Terms of Service

Note: This is a convenience translation. The German version (AGB) is legally authoritative — see clause 12.2.

Terms of Service for KindChat.

End-to-end encrypted · On-device AI protection · Hosted in the EU · Usable on your own from 16; from mid-September 2026 also from 13 to 15 inside a Care Circle (clause 1.4).

Last updated: October 2026 (Art. 50 AI Act applies from 2 August 2026).

Contracting party: sonrisa ventures GmbH, Kleiststraße 35, 10787 Berlin.

1. Scope and Conclusion of Contract

1.1 These Terms ("Terms") apply to all users of the KindChat app (iOS/Android) and the associated services ("Service" or "KindChat"), operated by sonrisa ventures GmbH ("provider", "we"), based in Germany.

1.2 The Service is directed exclusively at consumers resident in the EU (and, where applicable, further supported countries). By registering / first use, you agree to these Terms.

1.3 The contract is concluded through download, installation and successful registration (phone number + confirmation). App-store terms apply in addition.

1.4 From the age of 16, KindChat may be used on your own; by registering you confirm that you have reached the minimum age. Once this feature is activated, expected in mid-September 2026, people aged 13 to 15 may use KindChat only as a protected member of a Care Circle set up by an adult; registration is then possible only with that adult’s parent code. Until activation the minimum age is 16. By issuing the invitation, the holder of the Care Circle declares that they are the legal guardian or are acting with the guardians’ consent, and consents to the use. Under 13, use is not possible. Some countries set a higher minimum age with no exception, for example 18 in India; what counts is the country of your phone number.

1.5 Protected members and minors: the holder of the Care Circle enters into the contract for the protected member and gives consent to the care functions; they approve new contacts and group joins and have no access to messages, calls or location. The protected member can see at any time in the app that the approval requirement is active, and may leave the Care Circle at any time; the holder is informed. If the Care Circle ends, the account is paused: crisis help, support and the reporting path remain reachable, reactivation with a new parent code is possible at no cost, and without reactivation the account is deleted after 90 days. Protected members cannot purchase paid services or create Care Circle codes of their own; the protected seat itself is permanently free. For 16- and 17-year-olds, paid services require the consent of the legal guardians.

1.6 Age statement and age ranges from the operating system: At registration and when signing in on a new device you choose an age range, not a date of birth. Once the feature described in clause 1.4 is activated, we also take into account an age range provided by your device’s operating system or app store, where one is held there. If your own statement and that age range differ, the lower one applies: a statement from outside can only add protection to an account, never remove protection, and never establish a higher age. If such a statement, or knowledge reaching us in another way, shows that a person does not meet the minimum age under clause 1.4, no account comes into being; an existing account is placed on hold, no further data is collected, and it is deleted after 30 days. If you believe such a classification is wrong, you can contact support within that period; the review is carried out by a person.

2. Description of Service — What KindChat Is and Is Not

2.1 KindChat is an end-to-end encrypted messenger (Signal protocol with post-quantum cryptography) for text, video and media messages as well as calls, with integrated protection features against harmful content (insults, hate, threats, fraud, phishing, unwanted/harmful images/videos).

2.2 The protection features serve exclusively to protect users; KindChat is not a surveillance tool; the provider does not read content and does not create profiles / advertising analyses.

2.3 Key characteristics: moderation primarily on-device (before encryption/sending) using automated procedures including AI; in rare cases of doubt, additional purpose-bound checking on EU servers (clause 3); Care Circle (optional, up to 6 people, consent-based, without access to content); Pulse feed only for your own contacts (no algorithm, no strangers); no tracking / no data sales; no guarantee of 100% detection (clause 3.2).

3. AI-Supported Content Moderation and Transparency (Art. 50 AI Act)

3.1 Automated content checking (Art. 50 para. 1): KindChat uses automated procedures including AI to detect harmful content and protect you (insults, hate, threats, fraud, phishing, unsolicited/harmful images, videos). Checking takes place as far as possible directly on your device, before encryption/sending. In cases of doubt, additional checking on EU infrastructure. E2EE remains unaffected; content is not analysed for advertising/profiling purposes.

3.2 Limits of moderation (limitation of liability — central clause): No guarantee of completeness. No automated system detects harmful content with complete certainty. Protection mechanisms substantially reduce the risk but cannot eliminate it. False-negative and false-positive results are possible. KindChat gives no warranty that all harmful content is detected, blocked or obscured. It does not replace your own caution. You retain control: view, report, block the sender.

3.3 Human oversight (Art. 14 AI Act in conjunction with the DSA): Automated decisions can be erroneous. Right to review via the report/complaint function (DSA); in suitable cases, review by a natural person. Safety-critical cases are not decided conclusively by automation alone.

3.4 Care features and consent (Care Circle): Features that support a person with management/setup (co-sharing, remote setup) only with explicit consent of the person being supported, revocable at any time. Clause 1.5 applies instead to protected members aged 13 to 15: there the holder of the Care Circle gives the consent, and approval of new contacts cannot be switched off for as long as the membership lasts. Not a surveillance tool; no one gains insight into content; actions taken on behalf of a protected person are visible to that person.

3.5 Age requirement: on your own from 16, and from 13 only as a protected member of a Care Circle (see 1.4); in India 18 with no exception.

3.6 Linguistic limits: detection quality may vary by language; no warranty of equivalent detection in all languages.

3.7 No generative AI / no labelling obligation (Art. 50 para. 2): The moderation AI does not generate content, it only classifies; therefore no watermarking obligation. Future generative features would be made transparent and labelled separately.

4. User Obligations and Prohibited Use

4.1 Use only for lawful purposes, in accordance with these Terms and applicable law.

4.2 Prohibited in particular: sending/distributing illegal content (e.g. CSAM, extremist content, fraud, threats, insults within the meaning of the German Criminal Code (StGB)); circumventing/manipulating the protection features; harming third parties or the provider; multiple registration / account sharing; reverse engineering, decompilation, unauthorised access.

4.3 In the event of a breach: removal of content, temporary/permanent suspension, termination without notice (in compliance with the DSA requirements on Notice & Action and complaint procedures).

5. End-to-End Encryption and the Second Check Stage

5.1 Continuous E2EE; the provider generally has no access to the plaintext content of messages, calls, media.

5.2 The check for harmful content takes place on your device, before a message is encrypted. If it cannot be decided there with certainty, your device sends the text in question and up to five preceding messages of the conversation to our own moderation service on EU infrastructure. Only the text to be checked is transmitted; the request is authenticated to protect against abuse, but carries no identifier of the persons involved.

5.3 Messages are not decrypted on the server side, not even in exceptional cases. The provider does not possess the keys required for that. On receipt, a message is decrypted on the recipient's device and checked again there.

6. Liability of the Provider

6.1 Unlimited liability for injury to life, body, health as well as for intent/gross negligence.

6.2 Otherwise liability only for breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), limited to the typically foreseeable damage.

6.3 No liability for undetected harmful content. The limits from clause 3.2 apply without restriction; no guarantee of completeness/freedom from error of the automated protection features; liability for indirect damage, consequential damage, lost profit — to the extent permitted — is excluded.

6.4 The limitations of liability also apply in favour of legal representatives, employees, vicarious agents.

6.5 Data loss: Your content is stored end-to-end encrypted on your devices; KindChat holds no readable copy and cannot restore lost content (for example on device loss, a device change without a backup, deletion, or a defect). By using the app you acknowledge that data loss may occur. For data loss KindChat is liable only in accordance with clauses 6.1 and 6.2; beyond that, liability is excluded to the extent legally permissible. Where backup features are offered, using them is your responsibility.

7. Data Protection

Processing in accordance with the privacy policy, an integral part of these Terms.

8. Termination, Suspension and DSA Complaint Procedure

8.1 Terminable at any time by deleting the app and the account (in the settings); data is deleted in accordance with the privacy policy.

8.2 Suspension/termination in the event of serious/repeated breaches; before permanent suspension — as far as possible and legally required (DSA) — reasons and an opportunity to comment.

8.3 DSA complaint procedure (Art. 20 DSA): against moderation decisions (block, blur) a complaint via the in-app report function; review within the statutory deadlines; right to review by a natural person (clause 3.3). For measures against your account, or against content, for which we give you our reasons, clause 11.2 applies.

9. Changes to These Terms

9.1 Adjustment where necessary; notification with a reasonable period (at least 14 days) by email or in-app.

9.2 No objection within the period = acceptance; in the event of objection, termination without notice is possible.

10. Applicable Law and Place of Jurisdiction

10.1 Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

10.2 For consumers resident in the EU, the mandatory consumer-protection provisions of the country of residence apply; place of jurisdiction for consumers: place of residence or — at the provider's choice — Berlin.

10.3 For all other disputes, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is Berlin.

11. Consumer Rights, Complaints and Dispute Resolution

11.1 Statutory right of withdrawal; for digital services it lapses upon commencement of performance (access/first use) with express consent.

11.2 Complaints. You can lodge a complaint in the app within six months against a measure KindChat takes against your account, or against content, for which we give you our reasons. The complaint is decided by a different person from the one who took the decision. If your account is paused or on hold under clause 1.5 or 1.6, the route described there applies.

11.3 Dispute resolution. You can refer a dispute to an out-of-court dispute settlement body certified under Art. 21 of the Digital Services Act; the Digital Services Coordinator (Bundesnetzagentur) publishes a list of these bodies. KindChat is not obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board and does not take part in them. Your right to go to court is unaffected.

12. Final Provisions

12.1 Severability clause: the invalidity of individual provisions leaves the rest of the contract unaffected; an invalid clause is replaced by a valid one that comes closest to its economic purpose.

12.2 These Terms are authoritative in the German language; translations serve information purposes only.

12.3 Contact for legal questions: hi@kindchat.app.

Appendix / references: privacy policy, AI transparency under Art. 50 AI Act.