Terms & Conditions

Welcome to AskPondy! These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the AskPondy website (https://askpondy.com), our mobile web layouts, private chats, AI features, and other services (collectively, the "Service").

By accessing, browsing, registering, or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use our Service.

1. Service Eligibility and Registration

You must be at least 13 years of age to use the Service. To access certain features (such as creating posts, upvoting, or using our secure chat), you must register for an account using your email or sign in through Google Auth. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

2. Description of Service

AskPondy is a hyperlocal social platform designed for residents and visitors of Auroville and Pondicherry. The Service allows users to:

• Create, edit, and search public posts regarding local workshops, events, community activities, and bike sharing.
• Participate in our user rating and leaderboard system based on constructive community interactions and upvotes.
• Engage in private one-to-one messaging with other members.
• Interact with our Gemini-powered AI chatbot which analyzes local posts and answers discovery queries.

3. User Conduct and Responsibilities

You agree to use the Service only for lawful, community-focused purposes. You are strictly prohibited from posting, transmitting, or sharing any content that:

• Is fraudulent, false, misleading, or deceptive.
• Is offensive, defamatory, abusive, harassing, hateful, or racially/ethnically objectionable.
• Infringes upon any third-party intellectual property or privacy rights.
• Contains unauthorized advertisements, spam, commercial solicitations, or links to malicious websites.
• Contains harmful software code, viruses, or attempts to disrupt the security or integrity of our database systems.

We reserve the right, but do not assume the obligation, to monitor and remove any content or accounts that violate these guidelines or upon receiving community reports.

4. Disclaimer Regarding Bike Rental and Sharing

AskPondy provides an open social noticeboard for bike sharing and listings. ASK PONDY IS NOT A BIKE RENTAL AGENCY, RENTAL BROKER, OR VEHICLE PROVIDER.

We do not verify the ownership, mechanical safety, legal registration, insurance, or condition of any bicycles or vehicles listed by users. All rental, sharing, or lease transactions occur strictly between the individual users involved. We assume absolutely no liability or responsibility for accidents, mechanical failures, theft, damages, losses, or legal disputes resulting from any bike rental or sharing arrangement arranged through our social feed.

5. AI Chatbot Disclaimer

Our platform features an automated AI Chatbot designed to help users find local events, activities, and bike rentals by indexing published posts. While we strive to maintain high-quality results, the chatbot's answers are informational only. We do not guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or up-to-date nature of the AI's recommendations, and we are not liable for any planning decisions, cancellations, or misunderstandings arising from AI-generated outputs.

6. Intellectual Property Rights

You retain ownership of any content you post on AskPondy. However, by posting content, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully sublicensable license to use, reproduce, display, and process your content (including OCR and AI processing) in connection with operating and marketing the Service.

All software, branding, designs, logos, databases, and proprietary AI pipelines of AskPondy are the exclusive property of ASK Pondy and are protected by intellectual property laws.

7. Limitation of Liability

The Service is provided on an "as-is" and "as-available" basis without any warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, AskPondy, its founders, and affiliates shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages resulting from your use of the Service, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of business, or physical incidents occurring at events or through bike shares listed on our platform.

8. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India. Any legal actions, disputes, or claims arising out of these Terms or the use of our Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu or Puducherry, India.

9. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service at our sole discretion, without notice, for conduct that we believe violates these Terms, harms our community, or violates the law.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions or clarifications regarding these Terms & Conditions, please contact us at: