These Terms and Conditions (also called the Terms of Use or these “Terms”) are the agreement between you and iCtory (“iCtory”, “we”, “us”) for using ictory.com, the iStory mobile and web apps, and related services (together, the “Service”). By creating an account, browsing, reading, writing, commenting, paying, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the Copyright Policy.
If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
1. Who we are
iCtory is a storytelling platform where people publish original lived experience, read stories, follow creators, and (where enabled) support writers with purchases, tips, and subscriptions. The Service is operated from the United Republic of Tanzania. Contact: [email protected].
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 13 years old. If you are under 18, you may use the Service only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.
- You must provide accurate registration details (name, username, email) and keep them up to date.
- You are responsible for your password, devices, and any activity on your account, including activity through Google sign-in.
- One person should not operate multiple accounts to evade limits, strikes, fees, or bans.
- We may refuse, suspend, or close an account that is unsafe, unlawful, impersonating someone else, or in breach of these Terms.
- Usernames must follow our naming rules and may not impersonate iCtory, another person, or a reserved system name.
3. Original work
iCtory is a place for original lived experience and original writing. When you publish, you confirm that:
- you wrote the story, or you have a written right to publish it;
- the story does not copy another person’s protected expression;
- you have permission for any photos, names, or private facts that identify someone else;
- the story is not defamatory, fraudulent, or unlawful.
Saving a draft does not require accepting these Terms. You must accept this policy before you publish. Publishing after you tick the acceptance box (or after you have already accepted the current legal version) is your signature that the work is yours.
4. Copyright on iCtory
Copying another published story on iCtory is not allowed. The full process is in the Copyright Policy. In summary:
- When you publish, we compare your text with other authors’ published stories.
- If similarity is 30% or higher, we warn you with the matched title and percent. You may edit, or confirm and publish anyway. Confirming does not add a strike by itself.
- The original author can then file a claim with evidence and a legal-name signature. The copy stays live until a superadmin approves a take-down.
- Readers can report copyright concerns. A platform copyright hold also counts as a strike.
- Three strikes: a copyright strike is added only after an approved owner claim that includes a strike, or after a platform copyright hold. After three strikes, the account is suspended for two weeks. During that suspension you cannot publish and you cannot read stories on iCtory.
- False or bad-faith claims can themselves lead to suspension and a block on filing new claims.
- The platform superadmin may suspend a story, suspend an account for two weeks or indefinitely, close an account, or apply a lifetime suspension when these terms are broken.
You keep the copyright in your original writing. By publishing, you grant iCtory a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, distribute, promote, and technically process the content so the Service can run (including caching, thumbnails, search, and feeds). You can unpublish or delete content subject to copies already sold, cached, or required for legal, safety, or accounting records.
5. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- harass, threaten, or dox other members;
- post sexual content involving minors, or any content that exploits children;
- post spam, malware, scams, or phishing;
- scrape the Service, reverse-engineer it except as allowed by law, or overload our systems;
- bypass paywalls, access controls, or another reader’s account;
- use another person’s identity, payment method, or creative work without permission;
- upload viruses or attempt unauthorized access to our servers, wallets, or other users’ data.
We may remove content or restrict features that break these rules, our Copyright Policy, or applicable law.
6. Platform features
Reading and writing
You may browse public stories, follow creators, leave comments where enabled, post statuses, send direct messages, and (if eligible) publish stories and chapters. Visibility follows the access type you choose: free, premium, or other options we offer.
Messages and statuses
Direct messages are private between participants but may be reviewed if reported or required for safety or law. Statuses you post may be visible to followers or the public according to the product. Do not send illegal content, unsolicited advertising, or files that harm devices.
Notifications
We send in-app (and, where you allow, email) notices about follows, comments, purchases, copyright claims, and similar events. You can adjust some notification preferences in settings.
7. Paid stories, tips, subscriptions, and wallets
iCtory may let creators charge for stories or chapters, collect tips, and offer subscription plans. Buyers pay through wallets funded in supported currencies (currently US Dollars and Tanzanian Shillings). We may convert between USD and TZS using published Bank of Tanzania rates or a documented fallback rate.
- Platform fee. iCtory retains a commission (by default 10%, unless a different rate is shown at checkout) on qualifying paid transactions. The rest is credited to the creator’s wallet.
- Eligibility. Paid features, tips, plans, and payouts may require a minimum follower count and a completed creator profile. We can change eligibility to reduce fraud.
- Purchases. Digital story purchases are generally final once access is granted, except where required by law or where we cancel a fraudulent or infringing sale.
- Subscriptions. Recurring plans renew until cancelled. Cancel before the next billing date to avoid the next charge. Access continues until the end of the period already paid.
- Tips. Tips are voluntary gifts, not payment for a specific chapter unless we say otherwise. Tips may be non-refundable.
- Deposits and withdrawals. Wallet top-ups and cash-outs may use cards or Tanzanian mobile money (for example M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, HaloPesa) through our payment partners. Minimum amounts apply. Withdrawals can take time to clear and may be paused for review.
- Taxes. You are responsible for any taxes on income you earn. iCtory is not your tax agent unless the law requires us to withhold.
- Chargebacks and fraud. If a payment is reversed, we may debit your wallet, suspend paid access, and recover fees. We may share information with payment partners to investigate fraud.
Prices, fees, and payout rails can change. Material changes will be shown in the product or by updating these Terms.
8. Moderation, reports, and enforcement
We may review reports, copyright claims, and automated signals. Enforcement can include removing a story, limiting discovery, warning you, suspending publishing or reading, closing the account, or a lifetime ban. We try to be fair; we do not guarantee a hearing before every action when safety, fraud, or law requires speed.
If your account is restricted, some pages (including these legal pages) remain available. Repeat violations, impersonation, or abuse of the claims process may lead to a permanent ban.
9. iCtory’s intellectual property
The iCtory name, logos, app design, software, and documentation belong to us or our licensors. You may not copy the platform, scrape it at scale, or use our marks in a way that suggests you operate iCtory.
10. Third-party services
The Service uses third parties such as hosting and CDN providers, email, Firebase / Google authentication, and payment processors. Their terms also apply when you use those features (for example signing in with Google). We are not responsible for third-party sites you open from a story or profile.
11. Disclaimers
Stories are written by members, not by iCtory. We do not endorse user content and do not warrant that it is accurate, complete, or appropriate for you. The Service is provided “as is”. We do not promise uninterrupted uptime, that every payment will succeed, or that every copyright match will be detected. Lived-experience stories may be upsetting. Read and publish at your own judgment.
12. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent allowed by Tanzanian law, iCtory and its operators are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential losses, lost profits, lost data, or reputational harm arising from the Service or from user content. Our total liability for a claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the platform fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or (b) twenty US dollars (USD 20). Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited (including fraud or personal injury caused by our negligence where the law forbids a cap).
13. Indemnity
You will defend and indemnify iCtory against claims, damages, and reasonable legal costs arising from your content, your payments, your breach of these Terms, or your infringement of someone else’s rights, except to the extent caused by our wilful misconduct.
14. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the United Republic of Tanzania. Courts in Dar es Salaam have exclusive jurisdiction, except that we may seek injunctive relief in any forum to protect the Service or intellectual property. If a provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
15. Changes
We may update these Terms. The version and effective date appear at the top of this page. If we make a material change, we will update the legal version. Publishing after a new version may require you to accept it again. Continued use after the effective date (other than where acceptance is required to publish) means you accept the update, unless applicable law says otherwise.
16. Contact
Legal notices: [email protected]. You can also reach us through the in-app support and report tools. Keep a copy of these Terms for your records.