Terms of Service

Welcome to Biome Collective. These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Project Biome Inc, a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN: 83-3364077) ("Biome Collective," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using the Biome Collective platform, including our mobile and desktop applications (the "Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and all applicable laws and regulations.

If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Platform.

Biome Collective is built in collaboration with the people who use it, and your input genuinely shapes how the Platform grows. We welcome your feedback at any time — you can reach us through [email protected]. We may update these Terms from time to time, and will inform users on significant changes to our policies. Your continued use of the Platform after changes take effect means you accept those changes.

You must be at least 16 years old (or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction, whichever is higher) to create an account and use Biome Collective. If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent's or legal guardian's permission to use the App. Users in the European Economic Area must be at least 16 years old, or the age of digital consent in their country if higher.

By using the App, you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into these Terms and to abide by all of the terms and conditions set forth herein.

To access certain features, you must register for an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to update such information to keep it accurate, current, and complete.

You are solely responsible for safeguarding your password and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. Biome Collective will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this section.

Biome Collective provides a regenerative community platform that enables users to: (a) discover and search for local events, meetings, and activities; (b) create and join Hubs and join the Constellation of Organizations; (c) connect with and follow other users; (d) post content, comments, and reactions to the activity feed; (e) send and receive direct messages and participate in group conversations; (f) upload and browse shared resources (documents, videos, audio); (g) share location-based information; and (h) receive push notifications about relevant activities.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature or service at any time. Where a change is significant, we'll do our best to let you know in advance.

The Platform is shaped by the community it serves, and feedback on how features work, and how they could work better, directly informs how Biome Collective grows. You can share feedback at any time through [email protected].

Biome Collective is committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive community. You agree NOT to engage in any of the following prohibited conduct:

• Bullying, harassment, intimidation, or threatening behavior of any kind toward any user

• Hate speech, discrimination, or content that promotes violence against individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic

• Stalking, doxxing, or sharing another person's private information without consent

• Sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances, or sharing sexually explicit content without consent

• Impersonating another person or entity, or misrepresenting your affiliation

• Posting false, misleading, or defamatory content

• Spamming, phishing, or distributing malware

• Attempting to circumvent security measures or access restricted areas of the App

• Using automated systems (bots, scrapers) to access the App without authorization

• Violating any applicable law, regulation, or third-party rights

We have zero tolerance for bullying and harassment. Violations may result in immediate account suspension or permanent termination without warning, at our sole discretion.

You keep your rights. You (or your organization) retain all ownership and intellectual property rights in the content and resources you upload to Biome Collective. Uploading something does not transfer ownership to us.

Resources shared on behalf of an organization. Many resources come from organizations in the Constellation. If you upload content on behalf of an organization, you confirm that you are authorized to do so and to set its sharing terms. The rights in that content remain with the organization unless stated otherwise.

By default, all resources you upload are shared within Biome Collective. You may choose to make a resource limited to a private Hub, or more openly available in the general Library of Resources.

You grant Biome Collective a limited, non-exclusive license to host, store, display, and distribute your content within the Platform, solely for the purpose of providing the service to you and other members. This license ends when you delete your content or close your account, except for content others have already saved or shared in line with the sharing terms you set, and for backup copies retained for a reasonable period.

Indigenous knowledge and community-held knowledge. Biome Collective recognizes that some knowledge is held collectively and governed by the protocols of the community it comes from, and that Intellectual Property frameworks do not always protect or respect it. We are guided by the principle of Indigenous data sovereignty: that communities hold authority over their own knowledge, including how it is accessed, used, shared, and withdrawn.

Resources containing Indigenous or community-held knowledge are never treated as openly licensed by default, regardless of any other setting. We honor the cultural protocols and permission notices a community attaches to its materials (including Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Labels), and we recognize a community's right to restrict access to, or withdraw, such resources at any time, including knowledge that may not be protected under conventional copyright. If you share knowledge that belongs to a community you are not authorized to speak for, do not upload it.

Your responsibilities. You confirm that you have the right to share what you upload, and that doing so does not violate anyone else's rights or any community's protocols. You agree to respect the sharing terms and protocols set by others.

Attribution and removal. We make reasonable efforts to preserve attribution. Rights-holders and communities may contact us to correct attribution, restrict access, or request removal, and we will respond in good faith.

Certain features require access to your device's location. By enabling location services, you consent to the collection and use of your location data as described in our Privacy Policy. You may disable location services at any time through your device settings, but this may limit the functionality of the App.

With your consent, we may send push notifications about events, messages, connection requests, and other activities. You can manage notification preferences in the App settings or through your device settings at any time.

The App may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by Biome Collective. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites or services.

If you downloaded the App from the Apple App Store, you acknowledge that: (a) these Terms are between you and Biome Collective only, not Apple; (b) Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the App; (c) in the event of any failure of the App to conform to applicable warranties, you may notify Apple for a refund of the purchase price (if any), and Apple has no other warranty obligation; (d) Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims relating to the App; (e) Apple is a third-party beneficiary of these Terms with the right to enforce them against you.

THE APP IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE.

Biome Collective does not warrant that the App will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the App is free of viruses or other harmful components.

Biome Collective does not provide medical, legal, financial, or professional advice. Any information provided through the App is for informational purposes only.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Project Biome Inc, its directors, officers, employees, agents, or affiliates be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (a) your use or inability to use the Platform; (b) any unauthorized access to or use of our servers and/or any personal information stored therein; (c) any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Platform; (d) any conduct or content of any third party on the Platform; or (e) any user content.

In no event shall our total liability to you exceed the amount you paid to us, if any, in the twelve (12) months prior to the claim, or one hundred dollars ($100), whichever is greater.

Nothing in this section limits or excludes our liability for anything that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded, including liability for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Project Biome Inc and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the App, your User Content, or your violation of these Terms.

You may close your account at any time through your account settings. When you do, we will delete or anonymize your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy, except where we are required to retain it by law.

We may suspend or remove your access to the Platform if you breach these Terms or our Community Guidelines, or where we reasonably believe it is necessary to protect the safety, rights, or wellbeing of the community or others. Where the situation allows, we will let you know the reason and, when appropriate, give you a chance to respond or put things right. In cases involving serious harm, safety risks, or legal obligations, we may need to act immediately.

We may also discontinue the Platform, or parts of it, for any community member if we stop offering the service. Where this happens, we will give reasonable notice where we can.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Virginia, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the App shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation. If such dispute cannot be resolved within thirty (30) days, it shall be submitted to binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, with the arbitration to be held in Virginia.

YOU AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS WILL BE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have certain rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the right to access, correct, delete, or port your personal data, and the right to object to or restrict certain processing. See our Privacy Policy for details on exercising these rights.

By using the App, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries which may have different data protection laws than your jurisdiction.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Biome Collective regarding your use of the App and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

Project Biome Inc, a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN: 83-3364077)

Email: [email protected]