Terms and conditions

These terms are an agreement between you and Chatroom ("we", "us"). By creating an account or using the site you agree to them, to our privacy policy and to our community rules. If you don't agree, don't use the site.

1. Adults only

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You must give your real date of birth. We close any account we believe belongs to someone under 18.

2. Your account

• One account per person (a couple may share one). Keep your password private — you're responsible for what happens on your account.
• Joining is free. Your account is active as soon as you sign up.
• You can delete your account at any time in Options.

3. Free and Premium

• Chatroom is free to use. Premium is an optional membership that adds extras: your own photo as your display picture, unlimited contacts (free members can have up to 5), the Premium rooms and a Premium badge. We may add, change or remove Premium features, and we'll tell you on the site before taking away anything significant.
• Promotional Premium: new members currently get 3 months of Premium free. It ends automatically on the date shown in Options; nothing is charged and nothing renews. We may end or change a promotion for new sign-ups at any time; Premium you've already been given keeps its end date. Members who paid the earlier one-off entry fee have Premium for as long as the site runs.
• When Premium ends, your account carries on as a free account. Nothing is deleted: contacts you already have stay, your photo is hidden until you have Premium again, and Premium rooms lock.
• Paid Premium isn't on sale yet. Before it is, we'll publish the price and terms on the site. You'll never be charged without choosing to pay. Nothing in these terms limits your rights under New Zealand consumer law, including the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.
• AI chat companions. We may run AI chat companions: accounts operated by us, labelled "Chat companion (AI)" on their profile card, that chat in general rooms and may message you. They say they're AI if asked, never ask for money, contact details or photos, and never arrange to meet. They're currently switched off.

4. Chat rooms and messages

• Rooms are for their topic. Keep conversations in the room they belong in.
• Sexual content is not allowed in any general room or in private messages to people who haven't agreed to it.
• R18 channels. Some rooms are marked R18 and may contain sexual chat between consenting adults. R18 channels are switched off for every member by default and are hidden until you switch them on yourself. You can switch them off again at any time. By switching them on you confirm you're 18 or older and want to see sexual content.
• You must not share photos, links or recordings of anyone without their consent, or anyone's private details.
• The contact list only shows your online status to people you've accepted, and only while "show me as online" is on.
• Group chats are private to the people in them. You can only invite your accepted contacts, people join by accepting, and new members only see messages sent after they join. R18 groups only include members who have R18 switched on.
• Profile photos are visible only to signed-in members. They must follow the community rules (no nudity, no one under 18, no one else without permission), are checked by a moderator before others see them, and we may remove any photo.

5. Photos in private messages

• Photos (including R18 photos) can only be sent in a private conversation between accepted contacts, when both of you have R18 switched on and the person receiving them has turned on "Allow photos from this person" in that conversation. Either of you can turn photos off at any time; blocking someone turns them off for both of you.
• Every time you send a photo you confirm that: you're the person in it, or everyone in it is 18 or over and has agreed to it being shared with this person; and it doesn't show anyone under 18, anything non-consensual, or anything else that's illegal in New Zealand.
• Sharing an intimate image of someone without their consent is a crime in New Zealand (Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, s 22A). So is any image of a person under 18 in a sexual context. We suspend the account, keep the evidence and report it to the Police and the Department of Internal Affairs.
• Photos stay hidden until the receiver taps them, can be unsent by the sender, and are deleted automatically after 7 days. Location data is stripped before upload. A photo that's reported is hidden straight away and kept only for our review and for the Police.
• Don't save, screenshot or pass on photos someone sends you without their permission.

6. What we can do

• We may remove messages and photos, close rooms, and suspend or close accounts that break these terms or the community rules, without refund.
• We cooperate with New Zealand law enforcement and report serious crimes, including anything involving the exploitation of children.
• Anyone can raise a complaint about illegal or non-consensual content, or ask for content about them to be removed, on our complaints page. We act on non-consensual images, possible minors and illegal content within 48 hours, and reply to other complaints within seven business days. You can appeal our decision.
• We may change these terms. If a change is significant we'll tell you on the site before it takes effect.

7. Liability

The site is provided as it is. Members are responsible for what they say and do. To the extent the law allows, we aren't liable for members' conduct or for indirect losses. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under New Zealand consumer law.

8. Contact

Questions or complaints: use our contact form. These terms are governed by New Zealand law.