Terms of Use

Last revised on February 18, 2017

Welcome to Bubbla, operated by Bubbla Limited (the "Company" or "Bubbla")

We’re delighted you’ve decided to use the Bubbla Application, its functionalities and services, which we refer to simply as the 'App.'

Bubbla is a free social media mobile application that works by allowing users to create and join bubbles (‘Bubbles’), which are virtual spaces in which users can interact with their friends, contacts and others. The App is completely free to download, access and use.

These Terms of Use (which we simply call the 'Terms') govern the relationship between us and form a legally binding contract between you and Bubbla. So please read them carefully. They also incorporate the Bubbla Privacy Policy, which you will also be bound by and which should be read in conjunction with these Terms.

By using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree with them, please don’t continue any further.

  1. Access to the App

    1. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction (whichever is the greater), to use the App.
    2. By using the App, you warrant and agree that:
      1. you are forming a binding contract with Bubbla;
      2. you will comply with these Terms and all applicable laws and regulations.
    3. If you are using the App on behalf of a business or some other entity, you state that you are authorised to grant all licences set out in these Terms and to agree to these Terms on behalf of the business or entity.

  2. How the App works

    1. The Bubbla App enables spontaneous group chat involving texting and also allows for the exchange of image, audio and video files. You can download the App on the Apple App Store. The App is available for free download for iPhones 5, 5C, 5S, 6, 6 plus and 6S.
    2. After you download the App, you have the option of signing up either via Facebook or your own personal email. Signing up via Facebook will pull up and share with us your first name and last name, your profile image and your birthday, gender. Signing up with your personal email, will require you to enter your first name, last name, email address, date of birth, gender, country and a password. Once your bubbla profile is created, you will be requested to verify yourself by entering your phone number so that we can send you a verification code via a text message. Please enter the verification code in the App, where indicated.
    3. Once you have verified your user account, you will be prompted your existing phone contacts, containing a valid phone number and first or/and last name will be uploaded automatically to upload any existing contacts you may have from your own device to Bubbla and from your Facebook account (if applicable), and you can invite these contacts to join Bubbla too. Where your uploaded contacts are not already users of Bubbla, they will be able to download the App from their own mobile device.
    4. You can also visit the Settings screen in the App, where you can change your registered first name and last name, day of birth, gender, country, biography, password, the App colour scheme, your linked Facebook account (if applicable), your discoverability (who can see you), blocked contacts, preset scan radius, the ability to Log out, deactivate your account and also view these Terms of Use and the Bubbla Privacy Policy.
    5. You can create a new Bubble by tapping on the 'Create a Bubble' button, or by tapping the '+' icon found in the top right hand of some of the screens. You can give the Bubble a name, if you wish, otherwise it will appear publicly in the App as default under your own name or username that you have registered with Bubbla. You can also choose the privacy (visible, invisible, or private) of your Bubble (who can request to join and see your Bubble), the location of your Bubble (Bubbla will request access to your location, using GPS to assist you in choosing a nearby establishment you are in), or you can create a private address. Tap on the favicon to invite your Bubbla contacts. You may create as many Bubbles as you like. A Bubble will automatically burst after 5 hours of inactivity, and the Bubble chat room with all the content will not be available anymore to anyone, not even the owner of the Bubble.
    6. Whilst creating your Bubble, you can invite contacts from your circles list, or you can carry out a locational scan of nearby contacts who are Bubbla users within a radius of up to five (5) kilometres, or everywhere (the radius will be set to infinity), and can invite these users and contacts to join your Bubble. You can reset the scan radius within Settings. Contacts who are not using the Bubbla App will receive a text message from Bubbla informing them that you (the user) has invited them to your Bubble; the contact will be sent a link where they will be able to download the Bubbla App. Upon download and the creation of their account, they will receive a notification where if they accept your invite; they will then be a member within your Bubble. Moreover Bubbla will automatically create a friendship between you (the user) and the invited contacts.
    7. Once you have created a Bubble, if you wish to invite nearby users who aren’t contacts of yours, simply “edit” the Bubble and tap “Invite Nearby People”. This allows you to easily invite and pass on nearby users profiles, populated by demographics you customise. Once you are happy with your selections, simply tap “save”, and the invited users will be able to accept or decline your invitation. You will be notified of the users who have accepted and declined.
    8. Members of Bubbles will be able to communicate with other members of the Bubble by sending messages and media files within the Bubble. Members may also request to invite more nearby people as well as their own contacts; upon this request, the “owner”/creator of the Bubble will be able to accept or decline the users who current members of the Bubble have requested to invite. The “owner” of the Bubble also has the ability to eject members, as well as change any other settings/conditions of their Bubble.
    9. Requesting to join a Bubble. If you wish to request to join another user’s Bubble, you can do so by carrying out a Scan. To do this, press the central button on the menu tab (blue radar). You can change the area of your scan by either pinching the screen to increase and decrease the scan search, or by swiping your finger up the screen to increase the radius, or down the screen to decrease the radius. Press scan once happy. Once the Bubbla app has populated a list of Nearby Bubbles, simply request to join a bubble by tapping the “JOIN” button. The owner of the Bubble will be sent a notification about your request where they will be able to accept or decline. You have the availability to join up to five (5) Bubbles every 24 hours.
    10. Your App display will tell you which Bubbles are proximate to you and will indicate how many of your Bubbla friends and contacts have joined a particular Bubble and how many users have joined a Bubble in total. At any one point your display will also indicate which Bubbles have a ‘Pending’ join request from you, which have ‘Declined’ your join request and which have ‘Accepted’ your request.
    11. If you have created a Bubble, you can set your Bubble to:
      1. 'Public', which means that your Bubble is visible to other Bubbla users who can ask to join your Bubble, and you and other users in your Bubble can also invite them;
      2. 'Private', which means that your Bubble is visible to other Bubbla users but they cannot ask to join your Bubble,but you and other users in your Bubble can invite them; or,
      3. 'Invisible', which means that your Bubble is not visible to other Bubbla users, but you and other users in your Bubble can invite Bubbla users to join the Bubble.
      Please note the Privacy Setting of the Bubble does not define the ability for members to Invite Nearby People.
    12. Bubbles which have had no activity for five (5) hours will 'burst' - all trace/existence of the Bubble will disappear and be deleted.

  3. Your Rights

    1. Bubbla grants you a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-assignable, non-exclusive, revocable and non sub-licensable licence to access and use the App.
    2. This licence is for the sole purpose of letting you use and enjoy the App's benefits in a way that these Terms allow.
    3. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell or lease any part of our App, nor may you reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of that software, unless applicable laws prohibit these restrictions or you have our written permission to do so.

  4. Our Rights

    1. Our App lets you create, upload, post, send, receive and store content. When you do that, you retain whatever ownership rights in that content you had to begin with. You also grant Bubbla a worldwide, royalty-free, sub-licensable, and transferable licence to host, store, use, display, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, publish, and distribute that content. This licence is for the limited purpose of operating, developing, providing, promoting, and improving the App and researching and developing new ones.
    2. To the extent it's necessary, you also grant Bubbla and our business partners the unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual right and licence to use your name, likeness and voice solely in any App that you appear in, create, upload, post or send. This means, among other things, that you will not be entitled to any compensation from Bubbla or our business partners if your name, likeness or voice is conveyed through the App.
    3. For more information about how to tailor who can watch your content, please take a look at the Bubbla Privacy Policy.
    4. Though we are not obligated to do so, we reserve the right at all times to access, review, moderate and delete your content at any time and for any reason, including if we think your content breaches these Terms. However, you alone remain responsible for the content you create, upload, post, send or store through the App.
    5. The App may contain advertisements. In consideration of Bubbla letting you access and use the App, you agree that Bubbla, its affiliates, and third-party partners may place advertising on the App.
    6. We welcome your feedback and comments on the App. However, this is on the strict understanding that we can use your ideas without compensating you.
    7. For the avoidance of doubt, users consent to Bubbla automatically uploading users’ phone contacts and other relevant personal data and to Bubbla retaining these in its database.

  5. Third party content

    1. Much of the content on our App is produced by users, advertisers, publishers and other third parties. Whether that content is posted publicly or sent privately, the content is the sole responsibility of the person or organisation that submitted it. Although Bubbla reserves the right to review all content that appears on the App and to remove any content that breaches these Terms, we do not necessarily review all of it. So we cannot – and do not – take responsibility for any content that others provide through the App.
    2. Through these Terms, we make clear our standards for content and usage of the App by all users, however you should bear in mind that we cannot and do not review all content, therefore we cannot guarantee that content on the App will always conform to our Terms.

  6. Your privacy

    1. Your privacy matters to us. You can learn how we handle your information when you use our App by reading the Bubbla Privacy Policy. We encourage you to give the Bubbla Privacy Policy a careful look because, by using our App, you agree that Bubbla can collect, use and transfer your information consistent with that Policy.

  7. The Rights of other users

    1. You may not use the App or the content on the App in ways that are not authorised by these Terms. Nor may you help or enable anyone else to do so.
    2. By accessing and using the App, you agree to respect the rights of other users. In particular (and without limitation), you agree to not upload, post, send or store content that:
      1. breaches or infringes someone else’s rights of publicity, privacy, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right;
      2. bullies, harasses or intimidates;
      3. defames; or,
      4. spams or solicits Bubbla's users.
    3. You must also respect Bubbla’s rights. These Terms do not grant you any right to:
    4. use branding, logos, designs, photographs, videos or any other materials used in our App;
    5. copy, archive, download, upload, distribute, syndicate, broadcast, perform, display, make available, or otherwise use any portion of the App or the content on the App except as described in these Terms; or,
    6. use the App or any content on the App for any commercial purposes without our consent.

  8. Intellectual Property Rights

    1. We will take reasonable steps to expeditiously remove from our App any infringing material that we become aware of.
    2. If Bubbla becomes aware that one of its users has repeatedly infringed copyrights, we will take reasonable steps within our power to terminate the user's account.
    3. Please report suspected copyright infringement to us by contacting us via the Contact Us link.

  9. User Safety

    1. To help us keep this App a safe place for all users, you agree that:
      1. You will not use the App for any purpose that is in breach of these Terms.
      2. You will not use any robot, spider, crawler, scraper, or other automated means or interface to access the App or extract other user's information.
      3. You will not use or develop any third-party applications that interact with the App or other users' content or information without our written consent.
      4. You will not use the App in a way that could interfere with, disrupt, affect negatively or inhibit other users from fully enjoying the App or that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the functioning of the App.
      5. You will not use or attempt to use another user’s account, username or password without their permission.
      6. You will not solicit login credentials from another user.
      7. You will not post content that contains pornography, graphic violence, threats, hate speech or incitements to violence.
      8. You will not upload viruses or other malicious code or otherwise compromise the security of the App.
      9. You will not attempt to circumvent any content-filtering techniques we employ or attempt to access areas or features of the App that you are not authorised to access.
      10. You will not probe, scan or test the vulnerability of our App or any system or network.
      11. You will not encourage or promote any activity that breaches these Terms.
    2. To ensure your own safety, do not use the App while driving or undertaking any other potentially hazardous or dangerous task from which the App might distract you.

  10. Your User Account

    1. You are responsible for any activity that occurs in your account and it is your responsibility to keep your account secure.
    2. By using the App, you agree that, in addition to exercising common sense:
      1. You will create a secure and memorable password for accessing the App, and you will not share this password with anybody else
      2. You will not create more than one account for yourself.
      3. You will not create another account if we have already disabled your account, unless you have our written permission to do so.
      4. You will not buy, sell, rent or lease access to your Bubbla account, Bubbles, a Bubbla username or a friend link without our written permission.
      5. You will not log in or attempt to access the App through unauthorised third-party applications or clients.
    3. If you think that someone has gained access to your account, please contact us immediately via the Contact Us link.

  11. Mobile Phone fees & charges

    1. You are responsible for any mobile charges that you may incur for using our App, including text messaging and data charges. If you’re unsure what those charges may be, you should ask your service provider before using the App.
    2. If you change or deactivate the mobile phone number that you used to create a Bubbla account, you must promptly update your account information through Settings to prevent us from sending to someone else messages intended for you.

  12. Use of third party apps & services

    If you use a service, feature or functionality that is operated by a third party and made available through our App (including apps we offer jointly with a third party), each party’s terms will govern the respective party’s relationship with you. Bubbla is not responsible or liable for those third party’s terms or actions taken under the third party’s terms.

  13. Modifying the App

    We may from time-to-time add or remove features, products or functionalities and we may also suspend or stop the App altogether. We may take any of these actions at any time and, when we do, we may not provide you with any notice beforehand.

  14. Termination

    1. Though we hope you remain a lifelong Bubbla user, you can terminate these Terms at any time and for any reason by deleting your account.
    2. Bubbla may also terminate these Terms with you at any time, for any reason, and without advance notice. That means that we may stop providing you with any App, or impose new or additional limits on your ability to use the App. For example, we may deactivate your account due to prolonged inactivity and we may reclaim your username at any time for any reason.
    3. Regardless of who terminates these Terms, both you and Bubbla continue to be bound by such of these Terms as, by their nature, should continue to apply notwithstanding termination.

  15. Indemnity

    You agree, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to indemnify and hold harmless Bubbla, our directors, officers, employees and affiliates from and against any and all complaints, charges, claims, damages, losses, costs, liabilities, and expenses (including, among other things, professional legal fees) due to, arising out of or relating in any way to: (a) your access to or use of the App; (b) your content; and (c) your breach of these Terms.

  16. Disclaimers

    1. We make no warranty as to continuity of service or that the App will be accessible at any time or at all.
    2. THE APP IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND 'AS AVAILABLE' AND TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN ADDITION, THOUGH BUBBLA ATTEMPTS TO PROVIDE A GOOD USER EXPERIENCE, WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT: (A) THE APP WILL ALWAYS BE SECURE, ERROR-FREE OR TIMELY; (B) THE APP WILL ALWAYS FUNCTION WITHOUT DELAYS, DISRUPTIONS OR IMPERFECTIONS; OR (C) THAT ANY BUBBLA CONTENT, USER CONTENT, OR INFORMATION YOU OBTAIN ON OR THROUGH THE APP WILL BE TIMELY OR ACCURATE.
    3. BUBBLA TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY CONTENT THAT YOU, ANOTHER USER OR A THIRD PARTY CREATES, UPLOADS, POSTS, SENDS, RECEIVES OR STORES ON OR THROUGH OUR APP. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU MAY BE EXPOSED TO CONTENT THAT MIGHT BE OFFENSIVE, ILLEGAL, MISLEADING OR OTHERWISE INAPPROPRIATE, NONE OF WHICH BUBBLA WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR.

  17. Limitation of liability

    1. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BUBBLA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSSES OR DAMAGES (WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR GENERAL) OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR UNDER ANY THEORY OF TORT, RESULTING FROM: (A) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE APP; (B) THE CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES ON OR THROUGH THE APP; OR (C) UNAUTHORISED ACCESS, USE OR ALTERATION OF YOUR CONTENT OR POSTS, EVEN IF BUBBLA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT WILL BUBBLA’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE APP EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE HUNDRED POUNDS STERLING (£100.00).

  18. Severability

    If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, then that provision will be severed from these Terms and not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

  19. Rights of Third Parties

    These Terms do not create or confer any third-party beneficiary rights.

  20. No Waiver

    If we do not enforce a provision in these Terms, it will not be considered a waiver.

    We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you.

  21. No assignment

    You may not transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our consent.

  22. Language

    These Terms were written in English and if the translated version of these Terms conflicts with the English version, the English version will prevail.

  23. Entire agreement

    These Terms make up the entire agreement between you and Bubbla and supersede any prior agreements.

  24. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

    1. These Terms shall be governed by English law, and subject to clause 24.2 below, the parties submit irrevocably to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England & Wales.
    2. We may, at our option, elect to submit the dispute or controversy to binding arbitration in your local jurisdiction.

  25. How to contact us

    1. Bubbla welcomes comments, questions, concerns or suggestions. Please send feedback to us by visiting http://old.bubbla.io/contact/.
    2. Bubbla is located in the United Kingdom at 5 Henty Walk, Putney, London, SW15 5AG.