Switched - Terms of Use and Service

Terms of Use and Service

Effective: 23 October, 2022

Contents

Our terms with you

Technical requirements and support

Licence to use the App

Acceptable Use Policy

Switched content

Paid-for features and content

Intellectual property rights

Our responsibility to you

Who may have rights under this contract

How these terms may be enforced

1. OUR TERMS WITH YOU

Switched is provided and operated by ED2 Digital Limited (we, us). We are registered in England and Wales under company number 12921373 and have our registered office at 71-75 Shelton Street, London, Greater London, United Kingdom, WC2H 9JQ. You can contact us by writing to us at contact@ed2.digital.

Switched is a social networking and matchmaking platform including:

the Switched iOS and Android mobile application software, the data supplied with the software and any updates or supplements to it (the App); and
the website https://switchedapp.com (the Website).

These terms tell you the rules for using Switched and other important information. By clicking "Accept", you confirm that you accept these terms and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not click "Accept" and must not use Switched. We recommend that you print a copy of these terms for future reference.

We will only use your personal information as set out in our privacy notice. Under data protection legislation, we are required to provide you with certain information including how we process your personal data and for what purposes, and your rights in relation to your personal data and how to exercise them. This information is provided in our Privacy Notice and it is important that you read that information as well as these terms.

You consent to us processing sensitive personal information about your gender identity, sex life and sexual orientation and preferences. You can withdraw this consent. Please see our Privacy Notice for further details.

You must be 18 or over to accept these terms and use Switched. Switched is not intended for users under the age of 18.

We may make changes to these terms. We may need to make changes to these terms to reflect changes in law or best practice or to deal with additional features which we introduce. We will give you at least 30 days' notice of any change by notifying you of a change when you next log in to your Switched account.

If you do not accept the notified changes you will not be permitted to continue to use Switched and (if you have purchased a subscription) you may contact the entity from which you purchased your subscription (which may be the Apple App Store or Google Play Store) to end your subscription and request a refund for any features you have paid for but not received, which will reflect the period that Switched has been available to you prior to cancellation. Please see section "6 Paid-for features and content".

Apple and Google's terms may also apply. The ways in which you can use the App may also be controlled by the Apple App Store or Google Play Store terms and Apple's or Google's terms will apply instead of these terms where there are differences between the two.

2. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SUPPORT

You must keep your account details safe. You will choose or receive a password for you to use to access Switched. You must treat this password as confidential and you must not disclose this information to any third party. If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your user identification code or password, you must promptly notify us at support@switchedapp.com.

Operating system requirements. The App requires a mobile telephone or other handheld device with the most up to date version of the iOS or Android operating system. The App may work on devices with other or older operating systems however we do not and cannot guarantee this.

Updates and changes to Switched. From time to time we may automatically update the App and change the Website to improve performance, enhance functionality, add new features, remove unused features, reflect changes to the operating system or our business priorities or address security issues. Alternatively we may ask you to update the App for these reasons. If you choose not to install such updates or if you opt out of automatic updates you may not be able to continue using the App.

We may suspend or withdraw Switched. Switched is made available free of charge. We do not guarantee that Switched, or any related content, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend or withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of Switched for business and operational reasons. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension or withdrawal.

If you have paid for additional Switched content or features, you may be entitled to cancel any subscription and/or a refund if we suspend or withdraw Switched or those specific content or features, or if we make such significant changes to those content or features that they no longer match the description provided to you at the time of purchase. Please see section 6 Paid-for features and content.

You are solely responsible for securing and backing up your content and data. We recommend that you back up any of your own content and data used in connection with Switched, to protect yourself in case of problems with the App or the Website.

Support. If you want to learn more about Switched or have any problems using Switched please take a look at our support resources at https://switchedapp.com/support.

Contacting us (including with complaints). If you think the App or the Website is faulty or misdescribed or wish to contact us for any other reason please email our customer service team at support@switchedapp.com.

How we will communicate with you. If we have to contact you we will do so by email, directly as a message on the Switched App or by SMS, using the contact details you have provided to us.

3. LICENCE TO USE THE APP

How you may use the App. In return for your agreeing to comply with these terms, we license you to use the App as permitted in these terms. You may:

download a copy of the App onto a compatible device and view, use and display the App on such devices for your personal purposes only; and
receive and use any free supplementary software code or update of the App incorporating patches and corrections of errors as we may provide to you.

You may not transfer the App to someone else. We are giving you personally the right to use the App as set out above. You may not otherwise transfer the App to someone else, whether for money, for anything else or for free.

You are responsible for complying with these terms, whether or not you own the phone or other device you are using. If you download the App onto any phone or other device not owned by you, you must have the owner's permission to do so.

You agree that you will:

not rent, lease, sub-license, loan, provide, or otherwise make available, the App in any form, in whole or in part to any person without prior written consent from us;
not copy the App, except as part of the normal use of the App or where it is necessary for the purpose of back-up or operational security;
not translate, merge, adapt, vary, alter or modify, the whole or any part of the App nor permit the App or any part of it to be combined with, or become incorporated in, any other programs, except as necessary to use the App on devices as permitted in these terms;
not disassemble, de-compile, reverse engineer or create derivative works based on the whole or any part of the App nor attempt to do any such things, except to the extent that (by virtue of sections 50B and 296A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) such actions cannot be prohibited because they are necessary to decompile the App to obtain the information necessary to create an independent program that can be operated with the App or with another program (Permitted Objective), and provided that the information obtained by you during such activities:
is not disclosed or communicated without our prior written consent to any third party to whom it is not necessary to disclose or communicate it in order to achieve the Permitted Objective; and
is not used to create any software that is substantially similar in its expression to the App;
is kept secure; and
is used only for the Permitted Objective;
comply with all applicable technology control or export laws and regulations that apply to the technology used or supported by the App.

4. ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

The following uses of Switched are prohibited. You may use Switched only for lawful purposes. You may not use Switched:

in any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international law or regulation;
in any way that infringes our intellectual property rights or those of any third party, including by the submission of any material (to the extent that such use is not licensed by these terms);
in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
for the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way;
to bully, insult, intimidate or humiliate any person without their consent;
to transmit any material that is defamatory, discriminatory or offensive;
to send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards below;
to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam);
to collect or harvest any information or data from any service or our systems or attempt to decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running any service;
in a way that could damage, disable, overburden, impair or compromise our systems or security or interfere with other users;
to knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware, ransomware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.

You must not use Switched for the sale or supply of goods, services or digital content. Switched is not intended to be used as a marketplace or intermediary platform for the introduction of traders and consumers. We may choose to create and approve specified business accounts with additional permissions, for example enabling them to post links as a courtesy, although we reserve the right to remove such links where they link to content that does not comply with our Acceptable Use Policy. However Switched is not an online marketplace or search engine and if it is your intention to use Switched for such purposes then we recommend that you cancel your account.

You must not hack Switched. You must not:

access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt: any part of Switched, any equipment or network on which Switched is stored; any software used in the provision of Switched; or any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party in relation to Switched;
misuse Switched by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other code or material that is malicious or technologically harmful;
attempt to gain unauthorised access to Switched, the server on which the Website is stored or any server, computer or database connected to Switched;
attack Switched via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack.

By breaching these provisions, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use Switched will cease immediately.

Switched provides interactive services which may include forums, bulletin boards, instant messaging and chat rooms. In relation to any interactive service, we will provide clear information to you about the kind of service offered, if it is moderated and what form of moderation is used (including whether it is human or technical).

We will do our best to assess any possible risks for users from third parties when they use any interactive service provided on our site, and we will decide in each case whether it is appropriate to use moderation of the relevant service (including what kind of moderation to use) in the light of those risks. However, we are under no obligation to oversee, monitor or moderate any interactive service we provide on our site, and we expressly exclude our liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of any interactive service by a user in contravention of our content standards, whether the service is moderated or not.

Where we do moderate an interactive service, we will normally provide you with a means of contacting the moderator, should a concern or difficulty arise.

The following content standards apply to any and all material which you contribute to Switched (your content) and to any interactive services associated with it, including any material that you link to. The content standards must be complied with in spirit as well as to the letter. The standards apply to each part of any of your content as well as to its whole.

ED2 Digital Limited will determine, in its discretion, whether your content breaches the content standards.

Your content must:

be accurate (where it states facts);
be genuinely held (where it states opinions); and
comply with the law applicable in England and Wales and in any country from which it is posted.

Your content must not:

be defamatory of any person;
be offensive, hateful or inflammatory;
bully, insult, intimidate or humiliate (including by use of explicit images);
include child sexual abuse material;
predominantly or repeatedly include obscene or explicit images;
promote non-consensual violence;
promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;
infringe any copyright, database right or trade mark of any other person;
be likely to deceive any person;
breach any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence;
promote any illegal content or activity;
be in contempt of court;
be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person;
impersonate any person or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person;
give the impression that your content emanates from ED2 Digital Limited, if this is not the case;
advocate, promote, incite any party to commit, or assist any unlawful or criminal act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse;
contain a statement which you know or believe, or have reasonable grounds for believing, that members of the public to whom the statement is, or is to be, published are likely to understand as a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism;
contain any advertising or promote any services or web links to other sites, unless you have an approved business account.

Breach of this policy. When we consider that a breach of this acceptable use policy has occurred, we may take such action as we deem appropriate.

Failure to comply with this acceptable use policy constitutes a material breach of these terms upon which you are permitted to use Switched, and may result in our taking all or any of the following actions:

immediate temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use Switched, exercised by way of temporarily or permanently disabling your account;
immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any content uploaded or posted by you to Switched;
issue of a warning to you;
legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach;
further legal action against you;
disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary or as required by law.

We exclude our liability for all action we may take in response to breaches of this acceptable use policy. The actions we may take are not limited to those described above, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.

Please see https://switchedapp.com/faq for further information on our reporting processes, including how our guidelines are developed, enforced and reviewed and performance metrics on take-down.

We have the right to disclose your identity and content to a third party where there is a claim that content posted or uploaded by you to Switched constitutes a violation of intellectual property or privacy rights. We may be required to do so by a public authority or a court or tribunal.

5. SWITCHED CONTENT

Do not rely on information on Switched. The content which we provide on Switched is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on Switched.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on Switched, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on Switched is accurate, complete or up to date.

We are not responsible for websites we link to. Where Switched contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, such links should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or information you may obtain from them. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources.

User-generated content is not approved by us. Switched may include information and materials uploaded by other Switched users, including in forums, bulletin boards and chat rooms. Whilst we may moderate content for compliance with our Acceptable Use Policy, this information and these materials have not been verified or approved by us. The views expressed by users on Switched do not represent our views or values.

How to complain about content uploaded by other users. If you wish to complain about content uploaded by other users, please contact us on support@switchedapp.com.

Your content must comply with our Acceptable Use Policy. Whenever you upload or post content to Switched, make contact with other Switched users, link to our Website, or interact with Switched in any other way you must comply with the limitations and standards set out in this Acceptable Use Policy.

You warrant that any such contribution does comply with these standards, and you will be liable to us and indemnify us for any breach of that warranty. This means you will be responsible for any loss or damage we suffer as a result of your breach of warranty.

We have the right to remove any posting you make on Switched at our discretion, including if, in our opinion, your post does not comply with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy.

Rights you are giving us to use content you upload. When you upload or post content to Switched, you retain all of your ownership rights in your content, but you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of and display that user-generated content for the purpose of improving our Abuse Prevention System.

6. PAID-FOR FEATURES AND CONTENT

You may choose to purchase additional or enhanced Switched features or content (Add-Ons):

by subscribing to make monthly or yearly payments; or
by purchasing Switched Beads, our virtual credits which you can exchange for Add-Ons.

How to pay. Payment for subscriptions or purchases initiated via the App will be taken via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Payment for subscriptions or purchases initiated via the Website will be taken by our payment processor Stripe. Please note that Apple's, Google' or Stripe's terms will be applicable depending on which method of payment is used.

Subscription payments will be taken monthly or yearly (depending on your choices on signing up) starting on the date that you sign up for the subscription. Payments will be taken automatically by direct debit and you will have access to the Add-Ons which you subscribed for until you or we end your subscription as set out below.

Payments for Switched Beads will be taken immediately and the Beads will be available in your account for you to use shortly after payment has been received by us.

We may increase subscription payments. From time to time we may increase the costs of Add-Ons and thereby increase your subscription payments. We will always notify you in writing to the email address registered to your account at least 2 months in advance if we are going to do this, giving you the opportunity to cancel.

We may have to suspend the availability of Add-Ons for example to deal with technical problems or to make minor changes or improvements. If we have to suspend Add-Ons for longer than 48 hours in any month we will offer you Switched Beads as compensation. If Add-Ons are suspended for a period of more than 1 month you will be entitled to end your subscription and obtain a refund as set out below.

We may also suspend your access to Add-Ons if you do not pay. If we do not receive payment when we are supposed to and you still do not make payment within 3 days of us reminding you that payment is due, we may suspend your access to Add-Ons until you have paid us the outstanding amounts. We will contact you to tell you we are suspending your access.

Ending your subscription. You can cancel your subscription at any time by emailing us at support@switchedapp.com or completing the form on the Website at https://switchedapp.com/support. If you have a monthly subscription, your cancellation will be effective one month from the date that your last subscription payment was due. If you have a yearly subscription, your cancellation will be effective one year from the date that your last subscription payment was due. Once we receive your cancellation, we will stop taking your subscription payments. You will continue to have access to Add-Ons you have paid for, for the period up until your next payment would have been due.

Ending your subscription and obtaining a refund. If you end your subscription and request a refund for any of the reasons set out below, then your subscription and access will both end immediately and we will refund part or all of your most recent subscription payment. The amount that we refund you will depend on the proportion of the month during which you had access to Add-Ons. The reasons are:

we have told you about or there has been a change to the Add-Ons or these terms which you do not agree to;
there is a risk that availability of the Add-Ons may be suspended for a significant period of time because of events outside our control;
we have suspended availability of the Add-Ons for technical reasons, or notify you we are going to suspend them for technical reasons, for a period of more than 1 week; or
you have a legal right to end this contract with us because of something we have done wrong.

How we will refund you. We will make any refunds due to you by the method that you used for payment and as soon as possible.

If there is a problem with the Add-Ons or Switched Beads that you have paid for, or with the payment process, then please contract us as support@switchedapp.com.

Your legal rights as a consumer. We are under a legal duty to supply services (the Add-Ons) and digital content (the Switched Beads) that are in conformity with these terms. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights. If there is a problem with the Add-Ons or the Switched Beads which you have paid for, you may be entitled to a refund. You will need to contact the entity from which you purchased your Switched Beads or subscription (which may be the Apple App Store or Google Play Store) to request a refund.

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

All intellectual property rights in Switched belong to us or our licensors. We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in the Website and the App, and in the material published on the Website and the App. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

The App. Intellectual property rights in the App are licensed (not sold) to you. You have no intellectual property rights in or to the App other than the right to use it in accordance with these terms.

The Website. You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any content from the Website for your personal use. However you must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text. Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on our Website must always be acknowledged. You must not use the Website or any part of the content on the Website for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

Rules about linking to the Website. You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it. However:

You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.
The Website must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of the Website other than the home page.

We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. If you wish to link to or make any use of content on the Website other than that set out above, please contact support@switchedapp.com.

Our trade marks are registered. "Switched" and our logos are UK registered trade marks of ED2 Digital Limited. You are not permitted to use them without our approval, unless they are part of material you are using as expressly permitted under these terms.

8. OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU

If you are a consumer user:

We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking these terms or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time you accepted these terms, both we and you knew it might happen.
We are not liable for business losses. We provide Switched for domestic and private use only. You agree not to use Switched for any commercial, business or resale purposes, and we have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
We may be liable for damage to your property. If defective digital content that we have supplied damages a device or digital content belonging to you and this is caused by our failure to use reasonable care and skill, we will either repair the damage or pay you compensation. However, we will not be liable for damage that you could have avoided by following our advice to apply an update offered to you free of charge or for damage that was caused by you failing to correctly follow installation instructions or to have in place the minimum system requirements advised by us.

If you are a business user:

We exclude all implied conditions, warranties, representations or other terms that may apply to our site or any content on it.
We exclude certain liabilities. We will not be liable to you for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with: use of or inability to use Switched; or use of or reliance on any content displayed on Switched.
In particular, we will not be liable for: loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue; business interruption; loss of anticipated savings; loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or any indirect or consequential loss or damage.
Our maximum liability shall not exceed the sums paid or payable by you to us in the 12 months prior to the date on which liability arises.

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

We are not responsible for viruses. We do not guarantee that Switched will be secure or free from bugs or viruses. You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access Switched. You should use your own virus protection software.

There are limitations to Switched. Switched is provided primarily for social and entertainment purposes. It does not offer advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of information obtained from Switched. Although we make reasonable efforts to update any information that we provided through Switched, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that such information is accurate, complete or up to date.

Please check that Switched is suitable for you. Switched has not been developed to meet your individual requirements. Please check that the facilities and functions of Switched (as described on the Website or the Apple App Store or Google Play Store) meet your requirements.

We are not responsible for events outside our control. If our provision of Switched or support for Switched is delayed by an event outside our control then we will take steps as soon as possible to minimise the effect of the delay. We will not be liable for delays caused by the event but if there is a risk of substantial delay then you may contact us or the Apple App Store or Google Play Store (depending on where your purchase was made) to end any subscription and receive a refund for any features you have paid for but not received, which will reflect the period that Switched has been available to you prior to cancellation. Please see section "6 Paid-for features and content".

We are not responsible for other websites you link to. Switched may contain links to other independent websites which are not provided by us. Such independent sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for and have not checked and approved their content or their privacy policies (if any). You will need to make your own independent judgement about whether to use any such independent sites, including whether to buy any products or services offered by them.

9. WHO MAY HAVE RIGHTS UNDER THIS CONTRACT

We may transfer this agreement to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract. If you are unhappy with the transfer you may then you may contact us or the Apple App Store or Google Play Store (depending on where your purchase was made) to end any subscription and receive a refund for any features you have paid for but not received, which will reflect the period that Switched has been available to you prior to cancellation. Please see section "6. Paid-for features and content".

You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree in writing.

Third parties do not have rights under these terms. These terms are between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of these terms. These terms do not give rise to any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term.

10. HOW THESE TERMS MAY BE ENFORCED

We may end your rights to use Switched if you break these terms. We may disable your account and end your rights to use Switched at any time if, in our reasonable opinion, you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms. If what you have done can be put right we will give you a reasonable opportunity to do so.

If we end your rights to use Switched you must stop all activities authorised by these terms, including your use of the App.

If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that if you are a consumer and a resident of Northern Ireland or Scotland then you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland or Scotland, as applicable.