voistep - Terms of Use Agreement

Please read this Terms of Use Agreement ("Agreement") carefully before using our application ("Application"). By downloading, installing, or using this Application, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Article 1: Parties and Subject Matter

This Agreement is entered into between Bahadır Sevim, the owner of the Application ("Owner," "We," "Us," "Our"), and the individual using the Application ("User," "You," "Your"). This Agreement governs the terms of the User's use of the Application. For the purposes of this Agreement, "Content" refers to all texts, audio narratives, images, tour routes, expert suggestions, and any other materials or information made available through the Application.

Article 2: Privacy Policy

By accepting this Agreement, you also declare that you have read, understood, and agreed to our Privacy Policy, which is an integral part of this Agreement. Our Privacy Policy provides detailed information on how we collect, use, and protect your personal data in compliance with regulations including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Article 3: Membership and Account

• Users may register for the Application using their Google, Apple, or email accounts.
• The User is solely responsible for the security and confidentiality of their account information (e.g., password). You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account.
• You undertake that the information you provide during registration is accurate, current, and complete.
• Age Limit: To use the Application and create an account, you must be at least 18 years old or the age of legal majority in your country of residence. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18.
• Personal and Non-Transferable Account: The user account is for personal use only. You may not sell, transfer, lease, or otherwise make your account available to any third party. Each user may create only one account.
• Third-Party Accounts: If you register through a third-party service such as Google or Apple, you agree that you are also subject to the terms and conditions of that service and are responsible for the security of that account.
• Account Termination by User: The User has the right to permanently delete their account at any time through the settings menu within the Application. Upon account deletion, all user data will be irretrievably removed from our systems, except as required by law.

Article 4: Purpose and Use of the Application

• The Application provides users with stories about their current or selected locations in the form of AI-supported text, visuals, and audio narratives.
• Users can receive personalized location suggestions on their home page by selecting their interests ("tags").
• Users can view themed tour routes ("Tours") prepared by experts in their fields. These tours are provided as suggestions only.
• Access to your location data will be requested for the core functionality of the Application. If you do not grant this permission, you may not be able to fully utilize location-based features.
• Tour and Route Disclaimer: The Owner is not a travel agency or tour operator. All tours and routes provided are suggestions for users to follow at their own initiative and risk. Users are personally responsible for their safety, health, and property while following these routes. Information such as entry conditions, opening hours, security status, or accessibility of locations on the routes may change, and the Owner shall not be held liable for any issues arising from such information.
• Personal Safety Responsibility: The User is responsible for ensuring their own personal and property safety during all trips undertaken using the Application. Users must comply with local laws, traffic rules, and private property boundaries. The Owner is not responsible for any accident, injury, loss, or damage that the User may encounter at suggested locations or on routes.
• Health Disclaimer: The provided tours and routes may require different levels of physical activity. The User is responsible for assessing their own health and physical fitness before undertaking any tour. The Owner cannot be held responsible for any health problems or injuries that may occur during the suggested activities.
• Prohibition of Commercial Use: All content provided in the Application (tours, texts, images, etc.) is for personal, non-commercial use only. The User may not copy, reproduce, sell, or use this content for any commercial purpose without the prior written consent of the Owner.
• Third-Party Links: The Application may contain links to third-party websites or resources. The Owner is not responsible for the availability, accuracy of content, or privacy policies of these external sites. The use of these links is entirely at the User's own risk.
• Business Recommendations and Discounts: The Application may feature recommendations for certain restaurants, cafes, stores, or other commercial establishments ("Business") to enrich the user experience. The Owner may make agreements with these Businesses to offer special discounts or benefits to voistep users. However, the operational management, implementation, and validity of these discounts or benefits are the sole responsibility of the respective Business. The Owner shall not be held liable for a Business's failure to provide a promised discount or benefit, its quality of service, or any dispute that may arise between the Business and the User. The final decision and responsibility for applying any discount lie with the Business.
• Product Placement and Sponsored Content: The User acknowledges that some content, locations, or recommendations within the Application may be provided as part of a commercial agreement. In this context, featuring a specific business (e.g., restaurant, hotel, store) or including it in a tour route may constitute "product placement" or "sponsored content." Such content may not always be explicitly labeled as "advertisement." While the Owner strives to maintain editorial integrity, the User accepts that such commercial collaborations may influence the content.

Article 5: User Obligations and Prohibited Activities

The User agrees and undertakes not to engage in the following actions while using the Application:

• Using the Application for any illegal, immoral, or purposes other than those specified in this Agreement.
• Creating an account with false or misleading information or impersonating another person or entity.
• Harassing, threatening, demeaning, using hate speech, or otherwise disturbing other users.
• Taking any action that compromises the security of the Application or its related systems (e.g., sending viruses, using bots, launching DoS attacks) or placing an unreasonable load on its infrastructure.
• Attempting to decompile, reverse engineer, or gain unauthorized access to the Application's source code or data (scraping).
• Infringing on the intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, etc.) of the Owner or any third party.
• Sending unsolicited commercial communications (spam) or collecting information about other users without authorization.

Article 6: User-Generated Content

Should a feature allowing the submission of comments, reviews, photos, route suggestions, or other content ("User Content") be introduced in the future, the following terms will apply:

• Responsibility: You are solely legally responsible for all User Content you share. You must ensure that your content does not violate the copyright, privacy, or other rights of third parties.
• Right to Remove Content: The Owner reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to remove any User Content that is illegal, immoral, defamatory, inappropriate, or violates this Agreement, without prior notice.
• License to Use: By submitting User Content to the Application, you grant the Owner a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of that content within the Application and for the purpose of promoting the Application.

Article 7: Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

• No Guarantee of Content Accuracy: All content provided within the Application (including but not limited to texts, stories, audio narratives, tours, visuals, and content stated as prepared by experts) is provided "as is." Some of this content is generated by artificial intelligence algorithms, and some is compiled from various sources. Due to the diversity of sources and the nature of AI technology, the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of the information provided is not guaranteed in any way. Information may become outdated, be historically misinterpreted, or have been created with errors from the outset.
• Limitation of Liability: The Owner shall not be held liable for any direct or indirect damages, material or moral losses, loss of opportunity, or any negative consequences arising from erroneous, incomplete, or misleading information contained in the Application. The User accepts that they are solely responsible for all decisions and actions taken based on the information in the Application. It is strongly recommended that you verify information from multiple reliable sources before making important decisions.
• Disclaimer of Service Warranty: The Application is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE." The Owner does not warrant that the Application will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. The Owner is not responsible for any technical malfunctions or data loss that may result from the use of the Application.
• Monetary Liability Cap: In any event, the total liability of the Owner to you for any claim arising from the use of the Application or related to this Agreement shall not exceed the greater of the total amount you have paid to us for the Application in the six (6) months prior to the date the claim arose, or fifty Euros (€50) if no such payment has been made.

Article 8: Intellectual Property

• The Application itself, including its design, brand, logo, and all its elements (text, visuals, audio, tour routes, etc.), is the property of the Owner and/or their respective licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws.
• The copyrights of all content within the Application belong to the Owner and/or their respective licensors. It is strictly forbidden to copy, reproduce, distribute, or use this content for any commercial purpose outside the Voistep application without the written permission of the Owner or the relevant rights holder.
• Exception for Promotional Use: As an exception to the restrictions in Article 8.2, users are permitted to share screenshots of the Application for personal, non-commercial purposes on social media platforms, blog posts, or video content, provided that they clearly state that it is from the "voistep" application (e.g., by tagging or providing a link). Such sharing may not be done in a way that damages the reputation of the Application or the Owner.

Article 9: Account Suspension and Termination

The Owner reserves the right, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, to temporarily suspend or permanently terminate any User's access to the Application, including but not limited to the following situations:

• The User breaches any term or obligation set forth in this Agreement.
• The User provides misleading, false, or incomplete information during or after registration.
• The User's actions endanger the safety or rights of other users, the Owner, or third parties.
• Engaging in any behavior that harms the general operation, integrity, or security of the Application.

Article 10: Service Fees, Advertisements, and Subscriptions

• Free Use: The basic services of the Application are currently offered to users free of charge.
• Advertisements: The Owner reserves the right to display third-party advertisements within the Application in the future. The display of advertisements may support the continued provision of the Application free of charge.
• Paid Subscriptions and Services: The Owner reserves the right to offer paid subscription models ("Pro Version," etc.) or one-time in-app purchases in the future, which may include ad-free usage, additional features, or premium content.
• Pricing Information: In the event that any paid service or subscription model is introduced, the pricing, payment terms, and scope of the service will be clearly communicated to the User within the Application. The User will have the opportunity to review and accept all terms before purchasing a service.
• Payment and Refund Policy: In-app purchases and subscriptions will be processed through the relevant application store, such as the Apple App Store or Google Play Store ("App Store"). All payments are subject to the payment terms and refund policies of the respective App Store. The Owner is not directly involved in payment processing or refund requests. You must contact the respective App Store directly for any refund requests.

Article 11: Modification or Termination of Service

The Owner reserves the right, at any time and with or without notice, to temporarily or permanently modify, suspend, or terminate all or part of the Application (e.g., a specific feature). In the event of the termination of the Application or a service, the Owner will have no liability to users.

Article 12: Indemnification

The User agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Owner from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, damages, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from the User's breach of this Agreement, violation of any law, or infringement of the rights of a third party while using the Application.

Article 13: Feedback

Any feedback, ideas, or suggestions provided by the User to the Owner ("Feedback") shall become the property of the Owner. The User waives all rights to the Feedback they provide and agrees that the Owner may use such Feedback without any restriction or compensation obligation to the user.

Article 14: Modification of the Agreement

The Owner reserves the right to unilaterally modify this Agreement at any time. Changes will be notified to you through the Application, and the updated agreement will be effective from the date of its publication. Following such notification, your continued use of the Application will constitute your acceptance of the amended terms.

Article 15: Miscellaneous Provisions

• Force Majeure: The Owner shall not be held liable for failure or delay in fulfilling its obligations under this Agreement due to unforeseen and unavoidable events beyond its reasonable control, such as natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks, epidemics, or prolonged general power or internet outages ("Force Majeure").
• Severability: If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be severed from the Agreement, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
• No Waiver: The failure or delay of the Owner to exercise any right or power under this Agreement shall not operate as a waiver of that right or power. A single waiver of a breach shall not be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breaches.
• Notices: All legal notices from the Owner to the User may be made via the User's registered email address or through in-app notifications (pop-ups). The date of dispatch or display within the Application shall be deemed the date of receipt.
• App Store Terms: The User agrees to comply with the terms of use of the platform from which they downloaded the Application (e.g., Apple App Store, Google Play Store). This Agreement is between the User and the Owner, and the app stores are not a party to this agreement.
• Entire Agreement: This Agreement and the referenced Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between the User and the Owner and supersede all prior oral or written agreements on the subject matter.
• Assignment: The Owner may assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement to a third party or entity at any time. The User may not assign their account or rights under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the Owner.
• International Use and Data Transfer: The Application is controlled and operated from Turkey. Users accessing the Application from other countries are responsible for complying with their own local laws. If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), please note that your personal data will be transferred to and processed in Turkey, a country outside the EEA. We ensure that such transfers are protected by appropriate legal safeguards, as detailed in our Privacy Policy.
• Survival: Even if this Agreement is terminated for any reason, provisions that by their nature should survive termination shall remain in effect, including but not limited to Intellectual Property, Indemnification, Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability, Dispute Resolution, and Governing Law and Jurisdiction.
• Headings and Interpretation: The headings of the articles used in this Agreement are for reference convenience only and shall have no legal effect on the interpretation of the Agreement.
• Beta Features: From time to time, we may offer new features for testing purposes under labels such as "beta," "early access," or similar. These features may be untested, contain errors, and may be modified or removed without notice. You use Beta Features at your own risk, and no warranties are provided for such features.
• Electronic Communications: By using the Application, you consent to receive communications from us electronically. You agree that all agreements, notices, and other communications that we provide to you electronically via email, in-app notifications, or announcements published in the Application satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

Article 16: Limitation on Time to File Claims

The User agrees that any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the use of the Application or this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose. Any claims not filed within this period shall be permanently barred.

Article 17: Dispute Resolution

The parties agree to first attempt to resolve any dispute arising from this Agreement through good-faith negotiations for a period of 30 (thirty) days before resorting to legal action. If negotiations fail, the parties agree to submit the dispute to mediation before initiating litigation.

Article 18: Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Agreement shall be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Turkey. In the event that the negotiation and mediation processes specified in Article 17 fail to resolve the dispute, the Courts and Enforcement Offices of Istanbul shall have exclusive jurisdiction to resolve any disputes arising from this Agreement. This choice of jurisdiction does not deprive consumers in the European Union of the protection afforded to them by provisions that cannot be derogated from by agreement by virtue of the law of their country of residence.

Article 19: Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you are a resident of the EEA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of your personal data infringes the GDPR.

Article 20: Contact

For any questions or suggestions regarding this Agreement, you can contact us at info@voistep.com.