{"service":{"name":"Signal","url":"https://signal.org/legal/","lang":"ENG","sector":"Communication","hq":"US","hq_category":"US","is_public":"Private","is_paid":"Free","date":"25.05.2018"},"document":{"title":"","text":"Signal Terms & Privacy Policy\nSignal is designed to never collect or store any sensitive information.\nSignal messages and calls cannot be accessed by us or other third\nparties because they are always end-to-end encrypted, private, and\nsecure. Our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are available below.\nTerms of Service\nPrivacy Policy\nTerms of Service\nSignal Messenger LLC. (“Signal”) utilizes state-of-the-art security and\nend-to-end encryption to provide private messaging, Internet calling, and\nother services to users worldwide. You agree to our Terms of Service\n(“Terms”) by installing or using our apps, services, or website (together,\n“Services”).\nAbout our services\nMinimum Age. You must be at least 13 years old to use our Services.\nThe minimum age to use our Services without parental approval may be\nhigher in your home country.\nAccount Registration. To create an account you must register for our\nServices using your phone number. You agree to receive text messages\nand phone calls (from us or our third-party providers) with verification\ncodes to register for our Services.\nPrivacy of user data. Signal does not sell, rent or monetize your personal\ndata or content in any way – ever.\nPlease read our Privacy Policy to understand how we safeguard the\ninformation you provide when using our Services. For the purpose of\noperating our Services, you agree to our data practices as described in\nour Privacy Policy, as well as the transfer of your encrypted information\nand metadata to the United States and other countries where we have or\nuse facilities, service providers or partners. Examples would be Third\nParty Providers sending you a verification code and processing your\nsupport tickets.\n\nSoftware. In order to enable new features and enhanced functionality,\nyou consent to downloading and installing updates to our Services.\nFees and Taxes. You are responsible for data and mobile carrier fees and\ntaxes associated with the devices on which you use our Services.\nUsing Signal\nOur Terms and Policies. You must use our Services according to our\nTerms and posted policies. If we disable your account for a violation of\nour Terms, you will not create another account without our permission.\nLegal and Acceptable Use. You agree to use our Services only for legal,\nauthorized, and acceptable purposes. You will not use (or assist others in\nusing) our Services in ways that: (a) violate or infringe the rights of\nSignal, our users, or others, including privacy, publicity, intellectual\nproperty, or other proprietary rights; (b) involve sending illegal or\nimpermissible communications such as bulk messaging, auto-messaging,\nand auto-dialing.\nHarm to Signal. You must not (or assist others to) access, use, modify,\ndistribute, transfer, or exploit our Services in unauthorized manners, or in\nways that harm Signal, our Services, or systems. For example you must\nnot (a) gain or try to gain unauthorized access to our Services or\nsystems; (b) disrupt the integrity or performance of our Services; (c)\ncreate accounts for our Services through unauthorized or automated\nmeans; (d) collect information about our users in any unauthorized\nmanner; or (e) sell, rent, or charge for our Services.\nKeeping Your Account Secure. Signal embraces privacy by design and\ndoes not have the ability to access your messages. You are responsible\nfor keeping your device and your Signal account safe and secure. If you\nlose your phone, follow the steps on our Support site to re-register for\nour Services. When you register with a new device, your old device will\nstop receiving all messages and calls.\nNo Access to Emergency Services. Our Services do not provide access\nto emergency service providers like the police, fire department, hospitals,\nor other public safety organizations. Make sure you can contact\nemergency service providers through a mobile, fixed-line telephone, or\nother service.\nThird-party services. Our Services may allow you to access, use, or\ninteract with third-party websites, apps, content, and other products and\nservices. When you use third-party services, their terms and privacy\npolicies govern your use of those services.\nYour Rights and License with Signal\n\nYour Rights. You own the information you submit through our Services.\nYou must have the rights to the phone number you use to sign up for\nyour Signal account.\nSignal’s Rights. We own all copyrights, trademarks, domains, logos,\ntrade dress, trade secrets, patents, and other intellectual property rights\nassociated with our Services. You may not use our copyrights,\ntrademarks, domains, logos, trade dress, patents, and other intellectual\nproperty rights unless you have our written permission. To report\ncopyright, trademark, or other intellectual property infringement, please\ncontact abuse@signal.org.\nSignal’s License to You. Signal grants you a limited, revocable, non-\nexclusive, and non-transferable license to use our Services in\naccordance with these Terms.\nDisclaimers and Limitations\nDisclaimers. YOU USE OUR SERVICES AT YOUR OWN RISK AND\nSUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMERS. WE PROVIDE OUR\nSERVICES ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED\nWARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF\nMERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE,\nNON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FREEDOM FROM COMPUTER VIRUS OR\nOTHER HARMFUL CODE. SIGNAL DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY\nINFORMATION PROVIDED BY US IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR USEFUL,\nTHAT OUR SERVICES WILL BE OPERATIONAL, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR\nSAFE, OR THAT OUR SERVICES WILL FUNCTION WITHOUT\nDISRUPTIONS, DELAYS, OR IMPERFECTIONS. WE DO NOT CONTROL,\nAND ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR, CONTROLLING HOW OR WHEN OUR\nUSERS USE OUR SERVICES. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE\nACTIONS OR INFORMATION (INCLUDING CONTENT) OF OUR USERS OR\nOTHER THIRD PARTIES. YOU RELEASE US, AFFILIATES, DIRECTORS,\nOFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AND AGENTS (TOGETHER, “SIGNAL\nPARTIES”) FROM ANY CLAIM, COMPLAINT, CAUSE OF ACTION,\nCONTROVERSY, OR DISPUTE (TOGETHER, “CLAIM”) AND DAMAGES,\nKNOWN AND UNKNOWN, RELATING TO, ARISING OUT OF, OR IN ANY\nWAY CONNECTED WITH ANY SUCH CLAIM YOU HAVE AGAINST ANY\nTHIRD PARTIES.\nLimitation of liability. THE SIGNAL PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO\nYOU FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE,\nINDIRECT, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES RELATING TO, ARISING OUT OF,\nOR IN ANY WAY IN CONNECTION WITH OUR TERMS, US, OR OUR\nSERVICES, EVEN IF THE SIGNAL PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE\nPOSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY RELATING\nTO, ARISING OUT OF, OR IN ANY WAY IN CONNECTION WITH OUR\nTERMS, US, OR OUR SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED\n\nDOLLARS ($100). THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMER OF CERTAIN DAMAGES\nAND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY WILL APPLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT\nPERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THE LAWS OF SOME STATES OR\nJURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF\nCERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OR ALL OF THE EXCLUSIONS AND\nLIMITATIONS SET FORTH ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.\nNOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY IN OUR TERMS, IN\nSUCH CASES, THE LIABILITY OF THE SIGNAL PARTIES WILL BE LIMITED\nTO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.\nAvailability of Our Services. Our Services may be interrupted, including\nfor maintenance, upgrades, or network or equipment failures. We may\ndiscontinue some or all of our Services, including certain features and\nthe support for certain devices and platforms, at any time.\nResolving Disputes and Ending Terms\nResolving disputes. You agree to resolve any Claim you have with us\nrelating to or arising out of our Terms, us, or our Services exclusively in\nthe United States District Court for the Northern District of California or a\nstate court in San Mateo County, California. You also agree to submit to\nthe personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of litigating all\nsuch disputes. The laws of the State of California govern our Terms, as\nwell as any disputes, whether in court or arbitration, which might arise\nbetween Signal and you, without regard to conflict of law provisions.\nEnding these Terms. You may end these Terms with Signal at any time\nby deleting Signal Messenger from your device and discontinuing use of\nour Services. We may modify, suspend, or terminate your access to or\nuse of our Services anytime for any reason, such as if you violate the\nletter or spirit of our Terms or create harm, risk, or possible legal\nexposure for Signal. The following provisions will survive termination of\nyour relationship with Signal: “Licenses,” “Disclaimers,” “Limitation of\nLiability,” “Resolving dispute,” “Availability” and “Ending these Terms,” and\n“General”.\nGeneral\nSignal may update the Terms from time to time. When we update our\nTerms, we will update the “Last Modified” date associated with the\nupdated Terms. Your continued use of our Services confirms your\nacceptance of our updated Terms and supersedes any prior Terms. You\nwill comply with all applicable export control and trade sanctions laws.\nOur Terms cover the entire agreement between you and Signal regarding\nour Services. If you do not agree with our Terms, you should stop using\nour Services.\n\nIf we fail to enforce any of our Terms, that does not mean we waive the\nright to enforce them. If any provision of the Terms is deemed unlawful,\nvoid, or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed severable from\nour Terms and shall not affect the enforceability of the remaining\nprovisions. Our Services are not intended for distribution to or use in any\ncountry where such distribution or use would violate local law or would\nsubject us to any regulations in another country. We reserve the right to\nlimit our Services in any country. If you have specific questions about\nthese Terms, please contact us at privacy@signal.org.\nPrivacy Policy\nSignal utilizes state-of-the-art security and end-to-end encryption to\nprovide private messaging and Internet calling services to users\nworldwide (“Services”). Your calls and messages are always encrypted,\nso they can never be shared or viewed by anyone but yourself and the\nintended recipients.\nInformation you provide\nAccount Information. You register a phone number when you create a\nSignal account. Phone numbers are used to provide our Services to you\nand other Signal users. You may optionally add other information to your\naccount, such as a profile name and profile picture. This information is\nend-to-end encrypted.\nMessages. Signal cannot decrypt or otherwise access the content of\nyour messages or calls. Signal queues end-to-end encrypted messages\non its servers for delivery to devices that are temporarily offline (e.g. a\nphone whose battery has died). Your message history is stored on your\nown devices.\nAdditional technical information is stored on our servers, including\nrandomly generated authentication tokens, keys, push tokens, and other\nmaterial that is necessary to establish calls and transmit messages.\nSignal limits this additional technical information to the minimum required\nto operate the Services.\nContacts. Signal can optionally discover which contacts in your address\nbook are Signal users, using a service designed to protect the privacy of\nyour contacts. Information from the contacts on your device may be\ncryptographically hashed and transmitted to the server in order to\ndetermine which of your contacts are registered.\nUser Support. If you contact Signal User Support, any personal data you\nmay share with us is kept only for the purposes of researching the issue\n\nand contacting you about your case.\nManaging your information. You can manage your personal information\nin Signal’s application Settings. For example, you can update your profile\ninformation or choose to enable additional privacy features like a\nRegistration Lock PIN.\nInformation we may share\nThird Parties. We work with third parties to provide some of our\nServices. For example, our Third-Party Providers send a verification code\nto your phone number when you register for our Services. These\nproviders are bound by their Privacy Policies to safeguard that\ninformation. If you use other Third-Party Services like YouTube, Spotify,\nGiphy, etc. in connection with our Services, their Terms and Privacy\nPolicies govern your use of those services.\nOther instances where Signal may need to share your data\nTo meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable\ngovernmental request.\nTo enforce applicable Terms, including investigation of potential\nviolations.\nTo detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical\nissues.\nTo protect against harm to the rights, property, or safety of Signal,\nour users, or the public as required or permitted by law.\nUpdates\nWe will update this privacy policy as needed so that it is current,\naccurate, and as clear as possible. Your continued use of our Services\nconfirms your acceptance of our updated Privacy Policy.\nTerms\nPlease also read our Terms which also governs the terms of this Privacy\nPolicy.\nContact Us\nIf you have questions about our Privacy Policy please contact us at\nprivacy@signal.org. Attn: Privacy Signal Messenger, LLC 650 Castro\nStreet, Suite 120-223 Mountain View, CA 94041\n\nEffective as of May 25, 2018\nUpdated May 25, 2018\n© 2013–2021 Signal, a 501c3\nnonprofit.\nSignal is a registered trademark\nin the United States and other\ncountries. \nFor media inquiries, contact\npress@signal.org\nCompany\nDonate\nCareers\nBlog\nTerms &\nPrivacy\nPolicy\nDownload\nAndroid\niPhone &\niPad\nWindows\nMac\nLinux\nSocial\nGitHub\nTwitter\nInstagram\nHelp\nSupport\nCommunity\n","paragraphs":null,"sentences":null},"annotations":[{"general_category":"Limitation of remedy clauses","name":"Limitation of company's liability","legal_ground":"Annex 1(a) Directive 93/13","code":"ltd","score":-1,"explanation":"Unlawful limitation of liablility for damages connected with the use of service, when the company limits its liability for at least one of the following: (a) personal injury or (b) non-performance against consumers or (c) intentionally caused damage"},{"general_category":"Limitation of remedy clauses","name":"Maximal threshold of company's liability","legal_ground":"Annex 1(a) Directive 93/13","code":"ltd_cap","score":-1,"explanation":"Everyone entitled to the damages connected with using the service may claim them only to a certain amount"},{"general_category":"Limitation of remedy clauses","name":"Limitation period","legal_ground":"art. 119 KC*****","code":"period","score":0,"explanation":"The ToS does not contain a clause described above"},{"general_category":"Limitation of remedy clauses","name":"No promises","legal_ground":"Article 8 Directive 2019/770","code":"as_is","score":-1,"explanation":"Presence of as-is clause. An \"as-is clause\" is a contractual provision that states that the work or product being provided by the developer or service provider is provided in its current condition, without any additional warranties or guarantees, except for those explicitly stated in the agreement. It serves to limit the developer's liability and makes it clear that the client accepts the work as it is."},{"general_category":"Limitation of remedy clauses","name":"Indemnification clause","legal_ground":"-","code":"indemn","score":0,"explanation":"Indemnification clause is present in ToS. An indemnification clause establishes obligation for one party (the indemnifying party) to compensate the other party (the indemnified party) for specific costs and expenses arising from third-party claims or direct claims."},{"general_category":"Dispute resolution clauses","name":"Choice of law other than user's domicile","legal_ground":"Article 6 Rome I****","code":"c_law","score":-1,"explanation":"The ToS provides that a law other than the law of the user's habitual residence will apply to disputes arising in connection with the contract"},{"general_category":"Dispute resolution clauses","name":"Choice of forum other than user's domicile","legal_ground":"Annex 1(q) Directive 93/13","code":"c_forum","score":-1,"explanation":"The ToS provides that disputes arising in connection with the contract shall be resolved in a court of a different jurisdiction from that of the user's permanent residence"},{"general_category":"Dispute resolution clauses","name":"Mandatory arbitration","legal_ground":"Annex 1(q) Directive 93/13 + art. 385[3] pkt 23 KC","code":"arb","score":1,"explanation":"Lack of mandatory arbitration"},{"general_category":"Dispute resolution clauses","name":"Class action waiver","legal_ground":"-","code":"class","score":1,"explanation":"Lack of class action waiver"},{"general_category":"Unilateral alteration clauses","name":"Unilateral change of contract","legal_ground":"Annex 1(j) Directive 93/13","code":"contr_chg","score":-1,"explanation":"When the company reserves the right to change the contract without a valid reason (the ToS state the company can always change the contract)"},{"general_category":"Unilateral alteration clauses","name":"Unilateral change of service by the company","legal_ground":"Article 19 Directive 2019/770","code":"serv_chg","score":-1,"explanation":"When the company reserves the right to change the service without a valid reason (when the ToS state, that the company can always change the service or does not state any requriements at all). A service change is a situation, where a company unilaterally modifies the service, by changing existing design, adding or removing features, modyfing purpose of the service, etc."},{"general_category":"Unilateral alteration clauses","name":"Account deletion and unilateral termination of contract by the company","legal_ground":"Annex 1(g) Directive 93/13***","code":"acc_del","score":-1,"explanation":"When the company reserves the right to delete a user’s account without serious grounds or a notice period. By serious grounds we understood situations, where activity of the user was clearly illegal or violated crucial provisions of ToS. The notice period should be reasonably long, to allow the user preparation for termination of contract."},{"general_category":"Unilateral alteration clauses","name":"Transfer of contractual rights to another subject","legal_ground":"Annex 1(p) Directive 93/13","code":"transfer","score":1,"explanation":"When the ToS allows for contractual rights’ transfer with user’s consent and while the consumer is also granted the ability to transfer contractual rights' or the ToS does not contain any provision allowing for the transfer of rights."},{"general_category":"Right to police the behaviour of users","name":"User content deletion","legal_ground":"partially inferred from Article 6 Directive 2019/770** & Article 17 DSA","code":"cnt_del","score":1,"explanation":"When a company does not reserve a right to delete content put in the service by the user"},{"general_category":"Right to police the behaviour of users","name":"Account suspension","legal_ground":"partially inferred from Article 6 Directive 2019/770 & Article 17 DSA","code":"acc_sus","score":-1,"explanation":"When the company reserves the right to suspend a user’s account without serious grounds or a notice period"},{"general_category":"Regulatory requirements","name":"Internal complaint-handling system","legal_ground":"Article 17 DSA","code":"com_sys","score":-1,"explanation":"Lack of internal complaint-handling system that allow the user to file a complain on a decision made by the company concerning user's rights under the contract, before going to court or other institution. Information about a right to present the case to the court or other institution does not count."},{"general_category":"Regulatory requirements","name":"Retrieval of digital content by the user","legal_ground":"Article 16(4) Directive 2019/770","code":"cnt_retr","score":-1,"explanation":"Lack of clause ensuring the right to retrieve the digital content belonging to the the user after contract's termination."},{"general_category":"Various","name":"Excessive user content IP license ","legal_ground":"-","code":"IP","score":1,"explanation":"ToS contains an IP license to the content put in the service by the user that it states it is needed solely to perform the service or ToS lacks any IP license requirements"},{"general_category":"Various","name":"Discretional power to interpret the ToS","legal_ground":"Annex 1(m) Directive 93/13","code":"discret","score":0,"explanation":"Lack of discretional power clauses"},{"general_category":"Various","name":"Severability clauses ","legal_ground":"-","code":"sever","score":0,"explanation":"The ToS contains provisions that keep the remaining part of the contract in force in case a court declare one or more of its provisions unconstitutional, void, or unenforceable (severability clauses)"},{"general_category":"Various","name":"Right to incorporate user's feedback or suggestions without compensation","legal_ground":"-","code":"suggest","score":1,"explanation":"According to ToS, the company does not have a right to incorporate into the service user feedback or suggestions without compensation"}]}