Terms of Use

Last updated: October 4, 2026

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) set out the legally binding conditions governing your use of the services (“Services”) provided by The Friend (“we”) through thefriend.io and affiliated channels. By accessing or using the Services, you agree to these Terms and to all policies published herein. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

1. Account

• You are responsible for providing accurate information and for safeguarding the security of your account; you are responsible for all activity carried out under your account.
• Your account is non-transferable; it may not be sold or shared.
• We may request additional information from time to time for age verification.
• We may suspend or terminate your account in the event of a breach of the Terms or policies.

2. Eligibility (18+)

The Services are intended solely for persons who are at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your place of residence). If you are not of this age, you may not use the Services. See Minors Policy.

3. Nature of the Service

The Services offer AI-powered chat, memory, and image/audio/video generation. You may select ready-made characters or create your own with custom attributes. All characters are fictional and synthetic. We may modify or remove characters, features, or content at any time.

4. Paid Services

Certain features are paid (subscriptions, token packages, and the like). You are responsible for all fees, including applicable taxes. For details: Billing, Cancellation & Refunds.

5. Intellectual Property

The Services, trademarks, designs, and software are owned by or licensed to The Friend. You are granted a license for personal, non-commercial use only; this does not constitute a transfer of ownership. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.

6. Your Content and License

You retain the rights to your inputs. In order to provide the Service, ensure security, monitor compliance with policies, and improve our services and AI models, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, transferable license to use your content. This license is exercised consistently with the Privacy Notice.

7. Limitation of Liability

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available.” To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential damages; our total liability is limited to the amount you have paid us during the relevant period.

8. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of Bulgaria, and disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Bulgaria.

9. Changes

We may update these documents from time to time; changes take effect upon publication. Your continued use constitutes acceptance of the current version.

10. Contact

IMAER LTD · Mineralna Banya Ovoshtnik, 191 Izvora Str, 6138 Kazanluk, Bulgaria · support@thefriend.io

Privacy Notice

Last updated: October 4, 2026

IMAER LTD, which operates The Friend, is the controller of the personal data processed through these Services. This notice explains what data we process, why, and your rights.

1. Data We Collect

• Account: email, password (hashed), nickname/gender (if provided), method and time of registration.
• Usage/Content: conversations with AI characters, prompts, and generated outputs (for personalization and memory).
• Technical: IP, country/city (derived from IP), device/browser, session counts, logs.
• Payment: your card details are not stored by us; payment providers process them (limited data such as name, email, last 4 digits of the card, amount, and transaction time).
• Age verification: (where required) the result of third-party age estimation/verification and associated technical data.
• Live chat rooms: your nickname, gender, the channel you join, the messages you post in rooms and the private messages you send from a room, together with a hashed IP.

2. Purposes of Use and Legal Basis

• To provide and personalize the Service (performance of contract / explicit consent).
• Security, fraud prevention, and prevention of policy violations (legitimate interest / legal obligation).
• To improve the Services and AI models; for this purpose data may be anonymized/de-identified (legitimate interest).
• Marketing where you have consented (consent / legitimate interest).
• Compliance with legal obligations and lawful requests from authorities.

3. Retention

We retain data to provide the Service, for safety, abuse and fraud prevention, payment disputes and to meet legal obligations. Log files are kept for a short period (e.g., ~30 days). When you delete your account, it is closed and can no longer be used to sign in; your account records continue to be kept for these purposes. If you want your data erased completely, write to support@thefriend.io.

Messages you delete and chats you reset or delete are removed from your view; when you reset or delete a chat, the character also forgets it. We keep these records for safety, abuse prevention and service quality. These records are also kept for the same purposes when you delete your account.

Live chat room messages (channel and private messages) are kept for 90 days for safety, report reviews and legal requests, and are then deleted. Our moderators may review these messages when they are reported or when safety requires it.

4. Third Parties

We use a limited number of business partners to provide the Service: payment providers, hosting/CDN, and GPU/AI infrastructure. We do not sell your data for marketing purposes.

5. Your Rights

You have the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, and objection. You may delete your account from your account settings and may write to support@thefriend.io for your requests. Your rights under GDPR/KVKK are reserved.

6. Cookies

See Cookie Notice.

Cookie Notice

Last updated: October 4, 2026

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you use the site.

Cookies We Use

• Essential: session, login, and age confirmation (candy_age_ok), required for the site to function.
• Performance/functional: remembering preferences, basic measurement.

You may manage or delete cookies through your browser settings; however, without essential cookies some features may not work.

Community & Content Rules

Last updated: October 4, 2026

When using the Services, you agree to comply with the following rules:

• Do not reverse engineer the Services or attempt to circumvent security measures.
• Do not gain unauthorized access to systems/data, and do not overload the service in a manner that disrupts it.
• Do not use it for unlawful purposes, and do not harass/threaten others.
• Do not remove copyright/trademark notices; comply with all applicable laws.

Content Responsibility

Outputs generated by AI characters are created based on your prompting. The Friend does not endorse these outputs; you are responsible for the content you generate and for your actions. For prohibited content, see Prohibited Content.

Live chat rooms

• Sharing links, phone numbers, email addresses or social media handles is not allowed. Any content involving minors is strictly prohibited.
• Harassing or threatening others or sending unwanted sexual messages is not allowed. Every user can block and report someone else.
• Moderators may mute users who break the rules or remove them from the rooms. For serious violations the account is closed and its IP or device trace may be banned.
• AI participants also help keep the conversation going in the rooms.
• Free members can send a limited number of messages in the rooms; Premium membership gives unlimited messages.

Minors Policy & 18+ Compliance (2257 Exemption)

Last updated: October 4, 2026

• The Services are intended solely for persons 18+; the 18+ confirmation at entry and card+3DS at payment are used as additional proof of age.
• Prompts implying age are blocked at input; every generated image passes through an automated age/safety classifier before delivery.
• Known CSAM is reported to NCMEC or the relevant local authorities; offending accounts are terminated.

18 U.S.C. §2257 Exemption

All characters on the platform are entirely fictional and artificially generated; they are not images of real people and do not depict any real person. For this reason, the content falls outside the scope of (is exempt from) the record-keeping obligations of 18 U.S.C. §2257. Nevertheless, we voluntarily maintain records of age and safety review.

Prohibited Content Policy

Last updated: October 4, 2026

The following content is strictly prohibited and results in account termination plus, where necessary, official reporting:

• Minor (CSAM) content, even if synthetic (zero tolerance).
• Likeness of real, identifiable persons / unauthorized deepfakes.
• Non-consent, glorification of violence/torture, content involving animals, real harm.
• Unlawful activity, hate speech, harassment, threats.
• Copyright/trademark infringement (see DMCA).

Content Removal & Moderation

Last updated: October 4, 2026

For adult users, lawful adult content is generally permitted and conversations with AI characters are private; messages in the live chat rooms, however, can be seen by other people in the room and by our moderators. We apply moderation controls to ensure compliance with policies. If a violation is detected, we may remove the content, restrict/terminate the account, or, where necessary, report it to the authorities.

• If prompts contain prohibited content, they may be blocked/modified before any output is generated.
• No refunds are issued for moderation actions taken due to policy violations.
• If you have seen a violation, report it to support@thefriend.io.

DMCA / Copyright Policy

Last updated: October 4, 2026

To report a copyright infringement, send the following to support@thefriend.io:

• The signature of the rights holder or their representative.
• A description of the infringed work and the location (URL) of the infringing content.
• Your contact information and your good-faith statement.

For valid notices, we remove the content within a reasonable time; the accounts of repeat infringers are terminated. Your right to file a counter-notice is reserved.

Billing, Cancellation & Refund Policy

Last updated: October 4, 2026

Subscription & Auto-Renewal

• Free users may send a limited number of messages; unlimited use requires a subscription (monthly).
• Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of the term; you may cancel at any time from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the term.
• Tokens may be used only within the platform; they cannot be converted to cash, transferred, or carried over if unused at the end of the term.
• Card payments appear on your bank statement as IMAER LTD, never “The Friend” or anything that reveals the nature of the service, for your privacy.

Refund Policy

• You may request a refund within 24 hours of payment; no refund is issued if more than 20 tokens have been used or if the token package has been consumed.
• Technical issues on the user's side are outside the scope of refunds. Only payments made by card are refundable.
• EU/UK users: you have a right of withdrawal within 14 days of the initial purchase (less any service consumed). Requests: support@thefriend.io.
• No refunds are issued for content removed or moderation actions taken due to policy violations.
• Before initiating a chargeback, please contact us; we can resolve most issues quickly.

Your applicable consumer protection rights are reserved.

Complaints Policy

Last updated: October 4, 2026

If you have a problem or complaint, we kindly ask that you contact us first; we endeavor to resolve issues internally.

• In-product “report” buttons (next to the image/text).
• Email via support@thefriend.io.

We review complaints within a reasonable time and respond to you.

Support & Contact

Last updated: October 4, 2026

Postal address: IMAER LTD, Mineralna Banya Ovoshtnik, 191 Izvora Str, 6138 Kazanluk, Bulgaria · We generally respond to emails within 24-48 hours.