Terms of Service
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Ghost Story Review mobile application (the "App") and any related services (collectively, the "Service"), operated by Ghost Story Review ("GSR," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account or otherwise using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference.
If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access or use the Service.
1. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or use the Service. The Service is not directed to, and is not intended for use by, anyone under 18. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.
2. Accounts
- You must provide a valid email address and accurate account information to register.
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.
- You must notify us promptly at the contact address in Section 16 if you suspect unauthorized use of your account.
- One person or entity may not maintain more than one account for purposes of abuse, evasion of a suspension, or manipulation of reviews.
3. User Conduct
By using the Service, you agree that you will not:
- Post content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, harassing, threatening, hateful, or that infringes another person's rights;
- Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
- Harass, bully, stalk, threaten, or send unwanted or abusive direct messages to another user;
- Post content that discloses another person's private information without consent (e.g., addresses of private residences, contact details) beyond what is reasonably necessary to describe a publicly accessible location;
- Upload photos or videos that you do not have the right to share, or that were taken in violation of another person's reasonable expectation of privacy;
- Use the Service to encourage or coordinate criminal trespassing, vandalism, or other illegal activity at any location;
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other users' accounts, or our systems;
- Use bots, scrapers, or automated means to access the Service except as permitted by us in writing;
- Upload viruses, malware, or other harmful code.
A note on location safety. The Service allows users to share information about real-world locations, some of which may be abandoned, remote, privately owned, or otherwise carry inherent risk. GSR does not verify the legality, safety, or accessibility of any location referenced in user-submitted content, and does not encourage trespassing on private property or entry into unsafe structures. You are solely responsible for complying with all applicable laws, posted signage, and property rights when visiting any location discussed on the Service.
4. User-Submitted Content and License Grant
The Service lets you submit reviews, photos, videos, and "lore" entries about locations, and send direct messages to other users (collectively, "User Content"). You retain ownership of the User Content you submit.
By submitting User Content (other than direct messages, which are governed by Section 5), you grant GSR a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, and create derivative works of that User Content (such as thumbnails or resized copies) for the purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the Service. This license continues for as long as the applicable User Content remains on the Service, and for a reasonable period afterward to allow for removal from backups, caches, and systems operated by our third-party processors.
You represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary rights to submit your User Content, and that it does not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.
4.1 Flickers
Video you submit — whether attached to a review, post, or lore entry, or submitted on its own — may be aggregated, along with video submitted by other users, into a dedicated video feed within the App called "Flickers." The maximum length of a video may vary depending on where in the App it is submitted. As with other location-related content on the Service, GSR does not verify the accuracy of the location associated with any video, including through GPS or any other location-verification method.
5. Direct Messages and Harassment
The Service allows users to send direct messages to one another. Direct messages must comply with the conduct rules in Section 3. GSR does not routinely monitor the content of direct messages, but we may access, review, or preserve message content where reasonably necessary to investigate a report of harassment or abuse, enforce these Terms, or comply with a legal obligation, as described in our Privacy Policy.
If you receive harassing, threatening, or abusive messages from another user, you can report them to us using the contact information in Section 16. We may warn, restrict, suspend, or terminate the account of a user found to have violated this section, at our discretion.
6. Content Moderation and Removal
We may, but are not obligated to, review, screen, moderate, or remove User Content that we believe, in our sole discretion, violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable. We are not responsible for User Content posted by others, and User Content does not reflect the views of GSR.
7. Reporting Content or Accounts
If you encounter content or behavior that violates these Terms, please report it using the contact information in Section 16, described further on our Contact page.
8. Suspension and Termination
We may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms, created risk or legal exposure for us or other users, or engaged in conduct we determine, in our sole discretion, to be harmful to the Service or its users. You may stop using the Service, or request deletion of your account, at any time as described in our Privacy Policy.
Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13) will survive any termination of your account.
9. Intellectual Property
The Service, including its design, features, logos, and underlying software, is owned by GSR or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. Except for the limited license to use the App as intended, these Terms do not grant you any rights to GSR's trademarks, branding, or proprietary technology.
10. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE AND ALL USER CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ACCURACY OF CONTENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY LOCATION, REVIEW, OR LORE ENTRY DESCRIBED THROUGH THE SERVICE IS ACCURATE, SAFE, OR LEGALLY ACCESSIBLE.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT VISITING ANY LOCATION REFERENCED IN THE SERVICE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND THAT GSR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURY, LOSS, PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR LEGAL CONSEQUENCE ARISING FROM YOUR DECISION TO VISIT, ACCESS, OR ENTER ANY SUCH LOCATION.
11. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, GSR AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, GSR'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US, IF ANY, IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50).
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.
12. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless GSR and its officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your use of the Service, your User Content, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of another person or entity.
13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
Informal resolution first. If a dispute arises out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, you agree to first contact us at support@ghoststoryreview.com and describe the dispute in reasonable detail. We will attempt in good faith to resolve it informally. Neither party may begin arbitration until 30 days after this notice is sent.
Binding individual arbitration. If the dispute is not resolved within 30 days, it will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, as modified by this Section. The arbitrator's decision is final and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator, and not any court, has exclusive authority to resolve disputes about the interpretation, applicability, or enforceability of this arbitration agreement, except as stated below regarding the class action waiver.
Fees and location. If you initiate arbitration against GSR for a claim of $10,000 or less, GSR will pay all AAA filing, administration, and arbitrator fees, except that you remain responsible for any fees AAA assesses as a result of a claim the arbitrator determines to be frivolous. Arbitration will be conducted by telephone, videoconference, or written submission unless the arbitrator determines an in-person hearing is necessary. If an in-person hearing is required, it will take place in the county where you reside or at another location the parties agree to in writing.
Small claims. Either party may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court, provided the claim qualifies and remains in that court.
Class action waiver. All claims must be brought on an individual basis only. You and GSR waive any right to bring or participate in a class, consolidated, collective, or representative action, and the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any form of representative proceeding. If this class action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, then that claim, and only that claim, must proceed in court rather than in arbitration; the remainder of this Section continues to apply to all other claims.
Your right to opt out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailing support@ghoststoryreview.com with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out" and including your name and the email address associated with your account. Opting out affects only this Section; the rest of these Terms, including the choice of Texas law, continues to apply. Opting out will not affect your access to the Service in any way.
14. Changes to These Terms
We may modify these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and post the revised Terms at ghoststoryreview.com. Your continued use of the Service after a change becomes effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.
15. General Provisions
- Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and GSR regarding the Service.
- Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect.
- No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to do so later.
- Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
16. Contact
Questions about these Terms can be sent to: