Terms of Service

Article 1 (Purpose)

These Terms of Service (hereinafter "Terms") aim to define the rights, obligations, and responsibilities between Near U (hereinafter "Service") and its members regarding the use of a location-based place-sharing service where location-verified users record and share local places through a single photo and a one-line experience and explore them together via a map and feed, as well as other necessary matters.

Article 2 (Definitions)

• "Service" refers to all online channels where the service is provided, including websites, mobile webs/apps.
• "Member" refers to a person who agrees to these Terms, signs up for the Service, and is granted an ID (email, etc.).
• "Non-member" refers to a person who uses part of the Service without signing up.
• "Place" refers to a specific local spot registered on the Service (e.g., restaurant, café, shopping, beauty), including its name, type, and location.
• "Experience" refers to the photo, one-line note, and recommendation a member posts about a specific place.
• "Content" refers to all information such as photos, one-line experiences, place information, location information, and profile information posted or uploaded by members to the Service.
• "Post" refers to all forms of content displayed within the Service.

Article 3 (Nature and Scope of Service)

This Service is a location-based place-sharing platform where location-verified users record local places with a single photo and a one-line experience, explore them together via a map and feed, and save the places they like (an "eatlist").

The Service is basically provided for free, but the operator may introduce separate paid additional services if necessary, in which case separate terms or notices will be provided for such services.

Specific details of the Service (board types, categories, functions, etc.) may be added, changed, or discontinued at any time according to the operator's policy.

Article 4 (Effect and Change of Terms)

These Terms become effective by posting on the Service screen or notifying members by other means.

The operator may change the Terms to the extent that they do not violate relevant laws (Information and Communications Network Act, E-commerce Act, Personal Information Protection Act, etc.).

If the Terms are changed, the Service will notify the changes and the effective date at least 7 days in advance (30 days in advance for changes disadvantageous or significant to members).

If a member does not agree to the changed Terms, they may stop using the Service and withdraw. If they continue to use the Service after the change, they are deemed to have agreed to the changed Terms.

Article 5 (Sign-up and Account Management)

Sign-up is completed by filling in the necessary information according to the form set by the Service and agreeing to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Members must sign up based on their actual information and must not use another person's name or provide false information.

Members are responsible for managing their account (ID and password) and cannot transfer or lend it to a third party.

Members must immediately notify the operator if they suspect account theft or password leakage, and the Service is not responsible for damages caused by failure to do so.

Article 6 (Service Usage Standards and Community Principles)

The Service aims for a healthy local community that respects each other, and members must observe the following basic principles:

• Respect others and observe etiquette
• Do not post false information or malicious slander
• Do not use discriminatory or hateful expressions based on country, race, gender, religion, generation, region, etc.
• Comply with the laws of the Republic of Korea and the local laws and regulations of the country of residence/use

The operator may enact/change notices, operation policies, guidelines, etc. at any time for smooth operation of the community, and members must comply with them.

Article 7 (Posts and Intellectual Property Rights)

Copyright for content posted by a member on the Service belongs to that member in principle.

Members grant the Service the right to use, store, copy, disclose, transmit, and modify (formal editing such as resizing, thumbnail creation, etc.) the content worldwide, non-exclusively, and free of charge for Service operation and exposure (display within Service, search exposure, partial use for promotional images/text, etc.).

The above license expires in principle when the member withdraws or deletes the post, but it is not retroactively deleted for parts already used secondarily by other members such as screenshots or citations.

Members must be careful not to infringe on third-party copyrights, portrait rights, trademark rights, personal information, reputation rights, or other rights with the content they post, and the member is solely responsible for all responsibilities arising from violation thereof.

The operator may arbitrarily hide, delete, or not expose relevant posts in case of a legitimate request from the rights holder or clear violation of laws.

Article 8 (Location Information and Location Verification)

As a location-based place-sharing service, the Service uses location information such as GPS coordinates for regional (city) verification, pinning a location when registering a new place, and showing nearby places.

GPS location is collected and used only when the member uses the relevant feature and grants the device's location permission; the member may revoke this permission at any time via device settings (in which case some features such as location verification and place registration may be limited).

Location verification is intended to confirm that a user belongs to the relevant area; the Service does not guarantee the accuracy of verification results and may restrict use in case of fraudulent verification attempts.

Because the location/address of a place a member registers is shared with other users, members should take care not to expose sensitive locations such as their home.

Article 9 (Prohibited Acts)

Members must not perform the following acts when using the Service:

• Discriminatory, hateful, or derogatory expressions based on country, race, gender, religion, region, etc.
• Repeated use of personal attacks, defamation, profanity, or slang regardless of facts
• Posting false information, exaggerated advertisements, phishing, fraud, gambling/investment induction, illegal multi-level marketing, or other criminal acts or acts likely to correspond thereto
• Distribution of pornography/adult content, content targeting minors sexually, explicit violence/cruelty, or other content likely to violate laws of each country
• Unauthorized disclosure, collection, or request of others' personal information (real name, phone number, address, account number, ID photo, etc.) without consent
• Use of automated tools (crawlers, scrapers, bots, etc.) that cause overload on the Service's servers/networks
• Acts interfering with the normal operation of the Service or abusing bugs/vulnerabilities
• Unauthorized access or theft of another person's account
• Sending commercial advertisements, promotions, spam posts, or bulk messages without the operator's explicit permission
• All acts violating local laws, laws of the Republic of Korea, these Terms, or operation policies

The operator may take necessary measures such as deletion of posts, restriction of exposure, temporary suspension, or permanent restriction of use against members who violate the above prohibited acts.

Article 10 (Nature of Place Information/Experiences and Disclaimer for Visits)

Place information and one-line experiences registered on the Service are the subjective opinions of the members who wrote them; the Service does not guarantee their accuracy, timeliness, or reliability. Please verify details such as actual operation, prices, and location directly before visiting.

The Service is not legally liable, absent intent or gross negligence, for disputes or damages arising from visiting or using a place in reliance on a member's experience; such transactions/use occur between the member and the place (business).

The Service is not the operator, guarantor, or endorser of registered places. Experiences are intended to reflect real users' experiences rather than advertising, but the Service does not warrant the truthfulness of every experience.

Article 11 (Change and Suspension of Service)

The operator may temporarily suspend the provision of the Service in case of unavoidable reasons such as system inspection, replacement, failure, communication failure, etc., for stable provision of the Service.

The operator may change or suspend all or part of the Service according to management or technical needs, in which case reasonable efforts will be made to notify in advance.

No separate compensation obligation arises when part or all of the free service is changed or suspended.

Article 12 (Disclaimer)

• The Service does not intervene in disputes, transactions, promises, etc., occurring between members or between a member and a third party, and is not responsible for damages caused thereby.
• The Service does not guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of information and posts provided by members and is not responsible for decisions made in reliance thereon and the results thereof.
• The Service is not responsible for service interruption or failure due to force majeure reasons such as natural disasters, war, terrorism, hacking, carrier failure, government regulation, etc.
• The Service is not responsible for damages caused by the member's fault (negligence in account management, password leakage, malware installation, etc.).

Article 13 (Report of Rights Infringement and Processing)

If a member or a third party determines that their rights have been infringed, they may report to the operator by describing the URL of the relevant post, facts of infringement, and identity verification information.

The operator may take measures such as temporary blocking, request for modification, deletion, or restriction of posting of the relevant post after confirming the facts within a reasonable range.

The Service may take measures such as restriction of service use or account termination against members who repeatedly report rights infringement.

Article 14 (Privacy Protection)

The Service lawfully collects, uses, stores, and destroys members' personal information according to relevant laws and the Privacy Policy.

Specific details of personal information processing are defined in the separately posted Privacy Policy, and in case of conflict between these Terms and the Privacy Policy, the Privacy Policy takes precedence.

The Service takes reasonable technical and managerial protection measures to strengthen security, but complete security cannot be guaranteed due to the nature of the Internet environment.

Article 15 (Termination of Contract and Withdrawal)

Members may apply for withdrawal at any time through the settings menu within the Service, and the operator deletes the member's account information except for information required to be stored under relevant laws.

If a member falls under any of the following, the operator may restrict, suspend, or terminate the account after prior notice or post-notice in urgent cases:

• Significant violation of Terms or operation policies
• Repeated infringement of others' rights
• Illegal activities or criminal acts
• Significant hindrance to the sound operation of other services

Article 16 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)

The interpretation and application of these Terms shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea.

In case of a dispute between the Service and a member regarding the use of the Service, it shall be resolved by mutual consultation in principle, and if no agreement is reached, the competent court shall be determined according to the laws of the Republic of Korea.

Article 17 (Age Restriction and Guardian's Consent)

The Service is intended for users aged 14 or older in principle.

If a child under the age of 14 wishes to use the Service, the consent of a legal representative must precede, and the Service may verify this within a reasonable range.

If a member falsely states their actual age, the Service is not responsible for any disadvantages arising therefrom.

The operator may take measures such as restriction of use or termination after fact-checking for accounts suspected of joining in violation of relevant laws.

Article 18 (Advertisements and Affiliate Services)

The Service may post third-party advertisements in the form of banner ads, affiliate content, promotions, etc., for operation.

If a member uses products or services provided by a third party through advertisements, the transaction is between the member and the third party, and the Service does not intervene.

Disputes or damages arising through advertisements or affiliate services shall be resolved between the product/service provider and the member in principle, and the Service is not responsible unless there is intentional or gross negligence.

Article 19 (Non-Affiliation and Non-Warranty Notice)

The Service is not an official service of any specific country, city, institution, school, company, or organization, and implies no form of guarantee, sponsorship, or affiliation unless explicitly stated.

Trademarks, logos, names, etc., displayed on the Service belong to their respective owners, and the Service does not claim ownership thereof.