Terms of Service

1. Agreement to these terms

By creating an account or using Vignettz, you agree to these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. Vignettz is intended for people 18 and older; by using the app you confirm you meet that requirement. If you don't agree to these terms, don't use Vignettz.

2. Your account

You're responsible for the activity on your account and for keeping your login credentials secure. Provide accurate information when you sign up, and don't create an account on someone else's behalf or maintain more than one account to evade a suspension or ban.

3. Your content, and the license you give us

You keep ownership of the stories, audio, and other content you post. By posting, you grant Vignettz a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, and display that content within the app so other users can discover and listen to it. This license ends when you delete the content or your account, except where it was already shared with others or we're required to retain it (for example, to comply with law or resolve a dispute).

Vignettz doesn't verify the accuracy of user-submitted stories. Stories reflect the personal accounts and memories of the people who post them, not facts confirmed by Vignettz.

4. What you can and can't post

Vignettz exists for real, personal stories tied to real places — nostalgia, local lore, funny or chaotic memories, history, and the like. Looking back on something you did, even something questionable, and telling it as a story is generally fine. What's not okay is content that puts real people at risk, facilitates harm, or crosses clear legal lines.

Not allowed, ever — content that is:

• A threat. Any content that threatens violence or harm against a person, group, or place, even "jokingly," is removed immediately and results in a permanent ban. Credible threats may be reported to law enforcement.
• Sexualizing minors, in any form. Zero tolerance. This results in an immediate permanent ban, and we are legally required to report such content to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and cooperate with law enforcement.
• Instructional or facilitating active illegal activity — for example, directions for buying drugs today, not a story about doing it years ago.
• Harassing, doxxing, or exposing private information about a real, identifiable person without their consent (home address, workplace, contact info, etc.).
• Defamatory — false statements presented as fact about an identifiable real person that could damage their reputation.
• Hateful — attacking people based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or similar protected characteristics.
• Impersonating another person, or spam/commercial content unrelated to a story.

A note on stories that describe past crimes. Reminiscing about something in the past — "we used to sneak into this pool," "this is where I got caught shoplifting as a kid" — is the kind of nostalgic, human storytelling Vignettz is built for, and is generally permitted. It's a different situation if a story describes an ongoing danger to a specific person, a credible plan to harm someone, or victimizes an identifiable third party without their consent (for example, describing a sexual assault or exploiting a minor) — that content is removed and the account is banned, regardless of how it's framed as "just a story." When we have a good-faith belief that content indicates a genuine, serious risk to someone's safety, or where we're legally required to (as with content involving minors, above), we may report it to law enforcement or other appropriate authorities. We may also preserve and disclose account information and content in response to valid legal process, such as a subpoena or court order. Vignettz is not a confidential or anonymous space to document an ongoing crime.

5. Moderation and enforcement

Every story is reviewed before it goes live — nothing is published automatically. If a story doesn't meet these guidelines, it's rejected and you'll be notified; you can appeal that decision from within the app. Depending on the severity and pattern of a violation, we may warn you, remove specific content, temporarily suspend your account, or permanently ban it. Threats and content sexualizing minors result in an immediate permanent ban with no warning, as described above.

We reserve the right to remove any content or suspend or terminate any account, at our discretion, if we believe it violates these terms or otherwise poses a risk to Vignettz or its users.

6. Reporting content

If you come across content that concerns you, contact us using the details below so we can review it. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services first.

7. Showing up to real places

Vignettz encourages you to visit real-world locations to unlock certain stories. You're responsible for your own safety and judgment when doing so — Vignettz doesn't own, control, or vouch for the safety or accessibility of any location referenced in a story, and isn't responsible for what happens while you're there. Some locations may be private property; respect posted rules and trespassing laws.

8. Intellectual property

Don't post audio, music, or other content you don't have the rights to use. If you believe something on Vignettz infringes your copyright, contact us with the details and we'll investigate and remove infringing content where appropriate.

9. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

Vignettz is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind. We don't guarantee the app will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any story is accurate. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Vignettz isn't liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the app.

10. Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time from Settings. We may suspend or terminate your account for violating these terms, as described in section 5.

11. Changes to these terms

If we make material changes to these terms, we'll let you know in the app before they take effect.

12. Contact us

Questions about these terms, or need to report something? Reach us at support@vignettz.com.