Terms and Conditions

Welcome to Handmade Hearts. These Terms are the agreement between you and the person who runs Handmade Hearts (the "operator", "we" or "us"). They explain the rules for using the site and what each of us is responsible for.

By creating an account, or by using Handmade Hearts, you agree to these Terms, including the policies listed in section 12. If you do not agree with them, please do not create an account or use the service.

1. Who can use Handmade Hearts

Handmade Hearts is only for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to register or use the service. High school students may not use the service either, whatever their age.

When you sign up, we ask for your date of birth and for you to confirm that you are at least 18 years old. Your date of birth is never shown on your profile. If a date of birth under 18 is entered, sign-up is paused from that browser for 30 days and from that internet connection for 24 hours, as explained in the Cookie Policy.

Do not misrepresent your age or help anyone get around the age restriction. If we have reasonable grounds to believe that an account belongs to someone under 18 or to a high school student, we may restrict it immediately, without prior notice, while we look into it. If that is confirmed, the account is permanently closed and its profile and content are deleted, except for the limited records described in the Account Deletion Policy (for example, what we need to stop the same person from registering again, to protect a young person, or to meet a legal obligation, which can include preserving information for the police).

While the site is small, sign-up may also require an invitation code, and every new account has to confirm its email address.

2. Countries where Handmade Hearts isn't available

Because of the age-verification and online-safety rules that apply there (such as the United Kingdom's Online Safety Act and Australia's online-safety framework), Handmade Hearts is restricted in some countries:

• Visits from the United Kingdom and Australia are blocked. Our network provider, Cloudflare, works out which country each visit comes from using its internet (IP) address, and turns away visits from these countries before they reach the site.
• Registration is not available to people located in Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia. At sign-up you tell us which country you are in, and we rely on that answer.

You must not access Handmade Hearts while you are in a country where visits are blocked, and you must not register or use account features while you are located in any of the countries above. Do not hide or misrepresent your location to get around these restrictions, for example with a VPN, proxy or similar tool, or by choosing another country at sign-up. Doing so is a serious breach of these Terms, and we may close the account. If you move to one of these countries, please stop using your account. You can delete it before you go, or ask us to delete it by writing to [email protected] from the address on your account.

3. Your account

You are responsible for providing accurate information when you create your account and for keeping your login details secure. Do not share your password, and do not knowingly let anyone else use your account.

You are responsible for what happens through your account when it results from your own actions, from not keeping your login details secure, or from knowingly letting someone else in. If you believe someone has accessed your account without permission, change your password and contact us as soon as you reasonably can.

You may have only one account unless we have explicitly given you permission to create another.

You can stop using Handmade Hearts and permanently delete your account at any time, from the Edit My Profile page, using the "Delete account" link (see section 18).

We may suspend or close an account when reasonably necessary to protect the community, enforce these Terms, investigate abuse, comply with legal obligations, or protect the security and integrity of the service.

4. Fellows and private messages

Private (one-to-one) messages are only possible between fellows. To become fellows, one member sends a fellow request from the other's profile, and the other accepts it. A request that is waiting for an answer does not let either of you send messages.

• A fellow request that isn't answered expires after 30 days. Declining is private: the sender is not told.
• To prevent unwanted pressure, there are limits on fellow requests: after a request to someone ends without a fellowship, you have to wait before sending that person another one, you can send at most 20 requests in 24 hours, and someone who has declined your requests 3 times within a year can't receive more from you for a while.
• You decide who can send you fellow requests (everyone, or nobody) in Settings. Choosing "nobody" doesn't affect your existing fellows.
• Either of you can end a fellowship at any time. Blocking someone also ends the fellowship and stops messages and fellow requests in both directions; unblocking does not restore the fellowship.
• When two members aren't fellows, any earlier conversation between them stays readable but becomes read-only. If they become fellows again, they can continue in the same conversation.

Private messages are stored on our server so that they can be delivered and shown to the two of you. They are not end-to-end encrypted. We don't read them as a matter of routine, but we may review messages when investigating a report or a safety concern, or when the law requires it (see the Privacy Policy). Each conversation keeps the most recent 500 messages; older ones are deleted automatically.

Do not use fellow requests or messages to pressure, harass or repeatedly contact someone who hasn't accepted, and do not create accounts or use other means to get around a block, a declined request or someone's settings.

5. Your content and automated screening

You keep ownership of the content you create and post on Handmade Hearts, including your profile information, photographs, guestbook entries, messages, Personals, Heartbeats, ProfiRings, custom CSS, and other material you submit.

By posting content on Handmade Hearts, you give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, display and distribute that content as reasonably necessary to operate and provide the features of the site. This permission is limited to operating, maintaining, improving and providing Handmade Hearts and its features. It does not transfer ownership of your content to us, and it ends when the content is deleted from the service, except for copies that other members have already made and the limited records described in the Account Deletion Policy.

You are responsible for the content you post. You must have the necessary rights and permissions for anything you upload or otherwise submit. Do not post content that is illegal, sexual, fraudulent, threatening, harassing, abusive, intentionally deceptive, or that infringes another person's rights.

Automated text filtering. Text you post (including messages, profiles, guestbook entries, Personals, Heartbeats, ProfiRing descriptions and Plaza chat) passes through an automatic word filter that replaces words from a list of insults and slurs with "*" symbols; usernames and some names containing those words are refused. The filter works on a best-effort basis, is not reviewed by a person, and will not catch everything.

Automated image screening. Photos you upload (profile pictures, gallery photos, header images, ProfiRing covers and pictures in Heartbeats) are checked automatically for nudity by detection software (NudeNet) that runs on our own server. No image is sent to an outside service for this. An image the software flags is refused and not stored. The check is best-effort: it can be wrong in either direction, and if the checker is unavailable an upload may go through unchecked. Uploading prohibited images is against these Terms whether or not the screening catches them.

We may remove, restrict or disable access to content when we reasonably believe it breaks these Terms or the law, or threatens the safety and integrity of the community.

6. Content from other members

Handmade Hearts contains content created by its members. That content does not necessarily represent the views of Handmade Hearts or its operator.

We do not guarantee that information provided by members is accurate, complete, truthful or reliable, that a member is who they claim to be, that their photographs or other information are genuine, or that they have the intentions they describe. You are responsible for deciding whether, when and how you communicate with another member.

7. How we expect you to behave

Please treat other members with basic respect and honesty. The Safety Rules are part of these Terms and apply everywhere on the site.

In private messages and in every other part of Handmade Hearts, you must not:

• sexually exploit or abuse anyone under 18, in any form, including soliciting, offering, sharing or asking for sexual images of minors, or child sexual abuse material of any kind;
• contact, lure or try to meet anyone under 18, or encourage a minor to use the service;
• groom, coerce or manipulate anyone into sexual activity, into sharing intimate images, or into any other kind of exploitation;
• offer, ask for or arrange sex or sexual services in exchange for money, gifts or other benefits (including "paid dating");
• post or send sexual or sexually explicit content;
• ask other members for personal information (such as their home address, phone number, school or workplace) in an improper or pressuring way;
• pressure members to move to outside social media or messaging apps (such as LINE) to get around the site's safety features, or with any harmful or deceptive intent;
• harass, threaten, stalk, intimidate or abuse anyone;
• scam, defraud or deliberately deceive another member;
• impersonate another person, or deliberately misrepresent yourself in a way intended to deceive or harm other members;
• create or operate more than one account without permission, or create a new account to get around a block, a suspension or a closed account;
• ask members for money, financial help, loans, gift cards, cryptocurrency or other payments;
• upload or share content you do not have the right to use;
• use the service for anything unlawful;
• distribute malware, malicious code or other harmful material;
• try to gain unauthorized access to another account or to the site's systems, or interfere with the operation or security of the service; or
• use the site mainly for unrelated advertising, spam or commercial solicitation.

We may suspend or remove an account that breaks these rules, with or without advance notice depending on the circumstances. We may also act when necessary to protect other members, investigate abuse, prevent fraud or protect the security of Handmade Hearts. Where appropriate and lawful, serious matters (for example, anything involving the exploitation of a minor) may be reported to the relevant authorities.

8. Dealing with other members

Handmade Hearts exists to help people discover and communicate with one another. What happens between members, on the site or anywhere else (including if members choose to meet in person), is the responsibility of the people involved.

We do not run background checks on members and cannot guarantee the identity, intentions, age, behaviour or safety of any member, beyond enforcing the age requirement as described in section 1.

Use your own judgment and take appropriate precautions before sharing personal information, continuing a conversation off Handmade Hearts, sending money, or meeting another member in person.

Handmade Hearts and its operator are not responsible for the conduct of members or for disputes, injuries, losses, damages, or other consequences arising from dealings with other members, except where caused by our intentional misconduct or gross negligence, and only to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Report and Block are available on every profile, so that you can act when another member makes you uncomfortable or seems to break the rules. You never need to give a reason for blocking someone. For practical advice, see Staying Safe; to report something, see Contact & Reporting.

9. Moderation and reports

Reports are read by a person, not an automated system. We may review reports, investigate suspected violations and take reasonable moderation action to protect the community and the service. Moderation decisions may include removing content, restricting features, suspending an account, or permanently closing an account.

We cannot guarantee that every violation will be detected or that every report will lead to action. Do not knowingly make false or malicious reports, and do not retaliate against anyone who makes a report in good faith.

Information about reports, moderation, abuse, security incidents and account enforcement may be kept when reasonably necessary to protect the service, prevent repeated abuse, resolve disputes, comply with legal obligations, or keep moderation records, as described in the Privacy Policy and the Account Deletion Policy.

10. Supporter membership

Supporter is an optional monthly membership that helps pay for the site. It is bought through Ko-fi, a separate payment service, and Ko-fi's own terms and privacy policy apply to the payment. We never see or store your card details.

• Supporter status is applied to your account when Ko-fi tells us about your payment and matches it to your username, as explained on the Supporter page. If a payment can't be matched, contact us.
• The perks are the ones described on the Supporter page. They never include visibility, ranking or priority over other members. We may change the perks; if we reduce them, we will say so on the Supporter page before it happens.
• The membership renews monthly through Ko-fi until you cancel it in your Ko-fi account. After cancelling, your perks continue until the end of the period you already paid for. Deleting your Handmade Hearts account does not cancel the Ko-fi membership: cancel it on Ko-fi too.
• If we close your account for breaking these Terms, the perks end with it.
• If you think you were charged by mistake, or something went wrong with a payment, contact us. Refunds are handled case by case and as required by applicable law and Ko-fi's terms.

11. Privacy

The Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who can see it, how long it is kept, and the rights you have. By agreeing to these Terms you confirm that you have read it. Nothing in these Terms reduces any right you have under the privacy laws that apply to you.

12. Policies that are part of these Terms

The following pages form part of these Terms. By agreeing to these Terms, you also agree to them:

• the Safety Rules, the community rules on harassment, unwanted contact, grooming, sexual exploitation and impersonation;
• the Cookie Policy, which lists the cookies and browser storage the site uses; and
• the Account Deletion Policy, which explains how deletion works and what is kept.

The Privacy Policy applies to your use of the site as described in section 11. Staying Safe offers practical advice, and the Constitution sets out our promises in plain words; neither is a contract term. If one of the policies above ever conflicts with these Terms, these Terms take priority. All of these pages are listed on the Legal & Safety page.

13. Third-party services and links

Handmade Hearts relies on a few outside services: a hosting provider for the server the site runs on; Cloudflare, which carries all traffic between visitors and the site, protects it against attacks and applies the country block described in section 2; an email delivery service for account emails (such as confirmation and password reset emails); and Ko-fi for Supporter payments. They are named in the Privacy Policy. These services are operated by third parties and have their own terms and privacy policies.

The site contains links to other websites, such as members' own websites or Ko-fi, and Heartbeats can show pictures hosted on other websites when a reader chooses to load them. We are not responsible for those websites, their content or how they handle your information.

We are not responsible for outages, errors, changes or discontinuation of third-party services outside our reasonable control.

14. Availability and changes to the service

Handmade Hearts is independently operated and will change over time. The site is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not promise that it will always be available, uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or compatible with every device or browser.

Features may be added, changed, temporarily disabled or removed, and we may suspend or discontinue all or part of the service, temporarily or permanently, when reasonably necessary. If we ever decide to close Handmade Hearts for good, we will announce it on the site in advance whenever we reasonably can.

15. No warranties

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Handmade Hearts is provided without warranties or guarantees of any kind, whether express or implied. In particular, we do not guarantee that:

• the site will always be available or uninterrupted;
• the site will be free from errors or security vulnerabilities;
• information on the site will always be accurate or complete;
• content created by members will be accurate, lawful or reliable;
• the service will meet your particular expectations or requirements; or
• you will meet anyone, make friends, form a relationship, or have any particular experience through the site.

Handmade Hearts is run as an independent project, and occasional bugs, outages, maintenance and unexpected problems are possible.

16. Limitation of liability

Except where damage is caused by our intentional misconduct or gross negligence, Handmade Hearts and its operator will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or unforeseeable damages arising from or relating to your use of, or inability to use, the service. Subject to the same exception, this includes losses or damages arising from:

• dealings with other members;
• content created by members;
• reliance on information provided by another member;
• meetings or other activities taking place outside the site;
• interruption or unavailability of the service;
• loss or corruption of content;
• unauthorized access to an account;
• third-party services; or
• changes to or discontinuation of the service.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including the consumer protection laws of the country where you live.

17. False information about your age, and claims caused by your actions

You are responsible for the information you give us, including your date of birth and your confirmation that you are at least 18. Except where caused by our intentional misconduct or gross negligence, we are not liable for damage that results from a member registering or using the service while misrepresenting their age.

If a false declaration, an unlawful act, a breach of these Terms, an infringement of another person's rights, or other misuse of the service by you causes us damage, or leads a third party to make a legitimate claim against Handmade Hearts or its operator, you may be responsible for the resulting losses and reasonable costs, to the extent permitted by applicable law. This does not apply to the extent the claim or loss was caused by conduct for which the operator is legally responsible.

18. Account deletion

You can permanently delete your account at any time from the Edit My Profile page, using the "Delete account" link and confirming with your password.

When you delete your account, your profile and your content on the site, such as your photographs, messages, fellows, guestbook entries, favorites and blocks, are deleted from the service straight away. A few records may remain for a limited period or for specific purposes (backups, security, moderation history, payment records, legal obligations and dispute resolution), exactly as listed in the Account Deletion Policy.

Deleting your account does not remove content that another member has independently copied, downloaded, quoted or otherwise kept outside the service.

19. Intellectual property of Handmade Hearts

The Handmade Hearts name, logo, original site design, software, graphics, text and other material created by the operator remain the property of the operator or their respective rights holders, unless stated otherwise.

You may use the site for its intended personal purposes, but you may not copy, reproduce, redistribute, sell or commercially exploit substantial portions of the site's original content or code without permission, except where applicable law allows it.

20. Changes to these Terms

These Terms may be updated as Handmade Hearts develops or as legal or operational requirements change. When they change, the "Last updated" date at the top of this page changes. For material changes, we will announce them on the site before they take effect, and where appropriate also by another reasonable method.

If you keep using Handmade Hearts after updated Terms take effect, you agree to them, to the extent permitted by applicable law. If you do not agree with an updated version, stop using the service and delete your account.

21. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

Any dispute relating to these Terms or Handmade Hearts will be handled by a court that has jurisdiction under applicable law.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to take away any mandatory rights or protections you have under the laws of the place where you live.

22. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, an account issue, a report, or anything else about Handmade Hearts, please use the Contact & Reporting page or write to [email protected].

By creating an account or continuing to use Handmade Hearts, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms and agree to follow them.

Handmade Hearts is an 18+ social community. It provides tools for people to create profiles, share interests, discover other members, and communicate with the community or, once both have agreed to be fellows, privately. It does not provide romantic matching or compatibility recommendations.