Terms of Service.

Welcome to Encore. These terms are the agreement between you and Encore, and you accept them by creating an account or using the app. They're longer than we'd like — connecting strangers in the real world is serious, and the terms have to be too. The plain English summary: you must be 18+, be honest about who you are, and treat people well; we don't run background checks, so your interactions with other people are your responsibility; disputes with us are resolved one-on-one in arbitration, not in class actions; and we can remove anyone who makes Encore worse. That summary is a courtesy, not the contract — the sections below are the contract.

Encore is operated by Encore Connections LLC, a New York limited liability company ("Encore," "we," "us"). For any question about these terms, write to admin@encoreconnections.com.

PLEASE READ SECTION 14 CAREFULLY. IT REQUIRES THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND ENCORE BE RESOLVED BY INDIVIDUAL BINDING ARBITRATION, AND IT WAIVES YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION. YOU MAY OPT OUT WITHIN 30 DAYS — SEE SECTION 14.

1. Who can use Encore

By creating an account, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 18 years old.
• You have never been convicted of, or pled no contest to, a felony, a crime of violence, or a sexual offense, and you are not required to register as a sex offender with any state, federal, or local registry.
• You have not previously been removed from Encore, and you are not prohibited by law from using it.
• You will maintain only one account, for your own personal use, and the information in it — your name (or the name you go by), your date of birth, and your photos — is accurate and yours.

If any of these stops being true, your permission to use Encore ends automatically. If we discover an account belongs to someone under 18, we delete it. These representations are promises you are making to us and to every person you meet here; breaking them is a breach of this agreement.

2. What Encore is

Encore helps people reconnect with someone they noticed in real life. You log where you were, the app finds overlap with other users who logged the same place and time, and if both people independently recognize each other, a match is created and you can chat. Your check-in history is never published, and nobody can message you without a mutual match. You appear to another user only in two bounded ways: people who logged the same venue on the same night may see your name, age, and photo as a potential match, and if you choose to tell someone you noticed them, they see your profile — the Privacy Policy maps exactly who can see what. Encore is a venue for people to find each other; it is not a party to what happens between them.

3. Your safety and your interactions

YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS, BOTH ONLINE AND IN PERSON. ENCORE DOES NOT CONDUCT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND SCREENINGS OR IDENTITY VERIFICATION CHECKS ON ITS MEMBERS, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE IDENTITY, CONDUCT, INTENTIONS, OR COMPATIBILITY OF ANY USER.

We reserve the right (but have no obligation) to run any screening, including registered sex-offender searches, at any time. If we ever do, understand that screenings are not foolproof, can be circumvented, rely on records that may be incomplete or out of date, and may give a false sense of security.

Where Encore verifies a phone number or links an Instagram account, that confirms control of a phone number or an Instagram account — nothing more. It does not confirm anyone's identity, background, or intentions.

People you meet may misrepresent who they are. Use your judgment: meet in public, tell someone where you're going, arrange your own transportation, and never send money or financial information to anyone you met on Encore. Please read our Dating Safety notice — the tools Encore gives you (blocking, reporting, the phone shield) are there to help, but they do not guarantee your safety and are not a substitute for that notice or for your own caution.

4. What you may not do on Encore

• Impersonate anyone, or misrepresent your identity or age.
• Create a profile for someone who hasn't consented, or upload photos of another person without their consent.
• Harass, threaten, stalk, intimidate, defame, or harm another person — on or off the app.
• Use Encore to locate, track, surveil, or attempt to contact someone who has not chosen, through Encore's mutual match, to connect with you.
• Publish another person's private information (address, phone number, workplace, or anything similar), or include identifying details about a specific person in a check-in note.
• Request or accept money, financial information, or anything of value from another user, or use Encore in connection with any scam or fraud.
• Use Encore for prostitution, escorting, commercial sexual services, solicitation, sex trafficking, or human trafficking of any kind, or post sexual content involving minors. We remove such accounts and report them to law enforcement.
• Send unsolicited commercial messages, or solicit or promote any product or service.
• Reverse-engineer, scrape, or automate interactions with the app, or attempt to circumvent our safety mechanisms (rate limits, blocks, confidence scoring, or reporting).

Violations may result in immediate account suspension or termination, with or without notice, and — where the conduct may be criminal — referral to law enforcement.

5. Reporting, moderation, and bans

There is no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive behavior on Encore. That includes harassment, threats, hate speech, sexual content involving minors, nudity, violence, doxxing, and impersonation.

Every profile, message, and conversation can be reported from inside the app (the “···” menu on a profile or chat), and every user can be blocked immediately without telling them. We aim to review every report of objectionable content within 24 hours. Violations lead to content removal and to suspension or ejection, at our discretion — permanent, for anything serious. Blocking is instant and does not wait on our review. To report something outside the app, email admin@encoreconnections.com.

We reserve the right — but do not assume any obligation — to monitor, review, screen, edit, or remove any content or account, and to investigate any report or dispute between users. We may suspend or terminate any account at any time, with or without notice and in our sole discretion, for conduct on or off Encore that we believe violates these terms or harms the community. Whether we act or decline to act in any particular case does not create liability to anyone.

If we ban an account because we believe it used a false identity or posed a risk of defrauding members, we may notify users who interacted with that account, as New York law and similar laws require or permit.

6. Content you post

You keep ownership of the photos, bio, check-in notes, and messages you contribute. So that we can run the service, you grant Encore a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable (to our service providers) license to host, store, reproduce, adapt (for example: resizing, cropping, and blurred previews), and display your content — for the purposes of operating, improving, and securing Encore, including safety review of reported content. The license lasts while your content is on the service, plus a limited period afterward for backups and any safety or legal records we're required or permitted to keep.

We don't train AI models on your content, sell it, or use it to target advertising. You are responsible for what you post: post only what you have the right to post.

Other users' content belongs to them. Encore does not endorse and is not responsible for anything users post or send — profiles, check-ins, notes, or messages. If you believe content on Encore infringes your copyright, email admin@encoreconnections.com with the details and we'll review it.

7. Our content

The Encore name, wordmark, visual identity, app design, and software are ours and are protected by law. We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the app for your personal, non-commercial use. Don't clone any of it.

8. Purchases and subscriptions

Encore is currently free. If we introduce paid features or subscriptions, they will be billed through Apple's in-app purchase system, and the following will apply: subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; you can cancel any time in your device's settings (Settings → your Apple ID → Subscriptions); refunds are handled by Apple, and we can't issue App Store refunds directly; and we'll tell you the price, the billing period, and what you get before you're charged — on our screen, not just Apple's. If you're a New York member, you may cancel a paid dating-service contract within three business days as New York law provides. Purchases are otherwise final to the extent the law allows. Virtual items (like reveal credits) have no cash value, can't be transferred or refunded, and may change or end if the feature does.

9. Referrals

If you invite someone to Encore and we've offered a reward for it, be honest about the invitation — tell people you'll receive credits if they join. Don't spam anyone: send invites personally, to people you actually know. Referral rewards have no cash value, and we may change or end the referral program at any time.

10. Service availability and changes

We try to keep the app running, but we don't guarantee uptime. We may change or discontinue features at any time, with or without notice. If a major change affects how your data is handled, we'll tell you in advance.

11. Account termination and deletion

You can delete your account at any time via Settings → Delete account. Deletion is permanent and immediate; we don't restore deleted accounts, and residual backup copies purge within 30 days. Our Privacy Policy describes the narrow records that survive deletion and why.

We may suspend or terminate your account as described in Section 5. If your account is terminated for violating these terms, you may not create another one. Sections 3, 6, and 12 through 16 survive the end of your account.

12. Disclaimers

ENCORE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED — INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT — AND ANY WARRANTY ABOUT THE ACCURACY OF ANY CONTENT, THE CONDUCT, IDENTITY, OR INTENTIONS OF ANY USER (ON OR OFF THE SERVICE), OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE.

We don't guarantee that a match will happen, that a match will want to meet you, or that a meeting will lead to anything. No advice or information you get from us creates any warranty. Some jurisdictions don't allow certain warranty exclusions, so some of the above may not apply to you.

13. Limits of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (A) ENCORE IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE CONDUCT OF ANY USER, ON OR OFF THE SERVICE, OR FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES — INCLUDING EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOST OPPORTUNITIES, OR LOST DATA — ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF ENCORE; AND (B) ENCORE'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID ENCORE IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE.

These limits do not apply to liability that cannot be limited by law, and nothing in these terms limits liability for Encore's own gross negligence or willful misconduct. Some jurisdictions don't allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the above may not apply to you.

If you have a dispute with another user, you release Encore (and its owner, employees, and agents) from all claims, demands, and damages of every kind, known and unknown, arising out of or connected with that dispute. If you live in California, you waive California Civil Code § 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party" — and you waive any similar provision of any other jurisdiction.

If you are a New Jersey resident: the limitations in Sections 12 and 13 do not limit your right to recover damages caused by Encore's own negligence or willful misconduct, and nothing in these terms limits any right you have under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act or the Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act.

Indemnification. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Encore and its owner, employees, and agents from any claims, demands, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) made by any third party arising out of your content, your use of the service, your conduct toward or interactions with other users (online or offline), your breach of these terms — including the representations in Section 1 — or your violation of any law or third-party right. This doesn't cover claims caused by Encore's own negligence.

14. Disputes with Encore: arbitration and class waiver

Most concerns can be solved fastest by writing to admin@encoreconnections.com. Before starting any formal proceeding, you and we each agree to send the other a written notice describing the dispute and to try in good faith to resolve it informally for 60 days.

IF WE CAN'T RESOLVE IT INFORMALLY, YOU AND ENCORE AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL BE RESOLVED EXCLUSIVELY BY BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION, NOT IN COURT. YOU AND ENCORE EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND THE RIGHT TO FILE OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

• Arbitration is administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (and, for coordinated multiple filings, its Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules), before a single arbitrator, in New York or by video at your choice. We'll pay all arbitration fees beyond the consumer filing fee those rules assign to you.
• Small claims carve-out: either of us may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court. Either of us may also seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual-property infringement or unauthorized access to the service.
• Your right to opt out: you can reject this arbitration agreement, with no effect on the rest of these terms or on your account, by emailing admin@encoreconnections.com with the subject "Arbitration opt-out," your name, and the email on your account, within 30 days of first accepting these terms.
• The arbitrator can award the same individual remedies a court could, and nothing here shortens any limitations period or waives any claim or remedy the law says can't be waived. If the class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim proceeds in court, and the rest stay in arbitration.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules — except that if the law of your home state gives you rights that can't be waived or varied by contract, those rights are yours. Any dispute not subject to arbitration (or in which arbitration is not elected, such as small claims) will be brought in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and you and we consent to their jurisdiction.

16. The Apple part

The app is licensed to you, not sold. These terms are between you and Encore — not Apple. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app, has no warranty obligation (beyond refunding the purchase price, if any, of an app that fails to conform to a warranty), and is not responsible for addressing any claim relating to the app — including product liability, legal compliance, consumer protection, and third-party intellectual-property claims. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you. You represent that you are not in a country subject to a U.S. government embargo and are not on any U.S. government restricted-parties list.

17. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If we make material changes, we'll notify you in the app and ask you to accept the updated version before it applies to you — changes are never silently retroactive. Each version carries its date, and we keep an archive of past versions.

18. The fine print that keeps this working

These terms (together with the Privacy Policy and the Dating Safety notice) are the entire agreement between you and Encore about the service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in effect. If we don't enforce a provision, that's not a waiver of it. You may not assign this agreement; we may assign it to a successor of the service (for example, a company formed to operate Encore). There are no third-party beneficiaries except Apple as described in Section 16.

Contact

Questions: admin@encoreconnections.com