Terms and Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Rhizent Technologies (an unincorporated software initiative led by solo developer Harsha Vardhan, based in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India; hereinafter "Rhizent", "we", "us", or "our").

By downloading, accessing, or using the Rhizent website (rhizent.space), the PlantSpace mobile applications (Android & iOS), or any associated service (collectively, the "Services"), you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

2. Eligibility & Age Policy

You must be at least 18 years of age to form a binding legal contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

Minors & Parental Consent: If you are under 18 years of age, you may only access the Services with verifiable consent from your parent or lawful guardian, pursuant to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act).

[AGE VERIFICATION & PARENTAL CONSENT MECHANISM PLACEHOLDER]: Verifiable parental consent verification mechanisms will be formally enabled in accordance with the rules notified under Section 9 of the DPDP Act, 2023 upon production release.

3. Accounts & Security

To access features such as posting Sprouts, commenting with Vines, participating in Communities, or sending Whisperings, you must create an account. You agree to provide accurate, current information and to safeguard your authentication credentials. You are solely responsible for all activities occurring under your account. Notify us immediately at support@rhizent.space of any unauthorized access.

4. Public Content vs. Private Whisperings

PlantSpace provides two distinctly segregated communication spaces:

• Public Spaces (Sprouts, Vines & Communities): Any botanical photograph, post (Sprout), threaded comment (Vine), or forum discussion published in public spaces is public content visible to other users. You acknowledge that public content has no expectation of confidentiality.
• Private Communications (Whisperings): Direct 1:1 messages between users are end-to-end encrypted. We cannot read your messages. Plaintext message contents are not readable by Rhizent or stored in readable form on our servers.

5. User Content & License Granted to Rhizent

You retain complete intellectual property ownership in the photographs, botanical text, posts, and comments you submit to public spaces ("User Content").

However, by submitting User Content to public spaces (Sprouts, Vines, and Communities), you grant Rhizent a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, revocable license to host, store, display, format, and distribute that content solely for the purpose of operating and displaying the Services. This license terminates automatically when you delete your content or your account, subject to standard operational caching periods.

6. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to use the Services to:

• Publish or share content that is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, invasive of privacy, hateful, or racially or ethnically objectionable under Rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• Upload or transmit any Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or content exploiting minors. Rhizent enforces zero tolerance and reports violations to law enforcement under POCSO Act, 2012.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation.
• Deploy automated scrapers, bots, crawlers, or exploits against our APIs or infrastructure.
• Decompile, reverse-engineer, or attempt to derive the source code of non-public software components.
• Transmit malware, viruses, or disruptive code.

7. Intellectual Property

The Rhizent wordmark, logo, visual design, custom graphics, software code, algorithms, and documentation are the exclusive intellectual property of Rhizent Technologies and Harsha Vardhan. You may not copy, reproduce, or modify our branding without prior written permission.

8. Moderation & Takedown

As an intermediary under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, Rhizent reserves the right to review, moderate, remove, or disable access to any public User Content that violates these Terms, our Acceptable Use Policy, or applicable Indian law.

Grievances and takedown requests are processed in strict accordance with the Information Technology Rules, 2021. See our Grievance Redressal page for reporting mechanisms.

9. Termination

You may terminate your account at any time via the in-app settings or by contacting support@rhizent.space. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that repeatedly or egregiously violate these Terms, without prior liability.

10. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

The Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.

Agronomic Guidance Disclaimer: Any information provided through PlantSpace or CropPulse (including dosage calculations, pest identification, and cultivation advice) is provided for informational and decision-support purposes only. Agricultural results depend on weather, soil conditions, seed quality, and correct handling. Rhizent shall not be liable for crop loss, chemical misapplication, or financial damages arising from reliance on the software.

To the fullest extent permitted by Indian law, Rhizent's aggregate liability for all claims arising under these Terms shall not exceed the amount paid by you to Rhizent in the preceding twelve months, or INR 1,000, whichever is greater.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Rhizent, Harsha Vardhan, and our affiliates against any third-party claims, liabilities, damages, and legal costs arising from your breach of these Terms, your User Content, or your unlawful use of the Services.

12. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India. Any legal dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent civil courts situated in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India.

13. Modifications to Terms

We may revise these Terms periodically to reflect legislative updates (such as DPDP Act notifications) or operational changes. When changes are made, we will update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the Services constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Contact & Grievance Officer

For questions regarding these Terms or to submit a grievance under Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021: