Terms of use
Please read these terms before using Shard. By creating a profile, restoring a profile or otherwise using Shard (the app for Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC, and the Shard relay), you agree to them. If you don't agree, don't use Shard.
You must be 18 years old or older to use Shard. Anyone under 18 is strictly forbidden from using it (see 2.4).
"Shard", "the app" and "the service" mean the Shard apps and the Shard relay. "The developer", "we" and "us" mean the person who created and publishes Shard. "You" means the person using Shard.
1What Shard is
1.1Shard is a decentralised social network. Your profile is a key made from 24 recovery words that only you hold. Posts, messages and photos are encrypted on your device before they leave it, so only the people they are for can read them.
1.2Devices talk to each other directly where they can (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Meshtastic LoRa radios) and otherwise through the Shard relay, a server run by the developer that passes encrypted items between devices and holds them for devices that are offline.
1.3Shard is test software (a "beta"). It may have bugs, may stop working, may lose data, and may change or be withdrawn at any time without notice.
1.4Shard uses your internet connection and mobile data. Any charges from your mobile or internet provider are yours.
2Your licence to use Shard
2.1The developer gives you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use Shard on devices you own or control, for your own personal, non-commercial use, under these terms.
2.2You may not: sell, rent, lend or sublicense Shard; copy, modify or reverse-engineer it except as the law allows or an open-source licence permits; use it to break any law; try to get around its security, moderation or age checks; overload, attack, probe or disrupt the relay or other people's devices; collect other people's information from Shard by scraping, bots or other automated means; or use it in a way that harms other people.
2.3Shard and everything in it (except content you and other people create) belong to the developer. These terms don't give you any rights to the Shard name or logo. Some parts of Shard are open-source software from other people, under their own licences.
2.4Age. Shard is only for people aged 18 and older. Anyone under the age of 18 is strictly forbidden from using Shard in any way, including creating, restoring or linking a profile. Using Shard while under 18 is a violation of these terms. By using Shard you confirm that you are 18 years old or older. If the developer learns that a user is under 18, the developer may end that user's access to the relay without notice. Parents and guardians are responsible for keeping children under 18 from using Shard.
2.5Age checks by Google and Apple. Where the phone's app store can tell (Google Play Age Signals on Android; Apple's Declared Age Range on iPhone, iPad and Mac), Shard asks it which age band you are in, for example "under 18" or "18 or older" (never your birth date). The store decides what it shares, based on your account, how your age was confirmed or a parent's settings. If it says you are under 18, a profile can't be made, restored or linked, and Shard can't be used on that device. If the store can't tell, your own confirmation that you are 18 or older counts. Shard checks again when it opens. The answer stays on your device: it is not sent to the relay or to the developer.
3Your 24 recovery words
3.1Your 24 recovery words are your username and password in one. Anyone who has them can use your profile, post as you and read your messages.
3.2You alone are responsible for keeping them safe and private. Write them down on paper, or save them in a file only you can open, and keep it somewhere safe; a saved file can be copied by anyone who gets into the device or folder it is in. Never share them with anyone. The developer will never ask for them.
3.3The developer does not have a copy of your words or keys and cannot recover them, reset them or restore your profile without them. If you lose them, your profile, messages and points may be lost for good.
3.4Your profile is for you. Don't sell, give away, rent or share a profile, or let someone else use yours. You may make more than one profile, but not to get around a suspension or ban, to pretend to be several people, or to manipulate reports, rankings or (in later versions) rewards.
4Your content and your conduct
4.1You own what you post and send. You are solely responsible for it and for everything you do with Shard, including whom you share things with.
4.2Permission to carry your content. So that Shard can work, you allow the developer, free of charge and worldwide, to store, copy, transmit and deliver what you post and send (almost always in encrypted form it cannot read) to the people and devices it is for, and to read and keep the items in a report (see 4.6) for as long as 4.6 and 5.3 f) say. This permission is only for running and protecting Shard. The developer doesn't sell your content, use it for advertising or show it to anyone else, except as 5.7 says. The permission ends when your content is deleted from the relay.
4.3Content you must not post or send. You must not use Shard to post, send or store anything that:
- sexually exploits or endangers children, or identifies a child who is the victim or suspect in a crime;
- is sexual content of someone without their consent, or threatens to share such content (sextortion);
- threatens, incites or glorifies violence or terrorism, or recruits for it;
- harasses, bullies, threatens or intimidates anyone, or is hateful towards people because of who they are;
- shares someone's private information (such as their address, ID number or private photos) without their permission;
- is a scam, fraud or phishing, or sells or promotes illegal goods or services (such as drugs or weapons);
- encourages suicide, self-harm or eating disorders;
- infringes someone's copyright, trademark, privacy or other rights;
- is false information meant to deceive people in a way that can cause real harm (for example during a disaster);
- is spam, malware, or anything else illegal where you or the people you send it to are.
You must follow the laws that apply to you.
4.4Things you must not do. You must not: pretend to be someone else, another organisation or Shard; use a name or picture that misleads people about who you are; make profiles in bulk or with automated tools; get around a block, suspension or ban; interfere with reports, moderation or the age checks; or buy, sell or trade profiles or points.
4.5Because content is end-to-end encrypted, the developer cannot read private posts and messages and does not monitor them. You can block, mute and hide people and posts in the app, and report them (see 4.6).
4.6Reports. You can report a post, comment, message or profile that breaks these terms. A report sends the developer a copy of the reported item, including any photos or voice messages in it, together with the key for that one item, so the developer can read it and check that it really was written by that person; it may also include a few messages around it that you choose, the reason and a note from you. In reports of sexual content involving a child, pictures are never sent, kept or shown to anyone. Nothing else of yours or theirs is opened. The person you report is not told who reported them.
4.7Suspension and bans. To keep people safe, some reports suspend a profile automatically, before the developer looks at them: a verified report of sexual content involving a child, threats of violence or terrorism; a profile's own verified message saying its user is under 18; verified reports about the same profile from several different people within 7 days; and a new profile sending messages to a very large number of people in a short time. A suspended or banned profile, and the devices it used, cannot use the relay, and its items waiting for delivery are deleted. The developer then reviews each suspension and either bans the profile for good or lifts the suspension. The relay publishes a signed list of suspended and banned profiles (profile IDs only), and the Shard apps refuse posts and messages from those profiles by any route, including Bluetooth and Meshtastic. Because the developer must act quickly to protect people, a profile may be suspended by mistake; the developer is not liable for a suspension or ban made in good faith, and lifts it when it was wrong. Where the law requires it, the developer may report illegal content (in particular content that sexually exploits children) to the police or other authorities.
4.8Appeals. If your profile was suspended or banned, or you think a decision was wrong, you can ask the developer to look at it again: send a problem report from Settings › Help, or write to theinfosecviking@p4r4d0x.com, with your profile ID and why you think it was wrong. The developer reviews it and answers. A suspension found to be wrong is lifted, and your reporter record isn't affected by reports that were wrong about you.
4.9False reports. Reporting people who did not break these terms, for example to get them suspended, is itself a breach of these terms. Reports that the developer keeps rejecting count for less and then not at all, and the developer may suspend or ban a profile that makes false reports.
4.10Other people's content. Other people's content is theirs. The developer is not responsible for what other users post or send, or for what they do with what you share with them (for example taking a screenshot).
4.11Copyright and other rights. If you believe something on Shard infringes your copyright or other rights, write to theinfosecviking@p4r4d0x.com with what it is, where you saw it, proof that the rights are yours and how to reach you. Because content is encrypted, the developer can usually only act on items that are reported (with their key) or that you can show. The developer may remove access to infringing content and suspend or ban profiles that infringe again and again.
4.12Ideas. If you send the developer suggestions or feedback, the developer may use them freely, without paying you or naming you.
5Privacy: what is and isn't kept
5.1No logs of your activity. The developer does not keep logs of what you do in Shard, whom you talk to, or what you say. The relay's system log records only start-up messages and general technical problems; it does not record profile IDs, device IDs, IP addresses or content. The developer's admin app can show who is online right now (never their IP addresses), from memory only; this is not saved. There is no other way into the relay's data: no website or admin panel.
5.2No unencrypted copies of your content. Your posts, messages, photos, voice messages and check-ins are encrypted on your device before they are sent. The relay only ever holds them in encrypted form, which it cannot read, and deletes each item as soon as every device it is for has it, and after 30 days at the latest. Nothing is archived.
5.3What is not encrypted, and why. Some things have to be readable for Shard to work, or are public by design:
- Your public profile details (your display name and, if you made them public, your bio and status line) are visible to anyone who has your profile, and the relay keeps your display name so the developer's admin app can show it (forgotten 90 days after your profile was last seen, see 5.6).
- To deliver messages, the relay keeps: your profile ID (a public key, not your name); the IDs of your devices and when each was last seen (deleted after 30 days of not being seen); for each encrypted item waiting for delivery, the profile ID of its sender, its type (for example "private message"), its time, and which profiles and devices it is for and have received it; and delivery receipts ("delivered") for up to 7 days. The delivery details are deleted with the item, and receipts after 7 days.
- If you use push notifications on iPhone or Mac, the relay keeps your device's push token. The push it asks Apple to send contains no message content and no names, only "New message".
- When points are turned on (see 6), the relay keeps the points record described in 6.7, and the author of a post can see who gave points to it.
- In emergency mode, "I'm safe", "I need help" and emergency broadcasts are ALSO sent as plain, unencrypted text on the public Meshtastic channel (and the "Emergency!" channel, if your node has it), so anyone with a Meshtastic radio nearby can read them, including your location if you chose to add it.
- Reports and moderation. A report (see 4.6) is kept by the relay, with the reported items (and their photos and voice messages) readable by the developer, until the developer decides on it, and is then deleted together with those items. For each reporter, the relay keeps only how many of their reports were upheld and how many rejected. For each profile, the relay keeps the date it was first seen (to tell new profiles from established ones). For a suspended or banned profile, the relay keeps its profile ID, its device IDs, the reason and a short note for as long as the suspension or ban lasts. The list of suspended and banned profile IDs is public to every Shard app.
- Usage numbers. The relay keeps daily totals, numbers only: how many profiles were active and on which app, how many were new, how much data passed through, how many items were passed on and the most devices online at once. To count each profile once a day, it lists the profiles active today, and empties that list when the day ends.
5.4On your device. Your recovery words are stored encrypted with your device's secure hardware. Your posts, messages and friends are stored on your device. Shard keeps a short technical log in memory, only while the app is running. What the app store said about your age band (see 2.5) is kept only on your device. A problem report (Settings › Help) contains that log and technical details such as connection states and the short IDs and names of your contacts, never message text or recovery words; it is only sent if you choose to send it.
5.5Third parties. Apple and Google run the app stores and Apple runs the push service; their own terms and privacy policies apply to them. Meshtastic radios and the Meshtastic network are run by their owners, not by the developer.
5.6Deleting your profile. In the app, "Delete my profile everywhere" at the bottom of Settings deletes your profile: the apps of your friends, followers, the people you follow and the people you chat with remove everything you posted and sent (posts, comments, messages and your profile picture); your other devices and this one remove the profile; and the relay deletes everything it keeps about you (your name, devices, push tokens, items waiting for or from you, the date you were first seen, your reporter record and reports about you). Reports you made about other people stay until they are decided, without your profile ID. If your profile was suspended or banned, only the ban record is kept (your profile ID, device IDs and the reason), so that deleting can't be used to get around a ban. A device that is switched off removes the profile when it next comes online. Copies someone saved outside Shard (for example a screenshot) can't be deleted. Your 24 recovery words can't be cancelled: anyone who has them can start that profile again, empty. If you can't use the app (for example you lost your phone), restore your profile on any device with your 24 words and delete it there, or do nothing: the relay forgets every profile it hasn't seen for 90 days. More at https://shard.p4r4d0x.com/delete.html.
5.7Legal requests. The developer can only hand over what the relay has (see 5.3), never the content of your encrypted posts and messages, which it can't read. The developer gives information to the police, a court or other authorities only when the law requires it, and may report content that sexually exploits children or threatens someone's life.
5.8Your rights (Taiwan's Personal Data Protection Act and similar laws). The developer is responsible for the personal data described in 5.3, collected to deliver your posts and messages, to keep Shard safe (reports, suspensions and bans) and to count how Shard is used (numbers only), and kept on the relay server for as long as 5.3 and 5.6 say. You can ask to see it, get a copy, correct it, stop its use or have it deleted: delete your profile in the app (5.6), or send a problem report from Settings › Help or write to theinfosecviking@p4r4d0x.com with your profile ID. If you don't want the relay to keep this data, you can't use the relay (Shard still works directly between nearby devices).
6Points
6.0Points are switched off in the current Shard apps. When they are turned on in a later version, this section applies.
6.1What points are. Points are a reward inside Shard. You can give points to posts you like. In later versions you may also get points as a monthly reward or with a premium subscription, and use points to unlock premium features for a limited time.
6.2No money value. Points have no monetary or real-world value. They are not money, a currency, a security, an investment or property of any kind, and they never earn interest. Points are a limited, personal, revocable licence to use a feature inside Shard; you do not own them.
6.3Points stay inside Shard. Points can't be sold, bought from or sold to other people, exchanged, cashed out, paid out, refunded in money, sent to other people or moved out of Shard. The only way to pass points on is to give them to a post inside Shard. Selling, buying or trading points, or a profile for its points, outside Shard breaks these terms.
6.4Buying points (later versions). If a later version lets you buy points, it will only be through the Apple App Store or Google Play, and the store's own terms and refund rules apply to the purchase. Points you bought don't expire while Shard offers points, and they still have no money value and can't be cashed out.
6.5Giving points is final. Points given to a post can't be taken back. The person who wrote the post can see who gave them points.
6.6Changes, mistakes and abuse. The developer may change how points are earned, given and used, and how many points premium features need. The developer may correct points given or received by mistake, and may remove points that came from fake or multiple profiles, automated tools, manipulation or any breach of these terms. Points are lost when a profile is deleted (see 5.6) or banned. If points are ever ended, the developer will give notice (see 12), and points you bought and haven't used will be handled as the law requires.
6.7The points record. The relay keeps the record of points (a ledger): for each points account, its balance and the points given and received. A points account is a number made from your recovery words, separate from your profile name. Phones do not keep or add to this record themselves.
7Emergency features are not an emergency service
7.1Shard is not a replacement for emergency services. In an emergency, call your local emergency number (in Taiwan: 119 for fire and ambulance, 110 for police, 118 at sea, 112 from any mobile phone).
7.2"I'm safe", "I need help", emergency mode, Bluetooth hops and Meshtastic messages may arrive late, partly, or not at all: they depend on batteries, signal, distance, other people's devices and radios, and many things outside the developer's control. Never rely on Shard alone for your safety or anyone else's.
7.3Public broadcasts and shared locations can be read by anyone nearby. Think about who might read them before you send them.
7.4Radios. If you use a Meshtastic or other radio with Shard, you are responsible for using it legally in your country (frequencies, power and any licence rules).
8Disclaimer of warranties
8.1Shard is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE", with all faults and without any warranty of any kind, to the fullest extent permitted by law. The developer makes no promise that Shard will be available, secure, free of errors or viruses, compatible with your device, or that messages, posts, check-ins or points will be delivered, kept or correct.
8.2You use Shard at your own risk. You are responsible for backing up anything important, including your recovery words.
9Limitation of liability
9.1To the fullest extent permitted by law, the developer is not liable for any damage or loss of any kind arising from Shard or its use, or from being unable to use it, including (without limitation) loss of data, messages, posts, profiles or points; damage to devices; personal injury; failure of emergency features; security breaches; acts of other users or third parties; and any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damage, even if the developer was told it might happen.
9.2Where the law does not allow liability to be excluded entirely, the developer's total liability is limited to the amount you paid for Shard (if anything) in the 12 months before the claim.
9.3Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, or takes away rights you have as a consumer that cannot be taken away.
9.4The developer is not responsible for delays or failures caused by things outside its reasonable control, such as earthquakes, typhoons, power or network outages, war, government actions, or failures of app stores, push services or hosting providers.
10Your responsibility
10.1If any damage, loss, claim or legal issue arises from your use of Shard, from content you post or send, or from your breaking these terms or any law, it is your responsibility, not the developer's.
10.2To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to defend and compensate the developer for any claim, damage, loss, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) that results from your use of Shard, your content, or your breaking these terms or any law.
11Ending these terms
You can stop using Shard at any time by deleting your profile (see 5.6) and the app. The developer may stop providing Shard, or your access to the relay, at any time, including by suspending or banning your profile under 4.7. Sections 3, 4.2 (for content still being delivered), 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14 continue after these terms end.
12Changes
The developer may change these terms, for example when Shard gets new features or the law changes. The new version is in the app (Settings › Help › Terms of use) and on https://shard.p4r4d0x.com/terms.html with a new version number and date. For important changes, the app tells you and asks you to read and accept the new version before you carry on, and where possible the developer announces them at least 7 days before they take effect. If you don't accept a change, stop using Shard and delete your profile (5.6). If you keep using Shard after a change, you accept the new terms.
13App Store terms (iPhone, iPad and Mac)
If you got Shard from Apple's App Store or TestFlight: these terms are between you and the developer only, not Apple. Apple is not responsible for Shard or its content and has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for it. If Shard fails to meet any warranty that applies by law, you may tell Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any); Apple has no other warranty obligation. Apple is not responsible for any claims about Shard, including product liability, legal or consumer protection claims, or claims that Shard infringes someone's intellectual property; the developer, not Apple, deals with those. You confirm you are not in a country under a U.S. Government embargo and not on a U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You must also follow any third-party terms that apply when using Shard. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.
If you got Shard from Google Play, Google Play's terms also apply to your use of Google Play.
14General
14.1These terms are governed by the laws of Taiwan (Republic of China), and the Taiwan Taipei District Court has jurisdiction as the court of first instance, unless the law of your country says otherwise.
14.2If any part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies. If the developer doesn't enforce a part of these terms, that doesn't mean it gives up the right to.
14.3These terms are the whole agreement between you and the developer about Shard. If the English and Chinese versions differ, the English version applies.
14.4Contact. Questions about these terms, appeals and requests: send a problem report from Settings › Help, or write to theinfosecviking@p4r4d0x.com. The developer contacts you through the app or the website.
14.5You may not transfer your rights or duties under these terms to anyone else. The developer may transfer them, for example to a company that takes over Shard, as long as your rights under these terms stay the same.