Terms & Safety Notice

1. Who we are

SafeEar (“SafeEar”, “we”, “us”) is operated by Harshit Pathak, carrying on business under the name “SafeEar” from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Contact: support@safeear.life. If SafeEar is later run by a company or LLP, these Terms and your account transfer to it, and we will tell you when that happens.

2. What SafeEar is, and is not

SafeEar is a platform where adults can talk with independent human listeners, join small online support circles, and use optional AI and self-help tools (such as journaling, Mind Comb, meditation, breathing and mood check-ins). It offers a space to talk and be heard, and tools for personal reflection. That is all it offers.

SafeEar is not psychotherapy, counselling, psychiatry, psychology, medical care, diagnosis, treatment, prescription, legal advice, financial advice or crisis intervention. SafeEar is not a mental health establishment or a health-care provider, and nobody on SafeEar acts as your doctor, therapist or counsellor, even if they hold a qualification in a related field. Nothing on SafeEar is a substitute for professional care, and you should not delay or stop seeking professional help because of anything on SafeEar.

SafeEar does not promise any result: emotional, mental, physical, relationship, career, financial or otherwise.

3. Emergencies and serious risk

SafeEar does not monitor conversations, circles or writing in real time, is not staffed to respond to emergencies, and may not know who you are or where you are. Listeners, hosts and staff cannot guarantee that they will notice a risk, contact anyone, or send help. Never rely on SafeEar in an emergency.

You agree that, where we or a listener reasonably believe there is a serious and imminent risk to someone’s life or safety, we may (but are not obliged to) share limited information with emergency services, the police or a person who can help, and may end or pause a conversation. Doing so, or not doing so, does not make SafeEar responsible for the outcome.

4. Eligibility and your account

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract under Indian law. SafeEar is not for anyone under 18; if we believe an account belongs to a minor, we will close it. You must give accurate information, keep one account only, keep your sign-in details and devices secure, and tell us at once if you think your account has been misused. You are responsible for everything done through your account.

5. Your choices are yours

You use SafeEar voluntarily and at your own risk. You remain fully responsible for your own wellbeing, decisions, actions and safety before, during and after using SafeEar. Anything a listener, host, other participant or AI feature says is a personal view or an automated suggestion for you to consider, never an instruction, advice, diagnosis or guarantee. You decide what, if anything, to do with it, and you agree that SafeEar and its listeners are not responsible for what you choose to do.

6. Listeners are independent

Listeners are independent individuals who offer attentive, non-judgmental conversation through SafeEar under our Listener Agreement. They are not SafeEar’s employees, agents, partners or representatives, and they are not doctors, therapists, counsellors or emergency responders on SafeEar. What a listener says is their own, not SafeEar’s, and SafeEar does not supervise conversations as they happen.

“Reviewed”, “verified” or “approved” means only that a listener passed the specific checks described for that label at the time. It is not a guarantee of their identity in every respect, their skill, conduct, suitability or the result of any conversation. Choose a listener you are comfortable with, end any conversation at any time, and report anything that worries you; our team reads every report.

To the fullest extent the law allows, SafeEar is not liable for the words, acts or omissions of any listener, host or other user.

7. Stay on SafeEar

Every conversation, booking and payment must stay on SafeEar. You must not ask for, offer or share phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts, messaging IDs, home or work addresses or other contact details with a listener, host or other participant; must not arrange to talk, meet or pay outside SafeEar; and must not try to find or contact a listener or participant outside SafeEar. Listeners agree to the same rule.

Anything that happens outside SafeEar is outside our service and entirely at your own risk. SafeEar has no control over, and accepts no responsibility or liability for, any contact, communication, meeting, payment, relationship or other dealing between users and listeners (or between users) that happens off the platform, however it started. If anyone asks you to move off SafeEar, please refuse and report it. Breaking this rule may lead to immediate suspension or closure of your account without refund of any amount spent in breach.

8. Support circles

Support circles are small online groups, facilitated by a host, that take place on a third-party video service (currently Google Meet) under that service’s own terms. A host guides the conversation; a host is not a therapist and does not provide group therapy.

In a circle you will hear, and be heard by, other participants whom SafeEar does not control. You agree to keep what others share confidential, not to record, photograph, screenshot or share any part of a circle, not to collect other participants’ details, and to be respectful. SafeEar cannot guarantee that other participants will keep what you say confidential, so share only what you are comfortable with. SafeEar is not liable for what other participants say, do, record or disclose. A host or SafeEar may remove anyone from a circle at any time, without a refund where the removal is for breaking these Terms.

9. AI features

SafeEar’s AI features include the AI companion, Comb AI in Mind Comb (filing, patterns, plans and answers), journal reflections and pattern readings, tarot reflections and the “Can I help you?” help guide. They are automated systems, always labelled as AI, and are not people, professionals or emergency services. AI output can be wrong, incomplete, inappropriate or out of date. You must judge every response yourself and must not rely on AI for medical, mental-health, legal, financial, pregnancy, safety-critical or emergency decisions.

Patterns, summaries and suggestions produced by AI describe what you wrote; they are not assessments, diagnoses or predictions about you. AI tarot is for reflection and entertainment and does not predict the future. AI features may decline some requests. SafeEar does not automatically screen every AI conversation for distress, and does not promise that any risk will be detected.

10. Self-help tools

Journaling, Mind Comb, meditation, breathing, mood check-ins, “Help me say it” and similar tools are general wellbeing and reflection aids, not treatment. Meditation and breathing exercises are gentle, but stop at once if you feel dizzy, faint, short of breath or unwell, never use them while driving or operating machinery, and speak to a doctor first if you are pregnant, have a heart, lung, seizure or other medical condition, or have been advised to avoid such exercises.

What you write in these tools is yours and is kept private as described in our Privacy Notice. You are responsible for what you write, including anything about other people. We take reasonable care to keep your writing safe, but please keep your own copy of anything you cannot afford to lose; to the extent the law allows, SafeEar is not liable for loss of content caused by events outside our reasonable control or by deletions you make or ask for.

11. Acceptable use

You must not use SafeEar to host, share or send anything that: belongs to someone else and you have no right to; is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another’s privacy (including bodily privacy), insulting or harassing on the basis of gender, racially or ethnically objectionable, or encourages money laundering or gambling; is harmful to children; infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary right; deceives or misleads about where it came from, or knowingly spreads false or misleading information; impersonates another person; threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, incites any offence, or insults another nation; contains viruses or other harmful code; or breaks any law.

You also must not: threaten, abuse, harass, stalk, exploit, groom, sexually approach or discriminate against anyone; record, screenshot or publish any conversation or circle; dox anyone; ask a listener for romantic, sexual or financial involvement; solicit listeners or users for other services; use SafeEar to plan or encourage self-harm, violence, abuse or crime; create more than one account, share an account, or misuse trials, offers, gifts or refunds; scrape, reverse-engineer, overload or try to break into SafeEar; or use SafeEar for any commercial purpose without our written permission.

We may remove content, end conversations, suspend or close accounts, keep evidence and report conduct to the authorities where the law requires or where we reasonably think it necessary for safety.

12. Payments, wallet, gifts, packs and passes

Prices. Prices, included time and what each purchase covers are shown before you pay, in Indian rupees and inclusive of applicable taxes unless stated otherwise. We may change prices for future purchases at any time; a change never affects something you have already bought. Payments are processed by our payment partner; SafeEar never sees your full card or bank details.

Wallet. Money added to your SafeEar wallet is prepaid credit that can be used only for SafeEar’s own services. It is not a bank account or deposit, earns no interest, cannot be transferred to another person (except by buying a gift through SafeEar) and cannot be withdrawn as cash, except where a refund is due under these Terms or the law requires it.

Sessions and timers. A human text conversation’s timer starts with the listener’s first reply; an AI conversation’s with the AI’s first reply; a call is timed while it is connected. Once started, time continues even if you disconnect or go quiet, and does not pause. Extra time is charged only if you choose to continue, at the rate shown. AI chat and AI call packs work differently: only the time you spend chatting with, or on a call with, an AI companion is taken from the pack; ending the chat or call stops the clock, and unused minutes carry forward to your next chat or call until the pack expires. Introductory offers (such as free minutes or a first-call price) are once per person, not once per device or account.

Gifts. A gift is a purchase of SafeEar sessions for another adult. You must have that person’s permission to give us their name and email address. A gift can be claimed only by an account with the email it was sent to. An unclaimed gift is returned to your wallet after it expires. Offer prices on gifts (such as ₹99 gifts) are limited as shown on the gift page and may be withdrawn for misuse.

Packs and passes. Session packs, AI chat and AI call packs, gifted sessions and passes (such as the Journal, Meditation and Comb passes) last for the period shown and expire at the end of it; unused sessions, minutes or days are not refunded after expiry. Passes do not renew automatically.

Refunds. If a listener declines your request, or a verified fault on SafeEar’s side stops a paid session before it begins, you will receive the refund or credit shown at checkout. Otherwise, completed, started or expired sessions, circles, packs and passes are not refundable, except where the law requires a refund. Please raise payment problems with us first at support@safeear.life; raising a chargeback without contacting us may lead to the account being paused while it is resolved.

13. Your content and our platform

You keep ownership of what you write and say. You give SafeEar a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, process, display back to you and transmit your content only as needed to provide, secure and improve SafeEar as described in our Privacy Notice, and to comply with the law. SafeEar’s name, logo, design, software, text, audio and other materials belong to SafeEar or its licensors; you may use them only to use SafeEar personally. If you send us feedback or ideas, we may use them without any obligation to you.

Calls are never recorded. SafeEar never records the audio of calls, and listeners, hosts and users all agree not to record, screenshot or share any conversation. Text chats are stored so you can read them back, as our Privacy Notice explains, and SafeEar staff do not read them. If you think someone has recorded you, please report it.

14. Third-party services

SafeEar relies on other companies, including for payments, voice calls, video meetings, email, SMS, AI processing, sign-in and hosting, and may link to other websites and helplines. Those services have their own terms and privacy policies, and SafeEar is not responsible for their availability, content, conduct or failures. Helpline numbers are provided for convenience; SafeEar does not run them.

15. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, SafeEar is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including as to fitness for a particular purpose, availability, accuracy, reliability, security or the result of using it. We do not warrant that a listener or circle will be available when you want one, that any listener, host, participant or AI will be suitable for you, that the service will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that any harmful statement or act will be detected or prevented. Rights you have under law that cannot be excluded are not affected.

16. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law: (a) SafeEar, its operator and its team will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive loss, or for loss of profit, income, data, goodwill or opportunity; (b) SafeEar will not be liable for any loss or harm arising from your decisions or actions, from anything said or done by a listener, host, other user or AI feature, from any contact or dealing outside SafeEar, or from events outside our reasonable control; and (c) SafeEar’s total liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to SafeEar or these Terms is limited to the total amount you paid to SafeEar in the three months before the event that gave rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including for fraud or wilful misconduct, or any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 that cannot be waived.

17. Your indemnity

You agree to compensate and hold harmless SafeEar, its operator, team and listeners against any claim, loss, liability, penalty, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) brought by anyone else or suffered by us that arises from your breach of these Terms or the law, your content, your misuse of SafeEar, your contact or dealings with anyone outside SafeEar, or your infringement of anyone’s rights.

18. Intermediary status

For conversations, circles and other content exchanged between users and listeners, SafeEar acts as an intermediary under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. SafeEar does not start those communications, choose who receives them, or select or change what is said. We act on lawful orders and valid complaints as those Rules require, and we remind users of these Terms at least once a year.

19. Suspension and closure

We may suspend, limit or close your account, with or without notice, for a breach of these Terms, unlawful conduct, a safety risk, suspected fraud or payment abuse, or to protect listeners, users or the platform. If we close your account without any fault on your part, we will refund your unused wallet balance. You may stop using SafeEar and ask us to close your account at any time. Sections that by their nature should survive closure (including 5, 7, 13 to 18 and 20) continue to apply.

20. Disputes and governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. If you have a complaint, please first write to our Grievance Officer (section 21) and give us 30 days to try to resolve it. If it is not resolved, any dispute arising out of or relating to SafeEar or these Terms will be referred to final arbitration by a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement, or failing agreement under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The seat and venue of arbitration is Mumbai, the language is English, and it may be held online. Disputes are resolved individually, not as part of a class or group, to the extent the law allows. Subject to this, the courts at Mumbai, Maharashtra have exclusive jurisdiction.

Nothing in this section stops you from approaching a consumer commission or other forum that the law makes available to you.

21. Grievance Officer

Grievance Officer: Harshit Pathak, SafeEar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Email: support@safeear.life. You can also use our support page. We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days, or sooner where the law requires (for example, requests to remove content that exposes someone’s private body or impersonates them are acted on within 24 hours).

22. General

Changes. We may update these Terms. The version and date at the top show the current Terms. We will tell you about material changes in the app or by email before they apply to you; if you keep using SafeEar after that, you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree, stop using SafeEar and ask us to close your account.

Other. These Terms, the Privacy Notice and anything they refer to are the whole agreement between you and SafeEar about SafeEar. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in force and that part is applied as far as the law allows. Our not enforcing a term is not a waiver. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms; we may transfer ours to a successor operating SafeEar. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as network or power failures, outages of our providers, natural events or government action. If these Terms are translated, the English version prevails.