Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to increase the number of processors in order to perform these or other functions or to substitute any existing processors. The user gives, authorization to FriendsMates to engage other processors. FriendsMates shall notify the users of any change to the processors, when it is legally obliged, in accordance with the data regulations.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FRIENDSMATES AND USERS

Based on these Terms and conditions, the users declare and agree they are USERS, of the services provided by FriendsMates. This relationship is not a matter of labor relationship, joint venture or any other.

INDEMNITY

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless FriendsMates, and its officers, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses (whether direct, indirect or consequential), liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorneys’ fees) arising from: (i) Your breach of any provision of this User Agreement; (ii) Your breach of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, trade secret or other property, or privacy right; (iii) Your use of the Platform or the Service, or (iv) any claim that the Platform, Services or any Materials caused damage to you or a third party. This indemnification obligation will remain in effect after termination, modification or expiration of this Agreement and Your use of the Service and the Platform.

BREACH OF AGREEMENT

The failure to comply with any of the provisions of this agreement shall be a material breach. In the event that a breach of the provisions of this Agreement occurs or is threatened, we may terminate, suspend, and/or restrict your account, your access, and/or use the Service. After this Agreement is enforced, your obligations stipulated in this Agreement shall bear the liability to compensate us for all losses and damages caused by such a breach.

ARBITRATION

You agree that in case of a dispute between you and FriendsMates relating to or arising out of the terms of this agreement, the dispute shall be submitted to binding arbitration and you waive your right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration. This Agreement may be enforced by arbitration and other equitable remedies; and we reserve the right to seek and obtain damages and any available remedies for the breach of this Agreement.

APPLICABLE LAW

These terms and conditions of use are subject to the law of The United States of America and for all the issues arising therefrom, the parties elect the law of the State of Texas.