Terms of Service

Article 1 (Application)

These Terms apply to every relationship between NEVELL Inc. ("we"/"us") and users ("you") regarding "OtomoDrive" (the "Service"). The Privacy Policy and other rules posted by us within the Service form part of these Terms. If these Terms conflict with an individual rule, the individual rule prevails unless otherwise provided.

Article 2 (Definitions)

• "User": an individual who agrees to these Terms and uses the Service.
• "Nickname": the display name shown within the Service. It need not be your real name, but a degree of consistent identity is maintained through ratings, reports, etc.
• "Channel": an always-on voice room organized by direction, destination, mood, etc.
• "Meetup": a feature to post asynchronously to gather people for a drive.
• "Spot": roadside information (rest areas, service areas, restaurants, etc.) and its ratings, reviews, and photos.
• "PTT": push-to-talk; speaking only while a button is held.
• "AI suggestion": AI curation that proposes destinations and channels.
• "AI conversation": real-time voice conversation with AI for casual chat, English practice, and similar uses.
• "External providers": third parties we use to provide the Service (voice streaming/transcription, payments, cloud, maps, AI, etc.).

Article 3 (Account & age verification)

• You shall register with true and accurate information and keep it current.
• No one under 18 may use the Service. We verify age and may refuse or suspend use if it cannot be confirmed.
• You are responsible for managing your account and credentials. Damage caused by inadequate management, misuse, or third-party use is borne by you, and we are not liable for it except where caused by our willful misconduct or gross negligence.
• In principle, one account per person; impersonation and lending your account to others are prohibited.

Article 4 (Operating environment)

You shall provide, at your own cost and responsibility, the device, communications environment, hands-free equipment, external PTT button, etc. needed to use the Service. Communication charges are borne by you.

Article 5 (Use while driving & safety — most important)

• You shall comply with road-traffic and other laws and always put safe driving first.
• The Service is designed so you can talk only via hands-free + PTT (speaking only while holding an external button), and the screen locks and cannot be operated while moving. Do not hold the device to talk, stare at the screen, or operate it while driving.
• Operations such as choosing destinations/channels and joining meetups must be done before departing or while safely stopped.
• If conversation risks distracting you, stop talking immediately and focus on driving.
• Using the Service while drink-driving, driving without a license, or driving dangerously, and any act that encourages such, are prohibited.
• Except where caused by our willful misconduct or gross negligence, we bear no responsibility for accidents, violations, or damage arising from your driving.

Article 6 (Voice calls & channels)

• Speech within a channel reaches other users in the same channel. Take great care before speaking private or personally identifiable information.
• For safety, trouble response, moderation, and quality improvement, we may temporarily record and review voice or perform transcription. Handling follows the Privacy Policy.
• You shall not make offensive, dangerous, or unlawful utterances to other users.

Article 7 (User content)

• You warrant that you hold the necessary rights to, and do not infringe the rights of third parties through, the spot info, reviews, photos, meetups, nicknames, etc. you post ("User Content").
• You grant us a free license to use User Content (reproduce, display, modify, transmit, etc.) to the extent necessary to provide, improve, and promote the Service.
• We may hide or delete, without prior notice, User Content that violates or may violate these Terms.

Article 8 (Prohibited acts)

You shall not:

• Drive distracted or otherwise dangerously/unlawfully, or encourage such
• Solicit for dating/relationships/sexual purposes, pick people up, make obscene utterances/posts, or inappropriately contact minors
• Defame, discriminate against, harass, threaten, stalk, or follow other users
• Impersonate others or register false age/information
• Infringe third parties' personal information, privacy, likeness, intellectual property, or other rights
• Engage with anti-social forces or facilitate crime
• Engage in unauthorized advertising, solicitation, spam, etc.
• Place excessive load on the Service, gain unauthorized access, reverse-engineer, scrape, or use bots
• Act against laws or public order, or anything else we deem inappropriate

Article 9 (Moderation, reporting, suspension)

• The Service provides one-tap report/block at any time, including while driving.
• We perform AI and human moderation and may, without disclosing reasons, delete content, restrict features, or suspend/terminate accounts where we judge a violation or its risk.
• For trouble between users, resolution between the parties is the rule; we are not obliged to intervene.
• Even where our measures under this Article cause you damage, we are not liable for it except where caused by our willful misconduct or gross negligence.

Article 10 (AI suggestions and conversations)

• AI suggestions and AI conversation responses are for reference. We do not guarantee accuracy, usefulness, completeness, or legality. Do not rely on them for medical, legal, financial, or emergency decisions; contact a qualified professional or emergency service when appropriate.
• To provide AI conversation, audio is sent to an external AI provider and transcribed. We may store a short conversation memory of preferences, interests, or English-learning goals to make later conversations more natural. Handling follows the Privacy Policy, and you can delete this memory within the Service.
• Available AI conversation time is set by each plan or add-on pass and is consumed while connected. Exact allowances and metering are shown in the Service and purchase screen.

Article 11 (Location information)

For matching, the Service uses only coarse location such as "direction / destination" and does not share your pinpoint location with other users. Details follow the Privacy Policy.

Article 12 (Fees & subscription)

• Besides free core features, we may offer the paid "Premium" subscription and one-time AI conversation passes. Premium may include a monthly AI conversation allowance and conversation memory; a pass adds a stated amount of AI conversation time. Prices, allowances, and validity are shown in the Service and purchase screen.
• Payment is made via in-app purchase on the Apple App Store or Google Play, subject to each store's payment and refund policies. Payment details such as card numbers are handled by the store/payment provider and not retained by us.
• Premium auto-renews unless cancelled. Cancel via each store before the next renewal date. AI conversation passes are one-time purchases and do not auto-renew. Unused monthly Premium AI time does not roll over.
• Except where required by law, refunds and prorated refunds are not provided in principle (see the Commercial Transactions Disclosure).

Article 13 (Intellectual property)

• Intellectual property in the Service belongs to us or our licensors.
• Rights in User Content remain with you, subject to the license granted in Article 7.

Article 14 (External providers; changes/suspension)

• The Service uses external providers (voice streaming/transcription, payments, cloud, maps, AI, etc.). Their changes, outages, or termination may affect the Service.
• We may change, interrupt, suspend, or terminate all or part of the Service. For material changes or termination, we will endeavor to give reasonable advance notice. Except where caused by our willful misconduct or gross negligence, we are not liable for damage you incur as a result. We do not guarantee uptime (SLA).

Article 15 (Disclaimer)

Except where caused by our willful misconduct or gross negligence, we bear no responsibility for:

• Accidents, violations, or damage while driving, or damage from breach of your safe-driving duty
• Damage from interactions, trouble, disputes, crime, or interpersonal relations between users
• The content of User Content, AI suggestions, AI conversations, spot info, etc., and damage from their use
• Loss or leakage of data, and external-provider failures/outages

Article 16 (Limitation of liability)

Even where we are liable to you, except in cases of our willful misconduct or gross negligence, our liability is limited to actual, ordinary, and direct damage (excluding lost profits and indirect, special, or opportunity losses), and is capped at the greater of (a) the total amount you actually paid us in the 12 months preceding the day the cause of the damage arose, or (b) JPY 1,000.

Article 17 (Indemnification)

If you breach these Terms or a dispute arises with a third party in connection with your use, you shall resolve it at your own cost and responsibility and shall not cause us harm.

Article 18 (Anti-social forces & sanctions)

You represent and warrant that you are not an anti-social force, and you shall comply with applicable sanctions and export-control laws.

Article 19 (Withdrawal & termination)

• You may withdraw at any time by our prescribed method.
• Handling of data after withdrawal follows the Privacy Policy. We bear no obligation to retain data after withdrawal.

Article 20 (Changes, notice, governing law, jurisdiction)

• These Terms are standard terms of contract (teikei yakkan) under Article 548-2(1) of the Civil Code of Japan. We may amend these Terms where the amendment conforms to the general interest of users, or where it is not contrary to the purpose of the contract and is reasonable in light of the necessity of the amendment, the appropriateness of the amended content, and other circumstances.
• When amending these Terms, we will set an effective date and announce the amendment, its content, and the effective date in advance by posting within the Service or other appropriate means. For amendments that materially affect users, we will provide a reasonable notice period.
• Notices from us are given by posting within the Service, in-app notification, sending to your registered contact, etc.
• These Terms are governed by Japanese law, and the Tokyo District Court shall have exclusive agreed jurisdiction of first instance over disputes.

Article 21 (No assignment)

• You may not assign, transfer, pledge as security, or otherwise dispose of your contractual position or your rights and obligations under these Terms to any third party without our prior written consent.
• If we transfer the business of the Service to a third party (including by merger, company split, or any other form of business transfer), we may transfer to the transferee our contractual position, rights and obligations, and your registered and other information, and you are deemed to have consented to this in advance.

Article 22 (Severability & survival)

• Even if any provision of these Terms or part thereof is held invalid or unenforceable under the Consumer Contract Act of Japan or other laws, the remainder of these Terms continues in full force and effect.
• Articles 7, 13, 15 through 18, 20, and this Article survive termination of the use contract according to their nature.