TERMS OF SERVICE

1. Introduction and Definitions

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you") and WINGMATE BIRD INTERACTIVE PTY LTD ("Wingmate," "we," "us"), a company registered in Australia.

"Service" refers collectively to the Wingmate mobile application, the website (wingmate.au), AI identification tools, and all related services provided by Wingmate.

You acknowledge that the Service is fundamentally a digital field guide, AI-assisted identification utility, and gamified educational tool designed for nature observation. Any social or gamified features are incidental to this primary utility, intended solely to encourage scientific data collection and outdoor activity.

2. Account Requirements

2.1 Age Requirement and Family Use: You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. Parents and guardians may permit children under 13 to use the Service under their account and direct supervision. By allowing a child to use your account, you consent to our collection and use of data generated during that use, and you accept responsibility for ensuring your child's use complies with these Terms.

2.2 Account Security: You are responsible for safeguarding your password. You agree not to disclose your password to any third party. You must notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.

3. Subscription, Payments, and Refunds

3.1 Pricing: We reserve the right to change our subscription fees at any time. Any price changes will take effect following notice to you.

3.2 Refunds (Jurisdiction Specific):

• For Users in Australia and New Zealand: Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) or the NZ Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA). For major failures with the Service, you are entitled to cancel your service contract with us; and to a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value.
• For Users in the United States and Rest of World: To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, all sales are final. We do not provide refunds for partially used subscription periods. For subscriptions purchased through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, refund requests must be directed to the respective platform in accordance with their refund policies.

4. User Content and Licensing

4.1 License Grant: You retain ownership of the photos, audio, and text you upload ("User Content"). However, by uploading User Content, you grant Wingmate a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, and display such content for the following limited purposes:

• Operating and displaying content within the Service
• Improving and developing the Service
• Training internal AI models for species identification
• Marketing and promotional materials directly related to the Wingmate Service (e.g., App Store screenshots, social media features)

4.2 Limitations: This license does not permit Wingmate to:

• Sell or commercially license your User Content to third parties (e.g., stock photography sites)
• Use your images to advertise unrelated products or services

4.3 Attribution: While we strive to provide attribution where feasible, you acknowledge that for certain uses (such as AI training or aggregated data displays) individual attribution may not be possible.

4.4 Public Display of Records: By submitting bird sightings and related data, you acknowledge that Wingmate reserves the right to display your records publicly within the Service (e.g., on maps, feeds, and leaderboards) and to contribute anonymized sighting data to scientific databases for conservation and research purposes.

4.5 Moral Rights Waiver: To the extent permitted by law, you unconditionally and irrevocably consent to any act or omission that would otherwise infringe any moral rights you may have in your User Content. This includes the right to be identified as the author and the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work.

4.6 Default Name Usage: You agree that your display name may be associated with your User Content and sightings by default (e.g., on leaderboards, observation feeds, or social shares). You acknowledge that you retain the right to adjust these attribution preferences or choose to list your contributions anonymously at any time via the Application's Privacy Settings.

5. Sensitive Species and Data Ethics

Wingmate is committed to wildlife conservation. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to:

• Obscure, blur, or generalize the location data of sightings involving species deemed "Sensitive" or "Endangered" by local conservation authorities.
• Remove any content that, in our sole discretion, depicts or suggests unethical birding practices, wildlife harassment, nesting disturbance, or baiting, without prior notice or liability.

6. Physical Safety and Trespass Policy

6.1 No Trespass: You agree that you will not enter onto private property without permission or access restricted public areas (such as military bases or closed nature reserves) while using the Service. Wingmate expressly disclaims liability for any civil or criminal trespass committed by users.

6.2 Assumption of Risk: You assume all risks associated with your use of the Service in the real world, including but not limited to traffic accidents, distracted driving, falls, terrain hazards (e.g., cliffs, water bodies), wildlife attacks, and weather conditions. You agree that Wingmate is not responsible for your physical safety.

6.3 Distracted Operation: You agree that you will not use the Service while driving, operating heavy machinery, or in any situation where distraction could result in injury to yourself or others.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Ownership: The Service and its original content (excluding User Content), features, and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of Wingmate and its licensors.

7.2 Prohibited Activities: You agree not to, and will not permit others to:

• Scrape, crawl, or use any automated means to access, collect, or extract data from the Service
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code or underlying algorithms of the Service
• Copy, modify, or create derivative works based on the Service or any part thereof
• Remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notices, labels, or marks on the Service
• Use the Service to build a competitive product or service

8. Account Termination

8.1 Termination by You: You may terminate your account at any time by using the "Delete Account" feature located in the Application settings. If you cannot access the Application, you may contact support.

8.2 Termination by Wingmate: We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service, with or without notice, at our sole discretion, for any reason including but not limited to:

• Violation of these Terms
• Conduct that we determine is harmful to other users, third parties, or Wingmate
• Fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity
• Non-payment of applicable fees
• Extended periods of inactivity (24 months or more without logging in), with 30 days prior notice.

9. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services (e.g. Wikipedia) that are not owned or controlled by Wingmate. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party web sites.

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Wingmate, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Service, your User Content, or your violation of these Terms.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

13. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

13.1 Governing Law: These Terms shall be governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia.

13.2 Venue: For any dispute not subject to arbitration, you and Wingmate agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia.

13.3 Informal Resolution: You agree to attempt to resolve any dispute with Wingmate informally by contacting us at contact@wingmate.au before initiating any formal legal proceedings.

14. Cross-Border Data Transfer

Wingmate operates from Australia. If you use the Service from the United States, New Zealand, or other regions, you acknowledge that your personal data will be transferred to and processed in Australia. For New Zealand users, we ensure that such transfers comply with IPP 12 of the Privacy Act 2020 (NZ) by maintaining comparable safeguards to those required under NZ law.

15. App Store Terms

15.1 Third-Party Beneficiaries: If you downloaded the Service from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you acknowledge that these Terms are between you and Wingmate only, not with Apple Inc. ("Apple") or Google LLC ("Google"). Apple and Google are not responsible for the Service or its content.

15.2 No Support Obligation: Apple and Google have no obligation to provide any maintenance or support services for the Service.

16. General Provisions

16.1 Severability: If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

16.2 Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Wingmate regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

16.3 Assignment: You may not assign or transfer these Terms without Wingmate's prior written consent. Wingmate may assign its rights and obligations under these Terms to any successor or acquirer of all or substantially all of its business or assets.

16.4 Force Majeure: Wingmate shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, war, pandemics, or internet service disruptions.