Terms of Service

1. Who we are

Buddyhere is operated by Sergey, Ilia & Abdelrahman GbR, Luisenstraße 53, 10117 Berlin, Germany.

2. What Buddyhere is

Buddyhere is a platform that helps students connect through university-linked buddy and mentoring relationships. Users may join the platform in different roles, including Buddy and Mentee.

Buddyhere may also work with universities, international offices, and coordinators of buddy or mentoring programmes.

Buddyhere provides a platform for connection and communication. It does not guarantee a match, a response, a meeting, a successful relationship, or any particular outcome.

3. Who may use Buddyhere

You may use Buddyhere only if you are legally allowed to enter into this agreement under the law that applies to you.

If Buddyhere is offered through or linked to a university programme, you may also need to meet the requirements of that programme or institution.

If you are using Buddyhere on behalf of a university or organisation, you represent that you have authority to do so.

4. Your account

To use certain parts of Buddyhere, you may need to create an account.

You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering and when using your profile. You must keep your information reasonably up to date.

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for activity that takes place through your account, unless that activity results from our own failure to protect the platform properly.

You must not share your account with another person, impersonate someone else, or create an account using false or misleading information.

We may require email verification or other steps that are reasonably necessary to protect the platform or confirm account integrity.

5. Profiles, Buddy and Mentee roles

Buddyhere allows users to create profiles and participate in the platform as a Buddy, a Mentee, or in another role we may offer from time to time.

You are responsible for the information you place on your profile. Profile information must not be false, misleading, deceptive, discriminatory, or abusive.

If the platform is used in connection with a university-linked programme, certain profile information may need to reflect your actual university affiliation or programme status.

Where applicable, a Buddy may be reviewed or verified by a university or programme coordinator. That does not change your responsibility to act lawfully, honestly, and respectfully.

6. University-linked programmes

Some use of Buddyhere may take place in connection with a university, an international office, or a buddy or mentoring programme.

If you participate through such a programme, you may also be subject to that university's or programme's own rules, procedures, or codes of conduct.

Where necessary for programme administration, safety, verification, or complaints handling, Buddyhere may work with the relevant university coordinator or programme contact. How personal data is handled in these situations is explained in our Privacy Policy.

7. Acceptable use

You agree to use Buddyhere lawfully and in a way that respects other users and the purpose of the platform.

You must not:

• harass, bully, threaten, stalk, or intimidate another person;
• post or send hateful, discriminatory, or abusive content;
• engage in racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, or other degrading or exclusionary conduct;
• impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity, affiliation, or intentions;
• use Buddyhere for fraud, scams, or other deceptive activity;
• request money, financial access, documents, or sensitive personal information in a misleading or exploitative way;
• post spam, commercial promotions, or unrelated advertising;
• interfere with the security or operation of the platform;
• scrape, copy, reverse engineer, or misuse the platform except where applicable law does not allow us to restrict that activity;
• use Buddyhere in a way that violates these Terms, our Community Guidelines, our Safety guidance, or applicable law.

Our Community Guidelines and Safety page form an important part of how the platform is used. You are expected to follow them.

8. Messages, meetings, and off-platform contact

Buddyhere may allow users to communicate with one another through the platform.

You are responsible for what you send and how you behave when communicating with other users, whether on the platform or in connection with a relationship that began through the platform.

If you choose to meet another user in person, or continue contact outside the platform, you do so at your own discretion and risk. You should use common sense, respect boundaries, and follow the safety guidance provided on the site.

Buddyhere is not responsible for the conduct of users in off-platform interactions, except to the extent required by law. Nothing in these Terms removes a user's own legal responsibility for their conduct.

9. User content

You retain ownership of content you submit to Buddyhere, such as profile text, messages you send through the platform, and other material you upload or provide, to the extent that you own that content in the first place.

By submitting content to Buddyhere, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, display, and otherwise use that content as reasonably necessary to operate, provide, secure, moderate, and improve the platform.

This licence ends when the content is deleted from our active systems, except to the extent that we need to retain it for legal, safety, security, backup, or dispute-related reasons.

You are responsible for ensuring that you have the right to submit the content you provide and that it does not violate the rights of others.

10. Reporting and moderation

We may review reports, investigate suspected misuse, and take action where necessary to protect users, universities, coordinators, and the platform.

Depending on the situation, we may remove content, issue warnings, restrict features, suspend accounts, or permanently remove users from the platform.

We may also take action without prior notice where we reasonably believe it is necessary for safety, legal compliance, fraud prevention, or platform security.

If you believe a user has acted unlawfully, abusively, or in serious breach of these Terms, you should report it to help@buddyhere.de. If the issue relates to a university-linked programme, you should also contact the relevant university coordinator or programme contact.

11. Account suspension and termination

You may stop using Buddyhere at any time.

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access if:

• you breach these Terms;
• you breach our Community Guidelines or Safety rules;
• we reasonably believe your use creates risk for other users, a university programme, or the platform;
• we are required to do so by law;
• or we decide to discontinue the service or a part of it.

Where appropriate, we may give notice or an opportunity to correct the issue. In more serious cases, including threats, harassment, fraud, or safety risks, we may act immediately.

Termination does not affect any rights or obligations that arose before termination.

12. Platform changes and availability

We may change, update, suspend, or discontinue Buddyhere, or any part of it, from time to time.

We do not promise that the platform will always be available, uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.

We may perform maintenance, apply updates, or make changes to features, design, or functionality without prior notice where that is reasonably necessary.

13. Intellectual property

Buddyhere, including its name, branding, design, software, and platform content created by us, is protected by intellectual property rights.

Except as allowed by law or expressly permitted by us in writing, you may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, license, or exploit any part of Buddyhere for commercial purposes.

This section does not claim ownership over content that belongs to users or third parties.

14. Third-party services and links

Buddyhere may contain links to third-party services, university pages, or external websites.

We do not control those third-party services and are not responsible for their content, availability, or policies.

Your use of third-party services is governed by the terms and policies of those third parties.

15. No professional advice

Buddyhere is a peer-support platform. It is not a legal service, immigration advisory service, medical service, mental health service, emergency service, or university authority.

Content and communication on the platform are provided by users or for general informational purposes. They should not be treated as professional advice.

If you need legal, medical, mental health, emergency, or official university support, contact the appropriate qualified service or authority.

16. Warranties and disclaimers

Buddyhere is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

We do not guarantee that:

• the platform will always be available or free from errors;
• any user is who they claim to be, except where specific verification steps are expressly stated;
• any match, introduction, or message will lead to a useful or safe outcome;
• or any information shared by users is accurate, complete, or suitable for your situation.

Nothing in this section limits rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

17. Liability

We are liable in accordance with applicable law.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for intent, gross negligence, injury to life, body, or health, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Subject to that, and to the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or purely economic losses arising from your use of Buddyhere.

We are also not liable for disputes, losses, or harm arising primarily from interactions between users, except where we are legally responsible for our own conduct.

18. Privacy, cookies, and related policies

Our Privacy Policy explains how we process personal data.

Our Cookie Policy explains how we use cookies and similar technologies and how consent choices work.

Our Community Guidelines and Safety page explain the standards and safety expectations that apply when using Buddyhere.

These documents are separate from these Terms but are important to how the platform operates.

19. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time.

If we make material changes, we will post the updated version on this page and update the "Last updated" date. Where required, we will take additional steps to notify users.

If you continue using Buddyhere after updated Terms take effect, you agree to the revised Terms.

20. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, unless mandatory consumer protection rules require otherwise.

If you are a consumer and have your habitual residence in another country, mandatory protections available to you under the law of that country remain unaffected.

21. Severability

If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining parts will continue to apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.

22. Contact

For general questions: info@buddyhere.de

For support or safety-related issues: help@buddyhere.de