Terms of Service

These Terms explain how Haven works, what you can expect from the platform, and what we expect from you.

Haven is a place where people can have real conversations with other people. Some people come to Haven because they want someone to talk to. Some come because they want to be there for someone else.

To make that possible, we need a few clear rules around safety, privacy, payments, and how people use the platform.

By creating an account or using Haven, you agree to these Terms, our Community Guidelines, our Privacy Policy, and the other policies that apply to your use of Haven.

If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use Haven.

1. What Haven is

Haven is a voice-first communication and companionship platform.

We connect:

• Speakers — people who want to have a conversation.
• Companions — people who are available to have conversations with Speakers.

The conversation itself is between two people. Haven provides the technology, matching, payments, safety features, and systems that make that interaction possible.

Haven is not a healthcare service, therapy platform, counselling service, or emergency service.

It is a place to talk.

2. Who can use Haven

You must be 18 years or older to use Haven.

You must also have the legal capacity to enter into an agreement under applicable Indian law.

When you create an account, you are confirming that:

• you are at least 18 years old;
• the information you provide is accurate;
• you are using Haven for yourself;
• you will follow these Terms and applicable law.

Haven may ask for additional age or identity verification when required for safety, compliance, or account protection.

If we discover that someone under 18 is using Haven, we may disable the account and take any other action required under applicable law.

3. Your Haven account

To use Haven, you need to create an account using a valid Indian mobile number and verify it through OTP.

You are responsible for activity carried out through your account.

Please tell us if you believe someone has accessed your account without your permission.

For safety and trust reasons, Haven may restrict one person from operating both a Speaker and Companion account at the same time unless Haven specifically allows it.

4. Verification and identity

Haven is designed around a different kind of interaction.

You can talk to someone without having to reveal your real-world identity to them.

Your display name and Haven profile are what other users see.

At the same time, Haven may need to verify your identity privately.

For example, Companions may be required to complete identity or liveness verification before accepting conversations.

This information helps us protect the platform, prevent fraud, process payments, and meet legal requirements.

Your verification information is kept internally and is not displayed to other users simply because you have completed verification.

A verification badge, where available, only means that the relevant identity verification has been completed. It does not mean that Haven is guaranteeing someone's character, background, qualifications, or suitability.

5. A little clarity about anonymity

Anonymity is an important part of Haven.

You should not need to give another user your:

• legal name;
• personal phone number;
• home address;
• personal email address; or
• precise location

just to have a conversation.

You also agree not to try to find out another user's identity or personal information beyond what they have chosen to share through Haven.

Haven may still hold certain identity and verification information internally for safety, fraud prevention, payments, tax, and legal compliance.

Anonymity does not mean immunity from the law.

If we receive a lawful request from a court, government authority, or law enforcement agency, or if there is an urgent situation involving serious risk to someone's safety, Haven may disclose information where legally permitted or required.

6. What happens on Haven

When a Speaker chooses to talk to a Companion, Haven facilitates the connection.

The conversation belongs to the people having it.

Haven does not promise that:

• a particular Companion will always be available;
• you will always find a conversation immediately;
• two people will always be a good match;
• a conversation will lead to a particular emotional or personal outcome; or
• everything another user says will be accurate.

People are different, and conversations are different.

Our job is to provide the environment and tools that allow those conversations to happen as safely and comfortably as possible.

7. What Haven is not

Haven is not:

• a therapy service;
• a counselling service;
• a psychiatric service;
• a medical service;
• a professional advice service; or
• an emergency service.

Companions are not presented as psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, doctors, or other licensed healthcare professionals through Haven.

Nothing said by a Companion should be treated as medical diagnosis, treatment, or professional mental-health advice.

If you need professional care, please seek it from an appropriately qualified professional.

8. If something feels like an emergency

Haven is not an emergency response service.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact emergency services or an appropriate crisis service.

In India, you can contact 112 for emergency assistance.

Haven may provide crisis-support information or allow a Companion or Haven team member to escalate a concern when something suggests a serious safety risk.

However, Haven does not continuously monitor every live conversation and cannot promise that an emergency will be detected or responded to in real time.

9. How payments work

Some conversations on Haven are paid.

Before you start a paid conversation, Haven shows you the applicable rate.

Your Speaker Wallet is used for eligible Haven purchases such as conversation time and, where available, virtual Gifts.

Payments are processed through Haven's payment infrastructure and its payment partner.

Haven does not itself treat your Wallet balance as a bank deposit.

Wallet balances do not earn interest.

Payment methods and other payment-related terms will be shown to you when you add money or make a purchase.

Haven may change prices prospectively. Any applicable changes will not change the balance you have already added to your Wallet.

10. Conversation charges

Paid conversations are generally charged based on the time used at the rate shown before the conversation begins.

The final charge is calculated through Haven's billing system.

If a technical issue causes a verified failure in delivering the paid conversation, Haven may return the unused portion of the relevant charge to your Wallet in accordance with the Refund & Cancellation Policy and applicable law.

A conversation simply not feeling the way you expected does not automatically create a refund entitlement.

Where there is a serious conduct or safety violation, Haven may review the situation separately.

11. Companion earnings

Companions may earn through conversations and other Haven features that provide earnings.

Your earnings are recorded in your Companion Earnings Ledger.

The applicable earning rates and payout conditions are shown within Haven and may change prospectively.

Withdrawals are made through the payment method supported by Haven and its payment partner.

Haven may temporarily hold or review earnings when there is a reasonable concern about fraud, manipulation, abuse, or another serious violation of these Terms.

Where this happens, Haven will communicate the general reason where doing so does not interfere with an ongoing investigation.

12. Taxes

Payments and earnings on Haven may be subject to GST, TCS, TDS, income tax, or other applicable taxes.

Haven will meet the tax obligations that apply to Haven under Indian law.

Companions are responsible for understanding and meeting their own tax obligations where applicable.

If you earn through Haven, you may want to speak with a qualified tax professional about your individual situation.

Nothing in these Terms is personal tax advice.

13. How we expect people to use Haven

Haven works when people feel comfortable having a conversation.

That means:

Talk respectfully.

You can disagree with someone. You can have a different opinion. You can end a conversation.

But do not harass, threaten, humiliate, intimidate, or deliberately make another person feel unsafe.

Respect boundaries.

If someone wants to stop talking, let them.

Do not pressure someone to continue, answer personal questions, share private information, or move the conversation somewhere else.

Keep conversations appropriate.

Do not use Haven for unwanted sexual advances, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, or requests for intimate images.

Protect privacy.

Do not ask for or share personal contact information or someone else's private information.

Be honest.

Do not impersonate another person or deliberately mislead someone about who you are or why you are using Haven.

Use Haven genuinely.

Do not use Haven for scams, spam, fraudulent activity, data collection, manipulation, or attempts to bypass our safety or payment systems.

Our Community Guidelines explain these expectations in more detail.

14. Keep conversations on Haven

Haven's safety systems work because the conversation stays within Haven.

Do not use Haven to move conversations or payments outside the platform in order to bypass:

• Haven's payment system;
• anonymity protections;
• reporting tools; or
• safety systems.

Do not ask another user for their personal phone number, email address, home address, or other private contact details.

If someone tries to move the conversation outside Haven, you can end the conversation and report it.

15. Keep what people share private

A conversation on Haven may involve things that someone does not normally share with other people.

Treat that information with care.

Do not:

• record a conversation without appropriate permission;
• screenshot or publish someone's private information;
• share what someone told you outside Haven;
• use something someone disclosed to contact, manipulate, threaten, or target them elsewhere.

Companions have an additional responsibility here.

Information shared by a Speaker should only be used for the conversation and the proper use of Haven.

16. Ratings and reviews

After a conversation, Speakers may be able to rate or review their experience.

Ratings should reflect a genuine experience.

Do not create fake accounts, manipulate ratings, coordinate reviews, or use ratings to retaliate against another user.

Haven may remove ratings or reviews that we reasonably believe are fake, manipulated, abusive, or otherwise violate these Terms.

Ratings are one signal used by Haven and should not be treated as a guarantee about another person.

17. Reporting something that does not feel right

You never have to continue a conversation that makes you uncomfortable.

You can:

• End the conversation.
• Block the person where the feature is available.
• Report the interaction to Haven.

When you report something, give us the information we need to understand what happened.

We may take temporary action while we investigate a serious safety concern.

Please do not retaliate against another user or try to handle serious violations yourself.

18. How Haven handles violations

When we receive a report or identify behaviour that may violate these Terms, we may review the situation.

Depending on what happened, Haven may:

Warn

We may tell the user that their behaviour needs to change.

Restrict

We may limit certain features or interactions.

Suspend

We may temporarily restrict access while we investigate or because a serious violation has occurred.

Remove

In serious or repeated cases, we may permanently close the account.

Some situations may require immediate action without a warning first.

Where appropriate and legally permitted, Haven may also cooperate with law enforcement or other authorities.

19. Safety systems

Haven uses a combination of technology, verification, reporting tools, and human review to help keep the platform safe.

These systems can help us identify patterns involving:

• fraud;
• abuse;
• harassment;
• manipulation;
• suspicious activity; and
• other safety concerns.

They reduce risk, but they cannot remove every risk.

Haven does not continuously listen to every live conversation.

If you experience something concerning, reporting it is one of the ways you can help us act on it.

20. Your privacy

Your privacy matters because Haven conversations can be personal.

Our Privacy Policy explains:

• what information Haven collects;
• why we collect it;
• how we use it;
• how long different types of information may be kept;
• who may receive information where required;
• how you can exercise your applicable data rights.

This can include information such as your mobile number, account information, verification information, transaction history, usage information, and information required to operate and protect Haven.

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information handled through the platform.

21. Information we may need to keep

Deleting your Haven account does not necessarily mean every record disappears immediately.

We may need to retain certain information for:

• legal requirements;
• tax and accounting records;
• fraud prevention;
• safety investigations;
• dispute resolution; or
• enforcing these Terms.

Voice conversations may be recorded and processed for analytics, quality improvement, service enhancement, safety, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution. Access to voice recordings is restricted to authorized personnel and systems. Recordings will be retained only as necessary for these purposes, as described in the Privacy Policy.

We do not keep information indefinitely simply because we can.

22. What belongs to you and what belongs to Haven

You continue to own content that you submit to Haven where you have the rights to own it.

You give Haven the permission needed to host, process, store, and use that content to operate, protect, and improve the platform and to investigate safety issues.

Haven's software, product design, branding, trademarks, artwork, and technology belong to Haven or its licensors.

You may use Haven for its intended purpose, but you cannot copy, sell, modify, reverse-engineer, redistribute, or build a competing product from Haven's protected technology or materials without permission.

23. When Haven may restrict your account

We may restrict or suspend your account when we reasonably believe it is necessary to:

• protect another user;
• protect you;
• investigate a report;
• prevent fraud;
• protect Haven's systems;
• comply with the law; or
• address a serious violation of these Terms.

A restriction may affect your ability to start or accept conversations, add Wallet balance, withdraw earnings, or use Haven altogether.

Where reasonably possible, we will tell you why an account has been restricted.

In some situations, we may not be able to provide all the details because doing so could compromise an investigation or violate the law.

24. Closing your account

You can choose to stop using Haven and request account deletion through the available account settings or support channels.

When your account is deleted, Haven will process the request in accordance with applicable law and our Privacy Policy.

Some information may need to remain stored for the reasons explained above.

If your account is closed because of fraud or a serious violation, you may not create another account to bypass that decision.

25. If you are a Speaker

As a Speaker, you can:

• browse available Companions;
• choose a conversation;
• end a conversation at any time;
• report behaviour that violates Haven's rules;
• use Haven's support and refund processes where applicable.

You are responsible for your own behaviour during conversations and for maintaining enough Wallet balance for paid conversations.

You cannot pressure a Companion to continue a conversation, provide professional services, or move the interaction outside Haven.

26. If you are a Companion

As a Companion, you are choosing to make time for conversations with Speakers through Haven.

You are responsible for:

• completing Haven's required verification;
• keeping your profile information accurate;
• respecting Speaker boundaries;
• keeping Speaker information confidential;
• following Haven's Community Guidelines;
• not presenting yourself as a medical, legal, financial, or mental-health professional through Haven unless specifically authorised and appropriately qualified for a permitted feature;
• using Haven's payment and payout systems rather than asking Speakers to pay you directly.

Your earnings and payout eligibility are subject to Haven's applicable payout terms.

Your participation through Haven does not automatically create an employment relationship with Haven. Any statutory rights or obligations that apply under applicable law will continue to apply regardless of how this relationship is described.

27. Haven cannot promise everything will always work perfectly

We work to keep Haven available and reliable, but there may be times when:

• the platform is unavailable;
• a conversation drops;
• a Companion is unavailable;
• payments are delayed;
• a third-party service experiences an issue; or
• a feature changes or is temporarily unavailable.

Haven is provided on an “as available” basis, subject to rights and protections that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

We also cannot guarantee what another user will say, how another person will behave, or what outcome a conversation will have.

28. Our responsibility

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Haven and its directors, officers, employees, and affiliates are not responsible for indirect or consequential losses arising from your use of the platform.

Where applicable law permits a limitation of liability, Haven's total liability to a user will be limited to the greater of:

• the amount that user paid to Haven during the previous 12 months; or
• ₹25,000.

This limitation does not apply where applicable law does not allow us to limit liability, including certain situations involving fraud, wilful misconduct, gross negligence, or death or personal injury caused by Haven's proven negligence.

29. If your use of Haven causes a legal claim

If your actions violate these Terms, applicable law, or another person's rights and that creates a claim against Haven, you may be responsible for the resulting losses and reasonable legal costs to the extent permitted by law.

This does not apply to the extent that the claim results from Haven's own breach, negligence, or wilful misconduct.

30. Changes to these Terms

Haven will continue to evolve.

We may update these Terms when our product changes, our policies change, or the law requires us to.

If a change materially affects your rights or responsibilities, we will provide reasonable notice through Haven or another appropriate channel.

If you continue using Haven after the updated Terms take effect, your continued use means you accept the updated Terms, subject to any rights you have under applicable law.

31. The law that applies

These Terms are governed by the laws of India.

Where a dispute cannot be resolved through the process described below, the courts of Bengaluru, Karnataka will have jurisdiction, subject to applicable consumer rights and other mandatory legal protections.

32. If there is a disagreement

If you have a dispute with Haven, we would first like to try to resolve it directly.

Please contact us and explain what happened.

If the matter cannot be resolved through good-faith discussion within the applicable period, it may proceed to arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and the process described in these Terms.

The arbitration will be conducted in English, with Bengaluru, Karnataka as the seat and venue, subject to applicable law.

Nothing here removes any consumer right or legal remedy that cannot legally be excluded.

33. A few final legal points

These Terms, together with the policies they refer to, form the agreement between you and Haven regarding your use of the platform.

If one part of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining parts will continue to apply.

If Haven does not immediately enforce a particular provision, that does not mean Haven has permanently given up that right.

You cannot transfer your account or obligations to someone else without Haven's permission.

Haven may transfer its rights and obligations as part of a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of substantially all of its assets, subject to applicable law.

34. Contact Haven

If you have a question about these Terms, your account, a payment, privacy, safety, or anything else related to Haven, you can contact us.