Terms of Service

On the Same Read helps people find someone else reading the same book and connects them for a one-on-one conversation about it. We don't guarantee you'll be matched, that a match will lead to a good conversation, or anything about the person you're matched with — you're responsible for how you conduct yourself in any conversation that results.

You must be at least 16 years old to use the Service. By registering, you confirm you meet this requirement. We may ask you to verify your age or suspend an account we reasonably believe belongs to someone younger.

You're responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for all activity under your account. One account per person — don't create accounts to evade a ban or to game matching.

When using the Service, you agree not to:

• harass, threaten, or abuse another user;
• send spam, unsolicited advertising, or repeated unwanted messages;
• impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity;
• post or send illegal content, or content that infringes someone else's rights;
• use bots, scrapers, or automated tools to interact with the Service;
• attempt to circumvent rate limits, moderation, or other technical protections.

We may remove content, suspend, or terminate an account that violates this section, with or without prior notice, depending on severity.

A few things worth keeping in mind when chatting with someone you've just matched with:

• Be cautious if someone asks to move the conversation to another app or platform early on — this is a common way people try to get around basic safety practices.
• Never send money, gift cards, or financial details to someone you've matched with here.
• Don't click links from people you don't know well, and think twice before sharing personal contact details.
• Trust your instincts — if something feels off, it probably is. You can end a conversation at any time.

We can't monitor conversations (see the next section), so these are on you to watch for — we can't catch what we can't see. See also section 7, which covers what we're not responsible for once you're talking to someone.

Your pseudonym and the messages you send remain yours. By sending them through the Service, you grant us a limited license to store and display them as needed to operate the Service (e.g. showing your message to the person you're chatting with). We don't claim ownership of what you write.

You're solely responsible for the content of your messages. We're not able to review conversations before they're sent, and don't proactively monitor chat content.

You can stop using the Service and request deletion of your account at any time (see our Privacy Policy for how account data is handled on deletion). We may suspend or terminate your account for violating these Terms, or at our discretion for accounts that appear abusive, fraudulent, or harmful to other users.

The Service is provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind. We don't guarantee uninterrupted availability, that matching will work as expected, or the accuracy of book data pulled from third-party sources (Open Library). We're not responsible for the conduct of other users, on or off the Service, including anything that happens in conversations facilitated by a match.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we're not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the amount (if any) you paid us in the twelve months before the claim — currently the Service is free, so this limit is effectively zero.

We may update these Terms as the Service changes. If we make a material change, we'll make a reasonable effort to notify active users (e.g. by email or an in-app notice) before it takes effect. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

Questions about these Terms: [email protected]