Terms of Service

1. Who We Are

Ardore ("we," "us," "our") is a membership-based travel and dating platform operated by Devashish Bharti (Sole Proprietor), based in Delhi, India. Our platform is accessible at ardore.app.

Ardore connects like-minded travellers through verified profiles, travel-style matching, and shared trip planning. These Terms govern your access to and use of our website, applications, and services (collectively, the "Platform").

2. Eligibility

To use Ardore, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age. Ardore is an adults-only platform. We do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to register or use the service. If we discover that a user is under 18, their account will be immediately terminated.
• Have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement under the laws of your jurisdiction.
• Not have been previously banned, suspended, or removed from Ardore for violating these Terms.
• Not be a person prohibited from using the Platform under any applicable law, including but not limited to the laws of India.
• Provide truthful, accurate, and complete information in your application and profile.

We require all members to verify their age and identity through government-issued photo identification. Ardore reserves the right to request additional verification at any stage of your membership.

3. Membership & Application

Application Process

Ardore is an invitation-only, application-based community. Submitting an application does not guarantee membership. We review every application personally and reserve the right to accept or decline any applicant at our sole discretion, without obligation to provide a reason.

Membership Tiers

Membership fees are paid only upon acceptance. Ardore reserves the right to modify pricing for future members. Existing members retain the pricing under which they joined, unless otherwise communicated with 30 days' notice.

Founding Members

The first 100 accepted members receive permanent Founding Member status, including a visible profile badge. Founding Member pricing is a one-time fee and will not be offered again once the cohort is full.

4. Fees, Payments & Refund Policy

Payment Terms

• All fees are quoted in USD unless otherwise stated.
• Payment is processed through secure third-party payment providers. Ardore does not store your complete payment card details.
• Membership fees are non-recurring unless you opt into automatic annual renewal.
• You are responsible for any applicable taxes, currency conversion fees, or charges imposed by your bank or payment provider.

Refund Policy

To request a refund, email [email protected] with the subject line "Refund Request" within the 3-day window. Refunds will be processed to your original payment method within 7–10 business days.

This refund policy applies to all membership tiers, including Founding Member fees.

5. Your Account

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials (email and password).
• You must not share your account with anyone or allow others to access the Platform using your credentials.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
• Notify us immediately at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.
• Ardore is not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to secure your account.

6. Profile & Identity Verification

To maintain the safety and integrity of our community:

• You must provide accurate and truthful information in your profile, including your name, age, photos, profession, and city.
• We may require you to verify your identity using government-issued photo identification.
• Misrepresenting your identity, age, profession, marital status, or any material fact is grounds for immediate termination without refund.
• Profile photos must be of you, recent (within the last 2 years), unedited in ways that misrepresent your appearance, and must not contain nudity, graphic content, or images of other people.

Ardore reserves the right to reject or remove any profile content that violates these requirements.

7. Acceptable Use & Community Standards

Ardore exists to create meaningful connections. By using the Platform, you agree to:

You Will

• Treat all members with respect, dignity, and courtesy.
• Use the Platform for its intended purpose: genuine connection, conversation, and shared travel.
• Report any behaviour that violates these Terms or makes you feel unsafe.

You Will Not

• Harassment or abuse: Send threatening, abusive, obscene, defamatory, or harassing messages or content.
• Solicitation: Use the Platform to solicit money, promote commercial products or services, or conduct any form of business solicitation.
• Spam: Send bulk, automated, or repetitive messages to members.
• Impersonation: Pretend to be someone else, use another person's photos, or create fake identities.
• Stalking or surveillance: Track, follow, or monitor another member's activity or location outside the Platform.
• Illegal activity: Use the Platform for any unlawful purpose, including drug trafficking, fraud, prostitution, or any activity that violates the laws of India or your jurisdiction.
• Scraping or data harvesting: Use automated tools, bots, scripts, or crawlers to extract data from the Platform.
• Circumvention: Attempt to bypass security measures, rate limits, access controls, or any technical restrictions on the Platform.
• Multiple accounts: Create or maintain more than one account per person.
• Discriminatory behaviour: Engage in hate speech, discrimination, or prejudice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin.

Violations may result in warnings, temporary suspension, permanent ban, or referral to law enforcement, at Ardore's sole discretion.

8. Safety Features

Ardore provides the following safety tools. Misuse of these features is itself a violation of these Terms:

• Block: You can block any member at any time. Blocked members cannot view your profile, send you messages, or interact with you.
• Report: You can report a member for violating these Terms. All reports are reviewed by our team. False or malicious reporting is a violation.
• Content moderation: Ardore may review messages and content for safety and compliance purposes.

While we take safety seriously, Ardore does not conduct criminal background checks on members. You are responsible for your own safety when interacting with other members, both online and in person. Always exercise caution, meet in public places, inform someone you trust of your plans, and trust your instincts.

9. Travel Features

Ardore's travel features — including Travel DNA matching, travel-overlap discovery, and trip planning — are tools to help members connect. Ardore is not a travel agency, tour operator, or booking platform.

• We do not arrange, book, or guarantee any travel arrangements, accommodations, flights, or transportation.
• Any travel plans made between members are made at their own risk and responsibility.
• Ardore is not liable for any incidents, losses, injuries, delays, or disputes arising from travel plans or meetings arranged through the Platform.
• We strongly recommend purchasing appropriate travel insurance for any trips.

10. Intellectual Property

Our Property

The Platform, including its design, logo, text, graphics, code, algorithms, features, and all associated intellectual property, is owned by Ardore (Devashish Bharti, Sole Proprietor). You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Platform without our written permission.

Your Content

You retain ownership of content you upload to Ardore (photos, text, profile information). By uploading content, you grant Ardore a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, display, and distribute that content solely for the purpose of operating and promoting the Platform.

This licence ends when you delete the content or your account, except where your content has been shared with other members and they have retained a copy (e.g., in a conversation).

You represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary rights to all content you upload, and that it does not infringe any third party's intellectual property or other rights.

11. Privacy & Data Protection

Your privacy is important to us. Our collection, use, and protection of your personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is designed to comply with applicable data protection laws including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR, the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021), and the Australian Privacy Act 1988.

By using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Key points include:

• We collect only the data necessary to operate the Platform and provide our services.
• Your personal data is processed on lawful grounds appropriate to your jurisdiction — including consent, performance of contract, and legitimate interests where applicable.
• You have the right to access, correct, and erase your data, as well as additional rights specific to your jurisdiction (see Section 22 and our Privacy Policy).
• We never sell your personal data to third parties. We do not "sell" or "share" personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA.
• Devashish Bharti serves as the Data Protection Officer. Contact: [email protected].

12. Location Data

Ardore will never display your exact or precise location to other members. Travel features use city-level data only. If Ardore introduces any location-based features in the future, they will operate on the following principles:

• No real-time location tracking.
• No precise GPS coordinates shared with other members.
• City-level or region-level information only.
• Opt-in only — you choose what to share.

13. Communications

By creating an account, you consent to receive the following communications from Ardore:

• Transactional emails: Account confirmation, payment receipts, security alerts, and application status updates. These are essential to your membership and cannot be opted out of while your account is active.
• Service updates: Changes to the Platform, these Terms, or our Privacy Policy.
• Promotional emails: Membership offers, travel features, and Ardore news. You may opt out of promotional emails at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link included in every promotional email, or by emailing [email protected].

Consent for Marketing Communications

If you reside in the European Union, European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Canada, we will only send you promotional or marketing communications if you have given your prior, express opt-in consent. You may withdraw this consent at any time.

If you reside in the United States, our commercial emails comply with the CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. § 7701 et seq.). Every promotional email includes: (a) a clear identification as an advertisement, (b) our valid physical postal address, (c) a clear and conspicuous opt-out mechanism, and (d) prompt processing of opt-out requests within 10 business days.

If you reside in Australia, our electronic communications comply with the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). Marketing messages are sent only with your consent, include our identity and contact details, and provide a functional unsubscribe mechanism.

14. Third-Party Services

The Platform may integrate with or link to third-party services (e.g., payment processors, email providers, analytics). These third parties have their own terms of service and privacy policies. Ardore is not responsible for the practices, content, or availability of any third-party service.

We use the following categories of third-party services:

• Payment processing — to securely handle membership payments.
• Email delivery (Resend) — to send transactional and welcome emails.
• Infrastructure (Railway, Cloudflare) — to host and protect the Platform.
• Database (PostgreSQL) — to securely store your information.

15. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

Platform "As Is"

The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. Ardore makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding the Platform's reliability, accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, or uninterrupted availability.

No Guarantee of Outcomes

Ardore does not guarantee that you will find a match, a travel companion, a romantic partner, or any particular outcome. We do not guarantee the behaviour, identity, or intentions of any member, notwithstanding any verification process we may conduct.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Ardore (including its owner, employees, contractors, and agents) shall not be liable for:

• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages.
• Any loss of profits, data, or goodwill.
• Any damages arising from your interactions with other members, whether online or in person.
• Any damages arising from travel plans, trips, or meetings arranged through the Platform.
• Any unauthorised access to or alteration of your data.

In all cases, Ardore's total cumulative liability to you shall not exceed the amount you have paid to Ardore in the 12 months preceding the claim.

16. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Ardore (and its owner, employees, contractors, and agents) from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use of the Platform.
• Your violation of these Terms.
• Your violation of any third party's rights.
• Any content you upload or share on the Platform.
• Any interaction between you and another member.

17. Suspension & Termination

By You

You may delete your account at any time through your account Settings page or by emailing [email protected]. Upon deletion:

• Your profile will be removed from the Platform.
• Your personal data will be deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the DPDP Act.
• Any unused membership time is forfeited (subject to the 3-day refund policy above).

By Ardore

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately, with or without notice, for any of the following reasons:

• Violation of these Terms or our Community Standards.
• Fraudulent, illegal, or harmful behaviour.
• Providing false information in your application or profile.
• Failure to complete identity verification when requested.
• Non-payment of applicable fees.
• Any reason we deem necessary to protect the safety and integrity of the community.

In cases of termination for cause, no refund will be provided, regardless of remaining membership time.

18. Modifications to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Effective date" at the top of this page.
• Notify you via email at least 15 days before the changes take effect.
• For changes that materially affect your rights or obligations, provide at least 30 days' notice.

Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of the revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Platform and delete your account.

19. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, including but not limited to the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

Dispute Resolution

In the event of any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform:

1. Informal Resolution: You agree to first attempt to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us at [email protected]. We will make good-faith efforts to resolve the matter within 30 days.
2. Mediation: If informal resolution fails, the parties agree to attempt mediation before initiating any legal proceedings.
3. Jurisdiction: Any unresolved disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Delhi, India.

Class Action Waiver

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted on an individual basis only, and not as a class, consolidated, or representative action.

20. Consumer Protection

Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude any rights you may have under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (India) or any other mandatory consumer protection law that applies to you. If any provision of these Terms conflicts with mandatory consumer protection rights, the consumer protection rights shall prevail.

International Consumer Rights

If you reside in the European Union or European Economic Area, nothing in these Terms affects your right to bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence, or any rights you have under the EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) or other mandatory EU consumer protection law.

If you reside in the United Kingdom, nothing in these Terms limits your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and you retain the right to bring proceedings in the courts of England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland as applicable.

If you reside in the United States, nothing in these Terms waives any rights you may have under mandatory federal or state consumer protection laws, including but not limited to those of your state of residence.

If you reside in Australia, nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer guarantee or right under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010).

If you reside in the United Arab Emirates, nothing in these Terms limits any rights you may have under Federal Decree-Law No. 15 of 2020 (Consumer Protection Law) or any other mandatory UAE consumer protection law.

21. Information Technology Act Compliance

In compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules thereunder:

• Ardore is an "intermediary" as defined under Section 2(1)(w) of the IT Act.
• We comply with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
• Users may report objectionable content, and we will act on such reports within the timelines prescribed by law.
• We maintain a Grievance Officer as required. Contact details are provided below.

22. International Data Protection Rights

Ardore serves members globally. In addition to your rights under India's DPDP Act (described in our Privacy Policy), you may have additional rights under the data protection laws of your jurisdiction. This section summarises those rights. For full details, see the jurisdiction-specific sections of our Privacy Policy.

For Residents of the European Union / European Economic Area (GDPR)

If you reside in the EU or EEA, the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR") applies to our processing of your personal data. Under the GDPR:

• Lawful basis: We process your data on the following legal bases — (a) your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) for profile creation, marketing communications, and optional features; (b) performance of our contract with you (Art. 6(1)(b)) for account management, payment processing, and service delivery; (c) our legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) for fraud prevention, platform security, and service improvement, balanced against your rights.
• Right to data portability (Art. 20) — you may request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, and have it transmitted to another controller.
• Right to object (Art. 21) — you may object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling. We will cease processing unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds.
• Right to restrict processing (Art. 18) — you may request restriction of processing while we verify accuracy or assess an objection.
• Right to lodge a complaint — you may lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement.
• Cross-border data transfers: Where your data is transferred outside the EEA, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission (Decision 2021/914) or other lawful transfer mechanisms under Chapter V of the GDPR. You may request a copy of the applicable safeguards by contacting us.
• Sensitive data: We process certain special categories of data (such as data revealing racial or ethnic origin, or data concerning health or sexual orientation) only with your explicit consent under Art. 9(2)(a) of the GDPR and only as necessary for the dating and matching services you have requested.

For Residents of California, United States (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act ("CCPA/CPRA") provides you with specific rights regarding your personal information:

• Categories of personal information collected: Identifiers (name, email, phone); personal records (payment information); characteristics of protected classifications (age, gender); commercial information (membership purchases); internet activity (browsing, usage data); geolocation (city-level only); sensory data (photos); professional information (profession/employer); and inferences drawn from the above for matching purposes.
• Right to know — you may request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources, the business purposes, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
• Right to delete — you may request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions (legal obligations, ongoing transactions, security).
• Right to correct — you may request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of sale/sharing: Ardore does not sell your personal information, nor do we "share" it for cross-context behavioural advertising as defined under the CCPA/CPRA. We do not use your data for targeted advertising by third parties.
• Right to limit use of sensitive personal information: You may direct us to limit the use of sensitive personal information to purposes necessary for providing the services.
• Non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any CCPA/CPRA rights. You will not receive different pricing, a different quality of service, or be denied service for exercising your rights.
• Financial incentive disclosure: Ardore's membership tiers (Founding Member, Membership, Voyager) offer different levels of service at different prices. These pricing tiers are based on the services provided, not on the value of personal information. Membership pricing is not a financial incentive conditioned on the collection, retention, or sale of personal information.

To exercise your CCPA/CPRA rights, email [email protected] with the subject line "California Privacy Request." We will verify your identity and respond within 45 days (extendable by an additional 45 days with notice).

For Residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE PDPL)

If you reside in the UAE, the Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, "PDPL") and its implementing regulations apply. Under the UAE PDPL:

• We process your personal data based on your consent, which you may withdraw at any time.
• You have the right to access your personal data, request its correction, and request its deletion when the purpose of processing has been fulfilled.
• You have the right to request restriction or cessation of processing.
• Cross-border transfers of your data are conducted in compliance with the PDPL, including to jurisdictions that provide an adequate level of protection or under appropriate safeguards.
• You may file a complaint regarding data processing with the UAE Data Office.

Content standards: Members in the UAE acknowledge that Ardore's community standards align with UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 (regarding combatting rumours and cybercrimes). Content shared on the Platform must comply with applicable UAE laws.

For Residents of the United Kingdom (UK DPA 2018 / UK GDPR)

If you reside in the UK, the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to our processing of your personal data. Your rights mirror those described in the EU GDPR section above, including the rights to access, portability, objection, restriction, and erasure. Cross-border transfers from the UK are protected by the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or UK Addendum to EU SCCs. You may lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

For Residents of Australia (Privacy Act 1988)

If you reside in Australia, the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) apply to our handling of your personal information. You have the right to access and correct your personal information (APPs 12–13). Before disclosing your personal information to overseas recipients (APP 8), we take reasonable steps to ensure the recipient complies with the APPs. If you believe we have breached the APPs, you may complain to us first; if you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

Exercising Your Rights

Regardless of your jurisdiction, you may exercise any of the rights described above by emailing [email protected] with the subject line "Data Rights Request — [Your Country]." We will verify your identity and respond within the timeframes required by your applicable law.

23. Anti-Money Laundering & Financial Compliance

As a premium membership platform accepting international payments, Ardore maintains compliance with applicable anti-money laundering (AML) and financial regulations:

• Identity verification: Ardore's identity verification process serves both community safety and Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations. We may request additional documentation to verify the source of funds for high-value memberships.
• Sanctions compliance: We screen applicants against applicable sanctions lists, including those maintained by the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the European Union, and the Reserve Bank of India. We reserve the right to decline or terminate any membership where required by applicable sanctions law.
• Restricted persons: Persons who are residents of, or located in, countries subject to comprehensive sanctions may not use the Platform. We reserve the right to refuse service to any applicant where doing so is necessary to comply with applicable law.
• Suspicious activity: Ardore reserves the right to report suspicious transactions or activities to the relevant authorities as required under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (India), or other applicable law.
• Payment processing: All payments are processed through Stripe, which maintains its own AML/KYC compliance program. Ardore does not directly handle, store, or transmit payment card information.

24. Accessibility

Ardore is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people of all abilities. We strive to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards and continuously improve the user experience for everyone.

• Our Platform is designed to be navigable by keyboard and compatible with common assistive technologies, including screen readers.
• We implement appropriate colour contrast ratios, alternative text for images, and semantic HTML.
• We respect user preferences for reduced motion and other accessibility settings.

If you encounter any accessibility barrier or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us at [email protected] with the subject line "Accessibility." We take accessibility feedback seriously and will respond within 7 business days.

25. Force Majeure

Ardore shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under these Terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to:

• Natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, or public health emergencies.
• War, terrorism, civil unrest, or armed conflict.
• Government actions, sanctions, embargoes, or regulatory changes.
• Cyberattacks, infrastructure failures, or internet service disruptions.
• Power outages, telecommunications failures, or third-party service provider failures.

During a force majeure event, our obligations shall be suspended for the duration of the event. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you and to resume performance as soon as practicable.

26. Assignment

Ardore may assign or transfer these Terms, and its rights and obligations hereunder, in whole or in part, without restriction — including in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate restructuring, or sale of assets. You will be notified of any such assignment.

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your membership to any other person without Ardore's prior written consent. Any attempted assignment in violation of this section shall be void.

27. Waiver

No waiver of any term or condition of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term. Ardore's failure to assert any right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

Any waiver must be in writing and signed by Ardore to be effective.

28. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or if modification is not possible, it shall be severed.

29. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Ardore regarding your use of the Platform. They supersede all prior agreements, communications, and understandings, whether written or oral.

30. Grievance Officer & Contact

In accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the details of our Grievance Officer are:

This postal address also serves as our physical address for the purposes of the CAN-SPAM Act (15 U.S.C. § 7701) and the Australian Spam Act 2003.

For general enquiries, membership questions, or support, email us at [email protected].