Terms & Conditions

Effective date: 25 July 2026

Welcome to Ponoki. These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and the operator of Ponoki ("we", "us", "the operator"). By using Ponoki, the website, the installable web app, the Android app, and everything in it (together, "the Service"), you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

We've written these Terms in plain English on purpose. Plain wording doesn't make them any less binding.

You can contact us at any time through the in-app feedback form (Profile → Send feedback).

1. Who can use Ponoki (18+ only)

The Service is offered exclusively to adults aged 18 or older. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old. If you are under 18, you may not use the Service, and we do not knowingly allow you to create an account.

2. Ponoki is not medical care

This section matters more than any other, so please read it carefully.

By using Ponoki, you consent to receive non-medical emotional-regulation and self-care content designed for relaxation and mindfulness, and you understand that Ponoki does not provide medical or therapeutic services.

• Ponoki is an emotional-regulation and self-care gaming tool. It is designed to help you take short, calming breaks.
• Ponoki is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or therapy of any kind, and nothing in the Service should be treated as such.
• Using Ponoki does not create a clinician–patient, therapist–client, or any other professional care relationship between you and us.
• Ponoki is not a crisis service. If you are in crisis or think you may harm yourself or others, stop using the app and contact your local emergency services immediately.
• If you would like to talk to someone, you can reach a trained listener at any time. Internationally, the directory at findahelpline.com lists helplines by country. In India, you can call the government helplines KIRAN at 1800-599-0019 (free, 24 hours) or Tele-MANAS at 14416 or 1800-891-4416 (free, 24 hours).
• The app and these Terms include links and numbers for third-party helpline directories and services, such as findahelpline.com, befrienders.org, KIRAN, and Tele-MANAS. These are independent services we do not operate or control. They are provided as-is, purely for convenience, and we make no promises about their availability, accuracy, or the quality of any help they connect you to.
• Never disregard or delay professional medical advice because of something you experienced in Ponoki.

3. The Service is provided "as is": no promises about the future

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• The Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.
• We make no commitment to future features, updates, bug fixes, maintenance, support, or continued availability of the Service or any part of it.
• We may modify, suspend, discontinue, or transfer the Service (in whole or in part), including in connection with a sale of the business, at any time, with or without notice.
• Offline and saved copies may be out of date. Ponoki can work offline and can be saved to your device. An offline or previously saved copy may not reflect our most recent content, disclaimers, or safety information. You are responsible for using a current, connected version, and you should not rely on any copy of the Service, online or offline, in an emergency. If you are in crisis or need urgent help, contact your local emergency services directly.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

4. Ponoki Pro: purchases and refunds

Ponoki may offer a one-time purchase ("Ponoki Pro") that unlocks extra cosmetic features.

• A Pro purchase is a one-time, personal, non-transferable license to use the extra features of the then-current version of the Service, for as long as the Service continues to operate.
• A Pro purchase is explicitly not a promise of: perpetual availability of the Service, any future content or features, ongoing updates, or compatibility with future devices or browsers. Section 3 applies fully to Pro features.
• Payments on the web are processed by Gumroad acting as merchant of record. In the Android app, payments are processed through Google Play. The relevant provider's own terms and privacy policy apply to the payment itself.
• Ponoki Pro has no free trial period. It is a one-time purchase and is generally non-refundable.
• We know exceptions happen. If you believe your situation warrants a refund, you can request one and we will consider it in good faith. Email us at [email protected] or [email protected].
• Purchases made through Google Play follow Google's refund process. Purchases made on the web through Gumroad can be requested through Gumroad's refund policy or by emailing us at the addresses above.
• Nothing in these Terms grants you refund rights beyond what applicable consumer-protection law and the relevant payment provider's policy require.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service in any way that violates applicable law.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, its servers, or other users' data.
• Probe, scan, disrupt, overload, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the Service or its security features.
• Use automated systems to scrape or bulk-access the Service.
• Misuse the feedback form (for example, to send unlawful, abusive, or deceptive content).
• Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Service or its content without our written permission.

We may block, suspend, or, in serious or repeated cases, ban access for accounts that violate these Terms. In particular, this can happen where someone sends offensive, abusive, or harassing language through the feedback form; uses the Service unfairly or abusively; or attempts to tamper with, exploit, reverse-engineer, or circumvent the Service or its security. We want Ponoki to stay calm and welcoming, so we treat this as a last resort rather than a first response, and we aim to act proportionately.

6. Your account and your data

• You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure.
• You may delete your account at any time from inside the app (Profile → Delete account). Deletion is immediate and removes your synced server data.
• How we handle data is described in the Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms.

7. Intellectual property

The Service, including its games, characters (including Ponoki the companion), artwork, code, and text, is owned by the operator or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. These Terms give you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for your own personal, non-commercial use. No other rights are granted.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• We will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, goodwill, or expected benefit, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the Service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
• Our total aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or relating to the Service is capped at the total amount you paid us for the Service in the 12 months before the claim arose (which is zero if you use only the free version).

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law (for example, liability for fraud, or statutory consumer rights that cannot be waived).

9. Assignment and business transfers

• We may assign or transfer these Terms, in whole or in part, without your consent, in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of the assets relating to the Service. These Terms will bind and benefit any successor.
• You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your account to anyone else.

10. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will give notice via the app (for example, a notice on the home screen) before or when the changes take effect. The "Effective date" above will always tell you when the current version took effect. Continuing to use the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms. If you don't agree with a change, stop using the Service and, if you wish, delete your account in-app.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [India], without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of [India].

Operator-configurable placeholder: the governing law and venue above are set to [India] by default and may be updated by the operator; the effective version is always the one published here.

12. Severability and waiver

If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in full effect, and the unenforceable part will be modified to the minimum extent needed to make it enforceable. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.

13. Entire agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service, and they supersede any prior agreements on this subject.

14. Grievance redressal

If you have a grievance about the Service, your data, or anything in these Terms, you can reach us and we will do our best to help. You may email us at [email protected] or [email protected], or use the in-app feedback option (Profile → Send feedback), whichever you prefer. We aim to acknowledge grievances within a reasonable time.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email us at [email protected] or [email protected], or use the in-app feedback form (Profile → Send feedback).