Terms of Service

Effective date & last updated: April 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Meld ("the app"), a social drawing and augmented-reality reveal game operated by Alston Drew Devero-Belfon, sole proprietor, Brooklyn, New York ("we", "us", "our"). By downloading, installing, or using Meld you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the app.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years of age to create an account or use Meld. If you are between 13 and 18 (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you must have your parent's or legal guardian's permission to use the app. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that a user is under 13, we will promptly delete their account and associated data.

2. Accounts

• You may sign up with an email and password or use the app anonymously (guest mode).
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account.
• Each user may claim one unique username. Usernames that are offensive, impersonate others, or violate these Terms may be reclaimed without notice.
• Anonymous accounts have limited features. You may link an email to an anonymous account at any time to unlock full functionality.

3. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Upload, draw, or share content that is sexually explicit, violent, hateful, threatening, harassing, or otherwise objectionable.
• Use the app to bully, stalk, or intimidate any person.
• Impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity.
• Attempt to circumvent content moderation, rate limits, or security controls.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or tamper with the app or its backend services.
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to interact with the app.
• Exploit bugs or vulnerabilities instead of reporting them.

4. User-Generated Content

• Ownership. You retain ownership of the drawings, selfies, and other content you create in Meld.
• License. By uploading content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store, process, transmit, display (to room participants), and scan the content as necessary to operate the app—including content moderation.
• Moderation. All uploaded images are automatically scanned by an AI content-safety system. Content that violates our policies is immediately deleted and the upload is blocked. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that repeatedly violate content policies.
• Shared content. When you share a composite image externally (e.g., via social media), you are solely responsible for where and how that content is distributed.
• Room content. Drawings and selfies uploaded to game rooms are visible to all participants of that room. Room data is automatically deleted 7 days after room creation.
• Gallery screenshots. If you save a screenshot from a room to your personal gallery, that copy persists independently of the room's 7-day lifecycle. Gallery items remain until you manually delete them or delete your account.

Copyright complaints (DMCA). If you believe content on Meld infringes your copyright, send a notice to deverobelfon@gmail.com containing: (1) identification of the copyrighted work, (2) identification of the infringing material and information sufficient for us to locate it, (3) your contact information, (4) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised, and (5) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and you are authorised to act on behalf of the copyright owner. We will respond to valid notices in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

5. Game Rooms

• Rooms are created with a 6-character seed code you share with the people you want to play with. You are responsible for sharing codes only with intended participants.
• Room participant limits vary by mode and are displayed in the app at room creation. Current limits are subject to change.
• Rooms and their associated data (drawings, selfies) are automatically deleted after 7 days.
• Abuse of the join system (e.g., brute-forcing seed codes) is rate-limited and may result in account suspension.

6. In-App Purchases

Meld contains no subscriptions or recurring billing. The following one-time purchases are available:

• Non-consumable items (permanent): premium brush packs, stroke packs, sticker packs, and a lifetime full unlock.
• Time-limited items (consumable): a 24-hour day pass and a Mish-Mash Pass (3-hour session pass for party rooms).
• Per-use items (consumable): a single-morph unlock.

Morph access. The AR face-morph feature uses a daily gate: your first morph each day is free; the second requires watching a rewarded ad; additional morphs require a per-morph purchase or the lifetime unlock.

• All purchases are processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and are subject to their respective terms and refund policies. We do not process payments directly.
• You may restore previously purchased non-consumable items using the "Restore Purchases" feature. Time-limited and per-use items cannot be restored once consumed or expired.
• Watching a rewarded ad may grant temporary access to premium features (up to 24 hours). This is not a purchase and carries no monetary value.
• We reserve the right to modify pricing, product availability, or feature entitlements. Existing non-consumable purchases will be honoured.

7. Ads

Meld displays rewarded ads served by Google AdMob. On iOS, you will be prompted via App Tracking Transparency before any ad-related tracking occurs. You may decline tracking and still use the app; however, declining may limit your ability to earn ad-based rewards.

8. Intellectual Property

• The Meld app—including its code, design, branding, and original assets—is owned by us and protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.
• You may not use our name, logo, or branding without prior written permission.
• The "Meld" name and associated visual trade dress are claimed as our service marks.

9. Privacy

Your use of Meld is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains what data we collect and how we use it. By using the app, you consent to our data practices as described therein.

10. Account Termination

• By you. You may delete your account at any time from your Profile ("Danger Zone"). This permanently and irreversibly deletes your profile, gallery, friendships, purchase records, and all associated files. Warning: because account deletion removes the link between your account and the app stores' purchase records, previously purchased items (including lifetime unlocks) cannot be restored to a new account after deletion.
• By us. We may suspend or terminate your account without prior notice if you violate these Terms, abuse content policies, or engage in behaviour that threatens the safety or integrity of the platform.

11. Disclaimers

• Meld is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
• We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation.
• We are not responsible for content created or shared by other users.
• The AR face-morph feature is for entertainment only. It uses on-device face detection (Google ML Kit) and does not store or transmit biometric data.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages—including loss of data, profits, or goodwill—arising out of or related to your use of Meld, regardless of the theory of liability. Our total aggregate liability shall not exceed the amount you have paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or $50 USD, whichever is greater.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms, your content, or your use of the app.

14. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

Informal resolution first. Before filing any formal proceeding, you agree to contact us at deverobelfon@gmail.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

Binding arbitration. If informal resolution fails, any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of Meld shall be resolved through binding individual arbitration administered under the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration will be conducted by written submission unless either party requests a telephonic or video hearing. We will pay all AAA filing, administration, and arbitrator fees for claims under $10,000 USD; for larger claims, fees are allocated per the AAA Consumer Rules.

Small-claims court exception. Either party may bring an individual action in small-claims court in Kings County, New York (or the county where you reside) if the claim qualifies.

Class-action waiver. You and we each agree to resolve disputes only on an individual basis. You waive any right to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or representative proceeding. If this waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim must be severed and proceed in court while any remaining claims proceed in arbitration.

30-day opt-out. You may opt out of binding arbitration and the class-action waiver by sending written notice to deverobelfon@gmail.com within 30 days of creating your account. Your notice must include your Meld username and a clear statement that you decline arbitration. If you opt out, disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts of Kings County, New York.

15. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

16. Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

17. Assignment

We may assign or transfer these Terms (and any rights and obligations hereunder) to a successor entity in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, provided the assignee agrees to honour these Terms. You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent.

18. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of material changes at least 14 days before they take effect, via an in-app notice or push notification. Continued use of Meld after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

19. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding your use of Meld and supersede any prior agreements.

20. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at:
deverobelfon@gmail.com