Terms & conditions.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, accessing, or using the ByStander application (“App”), you (“User”) agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Service and End User License Agreement (“Terms”). If you do not agree to all of these Terms, you must immediately discontinue use of the App and delete it from your device. These Terms constitute a binding legal agreement between you and ByStander Safety Technologies, LLC (“ByStander,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Illinois.

Your continued use of the App following any modification to these Terms constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. It is your responsibility to review these Terms periodically.

2. Nature of Service — Critical Limitations

READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT LIMITATIONS ON THE NATURE OF THE SERVICE.

ByStander is a personal safety communication platform. It is not an emergency response service, a public safety agency, or a substitute for government emergency services.

ByStander explicitly does not:

• Guarantee that any alert, notification, SOS signal, or message will be delivered to any person, contact, advocate, or authority
• Guarantee that any advocate, emergency contact, or third party will receive, read, respond to, or act upon any alert
• Dispatch law enforcement, fire, medical, or any other emergency services
• Monitor users in real time unless an advocate is actively assigned to an active incident
• Guarantee continuous availability, uptime, or functionality of any feature
• Provide any form of life safety equipment, medical advice, crisis counseling, or licensed emergency dispatch services

You understand and acknowledge that:

• ByStander advocates are independent individuals or contractors, not licensed emergency responders, law enforcement officers, medical professionals, or crisis counselors
• Advocate availability is not guaranteed at any time
• Response times vary and are not contractually guaranteed at any subscription tier, including Life Support
• You must always contact 911 or your local emergency services when you believe you are in immediate danger. ByStander is a supplement to, not a replacement for, emergency services.

Using ByStander does not eliminate or reduce your responsibility to seek help from qualified emergency services.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account and use ByStander. By using the App, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement and that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are creating an account on behalf of a minor, you assume full responsibility for that use and all obligations under these Terms.

4. User Account & Responsibilities

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, complete, and current information during registration and at all times thereafter
• Notify ByStander immediately of any unauthorized use of your account
• Use the App solely for lawful purposes and in compliance with all applicable local, state, federal, and international laws
• Not submit false, fraudulent, or fabricated emergency reports or misuse any emergency feature of the App
• Not interfere with, disrupt, or overload ByStander’s infrastructure, servers, or network
• Not attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise derive the source code of the App
• Not use the App to harass, stalk, threaten, or abuse any person
• Respect the privacy, safety, and dignity of all other users, advocates, and third parties

You understand that misuse of emergency features — including triggering false incidents — may expose you to civil and criminal liability under applicable law. ByStander reserves the right to report suspected misuse to law enforcement.

5. Emergency Features — Disclaimer of Reliability

ByStander’s emergency alert, SOS, location sharing, live streaming, Scout Timer, CheckPoint, Pulse check-in, and advocate dispatch features are provided on a best-efforts basis and are subject to the following inherent limitations. You expressly acknowledge and accept that:

• Alerts and notifications depend on active internet connectivity, carrier signal, device functionality, battery level, and third-party infrastructure outside ByStander’s control
• GPS and location data may be inaccurate, delayed, or unavailable based on device hardware, software permissions, signal conditions, or physical environment
• Live video streaming quality and availability depend on network bandwidth and device performance
• Emergency contacts and advocates may not have their devices available, may not see notifications, or may be unable to respond
• ByStander’s infrastructure, including servers and third-party services, may experience outages or degraded performance
• Push notifications may be delayed, suppressed, or not delivered due to device settings, carrier conditions, or operating system behavior

ByStander makes no warranty, express or implied, that any emergency feature will function as expected in any given situation.

6. Health Monitoring — Disclaimer

Where available, ByStander’s health monitoring features (including heart rate, blood oxygen, and related biometric data collection) are provided for informational purposes only and are subject to the following limitations:

• Health monitoring features are not medical devices and have not been reviewed or approved by the FDA or any other regulatory authority
• Data collected is not intended for medical diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, or clinical use
• Biometric readings may be inaccurate and should not be relied upon for any health or medical decision
• Always consult a licensed medical professional before making any health-related decision

7. Subscription & Billing

ByStander offers paid subscription plans (Basic, Standard, Pro, and Life Support) as described in the App and on our website. By subscribing, you agree to the following:

• Subscription fees are billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annual, as selected)
• Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period
• You may manage or cancel your subscription through your Apple App Store or Google Play account settings
• ByStander does not issue refunds for unused portions of a subscription period except as required by applicable law or platform policy
• ByStander reserves the right to modify subscription pricing with reasonable advance notice. Continued use after a price change constitutes acceptance of the new pricing
• A 14-day free trial may be offered to new users. Trial access is limited to one trial per user, per device, per account. Abuse of trial provisions may result in immediate account termination

8. Privacy & Data

Your use of the App is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the App, you consent to the collection, storage, processing, and sharing of your data as described in the Privacy Policy, including real-time location data, device information, biometric data (where applicable), and communications made through the App during active incidents.

You acknowledge that certain data — including location, video, and incident data — may be shared with emergency contacts, advocates, or law enforcement in connection with an active or reported incident.

9. Intellectual Property

All content, features, functionality, branding, trademarks, trade dress, source code, algorithms, designs, and technology within the App are the exclusive property of ByStander Safety Technologies, LLC and its licensors, and are protected by United States and international intellectual property laws.

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the App solely for its intended personal safety purposes. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, or commercially exploit any portion of the App without the express prior written consent of ByStander.

10. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, BYSTANDER SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, ADVOCATES, AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY:

• DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES
• PERSONAL INJURY, BODILY HARM, OR DEATH
• LOSS OF LIFE, PROPERTY, DATA, REVENUE, PROFITS, GOODWILL, OR OPPORTUNITY

ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO:

• Your use or inability to use the App
• Failure or delay of any alert, notification, or communication
• Inaccurate, delayed, or unavailable location data
• Actions or inactions of any advocate, emergency contact, or third party
• Any security breach, unauthorized access, or loss of data
• Any force majeure event, including network outages, carrier failures, natural disasters, or government actions

THIS LIMITATION APPLIES REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ASSERTED (CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE) AND EVEN IF BYSTANDER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

In jurisdictions that do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, ByStander’s liability shall be limited to the fullest extent permitted by law. In no event shall ByStander’s total aggregate liability to you exceed the greater of (a) the total subscription fees paid by you to ByStander in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100.00 USD).

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE APP IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. BYSTANDER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE APP WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ByStander Safety Technologies, LLC and its officers, directors, employees, agents, contractors, advocates, and licensors from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use or misuse of the App
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation
• Your infringement of any third-party right, including intellectual property or privacy rights
• Any false, fraudulent, or abusive use of emergency features
• Any content you submit, post, or transmit through the App

13. Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

Informal Resolution. Before initiating any formal proceeding, you agree to contact ByStander at support@bystander.life and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

Binding Arbitration. If the dispute is not resolved informally, you and ByStander agree to resolve any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the App through binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. The arbitration shall take place in DuPage County, Illinois.

Class Action Waiver. You agree that any dispute resolution proceeding will be conducted only on an individual basis and not as a class, consolidated, or representative action. You waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.

Exceptions. Either party may seek emergency injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent irreparable harm pending arbitration. Claims related to intellectual property infringement are excluded from arbitration.

14. Governing Law & Venue

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of law principles. For any matter not subject to arbitration under Section 13, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in DuPage County, Illinois.

15. Termination

ByStander reserves the right to suspend, restrict, or permanently terminate your account and access to the App at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to:

• Violation of these Terms
• Misuse of emergency features
• Fraudulent or abusive conduct
• Non-payment of subscription fees
• Conduct harmful to other users, advocates, or ByStander

Upon termination, your right to use the App immediately ceases. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including Sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 — shall survive.

16. Changes to Terms

ByStander may modify these Terms at any time. When material changes are made, we will notify you via email, in-app notification, or by updating the Effective Date above. Your continued use of the App following notification constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the App.

17. Entire Agreement & Severability

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and ByStander regarding the App and supersede all prior agreements. If any provision of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

18. Contact

ByStander Safety Technologies, LLC 683 83rd Street Bolingbrook, Illinois 60440 support@bystander.life www.bystander.life

By using ByStander, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms.