Terms of Service

Trusta is a reputation infrastructure available to people everywhere, with particular utility in emerging markets where formal credit and identity infrastructure are limited. The Service lets two parties record ("seal") an interaction — a service rendered, a loan repaid, a sale closed, a favour given — and reflect on it with structured ratings. The accumulated record produces a community-verified identity (the "CVI") intended to help individuals decide whether to transact with a stranger. The Service is informational only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or other professional advice and does not guarantee any outcome.

You may use Trusta only if you are at least eighteen (18) years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract under the laws applicable to you. By creating an account you represent and warrant that both are true. We may, in our sole discretion, suspend or terminate any account that we reasonably believe was created by a minor, by a person lacking capacity, by an entity using a natural-person account, or by a sanctioned individual or entity.

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. You must keep your credentials, biometric tokens, and any device used to access the Service secure. You must promptly notify us of any suspected unauthorised access. You may not create more than one account per natural person, share an account, or transfer an account to anyone else. You may sign out of all devices from your settings page or by contacting support [at] lightcode [dot] org. We may require additional identity verification at any time.

You accept these Terms by ticking the acceptance checkbox during registration and by continuing to use the Service. You acknowledge that the version of the Terms in effect at the time you take an action governs that action. The current version and effective date appear at the top of this page.

You retain all ownership rights in the descriptions, reflections, ratings, profile content, and other material you submit ("User Content"). You grant Trusta a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, perpetual licence to host, store, reproduce, display, transmit, and otherwise use User Content for the purpose of operating, providing, securing, and improving the Service, including communicating it to your counterparties and to anyone you choose to share a public receipt or profile with. You represent and warrant that you have the rights necessary to grant this licence and that your User Content does not infringe any third party's rights, violate any law, or breach any agreement to which you are subject. We do not sell your User Content.

Once two parties have sealed an agreement and the record has been finalised, that record is intentionally permanent. Both parties may add reflections, ratings, and structured updates over time, but the original signed terms cannot be edited. Withdrawing a sealed agreement requires the mutual agreement of both parties. This permanence is a deliberate property of the Service and is essential to the integrity of the reputation system. By using the Service you accept this design.

You agree that you will not, and will not permit any third party to:

• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with anyone.
• Submit reflections, ratings, or descriptions that you know to be false, misleading, or fabricated.
• Use the Service to threaten, harass, defame, or intimidate any person, or to coordinate any unlawful act.
• Attempt to inflate, deflate, or otherwise manipulate the CVI or any other reputation signal — including through coordinated rating, sybil identities, wash agreements, rating rings, or paid reviews.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, scrape at scale, or otherwise interfere with the integrity, security, or performance of the Service.
• Use the Service to evade tax, sanctions, anti-money-laundering, or other lawful obligations applicable to you.
• Upload viruses, malware, or any code intended to damage, interfere with, or surreptitiously intercept any system or data.
• Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit any part of the Service except as expressly permitted by us in writing.

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate any account engaged in any of the above without prior notice and without liability to you.

The CVI score, trust band, and any related signal are produced from data that you and your counterparties choose to share with the Service. The score is a directional indicator computed by algorithm and human judgement; it is not a credit rating, not a guarantee of future behaviour, and must not be relied upon as the sole basis for any financial, employment, or other consequential decision. Reasonable people may reach different conclusions from the same record. We make no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness of the CVI for any particular purpose.

When two users seal an agreement on the Service, they form an agreement solely between themselves. Trusta is not a party to that agreement, does not act as an escrow, intermediary, broker, agent, or guarantor, and assumes no responsibility for performance, payment, delivery, quality, or any other obligation between the two parties. We do not adjudicate the substance of any dispute between counterparties. We may, at our discretion and without obligation, freeze an account while we investigate a credible report of abuse, fraud, or breach of these Terms.

The Service is provided on a "beta" or evolving basis. Features may be added, changed, deprecated, throttled, or removed at any time. We may impose usage limits, charge fees for some or all features in the future, restrict eligibility by region, or discontinue the Service in whole or in part. We will give reasonable notice of material changes through the channels you have active. We do not warrant uninterrupted, error-free, or secure operation of the Service.

You may stop using the Service at any time and may request account deletion through your settings page or by writing to support [at] lightcode [dot] org. Sealed agreements involving you remain visible to your counterparties because they are part of your counterparties' histories. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, including for breach of these Terms, suspected abuse, legal or regulatory necessity, or operational reasons. The provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including liability, indemnification, dispute resolution, and the licence you grant to your User Content for records already created — survive.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranty of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise. Trusta and its affiliates, officers, employees, agents, and licensors disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, non-infringement, security, uninterrupted availability, freedom from defects or malware, and any warranty arising from course of dealing or usage of trade. We do not warrant that the Service or any content on it will meet your requirements, will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that defects will be corrected. You use the Service at your own risk.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Trusta or its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, or licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenues, goodwill, data, business opportunities, or anticipated savings, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or any other legal theory, and whether or not we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, our aggregate liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total amounts you have paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars (USD 100). Where applicable law does not permit the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, the limitations above apply to the fullest extent permitted.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Trusta and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) any agreement, dispute, or interaction between you and any other user or third party; (d) your breach of these Terms; or (e) your violation of any law or the rights of any third party. We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with our defence.

We are not liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation acts of God, natural disasters, epidemics, war, terrorism, civil unrest, governmental action, labour disputes, internet or telecommunications outages, power failures, or third-party service failures.

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make a material change, we will give at least fourteen (14) days' notice through the channels you have active and will update the effective date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of an updated version constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree, your sole remedy is to stop using the Service and delete your account.

Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall first be addressed through good-faith negotiation between you and Trusta. If negotiation does not resolve the matter, the dispute shall be submitted to binding arbitration conducted in English before a single arbitrator. Each party shall bear its own costs. You and Trusta agree that disputes shall be resolved on an individual basis only and not as part of any class, collective, or representative action. Nothing in this section prevents either party from seeking interim or injunctive relief before a competent court.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced here, constitute the entire agreement between you and Trusta regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect, and the unenforceable provision shall be reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. Our failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of that right or provision. You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights or obligations under them without our prior written consent; we may assign these Terms freely. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

For questions about these Terms, write to legal [at] lightcode [dot] org.