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Rhize
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Terms of Service

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About these Terms

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are a binding legal agreement between you and Denazen, Inc. ("Rhize," "we," "us," or "our") and govern your access to and use of the Rhize mobile application and any related websites, features, and services we provide (together, the "Service").

Please read these Terms carefully. By downloading, installing, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

These Terms contain a mandatory arbitration agreement and a class-action waiver in Section 19. They affect how disputes between you and us are resolved. Please read Section 19 carefully.

Rhize is operated by Denazen, Inc. You can contact us at legal@rhize.social.

1. What Rhize is

Rhize is a privacy-first social application that gives you two connected experiences: a public social layer built on top of the Bluesky network and the AT Protocol, and a private, end-to-end encrypted layer for sharing posts, images, and direct messages with people you choose.

Rhize's private features are designed so that private content is encrypted on your device before it is stored or transmitted, and Rhize cannot read the content of your encrypted private posts or messages. See Section 8 for what this means for you, including the important limits on recovery and moderation.

Rhize is an independent application. Rhize is not operated, endorsed, sponsored, or affiliated with Bluesky Social PBC or the Bluesky application. See Section 4.

2. Acceptance and changes to these Terms

By using the Service, you represent that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will take reasonable steps to notify you, such as by updating the "Last updated" date above, posting a notice in the app, or, where appropriate, sending you a message. Changes are effective when posted unless we say otherwise. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service.

3. Eligibility and age requirement (18+)

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service. By using Rhize, you represent and warrant that:

  • you are 18 years of age or older;
  • you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms; and
  • your use of the Service does not violate any law or regulation that applies to you.

The Service is intended for adults. It is not directed to, and may not be used by, anyone under 18. We do not knowingly permit anyone under 18 to use the Service or knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that a person under 18 is using the Service, we may suspend or terminate their access and delete associated information. If you believe someone under 18 is using the Service, contact us at safety@rhize.social.

Rhize contains and connects to user-generated content and to a decentralized public network that we do not control (see Section 4). Even with the content protections described in Section 9, you may encounter content that is objectionable, and Rhize cannot review or moderate the content of the end-to-end encrypted private layer (see Section 8). For these reasons, the Service is offered only to adults.

4. Rhize, Bluesky, and the AT Protocol

Rhize is a client for the Bluesky network and the Authenticated Transfer Protocol (the "AT Protocol"), a decentralized social-networking protocol. This has important consequences you should understand:

  • You sign in with your Bluesky / AT Protocol account. Your identity, your public posts, and much of your data live in your AT Protocol repository on a personal data server ("PDS"), which may be operated by Bluesky or by another provider — not by Rhize.
  • Your use of Bluesky-operated services is also governed by Bluesky’s own terms. To the extent you use Bluesky-operated services through Rhize — such as the bsky.social personal data server, relay, or AppView — that use is also subject to Bluesky’s Terms of Service (https://bsky.social/about/support/tos), Community Guidelines (https://bsky.social/about/support/community-guidelines), Privacy Policy (https://bsky.social/about/support/privacy-policy), and Copyright Policy, as well as the rules of your PDS and other network participants. If you use a self-hosted or third-party PDS or other providers, their terms — not Bluesky’s — apply to those services. These are separate agreements between you and those providers; they are referenced here for your awareness and are not incorporated into or made a part of these Terms. You are responsible for reviewing and complying with them.
  • We do not control the network. Rhize does not control Bluesky’s or any other provider’s content policies, moderation, labeling, availability, uptime, server logs, data retention, indexing, or account rules. We are not responsible for the acts, omissions, content, or availability of Bluesky, any PDS, relay, AppView, feed generator, labeler, or other third-party AT Protocol infrastructure.
  • Decentralization affects deletion and visibility. Because the AT Protocol is decentralized, public content and metadata you create may be copied, cached, indexed, or retained by services outside Rhize’s control. Deleting content through Rhize may not remove every copy across the network, and we cannot guarantee complete deletion. Treat anything you post publicly as public and potentially permanent.

Under Bluesky's own terms, an application on the AT Protocol that is not Bluesky Social is a "Developer Application" governed by its own terms. Rhize is such an application, and these Terms — not Bluesky's — govern your use of Rhize itself.

5. Your account and security

You access the Service using your Bluesky / AT Protocol credentials through a standard authorization flow. You are responsible for:

  • maintaining the confidentiality and security of your account credentials, your device, and any passphrase, PIN, recovery phrase, or secret used with the Service;
  • all activity that occurs under your account or through your device; and
  • promptly notifying us at support@rhize.social if you believe your account or credentials have been compromised.

Do not share your account, credentials, or encryption secrets with anyone. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from unauthorized use of your account or from your failure to safeguard your credentials, device, or encryption secrets.

6. Access to the Service; invite-only

Rhize may be offered on an invite-only basis or may otherwise limit access, features, or availability at our discretion. Invite codes and invitations are personal, may be limited in number, and may not be sold, transferred, or used in violation of these Terms. We may change, limit, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service — including invite availability, features, or the entire Service — at any time, with or without notice.

7. Your content and license

"Your Content" means anything you create, upload, post, transmit, or share through the Service, including public posts, private posts, images, direct messages, replies, profile information, and feedback.

  • You own Your Content. These Terms do not transfer ownership of Your Content to us.
  • You are responsible for Your Content. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to share Your Content and that Your Content, and your use of the Service, complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.
  • Limited license to operate the Service. You grant Rhize a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, process, transmit, and display Your Content solely to the extent necessary to operate, provide, secure, and maintain the Service for you. For end-to-end encrypted content, this license applies only to the encrypted form (ciphertext) and associated metadata that our systems handle — we do not have the ability to access the underlying content. We do not use Your Content to build advertising profiles, and we will never sell Your Content.
  • Public content and the network. For public posts and interactions, you also grant the licenses required by the AT Protocol and the services that carry your public content, as described in Bluesky’s and your PDS’s terms.
  • Feedback. If you send us suggestions, ideas, or feedback about the Service, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use it without restriction or obligation to you.

8. Private content, encryption, keys, and recovery

Rhize's private features are designed around end-to-end encryption. This gives you strong privacy, but it also creates responsibilities and limits you must understand and accept:

  • We cannot read your private content. The content of your private posts, images, and direct messages is encrypted on your device. Rhize does not possess the keys needed to decrypt it. We cannot provide, review, or recover the plaintext of your encrypted private content — for support, moderation, legal, or any other purpose.
  • You are responsible for your encryption secrets. Your encryption password or passphrase and any recovery secret are yours to safeguard. Store them securely. Do not rely on Rhize to remember or reset them for you.
  • Lost keys mean lost content — permanently. If you lose access to your encryption password and your recovery secret, your encrypted private content cannot be recovered by you or by us. Resetting or re-establishing your account generates new keys, and content encrypted under your prior keys becomes permanently unreadable. This is an inherent property of the design, not a policy we can override.
  • Encryption does not hide all metadata. End-to-end encryption protects the content of private communications. It does not make all metadata invisible. Certain metadata — such as the existence and timing of a record, account identifiers, relationships between accounts, record types, and the ciphertext itself — may be visible to Rhize, to AT Protocol infrastructure, or to other network participants. See the Privacy Policy for details.
  • Moderation limits for private content. Because we cannot read encrypted private content, we cannot proactively moderate it. We can act only on user-submitted reports, materials (such as screenshots) that users voluntarily provide, account-level abuse signals, and non-content metadata. You are responsible for whom you invite into your private circles and for the content you send and receive privately.
  • No guarantee of perfect security. We implement meaningful technical safeguards, but no system is perfectly secure. We do not warrant that the Service, encryption, or your content cannot be compromised. See Sections 15 and 16.

9. Content standards and mature content

Rhize connects to the public Bluesky / AT Protocol network, which contains user-generated content that we do not create or control and that may include content you find objectionable.

  • Public content filtering. Rhize hides public posts that Bluesky / AT Protocol moderation labels as explicit content (categories such as pornography, nudity, sexual content, graphic media, and gore). Rhize does not provide a user-facing setting to display these categories. Filtering depends on third-party labeling and is not guaranteed to catch all objectionable content.
  • No control over the network. We do not control what other users or services publish on the public network, and we are not responsible for third-party content.
  • Private content. As described in Section 8, we cannot review the content of encrypted private communications. You interact privately at your own risk and are responsible for your conduct and the people you connect with.

10. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Service, and not to enable or encourage others to use the Service, to:

  • violate any law or regulation, or infringe or misappropriate the intellectual-property, privacy, publicity, or other rights of any person;
  • violate the terms, guidelines, or acceptable-use rules of any network, personal data server, or service you connect to or through when using the Service, including Bluesky and the AT Protocol services you use;
  • create, upload, transmit, store, or share content that is unlawful, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), content that sexually exploits or endangers minors, content that promotes terrorism or violent extremism, or content that facilitates human trafficking or other serious crimes;
  • harass, threaten, stalk, defame, or incite violence against others, or engage in hate speech or targeted abuse;
  • distribute malware, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to, disrupt, overload, probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service, our systems, or any connected network or infrastructure;
  • circumvent, disable, or interfere with security, rate-limiting, anti-abuse, moderation, or content-filtering features of the Service;
  • send spam or bulk unsolicited messages, engage in fraud, phishing, or impersonation, or create accounts or invites by automated means for abusive purposes;
  • reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Service except to the extent this restriction is prohibited by applicable law, or copy, modify, or create derivative works of the Service except as expressly permitted;
  • sell, resell, rent, or commercially exploit the Service, invite codes, or access to the Service without our authorization; or
  • use the Service in any way that could harm minors, other users, third parties, Rhize, or the networks and services the Service relies on.

We may investigate and take action on suspected violations, including removing content we can access, limiting features, and suspending or terminating accounts. We may also report unlawful content or activity to law enforcement or other authorities as required or permitted by law.

11. Intellectual property

The Service — including its software, design, text, graphics, logos, and the "Rhize" and "Denazen" names and marks — is owned by Denazen, Inc. or its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. Except for the limited right to use the Service under these Terms, we grant you no rights in our intellectual property. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

Portions of the Service may include open-source software provided under their own licenses. Those licenses govern your use of those components, and nothing in these Terms limits your rights under them. To the extent an open-source license conflicts with these Terms with respect to that component, the open-source license controls for that component.

12. Paid features (if offered)

If and when Rhize offers paid features, subscriptions, or in-app purchases, additional terms may apply and will be presented to you at the time of purchase. Purchases made through the Apple App Store or Google Play are processed by Apple or Google under their terms, and billing, renewals, cancellations, and refunds are subject to the applicable app store's policies. Unless required by law or the applicable app store, fees are non-refundable. We may change pricing and offerings on a prospective basis.

13. Copyright and DMCA

We respect intellectual-property rights and expect you to do the same. If you believe content accessible through the Service infringes your copyright, you may send a notice to our designated contact at legal@rhize.social including: (a) identification of the copyrighted work; (b) identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location; (c) your contact information; (d) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized; (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf; and (f) your physical or electronic signature.

We may remove content we control and, in appropriate cases, terminate repeat infringers. Note that for public AT Protocol content and for encrypted private content, our ability to act may be limited as described in Sections 4 and 8, and copyright complaints regarding public Bluesky content may need to be directed to Bluesky or the relevant service.

14. Third-party services

The Service relies on and links to third-party services, including Bluesky / AT Protocol infrastructure, our service providers (for example, Supabase for encrypted-payload and metadata storage and PostHog for anonymous analytics, as described in the Privacy Policy), and the Apple App Store and Google Play. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party services, their content, or their practices. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk and subject to their terms.

15. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade.

Without limiting the foregoing, we do not warrant that: the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, timely, or error-free; defects will be corrected; the Service or the systems that make it available are free of harmful components; encryption or any security measure will be uncompromised; content will be accurate or reliable; or that data (including encrypted content) will not be lost. We are not responsible for the content, conduct, availability, or data practices of Bluesky, the AT Protocol network, other users, or any third party. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain disclaimers, so some of the above may not apply to you.

16. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DENAZEN, INC. AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA (INCLUDING LOSS OF ENCRYPTED CONTENT OR ENCRYPTION KEYS), GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICE — WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US, IF ANY, FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

These limitations do not exclude or limit liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law (for example, liability for death or personal injury caused by our gross negligence, fraud, or willful misconduct). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you.

17. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Denazen, Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) Your Content; (b) your use or misuse of the Service; (c) your violation of these Terms or of any law or third-party right; or (d) your interactions or connections with other users. We may assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification, in which case you agree to cooperate with us.

18. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. You can disconnect Rhize from your Bluesky / AT Protocol account and, where available, remove your account information through the Service; separately deleting your underlying Bluesky account is done through Bluesky.

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe that: you have violated these Terms or any policy incorporated here; it is required by law or legal process; or your continued access poses a risk to you, other users, third parties, the network, or us. Upon termination, the rights granted to you under these Terms end. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including Sections 7, 8, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20 — survive.

Because of the design described in Section 8 and the decentralization described in Section 4, termination does not guarantee deletion of all content or metadata across the network, and content encrypted under keys you can no longer access will remain unreadable.

19. Dispute resolution; arbitration; class-action waiver

Please read this Section carefully — it affects your legal rights.

  • Informal resolution first. Before starting a formal proceeding, you agree to contact us at legal@rhize.social and describe your dispute so we can try to resolve it informally. You and we agree to negotiate in good faith for at least 30 days from that notice before initiating arbitration.
  • Binding arbitration. If we cannot resolve the dispute informally, you and we agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its applicable rules, rather than in court, except as provided below. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court with jurisdiction.
  • Exceptions. Either party may (a) bring an individual claim in small-claims court if it qualifies, and (b) seek injunctive or equitable relief in court to protect intellectual-property or security interests. Nothing here waives any right that cannot be waived under applicable law.
  • Class-action waiver. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims or preside over any representative or class proceeding.
  • 30-day opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to legal@rhize.social within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, stating your intent to opt out and your account handle. If you opt out, the remaining Terms still apply.
  • Governing law and venue. These Terms and any dispute are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and, for matters not subject to arbitration, you and we consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Delaware. If mandatory local law in your jurisdiction requires otherwise, that law applies to the extent required.

20. General

  • Entire agreement. These Terms and the documents incorporated by reference (including the Privacy Policy) are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede prior agreements on that subject.
  • Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable.
  • No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.
  • Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets.
  • No third-party beneficiaries. Except as stated in Section 21, these Terms create no third-party beneficiary rights.
  • Notices; electronic communications. We may provide notices to you through the Service, by email, or by posting on our website. You consent to receive communications from us electronically, and you agree that electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that a communication be in writing.
  • Force majeure. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

21. Apple App Store and Google Play terms

If you download the Service from the Apple App Store or Google Play (each, an "App Provider"), the following also applies:

  • These Terms are between you and Denazen, Inc. only, not with the App Provider. The App Provider is not responsible for the Service or its content.
  • The App Provider has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the Service.
  • To the extent required, the App Provider is a third-party beneficiary of these Terms and may enforce them against you.
  • You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo or designated as "terrorist supporting," and that you are not on any U.S. Government restricted-party list.
  • You must comply with all applicable third-party terms (for example, your wireless data agreement) when using the Service.
  • Any claim that the Service fails to conform to applicable warranties is the responsibility of Denazen, Inc., not the App Provider, subject to Sections 15 and 16.

22. Contact us

Questions about these Terms can be sent to Denazen, Inc. at legal@rhize.social

Support: support@rhize.social

Safety / reporting: safety@rhize.social

Mailing address: 328 Mount Union Ave, Philomath OR, 97370