Terms of Service

• You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account or use the Service. The Service is not directed to, and may not be used by, anyone under 18.
• You must be a natural person. Accounts are for individuals; you may not register on behalf of, or as, an organisation, bot or automated agent, except for an authorised administrator operating a Community in accordance with these Terms.
• You must provide accurate, current and complete information, including a genuine display name and a valid pin code for the locality in which you actually live or have a bona fide local interest.
• You must not be a person barred from using the Service under the laws of India or any other applicable jurisdiction, and you must not have been previously removed from the Service.

You create an account by signing in with Google or by verifying an email address you control (via a link we send to that address). You may optionally add a phone number to your account or provide one when contacting support. Optional phone numbers are handled as described in our Privacy Policy and are not shown publicly.

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account and for maintaining the confidentiality and security of the credentials and email account used to access it. You agree to notify us promptly of any unauthorised use of, or access to, your account. We are not liable for any loss arising from your failure to safeguard your account.

Ghantagram lets you raise a “Bell” (a post about something local), “Ring Back” to support a neighbour's Bell, run Polls, comment, and join or create Communities. The Service is organised around your pin code and shows you a “My Area” feed and a “Nearby” feed. Feeds are ordered by your explicit choice (newest or most supported), not by an engagement-optimising or behavioural-profiling algorithm.

We may add, change, suspend or discontinue features of the Service at any time. We will use reasonable efforts to give notice of material changes that adversely affect you.

Ghantagram exists for genuine, respectful, lawful local participation. As a condition of using the Service, you agree that you will not, and will not permit or encourage others to:

• Post spam, scams, deceptive schemes, pyramid or referral solicitations, or repetitive, unsolicited or automated promotional content;
• Harass, bully, threaten, stalk, defame or abuse any person, or incite others to do so;
• Post, share or promote content that is unlawful, hateful, discriminatory, obscene, sexually explicit, or that depicts, promotes or facilitates violence, self-harm, or the sexual exploitation or endangerment of any person;
• Impersonate any person or entity, misrepresent your affiliation, or post false, fabricated or misleading information (including misinformation about civic matters, safety or emergencies);
• Post another person's private or identifying information (including addresses, phone numbers, photographs or location) without their consent, or otherwise infringe any person's privacy;
• Infringe any intellectual property, publicity, privacy or other right of any third party;
• Upload viruses, malware or harmful code, or attempt to probe, scan, disrupt, overload, reverse-engineer, scrape or gain unauthorised access to the Service, its systems or other users' accounts;
• Use the Service in violation of any applicable law or regulation, including the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made under it, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

You are solely responsible for your conduct and for the content you post. We reserve the right, but assume no obligation, to monitor the Service. As an intermediary, Ghantagram will comply with its obligations and observe applicable due-diligence requirements under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

You retain ownership of the content you create, including Bells, Polls, comments and Community posts (“Your Content”). By posting Your Content, you grant Ghantagram a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable licence to host, store, reproduce, display, adapt (for formatting and display) and distribute Your Content solely for the purpose of operating, providing, securing and improving the Service - for example, so that neighbours in your area can see it and Ring Back. This licence ends when you delete Your Content or your account, except as set out below.

You represent and warrant that you own or have all necessary rights to Your Content and that Your Content, and our use of it as permitted here, does not violate these Terms or any third-party right or applicable law.

You may delete Your Content at any time. When you delete Your Content or your account, we will remove it from public view within the Service. Copies may persist for a limited period in encrypted backups and may be retained where required to comply with law, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements, as described in the Privacy Policy. Where a Bell has received Ring Backs or comments, aggregate or de-identified traces (such as counts) may remain even after the underlying content is removed.

Ring Backs and comments are expressions of support and conversation and must comply with the community guidelines. Comments are text-only by design. Polls are one-vote-per-account; you must not manipulate Polls, Ring Backs or reports through multiple or fake accounts, automation, or coordinated inauthentic behaviour.

Communities are self-contained spaces with their own members and feeds. If you create or administer a Community, you are responsible for its conduct within the Service, including moderating content, managing membership and setting rules consistent with these Terms. We may remove a Community, or remove you as an administrator, if it or you violate these Terms.

Members can report Bells, comments and other content for spam, abuse, false information or other violations. A Bell or comment that receives multiple reports may be automatically hidden pending human review. We may, at our discretion and without prior notice where appropriate, remove or restrict content, hide or delete Bells, limit features, and suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or applicable law. Where practicable and lawful, we will give affected users notice and an opportunity to appeal an enforcement decision by contacting the Grievance Officer named below.

In accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, complaints regarding any content or your use of the Service may be sent to our Grievance Officer:

Grievance Officer: Arun B K

Email: info@ghantagram.com

Address: No.1, Block J, 8th Floor, Thawa HIG-TNHB Housing Complex, Natesan Nagar West, Virugambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India - 600092

We will acknowledge a complaint within 24 hours and endeavour to resolve it within 15 days of receipt, or sooner where the law requires.

The Service relies on third-party providers, including providers for authentication, database and file storage, hosting, analytics, push notifications, email delivery, and translation or transliteration. These currently include Supabase, Vercel, Google/Firebase, Resend and Sarvam AI as described in our Privacy Policy. The Service may also link to third-party sites or services governed by their own terms and policies.

The Service, including its software, design, the Ghantagram name and logo, the “Bell” and “Ring Back” marks and features, and all related intellectual property, are owned by Ghantagram or its licensors and are protected by law. Except for the rights expressly granted to you to use the Service, no rights are transferred to you. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell or lease any part of the Service.

Ghantagram is not an emergency service. Content on the Service, including safety alerts and civic reports, is user-generated and is not verified by us. Do not rely on the Service in situations involving a risk to life, health, safety or property. In an emergency, contact the police, fire, ambulance or other appropriate authorities directly.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free, or that any content is accurate or reliable.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Ghantagram and Arun B K will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, data, goodwill or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the Service or any content posted by other members, whether based on warranty, contract, tort or any other legal theory, and whether or not we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the total amounts you paid to us for the Service in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim (which, for a free service, may be nil), or (b) INR 1,000. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Ghantagram and Arun B K from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, losses and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or connected with Your Content, your use of the Service, or your breach of these Terms or of any law or third-party right.

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time from within the app. If you cannot access the app, you may submit a deletion request at https://www.ghantagram.com/delete-account. We may suspend or terminate your access, with or without notice, if you violate these Terms or applicable law, if required to protect the Service or other users, or if required by law. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including content licence tails, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnity, and governing law) will survive.

We may update these Terms as the Service evolves. We will post the updated Terms with a revised “last updated” date and, for material changes, provide notice within the app before they take effect. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service and may delete your account.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Subject to any non-waivable right you may have to bring proceedings in your place of residence, you and Ghantagram agree that the courts at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service.

• These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Ghantagram regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements.
• If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.
• Our failure to enforce any right or 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 transfer of the Service.

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at info@ghantagram.com. Complaints may also be sent to the Grievance Officer at the same address.