Terms for showing up.

1. Introduction and acceptance

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form an agreement between you and Proximate Applications (Pty) Ltd concerning your use of the Proximate website, Progressive Web App, mobile experiences and related products and services (collectively, the "Services").

The Services help people discover nearby venues, events and experiences; scan participating venue QR codes; check in; join Live Hubs; interact with other users and venues; request venue service; make reservations; post reviews; receive offers; earn rewards; and access premium discovery features where available.

By creating an account, clicking or tapping an acceptance control, scanning a QR code where these Terms are clearly made available, or otherwise using the Services after being given a reasonable opportunity to review them, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

If you do not agree, do not create an account or use the Services. If you use Proximate on behalf of a business, venue or organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that entity. Separate Venue Partner Terms may also apply.

2. Electronic service provider information

The Services are provided by:

3. Eligibility and age restriction

You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into this agreement. By using Proximate, you confirm that:

• you are 18 or older;
• you have legal capacity to agree to these Terms;
• you are not prohibited by law from using the Services;
• information you provide is materially accurate and not misleading; and
• you will comply with laws, venue rules and these Terms.

We may request reasonable age or identity verification where needed for safety, fraud prevention, legal compliance or access to a restricted feature. Proximate does not authorise or facilitate access by minors to age-restricted venue products or activities.

4. Accounts and account security

4.1 Registration

Some features require an account. You may not create an account using another person's identity, impersonate a venue or create an account for deceptive purposes.

4.2 Credentials

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for reasonable activity performed through your account. You must notify us promptly at support@proximate.co.za if you suspect unauthorised access.

4.3 One person, one genuine account

Unless we approve otherwise, you may not operate multiple accounts to manipulate rewards, occupancy, reviews, referrals, hub participation or venue analytics.

4.4 Profile choices

You may be allowed to use a display name or avatar. An avatar does not entitle you to impersonate another person, mislead users about your identity or evade enforcement.

4.5 Guest sessions

Certain venue features may be available without registration. Guest access can be limited or withdrawn and may not include rewards, persistent history, profile access or all Live Hub functions.

5. What Proximate provides

Depending on availability, the Services may include:

• nearby venue, event and Live Hub discovery;
• map, list, radius and search tools;
• venue pages, menus, events, specials and announcements;
• QR-code venue and table sessions;
• check-in, checkout and live-occupancy features;
• Live Hubs, messaging and community interactions;
• reservations and venue service requests;
• reviews, ratings and feedback;
• rewards, loyalty, referrals and PRXM records;
• premium or temporary "Super Power" discovery features; and
• venue dashboards, campaigns and aggregate analytics.

Features differ by device, account tier, region, venue, permission, operating system and release stage. A description is not a promise that a feature will always remain available.

6. Participating venues and third-party services

6.1 Independent venue responsibility

Participating venues are independent businesses. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Proximate does not own, operate or control a venue and is not the supplier of its food, beverages, accommodation, entertainment, staffing, event, booking or hospitality service.

6.2 Venue information

Venue names, opening hours, menus, prices, capacity indicators, events, specials, ratings and other details may be supplied by venues or third parties. They may change without notice. You should confirm time-sensitive or important information directly with the venue.

6.3 Venue rules

You must comply with lawful venue rules, including admission, dress, conduct, booking, age, safety and payment requirements. A Proximate check-in or Live Hub membership does not guarantee entry, seating, service, availability or preferential treatment.

6.4 Third-party links and integrations

Links to maps, menus, ticketing, delivery, payment, transport, social media or booking services are provided for convenience. The third party's terms govern its service.

7. Location, QR scans and check-ins

7.1 Location permission

Location-based features require a device permission or a location supplied by you. You may withdraw device permission, but some discovery, check-in, distance or checkout functions may stop working or become less accurate.

7.2 No guarantee of location accuracy

Device location can be inaccurate, delayed or unavailable because of buildings, networks, device settings or third-party services. Nearby results, distance estimates and automatic checkout signals are therefore estimates.

7.3 QR codes and venue sessions

A QR code may identify a venue, table, event, offer or session. You may not alter, clone, replace, scrape, mass-scan or misuse a Proximate QR code, or represent a false check-in.

7.4 Live occupancy

A "Live Now" figure is an operational estimate based on active sessions and available signals. It may not equal the exact number of people physically present and must not be treated as an official fire-safety, emergency-capacity or security count.

7.5 Checkout

A venue session may end manually, after inactivity, after a disclosed time limit, or through a limited exit-detection feature. You remain responsible for checking whether your session is active where that matters to visibility, rewards or venue interaction.

7.6 Privacy awareness

Proximate does not intend to publish your exact coordinates to other users. However, checking into a venue, joining its Hub, identifying a table or posting content can reveal that you are or were associated with that place.

8. Live Hubs, messaging and profile interactions

8.1 Hub visibility

A Live Hub may be public, venue-based, event-based, limited by radius or restricted by another access rule. Check the Hub's context before posting. Messages, reactions, avatar, display name and timestamps may be visible to other participants.

8.2 Temporary does not mean unrecoverable

Content described as live, temporary or disappearing may remain in reports, moderation records, backups or a recipient's screenshots. Do not send content you could not tolerate being saved or shared by a recipient.

8.3 No obligation to connect

A profile swap request, message, invitation or Hub interaction does not require another person to respond. You must respect blocks, refusals, removals and venue staff instructions.

8.4 Moderation

We may remove content, limit visibility, close a Hub, restrict messaging or take account action where we reasonably believe this is necessary for safety, law, these Terms or the Community Guidelines.

9. User content and licence

9.1 Ownership

As between you and Proximate, you retain ownership of content you create and have the right to submit, subject to third-party rights.

9.2 Licence to operate the Services

By uploading or posting content, you grant Proximate a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, store, reproduce, format, adapt for technical display, transmit, moderate and display that content only as reasonably necessary to:

• operate and improve the Services;
• display it to the audience selected or reasonably expected by the feature;
• promote a public venue, event or public Hub where the feature clearly permits this;
• protect users and enforce these Terms; and
• comply with law.

The licence ends when the content is deleted from active systems, except where it remains in lawful backups, reports, shared copies, legal records or previously authorised public promotional material.

9.3 Your promises about content

You confirm that:

• you own the content or have permission to use it;
• posting it does not violate privacy, intellectual-property or other rights;
• it is not unlawful, fraudulent or materially misleading; and
• you will not publish another person's private information without authority.

9.4 Feedback

If you voluntarily provide product ideas or feedback, we may use them without payment or obligation, provided we do not publicly identify you without permission.

10. Acceptable use

You may not use the Services to:

• break the law, facilitate unlawful conduct or violate another person's rights;
• harass, threaten, stalk, intimidate, exploit or discriminate against another person;
• post hateful, sexually exploitative, severely violent or otherwise prohibited content;
• impersonate a person, venue, employee or public authority;
• publish private contact, location, financial or identifying information without authority;
• send spam, scams, pyramid schemes or unauthorised commercial solicitations;
• manipulate reviews, visitor counts, rewards, referrals, rankings or engagement;
• use bots, scripts, crawlers or automated means without written permission;
• scrape, harvest, sell, profile or commercially exploit user or venue data;
• upload malware or interfere with systems, accounts, networks or security controls;
• probe, reverse engineer or bypass access restrictions except where law expressly permits;
• spoof GPS, fabricate attendance or misuse venue QR codes;
• circumvent a suspension, block, radius, subscription or feature limit;
• use Proximate for unlicensed gambling, unlawful financial services or prohibited transactions;
• misuse emergency, reporting, waiter, bill or reservation functions; or
• help another person do any of the above.

Separate Community Guidelines may provide more detail and form part of these Terms.

11. Personal and real-world safety

Proximate helps people discover real-world places and communities, but cannot guarantee the identity, intentions, conduct or safety of every user, venue employee, visitor or event organiser.

• Use judgement before meeting or sharing personal information.
• Do not rely on a profile, avatar, badge or check-in as proof of identity or character.
• Follow venue, transport, public-health and emergency instructions.
• Use reporting and blocking tools for inappropriate conduct.
• Contact emergency services where immediate assistance is required.

Proximate is not an emergency service, security company or substitute for law enforcement. We do not promise to conduct criminal or background checks on every user or venue worker.

12. Reservations, menus and venue service requests

12.1 Reservation requests

Unless explicitly confirmed otherwise, submitting a reservation through Proximate is a request, not a guarantee. A booking becomes confirmed when the relevant venue or booking provider communicates confirmation.

12.2 Changes, cancellations and no-shows

Venue-specific cancellation, deposit, lateness and no-show rules must be presented before the booking where applicable. Those rules are subject to the Consumer Protection Act and may not impose an unlawful or excessive penalty.

12.3 Menus, prices and availability

Menus, pricing, allergens, stock, promotions and service availability may change. Confirm dietary, allergy, accessibility or time-sensitive requirements directly with the venue.

12.4 Service requests

"Call waiter", "request bill" and similar actions send a digital request to the venue. They do not guarantee an immediate response, exact response time or acceptance of a particular payment method.

12.5 Payments to venues

Unless Proximate clearly states that it is processing a payment, amounts owed for venue goods or services are paid to and governed by the venue or its payment provider.

13. Reviews, ratings and venue feedback

Reviews must reflect a genuine experience, be relevant and avoid unlawful or abusive content. You may not offer or accept undisclosed compensation for a misleading review.

We may verify whether a review is linked to a venue session, label it, rank it, reject it, remove it or restrict it where we reasonably suspect fraud, conflict of interest, abuse, irrelevance or a legal violation.

A venue may respond to a review but may not retaliate against a reviewer for lawful, honest feedback. Removal of a review does not mean Proximate agrees or disagrees with it.

14. Premium subscriptions and paid features

14.1 Available plans

Proximate may offer paid plans or temporary features, which may include increased search radius, additional Live Hub access, profile-request allowances, additional Hub creation, premium status, or time-limited "Super Power" access. The checkout screen will identify the relevant price, duration, included features and renewal arrangement.

14.2 Billing

Charges are processed through the displayed payment provider or app marketplace. Applicable taxes and fees will be shown or included as required by law.

14.3 Recurring subscriptions

If a plan renews automatically, that fact, the billing interval and cancellation method must be disclosed before purchase. You authorise recurring charges until cancellation takes effect. Cancellation stops future renewal but does not normally reverse a period already supplied, subject to mandatory consumer rights.

14.4 Fixed-term consumer agreements

Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, you may cancel a fixed-term consumer agreement by giving the required notice. A reasonable cancellation charge may apply only where permitted by law. We will provide expiry and renewal notices where the law requires them.

14.5 Feature changes

We may improve or replace paid features. We will not materially reduce an already-paid fixed period without providing an appropriate remedy required by law.

14.6 Refunds

Refund eligibility depends on the reason, delivery status, payment channel and applicable law. App-marketplace purchases may need to be handled under that marketplace's lawful refund process. Nothing here limits a refund or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.

15. Rewards, loyalty and PRXM

15.1 Nature of rewards

Proximate may issue points, benefits, discounts, credits or PRXM for eligible actions. Unless separate legally reviewed terms expressly state otherwise, these are limited, revocable platform rewards and not:

• legal tender or electronic money;
• a bank deposit or savings product;
• an investment, security or promise of profit;
• interest-bearing property;
• guaranteed to have a fixed rand value; or
• automatically redeemable for cash or transferable outside Proximate.

15.2 No guaranteed reference value

Any displayed example or reference conversion is for internal reward clarity only. It is not a guaranteed exchange rate, market price or promise that Proximate will buy, sell or redeem PRXM for money.

15.3 Earning and redemption rules

Each offer may have eligibility, expiry, venue, quantity, account, geographic and redemption limits. Rewards may not be combined, transferred or exchanged unless the specific offer permits it.

15.4 Fraud and adjustments

We may withhold, reverse or correct rewards obtained through duplicate accounts, false check-ins, referral manipulation, technical error, chargeback, collusion or other abuse. Where reasonable, we will provide notice and an opportunity to raise a dispute.

15.5 Changes or closure

We may amend or end a reward programme on reasonable notice, subject to consumer law and any rights attached to an already-completed qualifying transaction.

16. Promotions, competitions and referrals

A promotion, competition, referral reward or venue campaign may be governed by additional rules displayed with the offer. Those rules form part of these Terms for that promotion.

Unless stated otherwise, promotions are personal, limited, non-transferable, subject to availability and may not be combined. We may disqualify entries or referrals involving fraud, automation, multiple accounts, self-referral, false information or prohibited conduct.

Promotional competitions will be operated subject to applicable South African consumer law, including rules concerning disclosures, eligibility, prize administration and recordkeeping.

17. Privacy and personal information

Our Privacy Policy explains how Proximate collects, uses, shares, retains and protects personal information. It forms part of the information provided to you but is not a substitute for these Terms.

By using the Services, you acknowledge the Privacy Policy. Where the law requires consent for a specific activity, we will seek that consent separately rather than treating acceptance of these Terms as blanket privacy consent.

18. Proximate intellectual property

Proximate and its licensors own the Services, software, databases, interfaces, designs, branding, logos, documentation and content supplied by Proximate, excluding user content and third-party material.

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the Services for their intended purpose.

You may not, without written permission:

• copy, sell, sublicense or commercially exploit the Services;
• use Proximate branding in a way that suggests endorsement;
• remove ownership or legal notices;
• create a confusingly similar service or interface through copying; or
• reverse engineer protected elements except to the limited extent law expressly permits.

19. Availability, testing and service changes

We aim to provide a useful and reliable service but do not promise uninterrupted, error-free or universally compatible operation. The Services may be affected by maintenance, internet availability, device limitations, venue systems, maps, cloud providers, security incidents or events beyond reasonable control.

Beta, preview or experimental features may be incomplete and may change or end. We may add, modify, suspend or discontinue features. Where a material change affects an already paid service, we will provide the remedy required by applicable law.

You are responsible for your compatible device, internet connection, data charges, operating-system permissions and updates.

20. Suspension, restriction and termination

20.1 Action by Proximate

We may warn, remove content, restrict a feature, suspend or terminate an account where we reasonably believe this is necessary because of:

• a serious or repeated breach of these Terms or Community Guidelines;
• fraud, reward abuse, fake attendance, spam or security risk;
• harm or a credible risk to users, venues, Proximate or the public;
• a valid legal requirement;
• non-payment or reversal of a paid service; or
• an inactive, duplicate or technically compromised account.

Where appropriate and safe, we will provide notice and an opportunity to appeal. Immediate action may be taken for urgent safety, legal, fraud or security reasons.

20.2 Termination by you

You may stop using Proximate and request account deletion. Deleting the app does not automatically cancel a recurring subscription or delete the account. Use the relevant account, payment-provider or app-store cancellation process.

20.3 Effect of termination

Your licence ends and access may stop. Provisions that by nature should survive—such as intellectual property, payment obligations, lawful records, disputes and limitations of liability—continue to apply.

21. Consumer rights and electronic transactions

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or waives a right or remedy that may not lawfully be excluded under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 ("CPA"), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 ("ECTA") or other applicable law.

21.1 Plain language and fair terms

These Terms are intended to be written in plain language. If a provision is ambiguous, it must be interpreted consistently with applicable consumer law.

21.2 Electronic contracting

You agree that contracts, notices, records and communications may be created and delivered electronically, subject to legal requirements. You may save or print these Terms.

21.3 Cooling-off and cancellation rights

A statutory cooling-off right does not apply to every online transaction and may be excluded for certain immediately supplied, personalised or time-sensitive services. Where ECTA, the CPA or another law gives you a cooling-off, cancellation, refund or disclosure right, that right applies despite any inconsistent wording in these Terms.

21.4 Quality of Proximate-supplied services

Where Proximate is the supplier of a service to a consumer, applicable statutory rights concerning timely performance, quality and remedies remain in force.

22. Disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by law, and subject always to mandatory consumer rights:

• the Services are provided on an "as available" basis;
• we do not guarantee a venue's quality, safety, availability, pricing or conduct;
• we do not guarantee the identity, intentions or conduct of users;
• maps, distances, occupancy, recommendations and venue details may be inaccurate;
• we do not promise that use will produce social, business, financial or attendance outcomes;
• Proximate is not an emergency, medical, transport, security or financial service; and
• public or user-generated content may be incomplete, objectionable or wrong.

No disclaimer applies to an express warranty we provide, fraud, gross negligence, wilful misconduct or liability that applicable law does not permit us to exclude.

23. Limitation of liability

This section applies only to the extent permitted by law and must not be interpreted to deprive a consumer of mandatory CPA or ECTA rights.

23.1 Matters outside Proximate's control

Proximate is not responsible for loss caused solely by an independent venue, user, payment provider, transport provider, internet provider or other third party where Proximate did not cause or contribute to that loss.

23.2 Excluded categories

To the extent permitted by law, Proximate will not be liable for indirect, consequential, special or purely economic loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when the agreement was made, including loss of opportunity, reputation, data or anticipated savings.

23.3 Liability cap

Where liability may lawfully be limited, Proximate's aggregate liability arising from a paid consumer service will not exceed the greater of:

• the amount paid by you to Proximate for the affected service during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim; or
• R1,000.

For a free service, where a monetary cap is legally enforceable, the aggregate cap is R1,000.

23.4 Liability not limited

Nothing limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence where it may not lawfully be limited; fraud; gross negligence; wilful misconduct; breach of mandatory consumer rights; or another category that law prohibits us from limiting.

24. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to compensate Proximate for reasonable, direct losses, liabilities and third-party claims caused by:

• your unlawful use of the Services;
• content you submit that infringes another person's rights;
• your fraud, wilful misconduct or material breach of these Terms; or
• your unauthorised operation of an account, venue or campaign.

This indemnity does not apply to loss caused by Proximate's own negligence, unlawful conduct or breach, and it does not remove rights protected by consumer law.

25. Complaints, appeals and disputes

25.1 Contact us first

Please send account, billing or service complaints to support@proximate.co.za and legal complaints to legal@proximate.co.za. Include enough information for us to investigate.

25.2 Account appeals

Where an appeal is available, submit it through the displayed process or support email. We may uphold, vary or reverse the decision after reviewing relevant information.

25.3 Venue disputes

A complaint concerning food, service, admission, event delivery, venue charges or conduct should ordinarily be directed first to the venue. We may assist with platform records but do not automatically become the decision-maker for an independent venue dispute.

25.4 Consumer bodies

Nothing prevents a consumer from approaching the National Consumer Commission, a recognised ombud, an alternative dispute-resolution body or a competent court where legally entitled to do so.

26. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

Subject to mandatory consumer jurisdiction and any right to use an ombud or regulator, disputes may be brought before a court with jurisdiction in South Africa. Nothing in these Terms prevents a consumer from using a court or forum that applicable law makes available to them.

27. Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms to reflect legal, security, operational or product changes. The current version and effective date will be published on this page.

We will provide reasonable notice of a material change where practicable. We will not treat silence as acceptance where law requires express agreement. If you do not accept materially revised Terms, you may stop using the Services and cancel affected future services.

Changes will not retrospectively remove accrued consumer rights or alter a completed transaction unless the law permits it and an appropriate agreement exists.

28. General provisions

28.1 Entire agreement

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, applicable Community Guidelines, paid-plan terms, promotion rules and feature-specific terms form the agreement concerning the Services. Venue Partner Terms apply separately to participating businesses.

28.2 Order of precedence

Feature-specific or promotion terms prevail over these general Terms only for the matter they specifically address. Mandatory law prevails over all contractual wording.

28.3 Severability

If a provision is unlawful or unenforceable, it will be limited or removed only to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue.

28.4 No waiver

A delay in enforcing a right does not waive it. A waiver must be clear and applies only to the specific instance.

28.5 Assignment

You may not transfer your account or rights without written permission. We may transfer this agreement as part of a genuine corporate restructuring, merger, financing or sale, subject to applicable law and continued protection of consumer rights.

28.6 Force majeure

Neither party is liable for delay caused by events beyond reasonable control, except for payment obligations already due and rights that law does not allow to be excluded.

28.7 Notices

We may send notices by email, in-app message, push notification or prominent website notice using the latest contact details associated with your account.

28.8 Language

These Terms are currently provided in English. A translation may be provided for convenience. Unless prohibited by law, the English version governs if translations conflict.

29. Contact details