Terms of use

The following terms and conditions apply to your use of the Guardian Soulmates Website (the "Soulmates Website") provided by Guardian News & Media Limited ("Guardian" or "we" or "us"):

a. the terms of use which are specific to the Soulmates Website and which are set out below;

b. the privacy policy specific to the Soulmates Website which is available at https://soulmates.guardian.co.uk/privacy

c. the general terms and conditions of the Guardian website (www.guardian.co.uk) which are available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/terms-of-service; and

d. the general privacy policy of the Guardian website which is available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/privacy-policy.

In the event of any conflict between the terms and conditions and privacy policies set out above, the terms and conditions appearing highest in the list above shall prevail to the extent required to resolve any such conflict. You should read the general terms and conditions and the general privacy policy as they contain important terms which relate to your use of the Soulmates Website.
We may change or add additional terms to either the terms of use or the privacy policy specific to the Soulmates Website: (i) if we alter the existing services we provide; (ii) if we add new services to the Soulmates Website or (iii) if we need to for security, regulatory or legal reasons. We will give you reasonable notice in advance of implementing such changes by making a posting on the Soulmates Website. Where the changes are significant we may also choose to email our registered users with the new details. Any changes to the terms of use or the privacy policy will not affect your right to cancel your Soulmates Website account with us or to remove your details from the Soulmates Website.
By using the Soulmates Website you are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions.

Eligibility

The Soulmates Website is for adult members to communicate with each other online and it is not suitable for individuals under 18 years of age. By using the Soulmates Website, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old.
By using the Soulmates Website, you confirm that you are not married.
If you have an unspent conviction, or are subject to any court order, relating to assault, violence, sexual misconduct or harassment you must not use the Soulmates Website.

Your information and content

You are solely responsible for:

a. any content or information you contribute to the Soulmates Website;

b. the information and content you post, transmit, publish or otherwise make available through the Soulmates Website; and

c. your interactions with other users of the Soulmates Website.
Your Soulmates Website account is for your personal use only and you must not have more than one profile at any time. You must not authorise others to use your account, and you may not assign or otherwise transfer your account to any other person or entity. You are responsible for keeping your username and password confidential and acknowledge that Guardian is not responsible for third party access to your account that results from the sharing by you or the theft or misappropriation of your user name and password.
Your safety is important to us, so we review some messages sent between members for content which is breach of these terms and reserve the right to delete inappropriate content.
You must not publish on your profile any personal contact information, including your address, email address, telephone number, instant messaging contact details or website URL. You may not disclose if you are a subscriber or not in your profile. In addition, you must not include your personal contact information or social network details in messages to members who have not previously contacted you, or when responding to non-subscriber one line replies. Guardian reserves the right to remove contact details from messages you send on the Soulmates Website.
Guardian reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor the information or content you make available via the Soulmates Website. We have the right to remove any such content if we reasonably consider that it may be unlawful, in breach of these terms or if we are reasonably requested to do so by any third party.
Unless you delete your Soulmates Website messages, we will store them for 180 days after they are sent. If you delete messages, Guardian will not save them.
By submitting, providing, transmitting or otherwise making available information and content via the Soulmates Website, you are granting us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence of any rights, including intellectual property rights, in such information and content, to publish or republish and otherwise used any such content in any format on the Soulmates Website, Guardian's digital information network guardian.co.uk and observer.co.uk whether such website is accessed by the Internet, digital television, PDA, mobile phone or any other platform or medium.
Your profile (which includes your profile photo) will not be used for promotional purposes in connection with the Soulmates Website unless you give your consent to your profile being used in this way. From time to time we send promotional emails to members featuring selected profiles. We also show pictures of Soulmates members in promotions such as on the front page of the guardian.co.uk or in the classified pages of the Guardian Guide and The Observer. You can choose not to be featured on those pages by updating your preferences via the 'Your account' page

Restrictions on information and content

You will not post, transmit, communication or otherwise make available information or content via the Soulmates Website, that:

a. is intended to or tends to harass, annoy, threaten or intimidate any other user of the Soulmates Website. You must immediately cease contacting any member of Soulmates Website who asks you to stop contacting them;

b. is defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, offensive or sexually explicit;

c. promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;

d. promotes or encourages illegal or unlawful activity or behaviour;

e. is subject to the intellectual property rights of a third party unless you first obtain their permission to use it on the Soulmates Website, including a third party's music, video or photograph. If you reasonably believe that material belonging to a third party has been posted on the Soulmates Website without permission you are requested to contact us (link to Help page) with full details of the alleged infringement;

f. contains an image of another person and you do not have his or her prior permission to use such image on the Soulmates Website;

g. contains an image of a person under 18 years of age unless you are the his or her parent or legal guardian. Images where children are not fully clothed may be considered inappropriate and may not be approved;

h. contains advertising, promotional or commercial messages. You must not contact other members or subscribers for research purposes. You must not transmit any chain letters, junk or spam email;

i. is misleading, inaccurate, false or impersonates any other person or entity. If information provided to Guardian subsequently becomes misleading, inaccurate or false, you will promptly notify Guardian of such change;

j. is intended to solicit another member's personal contact details or solicit communication with or on behalf of a person under 18 years old; and

k. contains any materials which infringe any third party's rights.
You will not post, copy, modify or disclose or distribute:

a. any confidential information; or

b. any other material which is subject to Guardian's or a third party's intellectual property rights, and which is accessible via the Soulmates Website without first obtaining Guardian's or the relevant third party's prior written consent.
You agree to compensate us for any claim or damages (including any legal fees in relation to such claim or damages) made by a third party in respect of any matter in relation to or arising from any breach or suspected breach by you of these terms or the rights of a third party.
Guardian reserves the right to issue warnings, suspend access to your account or terminate your account if we reasonably consider that you are in breach of these terms.

Risks and precautions

Guardian does not conduct criminal background checks on members of the Soulmates Website. You are solely responsible for taking all appropriate safety precautions in connection with your use of the Soulmates Website. In addition, you are strongly advised to read the Safe Dating Tips. There are risks associated with any online or offline interaction with others, including dating. Guardian does not guarantee or verify the accuracy of information provided to you by other members of the Soulmates Website and is unable to confirm that any member is who he or she claims to be.

Reporting disputes and other issues

You should promptly report to Guardian any behaviour you encounter which is in breach of these terms, including any behaviour which may be harmful, threatening, harassing or unlawful. Please use the Report abuse form. If deemed appropriate, Guardian may warn, suspend or delete a Soulmates Website member's profile.
If you need to report an attack, a missing person or you consider that your safety is at risk, you should contact the police immediately and then advise us by via the Report abuse form so we can take appropriate action.
If you wish to "block" a member, you can do this by selecting the appropriate option on their profile. "Blocking" members prevents them from being able to contact you via the Soulmates Website.
Guardian is not obliged to become involved in any domestic or private disputes between members and does not provide any arbitration or settlement service should a dispute arise between members.

Membership, subscription and cancellation

You may register your profile for free and be given access to certain areas of the Soulmates Website. You will require a subscription to receive full access to the Soulmates Website, including the ability to send messages to other members.
Information regarding the subscription fees payable for full access to the Soulmates Website, how you can pay for your subscription and terms relating to payment can be found on the Subscriptions page
You may cancel this purchase within seven days of your first payment, provided that you do not use your Soulmates subscription in this time. If you wish to exercise this right of cancellation please email subscriptions@guardiansoulmates.co.uk within seven days of subscribing. If you use your subscription to send a message through the Soulmates service during this period you are not entitled to a refund.
Guardian reserves the right to close your account (whether you are a subscriber or have a free account) at any time for any reason with or without notice to you. If you have paid a subscription fee for the Soulmates Website and Guardian closes your account, Guardian will give you a pro-rata refund of any subscription fee you have paid in advance. You can close your account at any time for any reason by visiting the Your account page and opting to ‘Delete your account’. Any refunds where you cancel your account are at our discretion.

Limitation of liability

Guardian will provide the Soulmates Website service to you with reasonable skill and care. Guardian does not make any warranties or representations (neither express nor implied) with respect to the Soulmates Website or the associated services.
Nothing in these terms shall exclude or limit our liability for our fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or the negligence by us, our employees or agents.
We do not warrant that the Soulmates Website will be available uninterrupted and in a fully operating condition. All content and services on the Soulmates Website are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. Any decisions or actions taken by you on the basis of the information provided on or via the Soulmates Website are at your sole discretion and risk.
Our liability in tort, contract, negligence, pre-contract or other representations or otherwise arising out of or in connection with these terms should be limited in aggregate to: (i) the net payment to us by you in any one month period; or (ii) if you do not have a paid-for subscription to the Soulmates Website, £25.

General

We may in some cases use third parties to assist us in operating the Soulmates Website and to conduct some processing of your information on our behalf but this is always subject to strict contractual control and in compliance with UK data protection legislation.
If you breach these terms and we take no action against you, we will still be entitled to use our rights and remedies in any other situation where you breach these terms.
If any part of these terms is disallowed or found to be ineffective by any court or regulator, the other provisions shall continue to apply.
These terms are not intended to give rights to anyone except you and us.
These terms are governed by English law and the parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

GUARDIAN NEWS & MEDIA LIMITED is a Private limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 00908396. Registered office: 68164, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1P 2AP. VAT no. GB 145 7744 45 March 2011