Terms of Service

Last Updated: September 5, 2026  ·  Effective Date: September 5, 2026

1. Agreement to Terms

By downloading, installing, or using the Init mobile application ("App"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the App.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you," "your") and Init ("Company," "we," "us," "our").

1a. Consent to Data Processing (DPDP Act 2023)

By accepting these Terms, you also provide free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous consent to Init to process your personal data as described in our Privacy Policy, in accordance with Section 6 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

• Your consent covers: account creation, identity verification, location-based discovery and check-in for Init Lounge, vibe-card display to co-located users, mutual-match detection, post-match messaging, and account-related notifications.
• Location data is processed only while you are actively using Init Lounge and subject to your device-level location permission, which you may change or revoke at any time.
• You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account (Profile → Delete Account). Withdrawal of consent will result in permanent deletion of your data within 30 days.
• For grievances related to personal data processing, contact our Grievance Officer at privacy@initmatch.com.

2. Eligibility

To use Init, you must:

• Be at least 18 years old. By creating an account, you confirm that you are 18 years of age or older. We verify age through date of birth collection at registration. Providing a false date of birth is a violation of these Terms and grounds for immediate account termination.
• Not be prohibited from using the App under applicable laws or regulations.
• Not have been previously banned from the App for violating these Terms.
• Be able to form a binding contract with Init under applicable law.

3. Account Registration

3.1 Account Creation

You may create an account using a phone number with a password and OTP verification, Google Sign-In (OAuth), or Sign in with Apple (OAuth). You must provide accurate and complete information during registration and are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of your account information.

3.2 Username (Init ID)

After registration, you must choose a unique username (Init ID). Your username must be between 3 and 20 characters, may contain letters, numbers, and underscores, must not impersonate another person or entity, and must not contain offensive or discriminatory language.

3.3 Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at admin@initmatch.com of any unauthorized use. We are not liable for losses arising from unauthorized use of your account.

3.4 One Account Per Person

Each individual may maintain only one Init account. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent blocks or bans, or to manipulate the matching system, is prohibited.

4. How Init Works

4.1 Init Lounge

Init Lounge lets you meet people who are physically near you, right now:

• Check in. When you are at a real-world place (a café, a gym, a bar, a campus, your own building), you can check in to that lounge. Check-in requires a device location fix placing you within approximately 300 metres of the venue. If you have granted only approximate location permission, you can browse nearby lounges but cannot check in.
• Post a vibe. Your check-in includes a short "vibe card" (15–100 characters) describing what you are up for. Other people checked in to the same lounge see your card, your age range and gender, and your photo if you choose to show it. They do not see your name, username, or profile.
• Vibe on others. You can vibe on other people's cards. A vibe is one-way and private — the other person is not told.
• Match. If two people vibe each other's cards in the same lounge, a match is formed and a private chat opens for both. Non-mutual vibes are never revealed.
• Sessions end. Your check-in ends when you check out, log out, move roughly 500 metres or more from the venue, or after a maximum of 3 hours. When a session ends, your vibe cards for that session are removed.

Init Lounge is available only where you have granted the App location permission. Denying location permission disables Init Lounge; the rest of the App continues to work.

4.2 Private Interest Matching

Init also lets you privately record interest in a specific person you already know, across six categories: Hangout, Date, Love, Marriage, Apology, and Crush. You may express interest by providing that person's phone number or username.

• When you express interest in someone, they are not notified.
• Only when the other person independently expresses interest in you — with at least one overlapping category — are both parties notified of the mutual match.
• Non-mutual interests are never revealed to any party.

4.3 Post-Match Communication

Once a match is detected — whether through Init Lounge or private interest matching — both users can communicate through an in-app messaging system. Messaging is only available between matched users. Either party may unmatch at any time, which ends the conversation.

4.4 Venues and Lounges

Most venues are pre-listed. If a place is not listed, you may create a lounge for it by providing its name and location. Creating fake, duplicate, or misleading venues is prohibited. A venue owner or authorised representative may request removal of their venue by contacting admin@initmatch.com; we act on takedown requests within 48 hours. Some lounges may be operated as virtual or promotional spaces and are labelled accordingly in the App.

5. Acceptable Use

5.1 You Agree To

• Use the App in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
• Treat other users with respect and dignity.
• Provide truthful information about yourself.
• Report violations of these Terms by other users.

5.2 You Agree Not To

• Harassment — engage in harassment, bullying, intimidation, threats, or hate speech toward any user.
• Impersonation — create accounts, post vibe cards, or express interests under false identities.
• Stalking — use the App to monitor, track, follow, or repeatedly contact someone who has blocked you, or to determine or approach a specific person's physical location.
• Location spoofing — falsify, mock, simulate, or otherwise manipulate your device's location to check in to a lounge you are not physically at, or to defeat proximity or anti-abuse checks.
• Spam — send unsolicited, repetitive, or commercial messages or vibe cards.
• Manipulation — exploit the matching system by creating fake accounts, posting false vibes, or using automated tools.
• Explicit Content — share sexually explicit, violent, or otherwise objectionable content through messages or vibe cards.
• Contact harvesting — use vibe cards or messages to solicit or broadcast phone numbers or external handles in circumvention of the App's content filters.
• Minors — use the App if you are under 18, or express interest in or vibe on someone you know to be under 18.
• Illegal Activity — use the App to facilitate any illegal activity.
• Reverse Engineering — attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or extract source code from the App.
• Data Scraping — use automated means to collect user data, vibe cards, location data, or match information.
• Circumvention — attempt to bypass security measures, rate limits, content filters, or access controls.

6. Content Guidelines

6.1 User Content

"User Content" includes vibe cards, messages sent through matched conversations, venue submissions, and any other content you create or share through the App. You retain ownership of your User Content, but you grant Init a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, store, and process your User Content solely for the purpose of operating and providing the App.

6.2 Vibe Card Rules

Vibe card text must be 15–100 characters, contain at least one letter, and must not contain links, sequences of four or more digits, or long runs of repeated characters. These rules are enforced automatically. Vibe cards are visible to other people checked in to the same lounge and are subject to the prohibited content rules below and to reporting and moderation.

6.3 Prohibited Content

The following content is prohibited in vibe cards, messages, venue submissions, and usernames: threats of violence or harm; hate speech; sexually explicit or pornographic material; content that exploits or endangers minors; personal information of third parties without their consent; malware or phishing links; and content promoting illegal activities.

6.4 Content Moderation

We reserve the right to review, remove, or restrict access to any User Content that violates these Terms. Content that accumulates multiple reports may be hidden automatically pending review.

7. Reporting and Blocking

7.1 Reporting

If you encounter a user, vibe card, or venue that violates these Terms, you may report it through the App. Report categories include inappropriate content, harassment or abuse, fake identity or impersonation, spam, hate speech, and suspected underage user. We review reports and take appropriate action, which may include warnings, hiding content, temporary suspension, or permanent termination. Content reported by multiple users within a short window may be hidden automatically pending review, and accounts that attract sustained reports may have their content made invisible to others.

7.2 Blocking

You may block any matched user at any time. Blocking immediately prevents all further communication and hides the conversation from both parties.

8. Account Suspension and Termination

8.1 By You

You may delete your account at any time through Profile → Delete Account. Your account enters a 30-day grace period during which you may reactivate. After 30 days, all your data is permanently deleted.

8.2 By Us

We may suspend or terminate your account, without prior notice, if you violate these Terms, provide false information during registration, spoof your location or otherwise manipulate check-in, are the subject of repeated substantiated reports, pose a safety risk to other users, or if termination is required by law or legal process. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone at our sole discretion.

9. Intellectual Property

The App, including its design, features, code, logos, trademarks, and documentation, is owned by Init and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works based on the App. Map data displayed in the App is © OpenStreetMap contributors and is used under the Open Database License. "Init," the Init logo, and related marks are trademarks of Init.

10. Disclaimers

The App is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not guarantee that you will receive any matches, that any lounge will have other people checked in, that the App will be available at all times, or that interactions with matched users will be safe or positive. We do not guarantee that venue names, locations, or map data are accurate or complete; location features depend on your device, operating system permissions, and network conditions, and may be imprecise.

We are not responsible for the conduct of any user, whether online or offline. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users, including any decision to meet someone in person after checking in to the same lounge or matching. We strongly recommend that you meet only in public settings, tell someone you trust where you are going, and never share your home address or financial information with someone you have just met.

While we verify ownership of phone numbers (and, for Google/Apple sign-in, the identity confirmed by that provider) and verify venue proximity at check-in, we do not conduct background checks or verify the character or intentions of any user. Verification confirms account ownership and presence at a venue, not the truthfulness of a user's vibe card or profile.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Init shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of or inability to use the App, any interactions with other users (online or in person), reliance on location or venue information, or any third-party conduct.

Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App shall not exceed the amount you have paid to Init in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or ₹5,000 (Indian Rupees Five Thousand only), whichever is greater.

Nothing in this section limits or excludes liability that cannot, under applicable Indian law, be limited or excluded — including liability for fraud, willful misconduct, or gross negligence, or any rights you may have under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

12. Indemnification

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

13. Dispute Resolution

13.1 Informal Resolution

Before filing any formal legal action, you agree to attempt to resolve any dispute with us informally by contacting admin@initmatch.com. We will attempt to resolve the dispute within 60 days of receiving your notice.

13.2 Arbitration

If informal resolution fails, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App shall be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (India), as amended. The arbitration shall be conducted by a sole arbitrator appointed by Init. The seat and venue of arbitration shall be Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, and the proceedings shall be conducted in English.

13.3 Class Action Waiver

You agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted on an individual basis only, and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action.

13.4 Exceptions

Either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights.

14. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, including the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, without regard to conflict of law principles. Subject to the arbitration clause above, the courts at Bengaluru, Karnataka shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes.

15. Modifications to Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will notify you via an in-app notification at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Continued use of the App after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, you must stop using the App and delete your account.

16. Modifications to the App

We reserve the right to modify, update, or discontinue any feature of the App at any time, with or without notice. This includes adding, modifying, or removing lounges, venues, interest categories, matching algorithms, or messaging features.

17. Third-Party Services

The App integrates with third-party sign-in services (Google Sign-In, Sign in with Apple) and uses third-party mapping and geocoding providers (OpenStreetMap data and place-search services) to power Init Lounge. Your use of sign-in services is governed by their respective terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the practices of third-party service providers or for the accuracy of third-party map data.

18. Severability

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

19. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Init regarding the App and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and communications.

20. Contact Us & Grievance Officer

20.1 General Legal Inquiries

For questions about these Terms:

• Email: admin@initmatch.com
• Subject line: "Terms Inquiry — [Your Username]"

20.2 Grievance Officer (India — DPDP Act 2023 & IT Act 2000)

In accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, Init has designated a Grievance Officer for India:

• Name: Bipin Bettadalli Neelakanta
• Designation: Grievance Officer
• Email: privacy@initmatch.com
• Postal address: Om Chambers, 648/A, 4th Floor, Binnamangala 1st Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru — 560038, Karnataka, India
• Response time: Acknowledgement within 48 hours; resolution within 30 days

If your grievance is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India once constituted.