📜 Terms of Service

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use BuddyAvenue. By registering or signing in, you confirm that you meet this requirement and that the information you provide is accurate.

2. User Responsibilities

• Provide accurate information during registration, profile updates, messaging, listings, and item requests.
• You are responsible for the items you lend or borrow, including condition, return, and disputes.
• Do not list or request prohibited, illegal, or dangerous items.
• Maintain respectful communication with other users in all interactions.
• You choose visibility settings (friends-only or public) when posting listings and item requests; you are responsible for what you share.

3. Account & Sign-In

• You may create an account with email and password or sign in through supported third-party providers (e.g., Google).
• When using third-party sign-in, you authorize BuddyAvenue to receive basic profile information from that provider (such as name and email) to create or access your account.
• By using any sign-in method, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.
• Email/password accounts must verify their email address before full access is granted. Unverified accounts may be restricted.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account.

4. Item Listings

• Describe items truthfully, including condition, availability, and expected return terms.
• Images must be appropriate, owned by you, and free of copyright violations.
• Listings may be visible to friends only or to all logged-in members if you mark them public. Public listings are not visible to non-members.
• BuddyAvenue may remove listings that violate our policies or community standards.
• Members may report listings they believe are inappropriate or violate these Terms. Reports are reviewed by moderators.
• Members may also report item requests that violate content standards. The same moderation process applies.
• Listings must not include inappropriate, offensive, or sexually explicit images. All visuals must align with community standards and be safe for all audiences.
• By listing an item, you confirm that you agree to these Terms at the time of submission.

5. Borrowing & Lending

• Agreements are made directly between users. BuddyAvenue does not guarantee item quality, delivery, or return.
• Borrow requests must be approved by the item owner before a borrow is active.
• Communicate clearly and document agreements (e.g., return dates, item condition).
• Failure to return items may result in account suspension, rank demotion, borrower ratings, or legal action.
• If an item is never returned, the lender may mark the borrow as Not Returned. The listing may be archived and the lender may rate the borrower. Borrowers cannot rate lenders for not-returned borrows.
• Each approved borrow has a due date based on the agreed loan length. Overdue items are flagged on your dashboard and in My Items. Lenders may send return reminders through in-app messaging, subject to a cooldown period (currently 72 hours between reminders for the same item).

6. Item Requests & Offers

BuddyAvenue allows members to post item requests when they need something that is not yet listed.

• An item request describes what you need; it is not a binding offer for anyone to lend.
• Requests may be visible to friends only or to all logged-in members if you choose public visibility.
• Other members may respond by listing a matching item as an offer. Offers create normal item listings linked to your request.
• Accepting an offer marks that offer as selected and declines other pending offers on the same request. Acceptance does not automatically create a borrow; the requester must submit a normal borrow request for the accepted listing.
• Requesters and offerers may cancel or withdraw open requests and pending offers according to platform rules.
• Item requests and offers are subject to the same content standards as listings and messages.
• By posting an item request, you confirm that you agree to these Terms at the time of submission.
• Email notifications about new offers may be sent if you have enabled email notifications in your profile.

7. Ratings & Reviews

• After an item is marked returned, borrowers may rate lenders and lenders may rate borrowers, each with optional comments.
• Ratings must be honest, relevant to the borrow experience, and free of harassment, hate speech, or defamation.
• BuddyAvenue does not verify ratings and is not responsible for user opinions expressed in reviews.
• Ratings and comments may be visible to other members and may affect lender reputation, borrower reputation, points, or ranks.
• We may remove ratings or comments that violate these Terms or community standards.

8. Messaging, Friends & Safety

• You may send messages to friends or item owners using our built-in messaging system, and may send or respond to friend requests.
• Messages are subject to moderation and may be flagged or removed for abuse, spam, or harassment.
• You may report messages as spam. Reports may be reviewed by moderators and can result in account action.
• You may block other users. Blocked users cannot interact with you through platform messaging features as enforced by the system.
• Soft deletion is supported: deleted messages may be retained until both sender and receiver remove them.
• Read receipts may be shown to indicate message status.
• Email notifications for new messages or item-request offers may be sent if you have enabled email notifications in your profile.

9. Platform Limits

To protect the community and platform stability, BuddyAvenue enforces usage limits that may change over time. Current limits include:

• Up to 25 active item listings per account.
• Up to 5 open item requests per account.
• Rate limits on registration, listing, messaging, item requests, and other actions to prevent abuse.

Exceeding these limits may prevent further actions until you reduce usage or the limit window resets. BuddyAvenue may adjust limits without prior notice.

10. Gamification & Ranks

• BuddyAvenue may award points, badges, or ranks based on lending activity, reliability, and community engagement.
• Abuse of the system (e.g., fake lending, spam messaging) may result in point loss or badge revocation.
• Rank logic is subject to change and may include overdue penalties, trust metrics, and audit trails.
• Badges may reflect achievements, trustworthiness, or moderation history.

11. Prohibited Conduct

• No fraud, harassment, or illegal activity.
• No viruses, malicious code, or attempts to exploit platform vulnerabilities.
• No unauthorized access to other users' accounts, messages, or data.
• No manipulation of gamification systems or incentive logic.
• No false, retaliatory, or abusive ratings or reviews.
• Do not use offensive, discriminatory, or sexually explicit language in messages, listings, item requests, ratings, or profile content. Violations may result in moderation flags or account suspension.

12. Account Termination

BuddyAvenue may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, without prior notice. Accounts may also be restricted based on moderation flags, spam reports, audit logs, or abuse detection.

13. Limitation of Liability

BuddyAvenue is not liable for damaged, lost, or stolen items, disputes between users, user-generated ratings or comments, or indirect/consequential damages. Use of the platform is at your own risk.

14. Privacy

Your data is handled according to our Privacy Policy. We do not sell your personal information. Messaging, lending, item requests, ratings, and activity logs may be retained for moderation and audit purposes.

15. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the platform constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. Major changes will be announced via dashboard alerts or email.

16. Contact

BuddyAvenue is operated by Jackson Tech Ventures LLC. For questions or concerns, contact us at: support@buddyavenue.com