Terms and Privacy

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Terms of Service

Last updated: October 13, 2026

The following information outlines the terms and conditions of using any services we provide, including the VUG App on iOS and Android (the “Services”). The terms form a legal contract between you and GiveVUGS Corp. (the “Corporation”), so please read carefully.

By using the VUG app, or any of our other products or services linked to the Corporation, you agree to accept our Privacy Policy and Terms which are presented to you when you first install the App.

User Rights

The Corporation grants you a personal, royalty-free, non-assignable, non-exclusive, revocable, and non-sublicensable license to access and use the Services. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Services. Nor may you reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of that software.

Our Rights

By using our services, you may store or create content such as VUGS and share them with other users and groups. Content you share in groups and private conversations is visible only to the people in them. We do not read it for advertising and we do not sell it. We may review specific content when someone reports it, when our automated safety checks flag it, or when the law requires us to.

In order for us to provide services, we will access user profile information you provide to us, and other app usage information.

Information shared with the public on the community walls, or other public forums become public data and you grant us and our affiliates the free unrestricted, worldwide right and license to use such content for purposes including but not restricted to promotion and advertising.

The Services do not display third-party advertisements.

Keeping it Real

VUGS is about bringing people together in a fun and safe environment. You agree not to use the services to:

post offensive, illegal or adult content such as pornography, graphic violence, threats, hate speech, or incitements to violence;
harass, bully or defame other users;
plan or carry out illegal activities;
spam or solicit our users;
use automated means to access the services or to perform any malicious activities that could be harmful to our users, our App, our systems, our networks, or our Brand.

We have zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. Users can report inappropriate content or behavior directly in the app, and can block abusive users. We review all reports within 24 hours and take action by removing violating content and banning users who violate these terms.

Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated in any way.

Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery

We strictly prohibit posting or sharing intimate images of a person without their consent, including AI-generated or digitally altered (“deepfake”) imagery. If you believe an intimate image of you (or of someone you are authorized to act on behalf of) has been shared on our Services without consent, you can report it directly in the app (Report > “Private image shared without consent”) or email info@givevugs.com with “NCII” in the subject line, information sufficient to locate the content, and a good-faith statement that the image was shared without the consent of the person depicted.

We will remove reported non-consensual intimate imagery within 48 hours of receiving a valid request, and will make reasonable efforts to remove any identical copies of it on our Services. Accounts that share such imagery will be terminated.

Respecting Copyright

We respect copyright laws including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. When notified of a violation, we will take reasonable steps to remove infringing material. Users with repeated violations could result in termination of services.

Gift Cards

The Store in the App lets you buy gift cards from third-party brands and send them to another VUGS user. GiveVUGS Corp. is a reseller: the brand named on the card is the issuer, and the brand’s own terms govern where and how the card can be redeemed. Some cards are fulfilled by Blackhawk Network; others come from stock we have purchased in advance. Either way, the rules below apply.

Purchases are available only to accounts in Canada, in Canadian dollars, and are subject to the limits shown at checkout. We may decline, hold for review or cancel a purchase that shows signs of fraud; a purchase on hold is not charged until it is approved.

Delivery

We deliver a gift card by email to the address on the recipient’s VUGS account. We do not send gift cards to an address typed in at checkout. Delivery is complete when that email is accepted by the recipient’s mail server. The email never contains the gift card code: it contains a link to a page on givevugs.com where the recipient can view the card and choose to reveal the code. The buyer receives a receipt without the code. Links to view a gift card only ever come from givevugs.com.

Treat the code and the link like cash

A gift card code is as good as cash: anyone who has it can spend it. The recipient is responsible for keeping the email, the link and the code safe, and must not forward or share them. Once we have delivered the email to the address on the recipient’s account, we are not responsible for loss that results from the recipient’s email account or device being accessed by someone else, or from the email, link or code being forwarded, shared or stored elsewhere.

Refunds and cancellations

Because a code can be spent the moment it is seen, a gift card can be refunded only while its code has not yet been revealed, and only if you ask us within 24 hours of purchase. Once the code has been revealed, the sale is final. If a link has not yet been used, we can also cancel it and send a new one to the same recipient. Where the law gives you additional rights, those rights apply.

Expiry and fees

The value of a gift card does not expire, and we do not charge any fee to buy, hold or use it. The brand’s terms may set conditions on redemption, such as where the card is accepted; these are shown on the card page before you buy. The link we email expires 90 days after it is sent. The recipient can ask us for a new link to the same email address, and the card keeps its value.

What we record

To prevent fraud and to resolve disputes, we record when the gift card link is opened and when the code is revealed, with the time, the IP address, the approximate location derived from it, and the type of device and browser used. Our Privacy Policy explains how this information is handled. These records also let us confirm whether a code has been seen before we agree to a refund or a replacement.

If a code we supplied does not work, contact us at info@givevugs.com with your order number within 30 days of purchase. We will investigate with the supplier and replace the card or refund you.

Disclaimer, Liability, and Indemnity

You are responsible for any mobile or data charges incurred in using our services.

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available” and without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, in particular, implied warranties, conditions, or other terms relating to (i) merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, title, quiet enjoyment, non-infringement, or (ii) arising from a course of dealing.

The Corporation takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content that you, another user, or a third party creates, uploads, posts, sends, receives, or stores on or through our Services. You understand and agree that you may be exposed to content that might be offensive, illegal, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate, none of which the Corporation will be responsible for.

You agree, to the extent provided by law, to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Corporation, our affiliates, directors, officers, stockholders, employees, licensors, suppliers, and agents from and against any complaints, charges, claims, damages, losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including attorney’s fees) due to or arising out of the use of our services.

The Corporation, our affiliates, directors, officers, stockholders, employees, licensors, suppliers, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or multiple damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill or other intangible losses, resulting from the use or the inability to use our services.

We always love to hear from our users. But if you provide feedback or suggestions, just know that we can use them without compensating you, and without any restriction or obligation to you. You agree that we will own all rights in anything we develop based on such feedback or suggestions.

Jurisdiction

By using our services, you agree that all claims and disputes related to these terms will be settled under arbitration in the jurisdiction of Alberta, Canada. If you do not agree, you must not use the services.

This does not apply where the law does not allow it. If you are a consumer living in Quebec, Ontario, or anywhere else whose consumer protection laws prohibit mandatory arbitration, you are not required to arbitrate: you keep your right to bring a claim, including as part of a class action, before the courts of the province or territory where you live, and these terms do not take away any right or protection those laws give you.

Language

These terms and our Privacy Policy are available in English and in French. Les présentes conditions et notre politique de confidentialité sont offertes en français et en anglais.

Agreement

By using this App, you agree that you have reviewed and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.

You also confirm that you are 14 years of age or older. Our Services are not available to children under 14, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 13, 2026

1. Who we are

VUG Social (the “App”) is operated by GiveVUGS Corp., a company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (“we”, “us”).

Our Privacy Officer is responsible for how we handle personal information and for answering your questions and requests. You can reach the Privacy Officer at:

info@givevugs.com

2. Our principles

We collect what we need to run the App and keep it safe. We do not sell your personal information. We do not show third-party advertising. We tell you plainly what we do, and you can ask us to show you, correct or delete your information at any time.

3. Information we collect

Information you give us

Account details: your email address, username, profile photo, and birthday including the year. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive the name and email address that service shares with us.
Phone number (optional): if you add one so friends can find you, we store a scrambled (hashed) version and a masked version, not the number itself.
Content: the messages, photos, videos, VUGs, moods, comments and reactions you send or post, and the city you choose to add to a post. Voice and video calls are relayed live and are not recorded.
Your contacts (optional): if you use Find Friends, phone numbers from your address book are scrambled (hashed) on your device before they are sent to us, and email addresses from your address book are sent to us to check for a match. We do not keep either after the match is done. If you invite someone, we keep the email address or phone number you invited so the invitation can be delivered and shown in your group.
Purchases: when you add a payment card, the card details are sent through our servers to our payment processor, which gives us back a reference token. We keep that token, the last four digits, the expiry date, the name on the card, and a record of each transaction. We do not keep the full card number or the security code.
Reports and support: what you tell us when you report content or contact us.

Information we collect automatically

Device and app details: device model, operating system, app version, language, a random identifier for your installation of the App, and the token that lets us send you notifications. On Android, the analytics software we use may also collect the device’s advertising ID; we do not use it for advertising.
Approximate location: when you create an account we record the IP address used and work out the country and the state or province from it. We use this to decide which features are available where you live and to follow local laws. We never collect GPS or precise location.
Usage and diagnostics: which features you use, and crash and error reports. Error reports include your account ID and email address so we can find and fix the problem.
Age information from your app store: in places where the law requires it, we ask the Apple App Store or Google Play for the age range on your store account.
Gift card delivery: when a gift card link we emailed is opened and when its code is revealed, we record the time, the IP address and the country or region derived from it, and the type of device and browser. We use this to detect fraud and to settle disputes about whether a card was delivered or seen.

4. How we use your information

To provide the App: delivering your messages and VUGs, showing your posts, running your groups, and sending notifications.
To keep the App safe: reviewing reports, checking public posts and photos for content that breaks our rules, and stopping spam and abuse.
To process purchases, deliver gift cards and prevent fraud.
To follow the law: confirming you are old enough to use the App, limiting features to the regions where we may offer them, and meeting our legal reporting duties.
To understand and improve the App, using usage statistics.

We ask for your consent when you create your account. You can withdraw it at any time by deleting your account, although we cannot provide the App without the information needed to run it.

5. Automated decisions

Some decisions are made by automated systems without a person involved:

Public posts, profile photos and group photos are checked by an automated system for content that breaks our rules. Content that fails the check is hidden or removed, and repeated violations can pause your ability to post for a period of time.
A post reported as a private image shared without consent is hidden immediately while we review it.
If you sign up from a place where we are not permitted to offer the App, or your app store tells us you are under the minimum age, the account is closed.

If one of these decisions affects you, you can ask us what information was used and why, have that information corrected, and ask for a person to review the decision. Contact our Privacy Officer.

6. Who we share information with

With other people, as you choose. Your username and profile photo are visible to other signed-in users. What you send to a group or a private conversation is visible to the people in it. Posts you make to the public Karmaverse are visible to every user of the App; your name is not shown on them, but they remain linked to your account in our systems.

With companies that work for us. They may use your information only to provide their service to us:

Google (Firebase, Google Analytics, Gemini): our database, sign-in, usage statistics, and the automated safety checks on photos and posts.
Stream: delivery and storage of chat messages.
Cloudflare: storage and delivery of photos and videos.
LiveKit: relaying voice and video calls.
Sentry: crash and error reports.
Elavon: payment processing. Blackhawk Network: fulfilment of some gift cards.
Mailgun: sending email, including invitations you ask us to send.
Apple, Google and Expo: delivering notifications to your device.
Klipy, Pexels and Apple Music search: when you search for a GIF, image or song, your search is sent to that service.

When the law requires it. We may disclose information to comply with a court order or a lawful request, to meet our legal duty to report child sexual abuse material, or to protect the safety of our users.

We do not sell personal information and we do not share it with advertisers.

7. Where your information is stored

Our service providers store and process information in the United States, and some of them in other countries. This means your personal information is transferred outside Canada, and outside Quebec, and while it is there it is subject to the laws of that country, including lawful requests from its courts and authorities. We require our providers to protect your information, and we assess the privacy risks before moving personal information outside Quebec.

8. How long we keep it

We keep your account information for as long as you have an account.
When you delete your account, we delete your profile, your private content, your payment tokens, and your sign-in. This normally completes within a few hours.
Posts you made to the public Karmaverse stay visible after you delete your account, but with nothing that identifies you. You can delete individual posts before you delete your account.
An account that is started but never finished is deleted after 7 days.
We keep purchase records, and records of safety reports and enforcement actions, for as long as the law requires or as needed to protect our users.
Records of when a gift card link was opened and its code revealed are part of the purchase record and are kept with it.
If we report child sexual abuse material to the authorities, we preserve the related information for the period the law requires and then destroy it.
Server logs are kept for 30 days.

9. How we protect it

Information is encrypted while it travels between your device and our servers. Access to user information inside the company is limited to the people who need it to run and moderate the App. No system is perfectly secure, so if a breach creates a real risk of significant harm to you, we will tell you and the privacy regulators as the law requires, and we keep a record of every breach. Gift card codes we hold in stock are encrypted with a key that neither our staff nor our administration tools can use; a code is decrypted only at the moment its recipient chooses to reveal it.

10. Your rights

You can ask us to:

show you the personal information we hold about you, and how it has been used and shared;
correct information that is wrong or incomplete;
delete your information (you can also do this yourself in the App: Profile, then Delete account);
give you a copy of the information you provided, in a commonly used electronic format;
stop using your information, by withdrawing your consent.

Email our Privacy Officer at info@givevugs.com. We will answer within 30 days, at no charge. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or, if you live in Quebec, the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec.

11. Children

You must be at least 14 years old to use the App. We ask for your date of birth when you sign up, and in some places we also check the age range on your app store account. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 14. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 14, we close the account and delete its information. A parent or guardian who believes their child has an account can contact our Privacy Officer at info@givevugs.com.

For users under 18 we do not show targeted advertising, we do not sell personal information, and we limit our use of their information to what is needed to provide the App.

12. Changes to this policy

If we make a significant change to how we handle your information, we will tell you in the App before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows when this policy was last updated.

13. Contact and credits

If you have questions about these Terms or this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

info@givevugs.com

IP address location data is provided by DB-IP (db-ip.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0.