Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

We may update these terms at any time. Continued use of BuddyChat after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Age Requirement — 18+ Only

We reserve the right to request age verification at any time and to suspend or terminate accounts where we have reason to believe the user may be underage.

Acceptable Use

BuddyChat is a platform for free, anonymous conversation. You are responsible for everything you say, share or do on the platform. The following are strictly prohibited:

• Posting, sharing or requesting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or any content involving minors in a sexual context
• Harassment, threats, bullying or targeted abuse of any user
• Hate speech based on race, religion, gender, sexuality, nationality, disability or any other characteristic
• Sharing another person's private information without their consent (doxxing)
• Impersonating another person or claiming to be a BuddyChat staff member
• Posting spam, unsolicited advertising or pyramid scheme content
• Attempting to hack, disrupt or overload the BuddyChat platform or servers
• Using bots, scripts or automated tools to interact with BuddyChat
• Sharing content that is illegal under Indian law or the laws of your country
• Sharing synthetic, AI-generated, or deepfake images/audio/video that misrepresent a real person or that sexualize any individual, especially a minor
• Attempting to circumvent a ban through a new username, device, or IP address

Some of the conduct above — including threats of violence, sexual exploitation of a minor, stalking, and criminal intimidation — is also a criminal offence under Indian law (including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the POCSO Act, 2012), independent of any action BuddyChat takes on the platform. Reported content may be shared with law enforcement where required by law.

The following are perfectly fine:

• Chatting anonymously under any username you choose
• Sharing images and GIFs in conversation
• Skipping or leaving conversations at any time
• Chatting in any language including Hindi, English or any other language
• Using BuddyChat on any device — mobile, tablet or desktop

Content Responsibility

You are solely responsible for all messages, images, GIFs and any other content you post on BuddyChat. BuddyChat is a platform — we do not create user content and we are not responsible for content posted by users.

By posting content on BuddyChat you confirm that:

• You own or have the right to share the content
• The content does not violate any law or these terms
• The content does not infringe any third party's intellectual property rights

Messages and uploaded media are deleted automatically: global chat messages 15 minutes after they are sent, chat-room messages after 10 minutes, and random-chat media within a few hours. BuddyChat uses automated AI moderation to detect and remove content that violates these terms.

Deleting your messages. You can delete messages and images you sent in global chat and random chat. Deletion removes them from the chat view for participants; it cannot recall anything another user has already seen, saved or screenshotted, and a message that has already been reported may be kept for moderation review.

Image screening. BuddyChat blocks NSFW images. Sexually explicit or nude images, and anything involving minors, are not allowed on BuddyChat at any cost, and any image our AI flags as possibly NSFW is blocked and not delivered. Our AI is super strict, so it can also block normal, harmless images — we would rather block a harmless image than let a prohibited one through. We operate in line with Indian law, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the IT Intermediary Rules, 2021 and the POCSO Act, 2012, and we cooperate with Indian authorities. Users who send prohibited content can be banned permanently and reported to the authorities. This screening is imperfect and does not make any prohibited content permitted. You are solely responsible for what you send, and each user is solely responsible for what they choose to receive and view.

Personal information and photos are at your own risk. Do not share personal information or personal/intimate photos with other users. If anything you choose to share is saved, leaked, re-shared or misused by another user or third party, BuddyChat is not responsible or liable for it.

Zero Tolerance for CSAM and Minors on the Platform

Any CSAM or child-endangerment content detected or reported is immediately reported to India's National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and/or the appropriate Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police, and evidence is preserved for law enforcement. Accounts and IP addresses involved are permanently banned. We may additionally notify NCMEC as a supplementary international channel, but Indian reporting is our primary legal obligation as an India-based platform.

Anyone who self-discloses they are under 18 will also have their account and IP address permanently banned — BuddyChat is strictly 18+ and is not designed, intended, or permitted for use by minors.

If you encounter any content that exploits or endangers a child, report it immediately at [email protected], use the in-app report button, or report directly to cybercrime.gov.in or your nearest police station — you do not need to wait for us to act.

Moderation and Bans

BuddyChat uses a combination of automated AI moderation (including AI classification of reported behaviour) and human review to enforce these terms. Depending on the severity of the violation, enforcement follows approximate tiers such as:

• Abusive language, harassment, or teasing — temporary restriction (around 5 minutes)
• Death threats, rape threats, or serious threats of violence — extended ban (around 30 days), tied to your IP address
• Child sexual exploitation content (CSAM), or indicating you are under 18 — permanent ban of the account and IP address, and mandatory reporting to authorities as described in the "Zero Tolerance for CSAM" section above

These durations are indicative and may change without notice; we also reserve the right to:

• Remove any content that violates these terms at any time without notice
• Temporarily or permanently ban any user who violates these terms, regardless of the tiers above
• Ban users at our sole discretion, including for behaviour we consider harmful to the community even if not explicitly listed above
• Block access by IP address for repeated or severe violations

Because BuddyChat is anonymous, bans are generally tied to your session/device identifiers and IP address. Attempting to circumvent a ban by creating a new session, clearing cookies, or using a VPN/proxy is itself a violation of these terms and may result in further or permanent action against any IP or device linked to the banned account.

Automated moderation decisions are made by AI and can be mistaken — BuddyChat does not guarantee the accuracy of any automated classification and is not liable for errors in it. Ban decisions are generally final, but we do not have a formal appeal process; you may contact us at [email protected] if you believe a ban was applied in error and we will review it at our discretion.

Premium Badge and Payments

BuddyChat offers an optional Premium supporter badge. By making a payment for the Premium badge you agree to the following:

• Payments unlock the Premium/VIP badge along with certain supporter features (such as gender or country match preferences in random chat) that may change from time to time at our discretion. Payments are not recurring subscriptions unless explicitly stated at the time of payment.
• All payments are final and non-refundable. Once a payment is processed, no refund will be issued under any circumstances.
• The Premium badge is tied to your username and session. It may be lost if you clear your browser data or change your username.
• BuddyChat reserves the right to revoke a Premium badge without refund if the user is found to have violated these terms.
• Payments are processed via UPI or PayPal. BuddyChat does not store any payment card details.
• By making a payment you confirm you are authorised to use the payment method provided.

For payment queries contact us at [email protected].

Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

BuddyChat is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not guarantee that the platform will be available at all times, error-free, or free from harmful content posted by other users.

Intermediary status. BuddyChat is an "intermediary" as defined under Section 2(1)(w) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, providing a platform for real-time communication between users. We do not create, initiate the transmission of, select the receiver of, or modify any user-generated message or content. We observe due diligence under the IT Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (as amended), including publishing these terms and our policies, responding to lawful takedown/reporting requests, and maintaining a Grievance Officer as described in our Privacy Policy. Subject to fulfilling these obligations, BuddyChat is not liable for third-party content transmitted through the platform, consistent with the safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, BuddyChat and its operators shall not be liable for:

• Any content posted, sent, or received by users on the platform, including text, images, audio, or video shared in chat, calls, or the public voice room
• Any loss or damage arising from your use of or inability to use BuddyChat
• Any unauthorised access to your data
• Any interruption or cessation of the service
• Any error, delay, false positive, or false negative in automated (AI-based) content moderation or age/behaviour classification
• Any harm arising from interactions, arrangements, or meetings with other users, whether online or offline
• Any personal information, photos or images that you choose to share and that are saved, screenshotted, leaked, re-shared or misused by another user or third party

You use BuddyChat entirely at your own risk. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users.

Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless BuddyChat, its operators, and affiliates from any claim, liability, loss, damage, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your use of the platform, your violation of these terms, or your violation of any applicable law or the rights of a third party, including any content you post or transmit through BuddyChat.

Intellectual Property

All design, branding, code, and content created by BuddyChat — including the BuddyChat name, logo, interface and original text — is the property of BuddyChat and may not be copied, reproduced or used without permission.

User-generated content (messages, images shared in chat) remains the property of the user who created it. By posting content on BuddyChat you grant BuddyChat a limited, non-exclusive licence to display and transmit that content to other users as part of the normal operation of the platform.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of India.

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

For complaints regarding content on the platform, or grievances relating to compliance with the IT Rules, 2021, see the Grievance Officer contact details in our Privacy Policy.

Questions About These Terms

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us: