Grounded Connections is operated by Grounded In Freedom Ltd, trading as Grounded Connections, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 15383641  (“Grounded Connections”, “we”, “us”, “our”).

You can contact us at: hello@groundedconnections.co.uk.

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) apply to your use of the Grounded Connections mobile application, website and related services (together, the “App” or “Services”).

By creating an account, accessing or using the App, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the App.

Grounded Connections is a platform that helps outdoorsy women connect with each other for real-life meet-ups and activities. We provide tools including:

Profile creation and matching;

Mapping and geocoding to identify approximate locations and midpoints;

Group formation and suggested meet-up locations, dates and activities; and

Group chat functionality.

Grounded Connections does not:

Organise, lead, guide, supervise or insure any meet-ups or activities;

Provide outdoor instruction, navigation or risk assessment;

Verify the identity, background, character, criminal history, skills, fitness or intentions of any user; or

Guarantee that any meet-up will take place or that any connection will lead to friendship or any other outcome.

Any in-person meet-up or activity is arranged solely between users, at their own risk.

To create an account and use the App, you must:

Be at least 18 years old and not older than 100;

Identify as a woman;

Have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract in your country of residence; and

Not be prohibited from using the Services under any applicable law.

By creating an account, you confirm that you meet these requirements. Grounded Connections does not independently verify your age, identity or gender and relies on self-certification.

We may close or suspend any account where we reasonably believe these requirements are not met.

You are responsible for:

Keeping your login details (such as verification codes) secure;

All activity that occurs under your account; and

Ensuring your account information is accurate and kept up to date.

You must notify us promptly at hello@groundedconnections.co.uk if you suspect any unauthorised use of your account.

You must not share your account with other people or create accounts on behalf of anyone else.

Grounded Connections provides an interface for you to discover and connect with other users. We do not:

Conduct criminal background checks or identity verification checks;

Check official registers or criminal records; or

Guarantee that information provided by users is accurate, complete or up to date.

You are solely responsible for deciding whether, when and how to interact with other users, both online and offline. You should exercise the same caution and common sense that you would when meeting any stranger.

Outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, running, swimming, camping and similar pursuits carry inherent risks, including but not limited to:

Slips, trips, falls, injuries and illness;

Exposure to cold, heat, weather and environmental hazards;

Getting lost or disoriented;

Accidents during travel to and from meet-ups; and

In rare cases, serious injury or death.

By using Grounded Connections, you acknowledge and accept these risks.

You are solely responsible for:

Choosing activities and locations that are within your own skills, experience and physical limits;

Checking weather, daylight hours, route conditions and access;

Carrying suitable clothing, footwear, food, water, navigation tools and other equipment;

Telling a trusted contact where you are going, who you are meeting and your expected return time;

Meeting at public places or well-used outdoor locations, especially when meeting for the first time;

Turning back or cancelling if conditions are unsafe or if you feel unwell or uncomfortable; and

Leaving any situation where you feel unsafe, pressured or unsure.

Any meet-up locations, suggested dates and suggested activities generated by Grounded Connections are provided for guidance only and are not safety advice or professional route planning. It is up to each group to agree the exact time, location and nature of any meet-up.

Grounded Connections is not responsible for planning, supervising, leading or monitoring any meet-up or activity.

When you participate in the Service, we may match you in small groups (usually 3–5 people) based on your profile details such as location, travel radius, “feral score”, interests, activities, intentions, age and other factors.

When you are connected in a group, the other members may be able to see:

Your first name;

Your profile photo;

Your age or age range;

Your short and long bios;

Your feral score;

Your selected activities, interests and intentions; and

Any messages, photos or other content you choose to send in the group chat.

Do not share information in your profile or group chats that you do not wish other group members to see or potentially store.

We do not guarantee that you will receive any particular number of matches, that matches will occur at a particular frequency, that any meet-ups will take place, or that you will form any friendship or connection.

You are responsible for all information, photos, text, messages and other content (“User Content”) you provide or share using the Services.

You agree that you will not:

Upload, use or share nude, sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate images as your profile photo or in group chats;

Share violent, hateful, discriminatory, harassing, threatening, bullying, doxxing or otherwise abusive content;

Share content that is illegal, defamatory, fraudulent or infringes the rights of any person;

Use the Services to promote commercial services, spam, scams or multi-level marketing schemes;

Misrepresent your identity, age, gender or intentions; or

Use the Services in any way that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the App.

We may, at our sole discretion and without prior notice, remove any User Content and suspend or terminate your account where we reasonably believe that you have breached these Terms, our Safety & Community Guidelines or applicable law.

For serious breaches (including threats, harassment or criminal behaviour), we may also report your account and any related information to law enforcement or other competent authorities where appropriate.

By submitting User Content, you grant Grounded Connections a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, store, copy, adapt, publish, translate and display that content solely for the purpose of operating, providing and improving the Services.

You agree that you are solely responsible for all content, messages, and other materials ("User Content") that you upload, post, or otherwise transmit via our service.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for objectionable content and abusive users. You agree not to use the service to post any unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable content, or content that violates any third party's rights. Prohibited content and behavior include, but are not limited to:

- Illegal activities: Promoting or engaging in any illegal acts.

- Harassment and abuse: Engaging in harassment, bullying, verbal abuse, threats, or any form of intimidating behavior towards other users or staff.

- Hate speech: Content that promotes discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.

- Sexually explicit material: Posting, promoting, or transmitting sexually explicit or obscene content.

- Spam and unsolicited messages: Distributing spam, phishing emails, or other unsolicited communications.

- Intellectual property infringement: Posting content that infringes upon the copyrights, trademarks, or intellectual property rights of others.

- Impersonation: Impersonating any person or entity, or misrepresenting your affiliation with any person or entity.

If you encounter any objectionable content or abusive behavior, you must use the designated reporting mechanism within the application to flag it for our review.

Blocking another user will immediately prevent that user from viewing or interacting with you within the App.

We commit to reviewing all reports and acting on objectionable content and abusive user reports promptly, within 24 hours, by removing the content and/or ejecting the offending user from the platform.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and license to use the service at any time, without notice, if we determine, in our sole discretion, that you have violated any of the terms of this Agreement, particularly the User Conduct and Objectionable Content policies. In such an event, you are not entitled to any compensation, damages, or reimbursement.

To help keep Grounded Connections safe, respectful and appropriate, we use a combination of automated systems and human review.

This includes:

– Automated screening of profile photos, messages and bios to detect and remove inappropriate or objectionable content;

– In-app tools that allow users to report content or behaviour they believe violates these Terms or our Safety & Community Guidelines;

– In-app tools that allow users to block other users, which will immediately prevent further interaction between those users; and

– An internal moderation and review process through which reported content is reviewed and acted upon promptly.

Where content or behaviour is reported or automatically flagged, we aim to review and take appropriate action within 24 hours, which may include removing content, suspending or terminating accounts, or other enforcement measures in line with these Terms.

While we take reasonable steps to moderate the Services, we do not guarantee that all objectionable content will be identified or removed immediately, and users remain responsible for their own conduct and safety.

Our Safety & Community Guidelines explain, in practical terms:

How to use Grounded Connections safely;

Recommended steps for meeting other users in person; and

The type of conduct that is not acceptable.

These Guidelines form part of these Terms. By using the Services, you agree to read and follow them. The Guidelines are available at: https://www.groundedconnections.co.uk/community-guidelines 

In the event of any conflict between these Terms and the Guidelines, these Terms shall prevail.

Grounded Connections operates as a membership-based service.

Access to certain features (including being included in monthly matches and accessing full meet-up details) requires a paid subscription (“Membership”). Details of Membership options, prices and billing periods are shown at the point of purchase within the App or on our website.

Unless otherwise stated:

Memberships are billed in advance and auto-renew at the end of each billing period;

You can cancel your Membership at any time by accessing the billing portal: https://billing.stripe.com/p/login/bJeaEY4OX92I3Cl4Lsgw000 or contacting us over email: hello@groundedconnections.co.uk  , cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period; and

Fees are generally non-refundable, except where required by law or expressly stated otherwise in our refund policy.

If a payment fails or your Membership expires, we may suspend or restrict your access to Membership features until payment is successfully completed.

We may suspend or terminate your account, Membership and/or access to the Services immediately and without notice if:

You breach these Terms, the Safety & Community Guidelines or any applicable law;

We reasonably believe your use of the Services may cause harm to other users or to us;

We are required to do so by law, regulation or a competent authority; or

We withdraw or materially change the Services.

You may stop using the Services at any time and may request account deletion by contacting hello@groundedconnections.co.uk  or accessing the customer portal via the email you used to access the community: https://billing.stripe.com/p/login/bJeaEY4OX92I3Cl4Lsgw000 

On termination, your right to use the Services will cease, but certain provisions of these Terms (including liability, disclaimers, intellectual property and governing law) will continue to apply.

The App, Services and all content created by or for Grounded Connections (including logos, branding, text, graphics, design, software and other materials) are owned by or licensed to Grounded In Freedom Ltd and are protected by copyright, trade mark and other intellectual property laws.

You may use the App only for personal, non-commercial purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You must not copy, modify, distribute, sell, license, reverse engineer or otherwise exploit any part of the App or Services without our prior written consent.

The Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all warranties, representations and conditions, whether express or implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement.

Without limiting the foregoing, and to the fullest extent permitted by law:

Grounded Connections is not responsible for the actions, omissions or conduct of any user or third party, on or off the platform;

We are not responsible for any personal injury, emotional distress, property damage, loss, accident or incident that occurs before, during or after any meet-up or activity arranged through the Services;

We do not guarantee that the Services will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free, or that any defects will be corrected; and

We do not guarantee that you will meet a certain number or type of users, that any relationship will form, or that any outcome will result from using the Services.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, in no event shall Grounded In Freedom Ltd (trading as Grounded Connections), its directors, employees, contractors or agents be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with your use of (or inability to use) the Services, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence or for fraud.

We collect and use personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms. Our Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, our legal bases for processing, and your rights under data protection laws.

You can read our Privacy Policy at: https://www.groundedconnections.co.uk/privacy_policy 

We may update or change the Services from time to time, for example to improve functionality, add new features, address security issues or comply with legal requirements.

We may also update these Terms. If we make material changes, we will provide notice by updating the “Effective date” at the top of this page and, where appropriate, by sending you a notification via the App or email.

If you continue to use the Services after we publish updated Terms, you will be taken to have accepted the changes. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Services and may request account deletion.

These Terms, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or the Services, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

You and we agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction, except that if you are a consumer resident in another country in the UK or EU, you may have the right to bring proceedings in your local courts under applicable consumer protection laws.

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about these Terms or the Services, please contact us at:

Controller: Grounded In Freedom Ltd, trading as Grounded Connections

Email: hello@groundedconnections.co.uk

We will do our best to respond within a reasonable time.