Terms of Service

1. Definitions

"PIING" refers to the PIING messaging application, website, and all associated services. PIING is owned and provided by Hectic Software Limited ("we", "us"), company number 17514067, registered in England and Wales. The registered office is on the privacy policy.

"User" or "You" refers to any individual or entity using PIING.

"Content" includes messages, files, images, audio, video, and any other data transmitted through PIING.

"Services" refers to all features, functionality, and support provided by PIING.

2. User Responsibilities

2.1 Account Creation

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and password. You agree to provide accurate, complete, and current information during registration and to update it as needed.

2.1A Minimum Age

You must be at least 16 to use PIING. A public or community live is for people 18 and over. If you are under 18, read these Terms with a parent or guardian. If an account is under 16, it is closed and its data is deleted.

2.2 Prohibited Activities

You agree not to use PIING for:

• Illegal activities or activities that violate local, state, national, or international law
• Harassment, threats, bullying, or abuse of any person or group
• Spreading malware, viruses, or malicious code
• Unauthorized access to accounts or systems
• Impersonation or misrepresentation of identity
• Spam, unsolicited advertising, or commercial solicitation
• Sexual images of a child, or any sexual contact with a child
• An intimate image of someone, shared without their consent
• Selling or arranging drugs, weapons or fraud
• Terrorism, or stirring up hatred against people for their race, religion or similar, where that is a crime
• Intellectual property infringement
• Scraping, crawling or automated collection of PIING, its users, or its content, and any attempt to get around rate limits
• Using more bandwidth, storage, live video or messages than ordinary personal use, or reselling access to the service
• Scanning, probing or attacking PIING or another user's account

2.3 Zero Tolerance for Objectionable Content and Abusive Users

PIING has zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. Objectionable content includes, without limitation, content that is hateful, harassing, threatening, sexually explicit involving minors, violent, defamatory, or that promotes self-harm, terrorism, or illegal activity. By creating an account or signing in you agree not to post or send such content and not to abuse other people.

• Report: you can report any message or person from the chat (long-press a message, or open the person's profile and tap Report).
• Block: you can block anyone. Their chat and messages disappear from your chat list immediately, they can no longer contact you, and the PIING moderation team is notified.
• Filtering: PIING filters objectionable language on your device and can blur sensitive images using Apple's Sensitive Content Analysis.
• Enforcement: when a report reaches us, we remove illegal content we can remove, and we can close the account. A locked one-to-one chat is sealed on the phones, so we cannot read it. We can act on a report, on a public or community live, and on a business chat.

2.4 What PIING is

PIING is a private messenger provided by Hectic Software Limited in the United Kingdom. It is not a public channel where anyone can recruit, sell or broadcast. An account is opened with Apple, Google or an email address, by a person who is 16 or over, and these terms are agreed first. People under 16 cannot use PIING. A live to people you know is for 16 and over. A public or community live is for 18 and over. The company answers to UK law, including the Online Safety Act. Being a private messenger is not a reason to ignore a report.

2.5 Compliance

You agree to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and these Terms of Service. PIING reserves the right to terminate accounts that violate these terms.

3. Intellectual Property Rights

3.1 PIING Content

The PIING software, code, design, documentation, name and branding are owned by Hectic Software Limited and protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. © 2026 Hectic Software Limited. All rights reserved. You receive a personal, non-exclusive licence to use the app. You do not receive any ownership. Open-source components keep their own licences, listed in the app under Settings, Acknowledgements.

3.2 User Content Licence

By submitting content to PIING, you grant PIING a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, modify, and distribute your content only as necessary to provide the Services to you. You retain all rights to your content.

3.3 Content Ownership

You own your messages and data. PIING does not claim ownership of your content. We store your content only to deliver the messaging service and maintain your account.

4. Privacy and Data Protection

Your use of PIING is governed by our Privacy Policy. Please review the Privacy Policy to understand our practices regarding data collection, use, and protection. By using PIING, you consent to our collection and use of data as described in the Privacy Policy. Apple features, including CarPlay, Apple Watch, Siri, widgets, iCloud backup and face tracking for Lenses, are in Privacy Policy section 1B (face data is section 1A). Android and Google Play are in section 1C.

4.1 Encryption

PIING protects your data in transit using standard transport encryption (HTTPS/TLS). One-to-one chats in the app (text, photos, videos, voice messages and files) are end-to-end encrypted, with post-quantum protection, when both people use a current version of the app. Group chats and Stories are end-to-end encrypted when everyone in them uses a current version. One-to-one calls are encrypted between the two phones and are not described as end-to-end encrypted. A group call and a live are encrypted on the way and are not end-to-end encrypted. Passwords are stored only as a strong one-way hash. See our Privacy Policy and Security page for current details.

4.2 Data Retention

We retain your data only as long as necessary to provide Services or as required by law. You may request deletion of your account and data at any time from within the app settings.

5. Limitations of Liability

5.1 Disclaimer of Warranties

PIING is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. PIING disclaims all warranties including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

5.2 Limitation of Damages

To the fullest extent permitted by law, PIING shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Services, including but not limited to loss of data, lost profits, or business interruption, even if PIING has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

5.3 Maximum Liability

The total liability of PIING under these Terms shall not exceed the amount you paid to PIING in the 12 months preceding the claim, or $100, whichever is less.

6. Modifications to Service and Terms

6.1 Service Modifications

PIING reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Services (or any part thereof) at any time, with or without notice. We will not be liable for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Services.

6.2 Terms Modifications

PIING may update these Terms of Service from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Terms on the website and updating the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of PIING following such notification constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

6B. PIING Coins

What coins are

PIING Coins are a virtual item that lets you use certain features in PIING, such as Geofilters, Live promotions and gifts in a Live. Coins are a licence to use those features. They are not money, e-money, a deposit or property, and they have no value outside PIING. The service is provided by Hectic Software Limited.

Buying coins

You can buy coins only in the app, through Apple's In-App Purchase, and Apple charges your Apple Account. The price is the one Apple shows for your country, including any taxes. You must be 18 or over, with a verified age, to buy coins. Anyone under 18 can't buy coins.

No expiry, no cash-out

Coins don't expire. Coins can't be exchanged for money, sold, transferred to another PIING account (except by gifting inside PIING as described below) or moved outside PIING, and we will never buy them back.

Your right to cancel

Items you buy with coins are digital content supplied immediately. Before your first coin spend we ask you to agree to immediate supply and to acknowledge that you then lose your 14-day right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. We keep a record of that consent. Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights, for example if an item is faulty or not as described.

Refunds

Refunds for coin purchases are handled by Apple under its own policies (reportaproblem.apple.com). If Apple refunds a purchase, we may remove the matching coins from your balance. If a Geofilter you paid for is not approved, or an item can't be supplied, we return the coins to your balance.

Gifts in a Live

You can send gifts in a Live using your coins. A gift is final once sent and can't be reversed, except where we refund it because of fraud, a mistake on our side or the Live breaking our rules.

Lucky envelopes

Where lucky envelopes are offered, you can send a number of your coins to a group, split into a number of shares. The coins are split at random as people open the envelope: everyone who opens it gets at least 1 coin, each share is at most twice the average of the coins still left, and the shares add up to exactly what you sent. The rules are shown before you send. Coins nobody opens within 24 hours go back to you. Envelopes contain only coins, never money.

Creator earnings (18+)

Where creator earnings are offered, creators aged 18 or over with a verified identity may earn from gifts they receive, under separate creator terms shown before they sign up, with payouts made by Hectic Software Limited through our payment provider (Stripe). Earnings are not coins. People who buy coins can never cash them out.

Account deletion, suspension and changes

If you delete your account, any unused coins are lost and can't be refunded or transferred, so please use them first. If we suspend or close your account for a serious breach of these Terms, unused coins may be lost; if we close the coin feature for everyone, we will give at least 30 days' notice so you can use your coins, or offer a fair alternative. We keep a pseudonymised record of coin transactions for tax and fraud purposes, as described in our Privacy Policy.

6A. PIING Pro (optional subscription)

PIING Pro is an optional auto-renewable subscription (monthly or yearly) bought through Apple's App Store. Messaging, calls, end-to-end encryption, Nearby and SOS stay free. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically at the same price and length unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it at any time in Settings → Apple Account → Subscriptions. Refunds are handled by Apple under its own policies. These Terms and Apple's standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement apply.

7. Dispute Resolution

7.1 Governing Law

These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

7.2 Jurisdiction

You agree that any legal action or proceeding relating to these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the courts located in the United Kingdom.

7.3 Informal Resolution

Before initiating formal proceedings, you agree to attempt to resolve disputes informally by contacting PIING at support@piingapp.co.uk.

8. Termination of Service

8.1 Your Right to Terminate

You may terminate your account at any time by accessing Settings > Account > Delete Account in the PIING app. Upon termination, your account is scheduled for deletion and, after a 30-day cancellation window, permanently removed from our servers.

8.2 PIING's Right to Terminate

PIING may terminate or suspend your account at any time for violations of these Terms, illegal activities, or other conduct that PIING determines to be inappropriate or harmful.

8.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination, your right to use PIING immediately ceases. All provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall survive.

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PIING and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising from:

• Your use of PIING
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation
• Content you submit or transmit through PIING
• Your infringement of any intellectual property or other rights

10. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or if not possible, severed. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

11. Contact Information

For questions or concerns about these Terms of Service, contact the company:

Hectic Software Limited, company number 17514067. The registered office is on the privacy policy.

Email: support@piingapp.co.uk. Privacy: privacy@piingapp.co.uk.