These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Pondara platform ("Service"), provided by Digital Tools Company Limited ("we," "us," or "our"), a company incorporated in Hong Kong with its registered office at Unit 701, Level 7, Core B, Cyberport 3, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong. By accessing or using the Service, you ("you" or "User") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization. The Service is available to both organizations (B2B users) and individual prosumers (professional consumers using the Service for personal or freelance professional purposes).
Pondara is currently in beta/MVP phase and is provided for testing purposes. We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time, and we will notify you of material changes via email or through the Service. Your continued use after such changes constitutes acceptance.
1. Eligibility and Account Registration
- Age Requirement: You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. The Service is not intended for children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. If we discover an underage user, we will terminate the account and delete associated data.
- Account Creation: To use the Service, you must create an account by providing accurate information, including your name, email address, and (for organizations) organization details. Individual prosumers may register without organizational affiliation. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account credentials.
- Account Security: You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized access. We are not liable for losses due to unauthorized use if you fail to secure your account.
- Multiple Organizations: Users may belong to multiple organizations, but data is isolated between them. Individual prosumers operate as single-user entities.
- Roles: Accounts may have roles such as Owner, Admin, Member, or Guest, each with varying permissions (e.g., Guests have view-only access). For individual prosumers, you act as your own Owner with full control over your data.
2. Service Description and Beta Status
Pondara is a SaaS platform for project management, team collaboration, client management, and time tracking. Features include task tracking, chat/messaging, file attachments, and multi-tenant organization support. It is designed for use by organizations and individual prosumers.
- Beta Disclaimers: The Service is in beta and provided "AS IS" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
- We do not guarantee uptime, availability, or error-free operation. Downtime, data loss, or corruption may occur.
- Features may be added, removed, or modified without notice, potentially causing breaking changes or compatibility issues.
- Support is limited during beta; we may not respond to all inquiries.
- The Service is for testing and feedback purposes only. Do not rely on it for critical business operations.
- Modifications: We may update or discontinue the Service at any time without liability.
3. Acceptable Use Policy
You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in compliance with these Terms. Prohibited activities include:
- Engaging in illegal, fraudulent, or harmful conduct.
- Harassing, abusing, or threatening others.
- Uploading viruses, malware, or content that infringes third-party rights.
- Interfering with the Service's security or performance (e.g., hacking, DDoS attacks).
- Scraping, automated data collection, or reverse engineering.
- Sharing confidential information without authorization.
- Using the Service for spam, unsolicited marketing, or pyramid schemes.
We may monitor usage and suspend or terminate accounts for violations without notice.
4. User Content and Intellectual Property
- User Content: You retain ownership of content you upload (e.g., tasks, messages, files, client records). By uploading, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, process, display, and store your content solely to provide and improve the Service.
- Our IP: We own all rights to the Service, including code, design, trademarks (e.g., Pondara™), and infrastructure. You may not copy, modify, or distribute any part of the Service without our written consent.
- Feedback: Any suggestions or feedback you provide becomes our property, and we may use it without compensation.
- Infringement: You are responsible for ensuring your content does not infringe IP rights. We may remove infringing content without liability.
5. Payment and Billing
- Subscription Tiers: Currently in beta; pricing is TBD. We intend to offer an Individual Plan for prosumers and a Team/Organization Plan (both currently disabled - "Available After Beta"). We may offer free trials or discounted beta pricing.
- Billing: If applicable, billing is monthly or annual via Stripe. You authorize automatic charges to your payment method.
- Renewal and Cancellation: Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled. Cancel anytime; no refunds for partial periods.
- Price Changes: We may adjust prices with 30 days' notice.
- Post-Subscription: Upon cancellation or non-payment, access ends, and data may be deleted after 30 days (subject to legal holds).
- No Refunds: No refunds during beta, except as required by law.
We do not store credit card details; Stripe handles payments securely.
6. Data Ownership and Management
- Data Roles: For our operational data (e.g., account info, billing), we act as Data Controller. For User Content (e.g., tasks, files), we act as Data Processor on behalf of organizations (who are Data Controllers) or individual prosumers (who act as their own Data Controllers).
- When Users Leave: For organizations, data remains with the organization. Owners can manage or delete it. For prosumers, you retain full control.
- Organization Dissolution: Upon dissolution, data is retained for 30 days before deletion, unless exported. Not applicable to individual prosumers.
- Export and Deletion: You may export or delete your data. We retain backups as required by law.
See our Privacy Policy for details on data handling.
7. Third-Party Services
The Service integrates with third parties like Microsoft Azure (hosting), Stripe (payments), and SendGrid (emails). These providers may process your data under their terms. We are not responsible for their practices.
8. Termination
- By You: Delete your account anytime.
- By Us: We may suspend or terminate for violations, non-payment, or any reason with notice (or without for serious breaches).
- Effects: Upon termination, access ends, and data may be deleted after 30 days. Provisions like IP rights, liability limits, and arbitration survive.
9. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:
- We are not liable for indirect, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages, including lost profits, data loss, or business interruption, even if advised of the possibility.
- Our total liability is capped at the fees paid by you in the 12 months preceding the claim (or HKD 1,000 if no fees paid).
- No liability for beta-related issues like data loss or downtime.
These limitations apply regardless of theory (contract, tort, etc.) and are essential to providing the Service at its price.
10. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims arising from your use of the Service, your content, or violations of these Terms, including reasonable attorneys' fees.
11. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, without regard to conflict of laws principles.
All disputes arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved exclusively through binding arbitration at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) under its rules. The arbitration clause is separable and governed by Hong Kong law. No class actions; disputes are individual only.
12. Miscellaneous
- Entire Agreement: These Terms (with Privacy Policy) constitute the full agreement.
- Severability: Invalid provisions are severed; the rest remain.
- Waiver: No waiver unless in writing.
- Force Majeure: No liability for events beyond control (e.g., natural disasters).
- Contact: For questions, email enquiries@jfuconsultants.com.
By using the Service, you acknowledge reading and agreeing to these Terms.