Terms of Service

Welcome to HearMeOut. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a legal agreement between you and HearMeOut (“HearMeOut”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) governing your use of our mobile application, website, and related services (together, the “Service”). Please read them carefully. By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. What HearMeOut is

HearMeOut is a platform for peer emotional support. It connects Seekers with Listeners for supportive conversations over chat or voice, and offers an optional AI companion. Listeners are everyday, caring people, not licensed professionals.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and capable of forming a binding contract to use HearMeOut. By using the Service, you confirm that you meet these requirements and that the information you provide is accurate.

3. Accounts & verification

• You are responsible for keeping your account credentials and device secure, and for all activity under your account.
• Seekers verify their account using a mobile number and email. Listeners must complete additional verification (which may include a selfie, a liveness video, a social handle, and identity checks) before they can offer support.
• You agree to provide accurate information and to keep it up to date. We may suspend or refuse accounts that provide false information or that we believe pose a safety risk.
• You may not impersonate others, create accounts on behalf of others without authorisation, or maintain multiple accounts to evade restrictions.

4. Listeners

• Listeners are independent individuals, not employees, partners, or agents of HearMeOut. HearMeOut does not employ Listeners or guarantee any amount of demand or earnings.
• Listeners choose when they are available and are responsible for conducting themselves with kindness, respect, and within these Terms and applicable law.
• Listeners earn for completed sessions. Earnings accrue to the Listener’s in-app wallet and may be withdrawn to a valid UPI ID, either on demand or via periodic batch payouts, subject to minimums and any applicable platform fee.
• HearMeOut may deduct a platform service fee or commission from session amounts. Any such fee will be reflected in the app.
• Listeners are solely responsible for their own taxes and for reporting income earned through the Service.
• Listeners must not provide medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice, request or accept payment outside the platform, or solicit personal contact details to take conversations off the platform.

5. Payments, wallet & fees

• Seekers add funds to an in-app wallet through our payment partner, Razorpay. Sessions and the AI companion are charged from your wallet balance at the rates shown in the app.
• All charges are in Indian Rupees (INR) unless stated otherwise. Prices and rates may change; changes apply to future purchases.
• Wallet balances are for use within the Service and have no cash value outside it except where required by law. Top-ups are generally non-refundable except as required by applicable law or expressly stated in the app.
• You are responsible for any taxes applicable to your purchases. If a payment is reversed or charged back, we may suspend your account and recover amounts owed.

6. Acceptable use

To keep HearMeOut safe and kind, you agree not to:

• Harass, threaten, abuse, demean, or discriminate against anyone;
• Share content that is unlawful, hateful, sexually explicit, violent, or otherwise harmful;
• Solicit money, goods, or services, or attempt to transact outside the platform;
• Share others’ private information, or record, screenshot, or redistribute conversations without consent and a lawful basis;
• Use the Service for any illegal purpose, or to provide professional medical, legal, or financial services;
• Attempt to disrupt, reverse-engineer, scrape, or gain unauthorised access to the Service; or
• Misrepresent your identity or impersonate others.

7. Safety & moderation

We use automated checks and, where necessary, limited human review to keep the community safe. You can report or block anyone at any time. We may remove content, limit features, or suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that we believe create a risk to others. We are not responsible for the conduct of any user, but we take safety seriously and act on credible reports.

8. Crisis & emergencies

9. Your content

You retain ownership of the content you share. You grant HearMeOut a limited licence to process, transmit, and store your content as necessary to operate the Service, to keep it safe, and to comply with law, in line with our Privacy Policy. You are responsible for the content you share and confirm you have the right to share it.

10. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, logos, and content (excluding user content), is owned by HearMeOut and protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works without our permission.

11. Third-party services

The Service relies on third-party providers, including Razorpay (payments), LiveKit (real-time voice), and OpenAI (AI features). Your use of features powered by these providers may also be subject to their terms. We are not responsible for third-party services we do not control.

12. Disclaimers

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that support provided by any Listener or the AI companion will meet your expectations or produce any particular outcome.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, HearMeOut and its operators will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, goodwill, or profits, arising from or related to your use of the Service. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability for any claim relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid to us in the three (3) months before the event giving rise to the claim, or INR 1,000.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HearMeOut and its operators from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your content, or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

15. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, create a safety risk, or as required by law. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including payment obligations, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and indemnities) will survive.

16. Governing law & disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Subject to any applicable consumer-protection rights you may have, the competent courts in India will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service. We encourage you to contact us first so we can try to resolve any concern informally.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at hello@hearmeout.me.