Terms and Conditions

1. Acceptance & Eligibility

By accessing or using MileTale (the “Service” or “App”), you agree to these Terms. The Service is intended for users aged 16+. Under India’s DPDP Act, users under 18 are treated as children and require verifiable guardian consent to use certain features. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. What MileTale Is

MileTale is a virtual local guide for Odisha: discover curated places, prep with a Precaution Card (best time, etiquette, scams to avoid, facilities), go, unlock on arrival (GPS/QR), read a short story (optional audio), and redeem physical stickers at partner cafés within stated windows. Completing sets may unlock postcards. An optional “Ask the Place” feature answers practical/cultural questions from curated sources with guardrails.

We may add, change, or remove features at any time, including city coverage, partner lists, reward programs, and access methods (see Section 17).

3. Accounts & Verification

• Provide accurate, current information and update it when it changes.
• Keep credentials confidential; you are responsible for activity on your account.
• We may require email/phone verification and deny disposable domains.
• We may throttle rapid sign-ups and block abusive devices/IPs.

4. Cultural Respect & Community Rules

Use neutral, respectful language at sacred sites. Follow posted hours, dress codes, and on-site instructions. Do not endanger fragile environments or disclose sensitive locations that create risk.

• No hate, harassment, doxxing, or derogatory religious commentary.
• No unsafe directions or misinformation about rituals/hours.
• No photos of minors’ faces without verifiable guardian consent.
• No spam, commercial solicitations, or illegal activity.

5. Location, Safety & On-Ground Risks

• GPS accuracy varies by device, weather, buildings, and terrain.
• You’re responsible for personal safety and compliance with local rules.
• Some places have seasonal access limits or cultural restrictions.
• Emergency contacts and transport are your responsibility.

We provide Precaution Cards and cultural etiquette in good faith but cannot guarantee completeness or real-time accuracy. Always prioritize safety over in-app objectives.

6. Anti-Abuse Controls

To protect users, partners, and rewards, we run detection and throttling:

• GPS unlocks may require foreground, accuracy < 50m, motion windows, teleport detection, and mock-location flags.
• QR redemption uses one-time codes, cooldowns, and device-bound partner logins.
• We may compute account/device trust signals and add friction or limits.
• We may suspend or terminate accounts/devices for anomalies or fraud (see Section 12).

7. Rewards, Partners & Availability

• Digital badges have no monetary value and are non-transferable.
• Physical rewards are subject to participating partners, stock, windows, and SOPs.
• Partners are independent businesses; pricing or service at a partner venue is the partner’s responsibility. “No purchase required” applies to reward pickup unless explicitly stated otherwise in-app.
• We may change, pause, or end reward programs, windows, or quantities.

8. User-Generated Content (UGC)

You must own or have rights to any content you share. By submitting UGC, you grant MileTale a worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, and display your UGC in connection with the Service and our marketing. Where legally required, we will honor valid takedown requests.

We may remove or label UGC that violates these Terms or cultural sensitivity standards and may gray-out places pending review.

9. Intellectual Property

The Service and all content (stories, badges, software, graphics, copy, and brand assets) are owned by MileTale or its licensors and protected by law. Except as expressly allowed, you may not copy, modify, reverse engineer, or create derivative works from the Service or content without written permission.

10. Privacy & DPDP (India)

We collect only what’s needed to operate the Service (e.g., contact details, language preference, location for unlock/route, basic analytics). We do not sell personal data or run behavioral ads. See our Privacy Policy for data rights (access/correction/deletion within statutory timelines), consent records, retention (e.g., unlock proofs/logs ≤ 18 months; support tickets ≤ 24 months), and grievance process under India’s DPDP Act.

Location is processed for navigation/unlock and not stored continuously. We keep a hashed proof of unlock with coarse city for abuse defense and audits.

11. Payments & Premium Features

Core features may be free; premium features (if any) will be disclosed before purchase, may auto-renew, and are governed by applicable app-store policies. Price changes will be notified in advance where required by law or store policy.

12. Suspension & Termination

We may suspend or terminate access (including device-level restrictions) for violations, fraud, abuse, cultural harm, or risk to users/partners. You may stop using the Service and request account deletion at any time.

• Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases; progress and badges may be forfeited.
• Certain records may be retained to comply with law, defend claims, or detect abuse.
• Sections on IP, UGC license, limitations, indemnity, dispute resolution, and miscellaneous survive termination.

13. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and accuracy. Cultural information and safety notes are provided in good faith but may change without notice; verify locally when in doubt.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, MileTale and its affiliates will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or lost profits, data, or goodwill. Our aggregate liability is limited to the greater of (i) amounts you paid to MileTale in the 12 months before the claim or (ii) ₹8,000 (or US$100 equivalent), unless prohibited by law.

15. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless MileTale and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from claims arising from your use of the Service, UGC, legal violations, or negligent acts or omissions.

16. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Courts in Bhubaneswar, Odisha have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory consumer laws that apply to you.

Before litigation, the parties will attempt good-faith resolution within 30 days of written notice. Nothing prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive relief.

17. Changes to Service & Terms

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature (including rewards, partners, or coverage) and may update these Terms to reflect operational, legal, or security needs, or to improve user and cultural safety. Material changes will be notified in-app or via email where available and will become effective on the date stated in the notice. Where required by law, we will provide a reasonable notice period. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the changes.

If you do not agree to updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and may request account deletion. We may continue storing minimal records as required by law and for fraud prevention.

18. Security, Incidents & Force Majeure

• We use TLS in transit, encryption at rest, least-privilege access, and periodic reviews.
• In a data/security incident, we will assess, contain, and notify affected users/authorities as required by law.
• We are not liable for delays or failures due to events beyond our control (e.g., natural disasters, strikes, network outages, regulatory actions).

19. Beta & Experimental Features

From time to time we may release experimental or beta features. They are provided “as is,” may be subject to additional terms shown in-app, and may be withdrawn at any time.

20. Miscellaneous

• Entire Agreement: These Terms are the entire agreement between you and MileTale.
• No Waiver: Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
• Severability: If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
• Assignment: You may not assign without our consent; we may assign as part of restructuring, merger, or asset transfer.
• Third-Party Services: App-store terms and third-party links/services you use are their responsibility.
• Contact: legal@miletale.com · MileTale, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.