Terms of Service

Effective June 3, 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of Somewhere Else (“the Service”), operated by Somewhere Else (“we,” “us,” or “our”). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms in full. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older and that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement. If we learn that a user is under 18, we will terminate their account.

2. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access. We are not liable for losses resulting from unauthorized use of your account.

You may not create an account on behalf of someone else, impersonate another person, or use a false identity.

3. Security and Encryption

Somewhere Else is not a secure messaging platform. If you require a high level of communication privacy — such as that provided by end-to-end encrypted tools like Signal — this is not the right tool for those communications.

Your messages are not end-to-end encrypted. While we use reasonable measures intended to protect message content, no system is ever completely secure, and we may be able to access message content where necessary — for example, to moderate reported content or to comply with legal or law enforcement requests.

By using the Service, you acknowledge and accept that your communications are not fully private, that unauthorized access, data breaches, and other security incidents are possible, and that you use the Service with this understanding.

4. Ephemeral Messages and Data Persistence

Somewhere Else is designed around ephemeral communication. Messages are subject to a rolling window — when a place reaches its message limit, the oldest messages are automatically deleted. This is a core feature of the Service, not a guarantee of privacy.

We do not guarantee complete or permanent deletion of any content. Even after a message is deleted from the active database, copies may persist in:

  • Server infrastructure backups and snapshots maintained by our hosting provider
  • Moderation records, if the content was part of a submitted report
  • Disaster recovery systems or other infrastructure-level retention mechanisms outside our direct control
  • Any copies made by other users before deletion occurred

Deletion from the visible interface means the content is no longer accessible through normal use of the Service. It does not mean the content has been permanently and irreversibly erased from all systems everywhere.

5. Reported Content

When a user submits a report, we capture and permanently retain a snapshot of the reported content — including messages, images, and relevant context — at the time of the report. This retention exists so we can investigate the report, take appropriate action, and maintain records of moderation decisions.

Reported content snapshots are not subject to deletion as a result of account deletion, rolling-window message expiry, or any other routine cleanup process. Retention of this content is at our sole discretion and may be maintained indefinitely.

6. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to use the Service for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. The following are expressly prohibited:

  • Illegal activity of any kind. If it is against the law, you may not do it on Somewhere Else. This applies without exception regardless of jurisdiction.
  • Distribution of illegal material. You may not share, transmit, upload, or facilitate the distribution of any content that is illegal, including but not limited to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), material that violates export controls, or content that infringes on another party’s rights.
  • Distribution of illegal goods or substances. You may not use the Service to buy, sell, trade, advertise, or coordinate the distribution of illegal goods, controlled substances, or contraband of any kind.
  • Using the Service as a tool for illegal activity. You may not use the Service to coordinate, plan, facilitate, or conceal any criminal activity, including fraud, extortion, money laundering, stalking, harassment, or trafficking.
  • Harassment and abuse. You may not use the Service to threaten, intimidate, stalk, or harass any person.
  • Impersonation. You may not impersonate any person or entity.
  • Circumventing security. You may not attempt to bypass, compromise, or probe the security of the Service.
  • Automated scraping. You may not use bots, crawlers, or automated tools to extract content from the Service without our written permission.

We reserve the right to determine, at our sole discretion, what constitutes a violation of these Terms.

7. Content You Post

You retain ownership of content you create. By posting content on the Service, you grant us a limited license to store, process, and display that content solely for the purpose of operating the Service. We do not claim ownership of your content and do not use it for advertising.

You are solely responsible for the content you post. We do not review content before it is posted and are not liable for content posted by users.

8. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if we determine that you have violated these Terms, engaged in conduct harmful to other users or the platform, or for any other reason at our discretion. Termination does not entitle you to a refund of any paid subscription fees except where required by law.

You may delete your account at any time from within the app.

9. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE 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, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT ANY DATA WILL BE SECURE, UNCORRUPTED, OR PERMANENTLY DELETED.

10. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SOMEWHERE ELSE AND ITS OWNERS, OPERATORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AFFILIATES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO YOUR COMMUNICATIONS, OR RELIANCE ON THE EPHEMERAL NATURE OF THE SERVICE.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

11. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Somewhere Else and its owners, operators, and affiliates from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any applicable law or third-party right.

12. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of competent jurisdiction in Texas, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time by posting a revised version on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of the Service after the revised Terms are posted constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If we make material changes, we may notify you by email or through the Service.

Questions?
Contact us at support@somewhereelse.app.