Terms & Conditions

Definitions

In these Terms & Conditions, the following definitions apply:

Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, or using the FlatBuddy App or accessing the Admin Dashboard, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree, you must not access or use the Service.

Your continued use of the Service following any amendments to these terms constitutes acceptance of those changes.

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account and use FlatBuddy. By registering, you represent and warrant that you meet this requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement.

The App is primarily designed for students and residents living in shared accommodation within the United Kingdom, though access is not restricted by geography.

Account Registration & Security

To use FlatBuddy, you must create an account using a valid email address and a password of at least 6 characters. Accounts are authenticated through Firebase Authentication. A verification email will be sent to the address you provide upon registration.

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to your account. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to secure your account.

Each account is assigned a randomly generated avatar upon creation. You may update your profile picture and room number at any time through the Settings screen.

Flat Creation & Membership

Users may create a new Flat or join an existing one using a valid 6-digit code. Each Flat code is unique and auto-generated to prevent duplication. By joining a Flat, you consent to sharing your display name, profile picture, room number, chore assignments, expense records, and product rotation status with other members of that Flat.

The "Vacate Flat" feature allows you to temporarily mark yourself as absent. While vacated, your chores will be redistributed among the remaining active members using a round-robin algorithm, and you will be excluded from new chore and product assignments until you return. The "Leave Flat" action is permanent and will remove all your associations with that Flat.

Deleting your account will permanently remove your Firebase Authentication record and all associated Firestore data. This action is irreversible.

Features & Permitted Use

FlatBuddy provides the following core features: chore scheduling and round-robin assignment, shared expense tracking with full, equal, and custom split modes, shared product buying rotation, a real-time FlatBoard for flat communication, an issue-reporting system ("Flag Issue"), gamification elements including confetti celebrations and streak tracking, a set of offline card-based social games, and push notifications for reminders and real-time updates.

You agree to use these features solely for their intended purpose of coordinating shared-living responsibilities. The Service is a productivity and lifestyle tool — it is not intended to function as a social media platform or real-time messaging service.

You must not attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or extract the source code of the App. You must not use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in any manner that could damage, disable, or impair its functionality.

User Content & Conduct

You are responsible for all content you post through the Service, including FlatBoard posts, issue reports, expense descriptions, and chore names. You agree not to post content that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, discriminatory, or that infringes upon the rights of others.

Images uploaded to the FlatBoard are stored as base64-encoded data within Firestore documents. You must ensure that any images you upload do not contain sensitive personal information belonging to others, illegal content, or copyrighted material for which you do not hold the necessary rights.

We reserve the right to remove content and suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, either through the Admin Dashboard moderation tools or through direct administrative action.

Admin Dashboard & Administrative Access

The Admin Dashboard is a separate web application available only to authorised administrators. Admin accounts are provisioned via a command-line setup script using the Firebase Admin SDK — self-registration is not available. Access is verified against a dedicated admins Firestore collection; regular App users cannot access the Dashboard even with valid Firebase credentials.

Administrators may view aggregated flat statistics, post and pin notices to the FlatBoard, moderate and resolve flagged issues, and view a full audit log of all administrative actions. Admins are bound by all applicable data-protection legislation (including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018) when accessing resident data.

All actions performed by an Admin are logged in the adminLogs collection with a complete audit trail. Misuse of administrative privileges may result in immediate revocation of access.

Push Notifications

FlatBuddy uses the Expo Push Notification Service to deliver notifications. By granting notification permissions, you consent to receiving the following types of alerts: daily chore reminders (9:00 AM), overdue chore alerts (9:00 AM), tomorrow's chore preview (8:00 PM), and real-time triggers for new expenses, FlatBoard posts, vacate/return events, issue reports, and shared product assignments.

A "Send Reminder" feature allows any flat member to send a push notification to all flatmates, rate-limited to once per day to prevent misuse.

You may disable push notifications at any time through your device's system settings. Disabling notifications may reduce the effectiveness of time-sensitive features.

Data Collection & Privacy

FlatBuddy collects and stores the following personal data: your name, email address, profile picture, room number, Expo push notification token, and your flat membership. This data is stored in Google Cloud Firestore as part of the Firebase platform.

Flat-related data — including chore records, expense details, shared product information, FlatBoard posts, and issue reports — is stored within Firestore collections indexed by your Flat's unique 6-digit code. This data is accessible to all members of your Flat and, where applicable, to any Admin assigned to manage your Flat.

FlatBuddy may utilise the Google Cloud Vision API for receipt text extraction and the Google Gemini API for fairness analysis features. Data processed through these services is subject to Google's applicable terms of service and privacy policies.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third-party advertisers. Data processing is carried out in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

You have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us at the email address listed in Section 17. Deleting your account will remove your authentication record and all associated Firestore documents.

Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in the Service — including but not limited to the App's source code, design, animations, branding, and documentation — are owned by the FlatBuddy development team. These rights are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

You retain ownership of any original content you post through the Service. However, by posting content, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display that content within the Service for the purpose of providing the features you use.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to your use of the Service. This includes, but is not limited to, damages for loss of data, loss of goodwill, or interpersonal disputes between flatmates.

FlatBuddy is a coordination tool and does not mediate, arbitrate, or resolve disputes between users. The fairness engine and chore redistribution algorithms are designed to promote equitable task distribution but do not guarantee the elimination of all interpersonal friction.

Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising from the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid to use the Service (if any) in the twelve months preceding the claim.

Disclaimers

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

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from security vulnerabilities. As the backend relies on Firebase's serverless infrastructure, service availability is subject to Google Cloud Platform's uptime and performance.

The offline card-based games (Drinking Game, Deep Questions, Would You Rather, Dares & Challenges, and Icebreakers) are provided for entertainment purposes only. We accept no responsibility for any consequences arising from their use.

Termination

You may terminate your account at any time by using the "Delete Account" option in the App's Settings screen. This will permanently remove your Firebase Authentication record and all associated Firestore data.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account, or restrict your access to the Service, at any time and without prior notice, if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms & Conditions or have engaged in conduct that is harmful to other users or the integrity of the Service.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Sections 11, 12, 13, and 16 shall survive termination.

Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to update or modify these Terms & Conditions at any time. Material changes will be communicated through the App via a push notification or an in-app notice. The "Effective Date" at the top of this document will be updated to reflect the date of the most recent revision.

Your continued use of the Service after any modifications constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not agree with the revised terms, you must discontinue use of the Service and delete your account.

Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from or in connection with these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding these Terms & Conditions or the processing of your personal data, please contact us at: