Terms and Conditions

1. Scope and Contracting Party

These Terms govern the contractual relationship between you and the provider of the sportbuddies platform.

The provider and your contracting party is Pautsch Digital UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Im Biengarten 14, 63456 Hanau, Germany, represented by its Managing Director Henning Pautsch, registered with the commercial register of Amtsgericht Hanau under HRB 101031, VAT identification number DE440304537.

Terms put forward by users do not become part of the contract, even if the provider does not expressly object to them.

2. Subject Matter of the Service

sportbuddies is an online platform. Users can find sports sessions near them, create their own sessions, form groups, sign up for sessions and exchange messages with other participants. The service shows sessions on a map, keeps activity points and ladders, and grants awards.

The provider supplies the technical platform only. It does not host the sports sessions arranged through the platform, is not a party to the arrangements made between participants, and does not operate the sports facilities used.

There is no entitlement to a contact being made, to a particular session taking place, or to sessions being available near you in any particular number.

3. Account, Registration and Formation of the Contract

Sessions and groups can be viewed in part without an account. An account is required in order to take part in sessions, to create your own sessions, for groups, and to exchange messages.

The contract of use is formed when you create an account and accept these Terms. There is no entitlement to the contract being concluded.

You sign in through the sign-in options offered in the service, including the sign-in service of a third-party provider. You must keep your credentials confidential and notify the provider without delay if there are indications that your account is being used without authorisation.

The information in your profile must be accurate. The account is personal and may not be passed on or transferred to third parties.

4. Eligibility and Minors

Use of the service requires a minimum age of 16 years.

Minors aged 16 and over may use the service only with the consent of their legal guardian. For services carrying a charge, the express consent of the legal guardian is additionally required.

The provider may suspend an account where there are reasonable doubts about the minimum age and those doubts are not resolved upon enquiry.

5. Tiers, Limits and Charges

The service is offered in two tiers. In the "Free" tier — hereinafter the "Basic Tier" — you can browse, join sessions and organise your own, within the limits shown in the service; no fee is payable for this. The "Pro" tier lifts those limits.

Pro lifts the limits of the Basic Tier: the number of concurrently active sessions, the number of places per session, the number of members per group and the number of groups you organise yourself are then unlimited. In addition, recurring sessions become available and the message history is accessible without a time limit. No further capabilities form part of Pro.

The limits of the Basic Tier in force at any given time are shown in the service. The provider may change them. Changes that restrict the Basic Tier will be announced in advance with reasonable notice.

Whether and in what amount a charge applies for Pro follows from Clause 6. What applies once paid use has begun is set out in Clause 14.

6. Beta Phase and Transition to Paid Use

The service is in a beta phase. During this phase the provider supplies the service, including Pro, without charge. The provider does not collect payment data during the beta phase.

The following prices have been announced for the period after the beta phase: 9.99 € per month or 89 € per year, each including VAT. Anyone who activates Pro during the beta phase pays 50 percent less in the first year carrying a charge, that is 44.50 € instead of 89 €; the regular price applies thereafter. An announced price is not yet a charge in force.

Pro ends when the beta phase ends. The provider will inform you beforehand with reasonable notice. Paid use begins only once you have expressly agreed to it at that point. Without that agreement no payment obligation arises: use of Pro during the beta phase does not turn into paid use by itself, and nothing is debited. What applies if you do agree is set out in Clause 14.

If you do not agree, the limits of the Basic Tier apply again. Members who are already in a group you organise at that time remain in it, even if their number exceeds the limit of the Basic Tier. Further joins beyond that limit are then no longer possible. The group is retained and is not emptied.

You may withdraw an activation of Pro declared during the beta phase at any time.

7. Right of Withdrawal for Consumers

If, as a consumer, you conclude a contract for the service that carries a charge, you have a right to withdraw within 14 days without giving reasons. The period begins when the contract is concluded.

A clear declaration in text form to the address stated in Clause 1, or to the email address stated in the Legal Notice, is sufficient for withdrawal.

If you expressly request that the provider begin performance before the withdrawal period expires, and you confirm your awareness that you lose the right of withdrawal upon complete performance, the right of withdrawal lapses once the service has been fully performed. Otherwise, upon withdrawal, compensation is owed for the portion of the service performed up to that point.

Before the first use carrying a charge you will receive a separate withdrawal notice together with a model withdrawal form.

8. Obligations When Using the Service

You may use the service only within the applicable law and these Terms.

The following are prohibited in particular: unlawful, insulting, discriminatory, threatening, youth-endangering or misleading content; harassment of other users; impersonating another identity; creating sessions that are not intended to take place; commercial advertising without the provider's prior consent; automated extraction of content; and any act that impairs the availability or the security of the service.

You may use other users' details and sessions only in order to arrange the relevant sports session, and for no other purpose.

You can notify the provider of breaches of this Clause. How to do so, and how the provider deals with such a notice, is set out in Clause 16.

9. User Content and Rights in It

You are responsible for the content you submit — profile details, sessions, group descriptions, messages and images. You warrant that you hold the necessary rights and do not infringe the rights of third parties.

You grant the provider the non-exclusive, geographically unrestricted right, at no charge, to store this content, to process it technically and to display it within the service to the recipients intended for it. That right ends when the content is deleted, unless statutory retention obligations prevent this.

The provider does not screen content in advance. It may remove individual content or block access to it where there are concrete indications of a legal violation or of a breach of Clause 8. The procedure for this is set out in Clause 16.

10. Sessions, Groups and the Responsibility of Organisers

Whoever creates a session is responsible for the information about it, for compliance with the rules of the location used, and for any permits required. The provider does not check this.

Signing up for a session is an arrangement between the participants. No contract with the provider arises from it. Claims arising from a session that is cancelled, moved or held differently from its description are not directed against the provider.

Whoever organises a group may admit and remove members. In doing so, the rights of the other members must be respected, in particular the prohibition of discrimination.

11. Personal Responsibility When Doing Sport

Doing sport is at your own risk. You decide for yourself whether your state of health permits you to take part in a session.

The provider does not verify the suitability, the reliability or the identity of other users. It provides no supervision, no instruction and no insurance cover. Accident or liability insurance does not form part of the service.

You are advised to inform yourself about the location and the rules applying there before taking part, and to observe the usual precautions when meeting people you do not know.

12. Availability and Changes to the Service

The provider endeavours to keep the service available as continuously as possible but does not owe any particular level of availability. Maintenance work, faults and circumstances outside the provider's control may lead to interruptions.

The service is under development. Capabilities may be added, may change or may cease. If a capability that is essential to a service carrying a charge ceases, the contract affected may be terminated as at the time of the change.

13. Liability

The provider is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the provisions of the German Product Liability Act, and to the extent of any warranty given.

In cases of ordinary negligence the provider is liable only for breach of a material contractual obligation, and limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract.

Any further liability is excluded. In particular, the provider is not liable for the content, statements and conduct of other users, nor for damage arising in the course of doing sport.

For the supply of the service without charge, the provider is liable only to the standard the law provides for that case. Liability under the first paragraph of this Clause remains unaffected.

The provider is responsible for third-party content only in accordance with the statutory provisions applying to service providers.

14. Term, Termination and Deletion

The contract of use that carries no charge runs for an indefinite period. You may end it at any time without notice by deleting your account in the service.

The transition from the beta phase to paid use requires your express agreement under Clause 6. The following paragraphs set out what applies after that agreement.

A contract for Pro that carries a charge is concluded for the period chosen, that is one month or one year. If you do not terminate it by the end of that period, it continues for an indefinite period. You may then terminate it at any time on one month's notice.

The provider will notify you in text form in advance of the end of the period first chosen, of the continuation for an indefinite period, and of your right to terminate.

You may declare termination in the service or in text form to the provider. For contracts concluded online, the provider keeps a termination facility available in the service that meets the statutory requirements.

The provider may terminate the contract of use that carries no charge on 30 days' notice. It may terminate a contract carrying a charge on one month's notice, at the earliest as at the end of the period first chosen.

When the account is deleted, your personal data will be deleted in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Content that forms part of a shared history for other users, in particular messages in groups and in sessions, may be retained in anonymised form.

15. Suspension and Termination by the Provider

In the event of a breach of Clause 8, the provider may remove content, restrict capabilities or suspend the account. In the event of a serious breach it may terminate the contract for cause.

The provider will announce such a measure beforehand and give an opportunity to comment, insofar as this is reasonable in the circumstances. Where there is a danger to other users or to the operation of the service, it may act first and inform afterwards.

If an account carrying a charge is suspended without your being responsible for the cause, the provider will refund the charge for the unused period.

16. Notices of Illegal Content, Statement of Reasons and Complaints

You may notify the provider at any time of content you consider to be illegal or to be in breach of Clause 8. A notice can be submitted by electronic means to the email address stated in the Legal Notice. So that the provider can assess it, the notice should identify the content concerned, state where it is located in the service, explain why it is considered illegal, and include a means of contact for follow-up questions.

The provider confirms receipt of a notice without delay, insofar as the contact details given allow this. It assesses every notice carefully, in a non-arbitrary manner and without undue delay, and informs the person who submitted it of its decision.

The provider does not use automated procedures to assess content. A decision on a notice, and on a measure under Clause 15, is always taken by a human being.

Where the provider removes content, blocks access to it, restricts an account or terminates the contract, it informs the person concerned and states the reasons for the decision. The statement of reasons names the scope of the measure, the facts on which it is based, the legal ground or the provision of these Terms that was breached, and the ways of contesting the decision.

You may lodge a complaint against such a decision within six months of being informed, likewise to the email address stated in the Legal Notice. The provider will review the complaint, decide again and communicate the outcome. If it reverses the measure, it will restore the content insofar as that is technically possible. Recourse to the courts remains unaffected.

If the provider becomes aware of circumstances giving rise to a suspicion of a criminal offence that threatens the life or safety of a person, it will inform the competent authorities.

The email address stated in the Legal Notice serves as the point of contact for users and for authorities. Enquiries may be made in German or in English.

The provider is a micro enterprise within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065. The obligations that regulation imposes expressly on larger providers only — in particular a formal internal complaint-handling system, out-of-court dispute settlement under its Article 21, and the periodic transparency reports — do not apply to it. The complaint route under the fifth paragraph of this Clause is nevertheless offered.

17. Changes to These Terms

The provider may change these Terms where this is necessary because of a change in the law, a change in case law, a change in market conditions or a change to the service, and where the change does not place you at an unreasonable disadvantage.

The provider will give notice of a change in text form at least 30 days before it takes effect. If you do not object by the date stated, the change is deemed accepted. The provider will expressly point out this effect and your right of termination in the notice.

Changes affecting the core of the service or a charge require your express agreement.

18. Data Protection

How the provider processes personal data is set out in the Privacy Policy. It is reachable from the footer of every page.

These Terms do not replace consent under data protection law. Where consent is required, it is obtained separately.

19. Governing Law, Dispute Resolution and Final Provisions

German law applies. If you are a consumer resident in the European Union, the mandatory consumer protection provisions of your country of residence remain unaffected.

The provider is not obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration body and does not take part in such proceedings.

If a provision of these Terms is invalid, the remaining content remains effective.

The language of the contract is German. A version in another language is provided for information. In the event of discrepancies, the German version applies.