Terms of Service

1. About PadosME

PadosME is a community-driven neighbourhood platform designed to connect residents across India, Nepal, and beyond. It offers features including local posts, news, events, groups, a marketplace, and direct messaging, all scoped to your locality.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use PadosME. Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, users under 18 are classified as children and require verifiable parental consent for data processing. By setting the minimum age at 18, we protect younger users from this requirement. At registration, you are required to confirm your age (18+) and acceptance of our Community Guidelines via explicit checkboxes — this confirmation is stored as a record of your consent. By registering, you confirm that you are 18 or older. If you are using the platform on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you have the authority to accept these terms on their behalf.

3. Account Responsibilities

• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and secure.
• You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and profile setup.
• You must not share or transfer your account to another person.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
• If you suspect unauthorised access to your account, notify us immediately via the Contact page.

4. Community Guidelines

PadosME is built on the spirit of neighbourly trust and respect. You agree not to:

• Post content that is abusive, hateful, discriminatory, threatening, or obscene.
• Upload obscene, explicit, or sexually inappropriate images as a profile avatar, in marketplace listings, in post images, or in any other user-uploaded media section.
• Harass, bully, or impersonate other users.
• Share false, misleading, or defamatory information about individuals or businesses.
• Use the platform for unsolicited commercial solicitation or spam.
• Violate the privacy of other users by sharing their personal information without consent.
• Engage in any activity that disrupts or damages the platform or its users.
• Post content that violates the laws of India or Nepal, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, or the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

5. Content Ownership and Licence

You retain ownership of all content you create and post on PadosME. By posting content, you grant PadosME a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to display, distribute, and reproduce your content solely for the purpose of operating the platform. We do not claim ownership of your content. You are solely responsible for ensuring your content does not infringe any third-party rights.

6. Locality Scope and Community Trust

PadosME is a locality-first platform. Content, groups, and interactions are scoped to your registered neighbourhood and nearby areas. We encourage genuine, helpful, and respectful engagement. Users who misrepresent their location or engage in bad faith may have their access restricted.

7. Marketplace and Listings

The PadosME marketplace enables users to list items for local sale or exchange. PadosME is a platform for connecting neighbours — we do not facilitate payments, hold funds, or act as an agent or party in any transaction. We do not verify, endorse, or guarantee any listing, item, or service offered by users. Users are solely responsible for conducting due diligence before entering any transaction. For your protection: always meet buyers and sellers in safe, well-lit public places; verify items before completing any exchange; and never transfer money in advance to someone you have not met in person. PadosME is not liable for any disputes, losses, damages, or harm arising from marketplace interactions, whether fraudulent or otherwise. If you encounter suspicious behaviour, use the Report button on the listing.

8. Intellectual Property

All PadosME branding, design, code, and platform features are the intellectual property of PadosME and its creators. You may not copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of the platform without prior written permission.

9. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or permanently terminate accounts that violate these terms, engage in harmful behaviour, or compromise the safety of other users. We may act without prior notice where we judge immediate action necessary. You may also delete your own account at any time.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

PadosME is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from harmful components. Use of the platform is at your own risk.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, PadosME and its creators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages arising out of your use of or inability to use the platform, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

12. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, including the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. For users in Nepal, applicable Nepali laws including the Individual Privacy Act, 2018 shall also apply where relevant. Any disputes arising out of these Terms shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith discussion. If unresolved, disputes shall be submitted to the courts of competent jurisdiction in India.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the platform after updates are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Content Moderation and Enforcement

PadosME employs both automated and human moderation to maintain a safe community environment:

• Automated image moderation: all user-uploaded images — including profile avatars, post images, and marketplace listing photos — are screened for sexually explicit or otherwise offensive (NSFW) content by an automated system before being stored. Images that fail this check are rejected.
• Admin content review: authorised administrators can search all content types by keyword, review user-submitted abuse reports, and take enforcement actions via the admin portal. All administrative moderation actions are logged internally.
• Community Warning system: if a moderator determines that your content violates our Community Guidelines, you will receive an in-app Community Warning notification linked directly to the flagged content, giving you an opportunity to review and correct the behaviour.
• Enforcement actions: violations may result, at our sole discretion, in content removal, a Community Warning, temporary suspension, or permanent account termination. Serious, repeated, or criminal violations may additionally be reported to relevant law enforcement authorities.
• Appeals: if you believe a moderation decision was made in error, contact us via the Contact page with full details. We will review and respond within 7 working days.

15. Intermediary Status and Grievance Mechanism

PadosME operates as a social media intermediary under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (India). In this capacity:

• We do not initiate, select recipients of, or modify user-generated content when processing or transmitting information.
• We comply with lawful orders from competent authorities under applicable Indian law to remove or disable access to unlawful content within the timelines prescribed by law.
• Grievances regarding content or our conduct may be submitted through our Contact page. We will acknowledge receipt within 24 hours and resolve — or use best efforts to resolve — grievances within 15 calendar days. Urgent matters (non-consensual intimate imagery, content depicting minors, imminent threats to personal safety) will be addressed within 72 hours.
• All legal orders and government communications should be directed to PadosME through our Contact page.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about these Terms, please reach us through our Contact page. We aim to respond within 7 working days.