Terms of Service

1. Agreement and Parties

These Terms of Service form a binding agreement between you (the user, whether an individual or a business entity) and Trusted Rw, a digital trust and reputation platform operated from Kigali, Rwanda.

By creating an account, accessing the platform, or using any of our services, you agree to these Terms. If you are using the platform on behalf of a business, you confirm that you have authority to bind that business to these Terms.

This agreement is mutual. We commit to you with equal force as you commit to us. Both parties enter this relationship in good faith, and both are held to the obligations described here.

2. Our Commitments to You Platform Obligations

Trusted Rw makes the following binding commitments to all users:

• Service availability: We will make reasonable commercial efforts to maintain platform uptime and accessibility. Planned maintenance will be communicated with advance notice where operationally feasible.
• Fair treatment: We will apply our policies consistently, without arbitrary discrimination, and with due process when taking enforcement actions.
• Transparency: We will communicate significant changes to these Terms, our policies, or our service features with adequate notice before changes take effect.
• Data protection: We will handle your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms.
• Dispute resolution: We will provide a clear, accessible process for resolving disputes and will respond to legitimate complaints within a reasonable timeframe.
• Security: We will implement and maintain security controls proportionate to the sensitivity of the data entrusted to us.
• Portability: We will not hold your data hostage, you may request your data at any time and delete your account without penalty.

3. Service Description

Trusted Rw provides digital trust infrastructure for consumers, businesses, and institutional users. Our platform includes:

• Verified business profiles and trust scoring
• Review and rating systems for commercial and service entities
• Survey, polling, and feedback tools for business intelligence
• Live session and real-time communication features
• Marketplace listing and discovery tools
• Credit and reputation analytics
• Team management and business administration tools
• API access for qualified business integrations

We reserve the right to modify, discontinue, or add features. We will provide reasonable notice of material changes that affect your use of the platform.

4. Eligibility and Account Responsibility

To use Trusted Rw you must:

• Be at least 16 years of age, or have verifiable parental or guardian consent where required by applicable law
• Have legal capacity to enter a binding agreement under the laws of your jurisdiction
• Provide accurate, current, and complete information when creating and maintaining your account
• Not have been previously suspended or permanently banned from the platform for policy violations

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials, including your password and any connected authentication method. You must notify us immediately at security@trusted.rw if you suspect unauthorised access to your account. We are not liable for losses arising from failure to maintain account security.

5. Account Creation Methods

Accounts may be created through:

Regardless of creation method, all accounts are subject to these Terms and our Privacy Policy in full.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the platform in accordance with its intended purpose: honest, transparent commercial and consumer engagement. The following are prohibited:

6.1 Content and Conduct

• Publishing false, fabricated, or deliberately misleading reviews, ratings, or business information
• Harassing, threatening, or abusing other users, businesses, or platform staff
• Posting hate speech, discriminatory content, or material that targets individuals or groups based on protected characteristics
• Sharing content that is sexually explicit, violent, or otherwise inappropriate for a general business audience
• Disclosing private or confidential information about others without their consent

6.2 Platform Integrity

• Creating fake accounts, impersonating others, or misrepresenting your identity or affiliation
• Manipulating review systems, including self-reviews, incentivised reviews, review swaps, or coordinated fake review campaigns
• Attempting to gain or provide unauthorised access to platform systems, accounts, or data
• Scraping, harvesting, or bulk extracting platform data without written authorisation
• Using automated tools to interact with the platform in ways that circumvent rate limits or access controls
• Reverse engineering, decompiling, or attempting to extract our proprietary source code

6.3 Legal and Regulatory

• Using the platform in violation of any applicable law, regulation, or court order
• Processing payments, conducting transactions, or operating businesses on the platform that are unlawful in Rwanda or in your jurisdiction
• Transmitting malware, viruses, or other harmful code through any platform channel
• Engaging in money laundering, fraud, or financial crimes through platform transactions

7. User Content and Licence

You retain ownership of content you submit to the platform, your reviews, posts, survey responses, profile information, and other contributions.

By submitting content, you grant Trusted Rw a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to display, distribute, reproduce, and moderate that content for the purposes of operating the platform. This licence:

• Does not transfer ownership of your content to us
• Allows us to display your public reviews to other users
• Allows us to moderate or remove content that violates these Terms
• Allows us to use anonymised, aggregated versions of your content for analytics and service improvement
• Does not permit us to sell your content to third parties or use it in advertising without your consent

When you delete your account, your identifiable content is anonymised. Anonymised historical records may remain on platform entries they reference but will not be attributable to you.

8. Business Account Obligations

If you operate a business account, you additionally agree to:

• Provide accurate and verifiable information about your business, including registration details where requested
• Respond to customer reviews professionally and without intimidation or retaliation
• Not offer incentives, payments, or other benefits in exchange for specific reviews or ratings
• Not request, directly or indirectly, that customers remove or change negative reviews
• Not create individual or fake accounts for the purpose of reviewing your own business
• Maintain your business profile in a current, accurate state
• Comply with any verification steps required by our trust framework

9. Subscriptions, Payments, and Billing

Certain premium features are available on a subscription or per-transaction basis. Payment terms:

• Prices are listed in Rwandan Francs (RWF) unless otherwise indicated; applicable taxes may apply
• Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled before the renewal date through your account settings
• Refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis; contact billing@trusted.rw within 14 days of a charge for refund consideration
• Failed payment may result in temporary restriction of premium features until payment is resolved
• We reserve the right to adjust pricing with at least 30 days' notice to affected subscribers

Payment processing is handled through AfriPay and manual bank transfer/mobile money options. All payment data is handled by the relevant payment processor; Trusted Rw does not store full card or mobile money credentials.

10. Intellectual Property

All platform software, design systems, trust scoring algorithms, brand assets, and documentation are owned by Trusted Rw or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property law in Rwanda and internationally.

You may not:

• Copy, reproduce, or distribute platform software, interfaces, or designs without written permission
• Use our trademarks, logos, or brand elements to imply endorsement or affiliation without authorisation
• Create derivative works based on our proprietary systems or content

We respect third-party intellectual property rights. If you believe content on our platform infringes your copyright, contact legal@trusted.rw with a description of the content, your ownership claim, and your contact details.

11. Account Suspension and Termination

Either party may terminate the relationship at any time:

11.1 You may terminate

By deleting your account through account settings or by contacting privacy@trusted.rw. Deletion is irreversible and processed within 30 days.

11.2 We may suspend or terminate

We may suspend or permanently close an account for:

• Material breach of these Terms or our Community Guidelines
• Persistent or serious fraud, abuse, or harm to other users
• Legal obligation or court order requiring us to act
• Confirmed identity fraud, impersonation, or security breach
• Behaviour that poses a genuine risk to the safety or integrity of the platform

Due process: For most violations, we will issue a warning before suspension. For serious or egregious violations, we may act immediately to protect users and the platform. Where we take action, we will notify you of the reason and provide an opportunity to contest the decision through our appeal process.

12. Dispute Resolution

12.1 Informal resolution

Before formal action, we encourage you to contact us at legal@trusted.rw to seek informal resolution. We will engage in good faith to resolve disputes promptly.

12.2 Formal dispute process

If informal resolution fails, disputes arising from these Terms will be subject to the following process:

• You may submit a formal written complaint to legal@trusted.rw with a clear description of the issue
• We will acknowledge within 5 business days and provide a substantive response within 30 days
• If unresolved, disputes may be referred to mediation under Rwandan law before court proceedings

12.3 Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Rwanda. Courts of competent jurisdiction in Kigali, Rwanda shall have authority over disputes arising from these Terms, unless mandatory law requires otherwise in your jurisdiction.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law:

• Trusted Rw's total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising under these Terms shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) RWF 50,000
• We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, data, or business opportunities
• We are not responsible for the conduct of third parties on the platform, including other users, businesses, or service providers
• We are not liable for interruptions caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including infrastructure failures, acts of government, or natural events

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot be excluded by law.

14. Disclaimer of Warranties

The platform is provided on an "as available" and "as is" basis. We make reasonable efforts to maintain reliability, accuracy, and security, but we do not warrant:

• That the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from security vulnerabilities at all times
• That review content or business information submitted by users is accurate or complete
• That third-party services or integrations connected to the platform will perform reliably

Where statutory warranties cannot be excluded, they are limited to the minimum extent permitted by law.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in the law, our services, or our policies. When we make material changes:

• We will update the version number and "Last updated" date
• We will publish a notice on the platform at least 30 days before changes take effect for existing users
• We will notify registered users by email for changes that materially affect their rights or obligations
• Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms

If you do not agree with updated Terms, you may close your account before the effective date. We will not apply retroactive obligations for actions taken in good faith under previous versions.

16. Policy Integration

Your use of the platform is also governed by the following policies, each of which is incorporated into these Terms by reference:

• Privacy Policy: how we collect, use, and protect your personal data
• Cookie Policy: our use of cookies and similar tracking technologies
• Community Guidelines: conduct standards for all platform participants
• Security Policy: technical controls governing data security, retention, and deletion

In the event of a conflict between these Terms and a specific policy document, these Terms prevail unless the specific policy expressly states otherwise.

17. Contact Information

Organisation: Trusted Rw
Country: Rwanda
Legal matters: legal@trusted.rw
Privacy matters: privacy@trusted.rw
Billing matters: billing@trusted.rw
Security matters: security@trusted.rw
General support: support@trusted.rw

18. Effective Date and Change History

Effective date:
Version: 3.0
Change note: Comprehensive rewrite introducing mutual platform obligations, expanded acceptable use provisions, user content licensing terms, payment terms, structured dispute resolution, due process for enforcement actions, and full policy integration references. Aligned with Rwanda Law No. 058/2021.