NearArc Terms of Use

Effective date: 20 October 2026 · Last updated: 21 October 2026

These Terms of Use are the agreement between you and us when you use NearArc, including neararc.com, the NearArc progressive web app, our communications, and our event, community and messaging tools (together, NearArc). NearArc is a service provided by Zach Jensz (ABN 95 243 396 633), a sole trader based in Victoria, Australia (we, us, our). Your contract is with Zach Jensz. Please read these terms with our Code of Conduct, which forms part of them, and our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle your information.

At a glance

• You must be 16 or older, and not a resident of Québec or the United Kingdom. NearArc is invite-only and in public alpha, so things will change and sometimes break.
• You sign in with a passkey or a one-time code. Keep your devices secure, and tell us if you think someone else has access to your account.
• You own what you post. You give us a licence to use it only as needed to run, display, moderate, back up and improve NearArc, as described in our Privacy Policy.
• Follow the Code of Conduct. We review reports and can remove content or restrict accounts. A person reviews every report before we act, and you can ask for a decision to be reviewed.
• Meeting people in person, at events or coffee chats, is your choice and carries real-world risks. Read the Safety Centre. Most events listed on NearArc are run by other people, and some are imported from other websites.
• Events on NearArc are public events. Expect that you may be photographed, and ask the organiser or us if you want a photo of you removed or blurred.
• Nothing in these terms takes away your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, New Zealand's Consumer Guarantees Act or Fair Trading Act, or any other consumer law that applies to you.
• You can stop using NearArc and close your account at any time. We will give you advance notice of material changes to these terms.

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

NearArc is a professional social networking platform focused on real-world connections. It lets you build a profile, connect and message other members, join events and communities, and meet people one to one. NearArc is a service provided by Zach Jensz (ABN 95 243 396 633), a sole trader based in Victoria, Australia. "NearArc" is the name of the service, not a separate company.

These terms apply to everyone who uses NearArc, including members, invitees, event attendees, organisers and visitors. Some features have extra terms:

The Code of Conduct and, where relevant, the Event & Organiser Terms form part of these terms. If they conflict with these terms, these terms apply, except where a document says it applies to a specific feature instead. The Privacy Policy is a separate notice about how we handle personal information. These terms are written to be consistent with it, and where they refer to it, its description applies.

2. Accepting these terms and who can use NearArc

Accepting

You accept these terms when you create an account, accept an invitation, or otherwise use NearArc. If you don't agree, please don't use NearArc.

Eligibility

To use NearArc you must:

• be 16 or older;
• not be a resident of Québec, Canada, or of the United Kingdom, where NearArc is not currently available;
• be able to form a binding contract where you live (if you are under the age of majority where you live, you confirm a parent or guardian has agreed to these terms for you where the law requires it);
• not be barred from using NearArc by law, or by us after a previous suspension or termination, unless we have agreed otherwise; and
• give us accurate information about yourself, including your real name.

NearArc is offered in Australia, New Zealand, Canada (excluding Québec) and the United States. If we learn that someone under 16 has an account, we will close it as described in the Privacy Policy section 9.

Invite-only access

NearArc is currently invite-only. We decide who receives an invitation and when, and an invitation does not guarantee an account. We may limit features by city, community or account type while we grow.

Using NearArc for an organisation

If you use NearArc on behalf of an employer or other organisation (for example, as an organiser or, when available, a recruiter), you confirm you have authority to do so. These terms then bind both you and that organisation. Your account is still personal to you.

3. Your account and passkeys

• One person, one account. Your account is for you alone. Don't share it, sell it or transfer it, and don't create an account for someone else without their permission.
• Passkeys. NearArc uses passkeys and one-time codes, not passwords. Your passkey is stored on your device or in your passkey manager. Anyone who can unlock that device or manager may be able to sign in as you, so keep them secure and remove passkeys from devices you no longer use.
• Contact details. Keep your email address and phone number current. We use them to send sign-in codes and important account notices.
• Verification. We may ask you to verify your email address or phone number. Verification confirms you control that address or number. It is not a check of your identity, background or character. (Planned) Verified connections will work the same way, and we will explain exactly what they confirm when they launch.
• If something goes wrong. Tell us at support@neararc.com as soon as you can if you think someone has accessed your account without permission. You are responsible for what happens through your account, except to the extent it results from our failure to take reasonable care or from someone else's unauthorised access that you could not reasonably have prevented.

4. Your content and the licence you give us

You own your content

"Your content" means anything you add to NearArc, such as your profile, photographs, posts, comments, messages, event listings and feedback. You keep ownership of your content, including any intellectual property in it.

The licence you give us

So that we can run NearArc, you give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, copy, reproduce, adapt (for example, resize or reformat), display, transmit and distribute your content, but only to:

• operate and provide NearArc, including showing your content to the people you choose under your settings;
• moderate content and keep NearArc safe, including using the automated moderation tools described in the Privacy Policy section 3, and the AI-assisted tools we are building;
• make backups and keep records described in the Privacy Policy section 6;
• improve NearArc and develop new features, in line with the Privacy Policy, including its commitments on de-identification and AI; and
• show content you have made public, such as a public profile or a public event listing, to promote NearArc. If you don't want public content of yours used in promotion outside NearArc, tell us at support@neararc.com and we will stop doing so for future promotion.

We may let our service providers use your content to help us do these things, under the contracts described in the Privacy Policy. We don't sell your content, and we don't license it to others to train their AI models.

How long the licence lasts

The licence ends when you delete the content or close your account, except for:

• copies kept in backups until they are overwritten;
• content kept for legal, security, fraud-prevention, dispute-resolution or enforcement reasons;
• messages that remain in other participants' conversations; and
• public contributions and historical event and community records,

each as described in the Privacy Policy section 6. For those, the licence continues only for as long as we keep the content for those reasons.

Your responsibilities

You confirm that you have the rights needed to post your content and give us this licence, and that posting it doesn't break the law or anyone else's rights, including their privacy. If you add information about other people, such as when you invite someone or organise an event, you must have the right to do so (see the Privacy Policy section 2).

Feedback

If you send us ideas or suggestions about NearArc, we may use them without paying you or owing you anything. We will not identify you as the source without your permission.

5. Acceptable use

You must follow the Code of Conduct on NearArc, at events and in coffee chats. In particular, you must not:

• harass, threaten, intimidate, stalk, discriminate against or abuse anyone;
• impersonate anyone, misrepresent who you are or your affiliations, or create fake accounts;
• send spam, unsolicited bulk messages or commercial messages that break anti-spam laws such as Australia's Spam Act 2003 or Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL);
• scam, defraud or mislead people, including through fake events, jobs or investment offers;
• post content that is illegal, sexually explicit, violent, hateful, or that infringes someone else's intellectual property or privacy;
• collect or export other members' information except through features we provide and as they allow, including by scraping, crawling or automated means;
• use information from NearArc to contact people for purposes unrelated to NearArc without their permission;
• probe, scan or test the vulnerability of NearArc, bypass security or access controls, interfere with or overload NearArc, or introduce malware (subject to section 6);
• reverse engineer NearArc except where the law allows it; or
• use NearArc in a way that breaks any law that applies to you or to us.

If you see something that breaks these rules, please report it in NearArc or email safety@neararc.com. In an emergency, contact emergency services first: 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand, or 911 in Canada and the United States.

6. Security research is fair game

Despite section 5, good-faith security research on neararc.com is fair game when it follows our Security Policy. If you act in good faith and within the Security Policy's scope and rules, we will treat your research as authorised, and we will not take legal action against you or suspend your account for it. Third-party services that NearArc uses are not in scope, and their own rules apply. Please report findings to security@neararc.com, or through the in-app bug report form if you are signed in. This section doesn't permit accessing other members' data beyond what is needed to show a vulnerability, degrading the service, or any activity the Security Policy excludes.

7. Events and coffee chats

Meeting people in person is your choice

NearArc helps you meet people in real life, at events and in 1:1 coffee chats. Meeting people in person carries risks, including to your safety, property and wellbeing. You decide whether to attend an event or meet someone, and you do so at your own risk, to the extent the law allows (see section 14). Please read the Safety Centre before meeting anyone, meet in public places, and tell a friend your plans.

We do not run criminal or background checks on members, organisers or venues. Email and phone verification confirm only that someone controls that address or number. Profile information, including job titles and employers, is provided by members and we do not verify it.

Events

Events on NearArc can be organised by us or by members who register as organisers. They can be in person or online, and may take place in private homes or where alcohol is served. Unless an event says it is organised by NearArc:

• the organiser, not us, is responsible for the event, including its venue, safety, content, accuracy of its listing, and compliance with laws that apply to it;
• we do not control what happens at the event; and
• the Event & Organiser Terms apply to the organiser and to attendees.

Wherever an event takes place and whoever organises it, the Code of Conduct and these terms apply to your behaviour there. We may still act on reports about events, including removing a listing or restricting an organiser.

Imported events

Many event listings on NearArc are imported from external websites and sources, and use an external RSVP. These are third-party events: the event and its RSVP are run by someone else, under their own terms and privacy policy. We try to keep imported information accurate, but it may be incomplete or out of date. Always check the original source. Events that have moved onto NearArc are labelled as such (planned). A genuine organiser can claim an imported listing after we verify and curate it (planned).

Coffee chats

Members can invite each other to a 1:1 coffee chat, and we may suggest matches. You can decline any invitation or match without giving a reason, and you can block or report anyone. In future we may suggest venues; a suggestion is not a recommendation that the venue is safe or suitable for you. We may ask you to confirm whether a coffee chat happened (planned), to help keep matching useful and safe.

Photography at events

Events listed on NearArc are public events, and photographs are often taken at them. We encourage organisers to tell attendees when photography is planned. By attending, you acknowledge that you may appear in photographs, and that (planned) photographs may be shared on the event's page on NearArc.

This doesn't remove your privacy rights or anyone's legal obligations. If you don't want to be photographed, tell the organiser or the person taking the photo. The Code of Conduct prohibits photographing anyone who has asked not to be photographed. If a photo of you appears on NearArc and you want it removed or blurred, ask the organiser or email support@neararc.com, and we will act on the request in line with the Privacy Policy. Photos taken and shared outside NearArc are the responsibility of the person who took or shared them.

8. Paid features and payments (planned)

NearArc is currently free for members. We may introduce paid features in future, such as recruiting tools and job listings, advertising, and possibly paid events. Before any paid feature launches, we will tell you its price and terms clearly before you pay, and we will update these terms or the Event & Organiser Terms as described in section 17.

When paid features launch:

• payments will be processed by a third-party payment processor, such as Stripe, under its own terms. We will not store your full card details;
• if paid events are added, the Event & Organiser Terms will set the rules for ticket prices and refunds, always subject to consumer law; and
• nothing in a refund policy limits refunds or other remedies you are entitled to under the Australian Consumer Law, New Zealand's Consumer Guarantees Act, or other consumer laws that apply to you.

Recruiting (planned)

When recruiting and job application features launch, using them will involve the automated processing described in the Privacy Policy section 3, and we will tell you clearly before you apply. Recruiters and employers will have to follow these terms, the Code of Conduct and any recruiter terms we publish, and they will be responsible for their own hiring decisions and legal obligations.

9. Third-party links, services and integrations

NearArc may link to, import information from, or connect with services we don't operate, such as external event and RSVP sites, calendars, social networks and (planned) payment processors. Those services are run by other people under their own terms and privacy policies. We aren't responsible for their content, availability or practices, except to the extent the law makes us responsible. When you connect an integration, you authorise us to exchange the information described when you connect it, as set out in the Privacy Policy section 4.

10. Our intellectual property

The NearArc name, logo, branding, website design, software and our own content belong to Zach Jensz or his licensors. These terms give you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable right to use NearArc for its intended purpose. They don't give you any other right to use our branding or software. You can refer to NearArc by name, for example when sharing an event link, as long as you don't suggest we endorse you.

Some parts of NearArc may use open source software under its own licence. Where that licence gives you broader rights, it applies.

Reporting intellectual property infringement

If you believe content on NearArc infringes your copyright, trade mark or other intellectual property, email legal@neararc.com with: your contact details, the work or mark you own, where the content appears on NearArc, and a statement that you believe in good faith its use is not authorised. We will review it and may remove the content. We plan to publish a fuller copyright policy later.

11. Moderation and enforcement

What we do

We moderate NearArc to keep it safe and in line with these terms and the Code of Conduct. As described in the Privacy Policy section 3, automated tools help with moderation, AI-assisted tools are not yet active, and a person reviews each report before we remove content or restrict or suspend an account. We also review reports from members.

If you break these terms or the Code of Conduct, or we reasonably believe it is necessary to protect members, the public or NearArc, or to comply with the law, we may:

• remove or hide content;
• issue a warning;
• limit features, such as messaging, organising events or sending coffee chat invitations;
• suspend your account temporarily; or
• terminate your account and refuse future access.

We act in proportion to the seriousness of the issue, and we take into account conduct that happens off NearArc where it relates to NearArc members, events or coffee chats. We are not obliged to monitor all content, and we may not catch every breach.

Telling you and appeals

We will usually tell you what action we have taken and why, unless doing so would put someone at risk, interfere with an investigation, or break the law. If you think we got it wrong, email support@neararc.com within a reasonable time, ideally within 60 days, with "Appeal" in the subject line and any information you want us to consider. A person will review your appeal and tell you the outcome. You can also ask for a person to review any decision made or assisted by our automated tools, as described in the Privacy Policy section 3.

Legal requirements

Australian law can require us to act on content, for example to remove material within 24 hours of receiving a removal notice from the eSafety Commissioner under the Online Safety Act 2021, unless the notice allows longer. We comply with those requirements, and we may act without notice to you where the law requires it. See the Government Request Guidelines for how we handle requests from government and law enforcement.

12. Public alpha

NearArc is in public alpha. That means:

• features may be incomplete, change, or be removed, sometimes at short notice;
• you may encounter bugs, outages or data that doesn't display correctly;
• planned features described in our documents may launch later than expected, in a different form, or not at all; and
• although we back up data, you should keep your own copy of anything important you share on NearArc.

Please report problems through the in-app bug report form or support@neararc.com. We will give you reasonable notice before removing a feature that you rely on, where practicable.

13. Your consumer rights come first

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy, or any guarantee, warranty or other term or condition, implied or imposed by law that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified. This includes:

• in Australia, the consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law, such as the guarantees that services will be provided with due care and skill, be fit for any purpose you make known to us, and be provided within a reasonable time;
• in New Zealand, your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and the Fair Trading Act 1986; and
• in Canada and the United States, any rights under consumer protection laws in your province or state that cannot be waived.

If you are in New Zealand and use NearArc for the purposes of a business, we both agree that the Consumer Guarantees Act does not apply, but only where the law allows this and it is fair and reasonable. If NearArc is a service of a kind not ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use, our liability for failing to meet an Australian consumer guarantee is limited, where the law allows, to supplying the services again or paying the cost of having them supplied again.

Sections 14 and 15 are subject to this section.

14. Disclaimers

To the extent the law allows, and subject to section 13:

• we provide NearArc on an "as is" and "as available" basis, and we don't promise it will be uninterrupted, error-free or always available;
• we don't promise that information on NearArc is accurate, complete or current, including member profiles and imported event listings;
• we don't guarantee any outcome from using NearArc, such as connections, job opportunities or the success of an event; and
• we are not responsible for the conduct of members, organisers, venues or other people, on or off NearArc, except to the extent our own failure to take reasonable care caused or contributed to the harm.

15. Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, and subject to section 13:

• neither you nor we are liable to the other for any loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when you accepted these terms, or for indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profits, revenue or business opportunity, arising in connection with these terms or NearArc; and
• our total liability to you in connection with these terms and NearArc is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us for NearArc in the 12 months before the claim arose and AUD $100.

These limits don't apply to liability for:

• death or personal injury caused by negligence;
• fraud or wilful misconduct;
• our failure to comply with consumer guarantees or other non-excludable rights described in section 13; or
• anything else that cannot be limited by law.

Our liability is reduced to the extent you or a third party caused or contributed to the loss.

16. Your responsibility for breaches (indemnity)

If you break these terms or the law while using NearArc, and that causes a third party to make a claim against us, you are responsible for our reasonable losses and costs arising from that claim, to the extent caused by your breach or unlawful conduct. This doesn't apply to the extent the loss was caused or contributed to by our own breach, negligence or misconduct. We will tell you promptly about any such claim and take reasonable steps to reduce the loss.

17. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as NearArc grows, as features launch, or when the law changes. We will only make changes that are reasonably necessary for those reasons. For material changes, including any change that reduces your rights or adds fees, we will give you at least 30 days' notice before the change takes effect, by email or a notice in NearArc, and explain what is changing. We may make changes that don't disadvantage you, or that the law requires urgently, with shorter notice.

If you don't agree with a change, you can close your account before it takes effect, without any penalty. If you have paid for something that the change materially affects, you can ask us for a pro-rata refund of the unused part. If you keep using NearArc after a change takes effect, the updated terms will apply to you. We will publish the current version on neararc.com with its effective date, and keep previous versions available on request.

18. Closing your account and termination

By you

You can stop using NearArc and close your account at any time, without giving a reason. Email support@neararc.com, or use your Settings page once that option is available. The Privacy Policy section 6 explains what happens to your information.

By us

We may suspend or terminate your account as described in section 11. We may also close your account, or stop providing NearArc or a feature, for other reasons, such as if we discontinue NearArc or it becomes impractical to offer it where you live. Except where there is a safety, legal or security reason, or a serious breach, we will give you at least 30 days' notice and a reasonable chance to download a copy of your information (you can request a copy at any time under the Privacy Policy section 8). If you have prepaid for a service we stop providing for reasons other than your breach, we will refund the unused part.

What continues

Sections that by their nature should continue after your account closes, such as sections 4 (licence for retained content only), 10, 13 to 16, 19 and 20, continue to apply.

19. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. You and we agree that the courts of Victoria, Australia, and courts that can hear appeals from them, can hear disputes about these terms. This does not stop you from bringing a claim in the courts, tribunals or consumer bodies where you live, or take away the protection of mandatory laws in the country, state or province where you live.

If you have a concern, please contact us first at support@neararc.com so we can try to resolve it informally. We don't require arbitration, and nothing in these terms prevents you from joining a class or representative action that the law allows, or from contacting a regulator or consumer protection agency.

20. General

• Notices to you. We may give you notices by email or SMS to the contact details on your account, or by a notice in NearArc.
• Notices to us. Send legal notices to legal@neararc.com. Send safety concerns to safety@neararc.com, security reports to security@neararc.com, and anything else to support@neararc.com.
• Transfer. You can't transfer your rights under these terms. We may transfer our rights and obligations to a person or entity that takes over NearArc, for example if NearArc becomes a company, as long as your rights under these terms are not reduced. We will tell you if this happens, and you can close your account if you don't want to continue.
• Whole agreement. These terms, together with the documents listed in section 1 that form part of them, are the whole agreement between you and us about NearArc.
• Severability. If any part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies, and the unenforceable part will be read down or removed only as far as needed.
• No waiver. If you or we don't enforce a term straight away, that doesn't mean giving up the right to enforce it later.
• Events outside our control. Neither you nor we are responsible for failing to meet these terms because of events beyond reasonable control, such as natural disasters, outages at our providers, or government action. This doesn't affect your consumer law rights.
• Language. These terms are written in English. If we provide a translation and they differ, the English version applies, unless the law where you live requires otherwise.

21. Contact us

For questions about these terms, contact:

Zach Jensz, Legal and Privacy Officer ABN 95 243 396 633 Victoria, Australia Legal notices: legal@neararc.com General support: support@neararc.com Website: neararc.com

Zach Jensz · ABN 95 243 396 633 · Victoria, Australia · neararc.com