Terms of Service

1. Who can use Adventist Families

You may use the Service only if all of the following are true:

• You are at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract.
• You are an adherent of, or a sincere seeker within, the Seventh-day Adventist faith community.
• You are not legally barred from using the Service in your jurisdiction.
• You have not previously been removed from the Service for violation of these Terms.

The Service is a faith-based community platform. We may decline registration, or suspend or remove an account, at our discretion to protect the safety and integrity of the community.

2. Accounts, identity, and verification

To use the Service you must create an account using accurate, current, and complete information about yourself. As part of onboarding we may ask you to:

• Verify your email address and phone number.
• Upload a government-issued identification document for identity verification.
• Upload a profile photo and additional photos that depict you.
• Provide references from people who can vouch for your character.
• Share details about your faith, marital status, and life situation.

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account and for keeping your password confidential. You must notify us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised. You may not create more than one account, impersonate any other person, or transfer your account to anyone else.

3. Community Covenant and acceptable use

When you complete onboarding you accept the Adventist Families Community Covenant. You agree to:

• Honesty. Represent yourself truthfully in your profile, photos, and interactions.
• Respect. Treat every member with dignity and kindness.
• Purity. Keep conversations consistent with Adventist values and standards of purity.
• Safety. Never use the Service to deceive, manipulate, harass, or harm others.
• Privacy of others. Do not share another member's personal information without their consent.
• Reporting. Report concerning behavior to platform administrators.

You also agree that you will not:

• Post or transmit content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, sexually explicit, hateful, threatening, or otherwise harmful.
• Solicit money, financial assistance, or commercial services from other members.
• Use the Service for any commercial, political, or recruiting purpose unrelated to the community.
• Upload photos of other people without their permission, photos of minors, or photos that are not of you.
• Attempt to access another member's account or any part of the Service you are not authorized to use.
• Scrape, copy, or redistribute member profiles, photos, or messages.
• Use bots, automated tools, or AI agents to operate your account or interact with other members.
• Interfere with, disrupt, or attempt to probe the security of the Service.

4. Your content

You retain ownership of the content you submit to the Service (profile information, photos, messages, posts, and other materials — "Your Content"). By submitting Your Content you grant Adventist Families a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, adapt (for example, resize images), and display Your Content for the purpose of operating, providing, and improving the Service. This license ends when Your Content or your account is deleted, except where retention is required for legal, safety, or backup purposes as described in the Privacy Policy.

You represent that you have the rights necessary to grant this license and that Your Content does not violate any law or third-party right.

5. Connections, messaging, and relationships

Adventist Families helps members find friendship, mentorship, and prayerfully considered relationships within the Adventist community. We do not guarantee that you will find a match, friendship, mentor, spouse, or any particular outcome. Decisions about whom to meet, communicate with, or enter a relationship with are your own.

You are solely responsible for your interactions with other members, including any decision to meet in person or share personal information. We strongly recommend that you meet in public places, tell a trusted friend about your plans, and use the in-app reporting tools to flag any concerning behavior.

6. Verification, references, and moderation

We perform identity checks, photo review, and reference checks to help build a trustworthy community. These checks are not a guarantee of any member's character, background, or intentions. We do not perform criminal background checks unless expressly stated, and verification by Adventist Families does not constitute an endorsement.

Administrators and moderators may review your profile, photos, references, and reported messages to enforce these Terms and the Community Covenant. We may remove content, restrict features, suspend, or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, that pose a safety risk, or that we reasonably believe undermine the integrity of the community. Where appropriate you may appeal a suspension through the in-app appeal process.

7. Mentors, programs, events, and communities

The Service includes mentors, programs, events, communities, and other features created or hosted by members or organizations. These features are provided for the convenience of the community. Adventist Families is not responsible for the conduct of mentors, hosts, or community leaders, or for the content of any event, program, or community discussion. Any pastoral, counseling, or coaching guidance you receive through the Service is not a substitute for professional medical, mental health, financial, or legal advice.

8. Subscriptions, donations, and fees

Core membership of Adventist Families is provided without charge. Certain features, programs, events, or community offerings may require a fee or accept donations. Where a fee or donation applies, the amount and terms will be displayed before you confirm payment. Unless required by law or expressly stated, all payments are non-refundable.

9. Suspension and termination

You may close your account at any time from your account settings. We may suspend or terminate your access immediately, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe that you have violated these Terms or the Community Covenant, that your continued use of the Service poses a risk to other members, or that we are required to do so by law. On termination your right to use the Service ends, but the sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive (including ownership, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and dispute resolution) will continue to apply.

10. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, text, graphics, logos, and trademarks (other than Your Content), is owned by Adventist Families or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works of any part of the Service except as expressly permitted.

11. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, reliability, or that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. Adventist Families does not warrant the conduct, identity, or character of any member, and does not endorse any specific member, mentor, program, or event.

12. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Adventist Families and its operators, officers, employees, and volunteers will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service or your interactions with other members. Our total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim arose, or (b) USD $100.

13. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Adventist Families and its operators, officers, employees, and volunteers from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your use of the Service, Your Content, your interactions with other members, or your violation of these Terms.

14. Changes to the Service or these Terms

We may change, add, or remove features of the Service at any time, and we may revise these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes we will give you reasonable notice (for example, by email, in-app message, or by updating the effective date above). Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ("Hong Kong SAR"), without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. You and Adventist Families agree first to attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute informally by contacting us at support@adventistfamilies.com. If a dispute cannot be resolved informally, the courts of the Hong Kong SAR will have exclusive jurisdiction, unless mandatory consumer protection laws in your place of residence require otherwise.

16. Contact

Questions, concerns, or notices regarding these Terms may be sent to support@adventistfamilies.com.