Terms of Service

1. What You're Agreeing To

By using flowCircle, you're agreeing to these basic rules. This app is a student project I built to learn web development, so please be understanding if things don't work perfectly or if I need to make changes as I continue learning.

2. What flowCircle Is

flowCircle is a free web app I created for my portfolio that helps people:

• Create and join study/focus rooms with others
• Use synchronized Pomodoro timers for productivity
• Send messages to other people in the same room
• Keep personal todo lists and notes
• Listen to background music and customize environments

Important: This is a learning project, not a commercial service. Features may change, and the app may sometimes have bugs or downtime as I continue to develop and improve it.

3. Your Account

Creating an Account

• You can sign up with Google or create an account with email and password
• Please provide accurate information (it helps if something goes wrong!)
• Keep your login details safe - I can't recover lost passwords easily yet
• You must be at least 13 years old to use the app

Account Responsibility

• You're responsible for what happens with your account
• Let me know if someone else uses your account without permission
• Don't share your login details with others

4. How to Use the App Properly

✅ Good Uses

• Studying and focusing with friends
• Organizing your productivity with todos and timers
• Having friendly conversations in study rooms
• Sharing the app with people who might find it helpful

❌ Not Okay

• Being mean, rude, or inappropriate to other users
• Sending spam or offensive messages in rooms
• Trying to break the app or access other people's data
• Using it for anything illegal
• Pretending to be someone else
• Overwhelming the servers on purpose

Basically: be nice, don't break things, and remember real people are using this app to focus and study.

5. Your Content and Data

What You Own

• Your todos, notes, and messages belong to you
• You can delete them anytime (though room messages might remain for other users to see context)
• I don't claim ownership of your content

What's Shared

• Other users in your study rooms can see your name, picture, and messages
• Room names and participant counts are visible in public room lists
• If you send inappropriate content, I might need to remove it

6. App Availability & Changes

Service Availability

I try to keep flowCircle running smoothly, but as a student project:

• The app might sometimes be down for maintenance or due to technical issues
• I'm still learning, so bugs and problems may occur
• Server costs are out of my own pocket, so I can't guarantee 100% uptime
• I'll try to fix issues as quickly as I can, but response time depends on my availability

App Changes

• I'm constantly learning and adding new features
• Sometimes I might need to change or remove features
• I'll try to give a heads up about major changes when possible
• Your feedback helps me learn what works and what doesn't!

7. Free Service (For Now)

flowCircle is currently free because it's a learning project. In the future, I might:

• Add optional premium features to help cover server costs
• Keep core functionality free for students and casual users
• Give plenty of notice before any changes to pricing

But for now, don't worry about it - just enjoy learning and focusing with friends!

8. Third-Party Stuff I Use

flowCircle uses some third-party services and content:

• Freepik Images: Some wallpapers come from Freepik.com (credited in the app)
• YouTube Music: Background music streams from YouTube
• Supabase: Database and authentication service
• Google Fonts: Typography

These services have their own terms and policies, which I try to follow properly.

9. When Things Go Wrong

My Responsibility

I'm learning, so things might not always work perfectly. I'll do my best to:

• Fix bugs and issues when I find them
• Keep your data safe and secure
• Be honest about what the app can and can't do

Your Responsibility

• Use the app reasonably and don't intentionally cause problems
• Back up important data (this is a learning project, after all)
• Report bugs or issues so I can learn and fix them
• Be patient as I continue learning and improving

Limitations

Since this is a student project: I can't provide enterprise-level support or guarantees. Use flowCircle knowing it's part of someone's learning journey. I'm not responsible for any major problems that might occur, but I'll always try my best to help and fix issues.

10. Account Issues

If You Want to Leave

• You can stop using the app anytime
• I'm working on an account deletion feature
• For now, contact me if you want your account and data removed

If I Need to Remove an Account

• If someone repeatedly breaks the rules or causes problems, I might need to suspend their account
• I'll try to give warnings first when possible
• Serious issues (like harassment) might result in immediate removal

11. Changes to These Terms

As I learn more about running web services and get feedback from users, I might need to update these terms. I'll update the date at the top and try to let users know about important changes through the app when possible.

12. Questions or Problems?

Since this is a student project, I don't have a customer service team. But I do care about making this a good experience for everyone! If you have questions, suggestions, or problems:

13. The Bottom Line