Terms of Use

1. Acceptance

By creating an account or using Citizen Connect, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

2. Purpose of the service

Citizen Connect helps people report and track civic issues, find public information, communicate with relevant representatives or community participants, and access civic-learning and community features. Citizen Connect is an independent platform, not a government application, and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or authorised to represent any government or political entity. It is not an emergency-response service and does not guarantee that a government body will accept, act on or resolve a submission.

3. Accounts

You must provide accurate information, safeguard your device and OTP, and notify us of suspected unauthorised access. You are responsible for activity performed through your account. You may not impersonate another person or create accounts to evade restrictions.

4. Acceptable use

You must not:

• Submit knowingly false, misleading, unlawful, threatening, hateful or discriminatory content.
• Publish another person’s government identifiers, OTPs, financial information or private contact details without authority.
• Harass, threaten, bully, exploit or impersonate users, representatives, staff or volunteers.
• Upload sexual, exploitative, abusive or otherwise objectionable material, including any content that endangers a child.
• Upload malware or attempt to bypass authentication, access controls, rate limits or security measures.
• Scrape, reverse engineer, disrupt or misuse the service except where applicable law expressly permits it.
• Use Citizen Connect for spam, unauthorised advertising or illegal activity.

5. User content and moderation

You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant Citizen Connect a limited, non-exclusive licence to host, process, reproduce and display that content only as needed to operate, secure and improve the service and route civic matters. You confirm that you have the right to submit the content.

We may review reports, restrict visibility, remove content, limit communication or suspend accounts where content or behaviour violates these Terms, exposes sensitive information, creates a safety risk or is unlawful. Users should use available in-app reporting controls to report objectionable content or behaviour, or contact support@citizenconnect.org.in. Civic records may be shared with relevant operational teams as described in the Privacy Policy.

6. Child Safety and CSAE Standards

Citizen Connect has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Although Citizen Connect is intended for adults aged 18 and over, these standards apply to every user, interaction and item of content on the service.

Users must not create, upload, request, store, share, distribute, promote or facilitate CSAM or any content or conduct that sexually exploits, abuses or endangers a child. Prohibited conduct includes grooming, sextortion, trafficking of a child for sexual purposes, sexual solicitation involving a child, and attempts to arrange or encourage such conduct.

Users can report child-safety concerns, users, conversations or user-generated content through the reporting controls available within Citizen Connect. Reports may also be sent to our designated child-safety contact at support@citizenconnect.org.in. If a child is in immediate danger, contact local law enforcement or the appropriate emergency service without delay.

We review child-safety reports and take appropriate action when we obtain actual knowledge of prohibited material or conduct. Actions may include restricting visibility, removing content, disabling communications, suspending or terminating accounts, preserving relevant information where legally required, and cooperating with lawful investigations.

Citizen Connect complies with applicable child-safety laws. Confirmed CSAM will be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or the relevant regional or national authority, as applicable and required by law.

7. Third-party and government services

The app may present information obtained from official government sources and may link to government websites, maps, external communication services or other third-party resources. Citizen Connect does not issue government documents, make eligibility decisions or guarantee government-service outcomes. Government and third-party services are controlled by their respective providers. Source links are provided where available so users can verify current information directly with the responsible authority.

8. Permissions and safety

Use camera, microphone, location and SOS features responsibly. Do not operate the app in a manner that creates danger, violates another person’s privacy or breaches local law. Location and SOS information may not always be precise or delivered immediately.

9. Account suspension and deletion

We may limit or suspend access where reasonably necessary to protect users, investigate misuse or comply with law. You may permanently delete your account in the app or through the account-deletion page. Deletion is governed by our Privacy Policy.

10. Service availability and disclaimers

The service is provided on an “as available” basis. To the extent permitted by law, we do not promise uninterrupted availability, error-free operation, a particular civic outcome, or the accuracy of information supplied by users, government sources or third parties. Nothing in these Terms excludes rights that cannot legally be excluded.

11. Liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Citizen Connect is not liable for indirect or consequential loss arising from use of the service, reliance on third-party information, device or network failure, or actions of government bodies or other users. Our responsibility remains subject to mandatory consumer-protection law.

12. Changes

We may update these Terms as the service develops. Material changes will be communicated where required. Continued use after the effective date means the updated Terms apply.

13. Governing law and contact

These Terms are governed by applicable laws of India. Courts with lawful jurisdiction in India may hear disputes, subject to mandatory consumer rights. Questions may be sent to support@citizenconnect.org.in.