Terms & Conditions

Effective Date: October 2025

Welcome to Tethergy. These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of our website, interactive map, stories, and any related features, services, or experiences (collectively, the "Services"). By accessing or using the Services, submitting a story, or participating in the Tethergy movement in any way, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Services.

1. Who We Are

Tethergy is a project built around physical coins, shared stories, and a global map of kindness and connection. Our goal is to visualize how love, appreciation, and gratitude ripple outward as Tethergy coins travel from person to person.

2. Eligibility & Use of the Services

By using the Services, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 18 years old, or using the Services under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian.
• Any information you provide is accurate, complete, and up to date.
• You will use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms.

3. Tethergy Coins, Map & Experience

Tethergy coins, the interactive map, and story submissions are intended as a community-driven experience, not as a financial product, investment, or guarantee of any outcome.

• The movement of coins and the appearance of stories on the map are approximate and may not always be precise.
• We do not guarantee that every coin, hop, or story will be displayed, or displayed indefinitely.
• We may update, modify, or remove parts of the experience at any time to improve the project or maintain safety and performance.

4. Stories, Photos, Videos & Other User Content

When you submit a story, location, photo, video, or any other content ("User Content") through our website or related forms, you retain ownership of your content, but you grant Tethergy a license to use it so we can operate and promote the project.

4.1 License You Grant to Tethergy

By submitting User Content, you grant Tethergy a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to:

• Use, host, store, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, and create derivative works from your content;
• Display, publish, and distribute your content on the Tethergy website, map, emails, and related digital products;
• Share and repost your content on Tethergy’s official social media channels (for example, but not limited to: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and similar platforms);
• Use your content, or excerpts from it, in marketing, promotional materials, and other communications related to the Tethergy project and brand.

This license exists for as long as we reasonably need your content to support the Tethergy project and related archives, unless required otherwise by applicable law.

4.2 How Your Story May Be Displayed

Your story or media may appear:

• On the Tethergy map associated with a coin or hop;
• On dedicated story pages or feeds;
• In social media posts and highlight reels; and
• In promotional or recap materials that describe the Tethergy movement.

We may adjust formatting, crop or resize images, trim text for length, or lightly edit for clarity or spelling, while preserving the spirit of what you shared.

4.3 Your Responsibility for Submitted Content

You represent and warrant that:

• You have all necessary rights, permissions, and consents to submit the content and grant the license above.
• Your content does not infringe the rights (including privacy, publicity, copyright, or trademarks) of any third party.
• Your content complies with these Terms and with all applicable laws.

5. Community Guidelines & Prohibited Content

Tethergy is meant to celebrate kindness, connection, and meaningful stories. To protect the community, you agree not to submit any content that:

• Contains hate speech, harassment, threats, or targeted abuse;
• Contains illegal, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate material;
• Encourages violence, self-harm, or dangerous behavior;
• Contains spam, scams, pyramid schemes, or misleading claims;
• Violates any third-party intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights;
• Includes sensitive personal information about another person without their consent.

Tethergy may, at its sole discretion, refuse to display, edit, or remove any content that we believe violates these guidelines or does not align with the spirit of the project.

6. Advertising & Cross-Promotion With Permission

Tethergy stories are primarily intended to highlight acts of generosity, gratitude, and connection. We want to keep the experience free from unsolicited advertising while still allowing intentional, mutually beneficial cross-promotion when it makes sense.

By default, advertising and self-promotion are not allowed in story submissions.

Specifically, you agree that you will not:

• Use story submissions solely as an advertisement for your business, product, or service;
• Post coupon codes, sales pitches, affiliate links, or similar promotional material without approval;
• Submit content that is primarily promotional rather than story-driven.

6.1 Advertising or Cross-Promotion With Permission

If you would like to mention your business, organization, or project within a story (for example, a small business that used a Tethergy coin in a charitable campaign), you may request approval.

• Advertising with permission: Promotional mentions may be allowed if you first receive written permission from Tethergy.
• Advertising with cross-promotion, with permission: In select cases, we may approve stories that include a business or brand mention where there is a clear, authentic connection to the Tethergy experience and a mutually beneficial cross-promotion.
• All such approvals are at Tethergy’s sole discretion and may be subject to additional guidelines or conditions.

To request permission, please contact us at support@tethergy.com before publishing or submitting heavily promotional content. Unapproved advertising or promotional material may be removed, edited, or rejected without notice.

7. Moderation, Removal & Access

We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to review, moderate, and manage User Content submitted to Tethergy. This may include:

• Approving or rejecting stories before they appear on the map or site;
• Editing content for clarity, length, or formatting;
• Removing or limiting content that violates these Terms or community guidelines;
• Suspending or limiting access to features for users who repeatedly violate these Terms.

Moderation decisions are made in good faith to protect the project and community and may not be appealed in all cases.

8. Intellectual Property

All content on the Tethergy website that is created by or for Tethergy—such as logos, branding, design elements, text, graphics, and code—is owned by Tethergy or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws.

You agree that you will not:

• Copy, reproduce, or redistribute significant portions of the site without prior written permission;
• Use the Tethergy name, logo, or branding in a way that suggests endorsement without our consent;
• Attempt to reverse engineer or otherwise misuse the underlying systems of the Services.

9. Third-Party Services

The Tethergy experience may interact with or rely on third-party services (for example: Shopify, payment processors, email providers, mapping tools, or social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook).

• Those services are governed by their own terms and privacy policies.
• We are not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of third-party sites or services.

10. Disclaimers

The Tethergy Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Tethergy disclaims all warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not guarantee that:

• The Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free;
• Any particular story, coin, or hop will appear on the map or remain available indefinitely;
• The information displayed is always complete, accurate, or up to date.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Tethergy (and its owners, team members, and partners) shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to your use of the Services, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of goodwill, or other intangible losses.

Where liability cannot be fully excluded, it will be limited to the amount you have paid (if any) directly to Tethergy for access to the Services during the twelve (12) months prior to the event giving rise to the claim.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our Services, features, or legal requirements. When we do, we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this page.

Your continued use of the Services after any changes to the Terms constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree with the changes, you should stop using the Services.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, story usage, or advertising with permission, please contact us at:

support@tethergy.com