Terms of Service & Cookie Policy

1. Use of the Service

The Service shares uplifting news, positive stories, and educational content. You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. You agree not to misuse the Service, attempt unauthorized access, interfere with its operation, or engage in activity that violates applicable law or third-party rights.

2. Accounts & Authentication

You may create an account using Google, Apple (Sign in with Apple), or email via Firebase Authentication. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. If you believe your account is compromised, contact us immediately.

If the Service offers sign-in with any third-party provider (e.g., Google or email), Sign in with Apple will remain available on iOS, in accordance with Apple’s policies.

3. Public Social & News Content

We may display publicly available content from social platforms and news websites (e.g., TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, reputable news outlets) with attribution and source links. We do not access private social data or use social login from Meta. If you are a rights holder and believe content is used improperly, please email reuben@optimists.co and we will review or remove as appropriate.

4. Your Content & License

If the Service later allows user submissions (e.g., comments, posts), you retain ownership of your content. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, and distribute your content solely to operate and improve the Service. Do not upload content you don’t have the right to share.

5. Intellectual Property

The Service (including design, branding, and software) is protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, reverse engineer, or redistribute any part of the Service except as permitted by law or with our prior written consent.

6. Cookies & Tracking

We use minimal cookies and localStorage to provide essential functionality and improve user experience, including:

• Authentication: Keep you signed in via Firebase.
• Preferences: Remember settings and dismissible UI.
• Analytics: Basic Google Analytics for anonymous usage stats.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings; some features may not function without them.

7. Third-Party Services

We rely on trusted providers to operate the Service:

• Firebase: Authentication, secure data storage, hosting, and (optionally) push notifications.
• Google Analytics: Basic traffic analysis (e.g., page views, engagement).

We do not sell your data. See our Privacy Policy for details.

8. Push Notifications

If you opt in, we may send push notifications (e.g., new stories, app updates). You can opt out anytime in your device settings or in-app preferences. Notification tokens are used solely to deliver notifications.

9. Payments & In-App Purchases

The current version of the Service does not offer paid subscriptions or in-app purchases. If we introduce paid features in the future, we will update these Terms and clearly present pricing, renewal, cancellation, and refund information at purchase time.

10. Termination & Account Deletion

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or harm the Service or other users. You may delete your account at any time from within the app. Account deletion permanently removes your personal data from our active systems (subject to lawful retention obligations). See the Privacy Policy for retention details.

11. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

The Service is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service.

12. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you access the Service from another location, you are responsible for compliance with local laws.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted here. Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.