TideWhisper1. About these terms
These Terms of Use cover the TideWhisper app and the website at tidewhisper.com. “TideWhisper”, “we” and “us” refer to the service and its operator, OxO Illusion Pty Ltd (ACN 702 903 919). By creating an account or using the service, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the service.
Please read these terms together with our Privacy Policy, which explains how information is handled, and our Community Rules, which form part of these terms. Accepting these terms does not replace any separate privacy choices or consent required by applicable law.
Section 11 limits our liability. Section 12 explains the rights that these limits do not affect.
You must be at least 18 years old, legally able to enter into an agreement, and permitted by the laws that apply to you to use the service. TideWhisper is not intended for anyone under 18. If you are under 18, do not create an account or use the app.
2. Your device and account
TideWhisper creates an account linked to your device without requiring an email address, phone number or social sign-in. This does not mean that the service collects no information or that your activity is untraceable. The Privacy Policy describes the account, device and service records we process.
Your account identity does not transfer to a replacement device through backups or Quick Start. We cannot recover your account using an email address or password. Keep your device and any app or secret-chat PIN secure; we cannot reset a forgotten PIN or unlock the chats it protects.
Uninstalling does not delete your account. Your device may retain its account identity, allowing access after reinstalling on the same device. Local message history is removed and cannot be recovered if no other copy exists. Restoring an Apple subscription on another device does not restore your original TideWhisper account or history.
3. Messages, encryption and translation
A bottle is a text message that you send to the shared discovery pool for another user to pick up. Our Privacy Policy and Community Rules also call it a discovery message.
Messages submitted to the shared discovery pool are not end-to-end encrypted and can be delivered to other users when they pick up bottles. Do not include information in a pool message that you would not want another user to receive.
From the first reply onward, messages in the conversation, including text, photos and voice notes, use end-to-end encryption. Profile information, profile photos, reports and service metadata are not covered by that conversation encryption.
When you select Translate, the app tries on-device translation first. If it cannot complete, the selected text is sent in readable form to a cloud translation provider, as explained in the Privacy Policy. Translations may be inaccurate and are not a substitute for medical, legal, financial or other professional advice.
Encryption does not prevent a recipient from copying, saving or sharing information they receive. We cannot guarantee the conduct, identity or intentions of other users.
4. Acceptable use
Use TideWhisper respectfully and lawfully. We have zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. Content or conduct that breaks these terms or the Community Rules can lead to removal of the content and to restriction, suspension or ban of the account or device. You must not:
- Harass, threaten, bully, stalk or exploit another person, or encourage violence or self-harm.
- Share child sexual abuse material, sexual exploitation content, non-consensual intimate content or other unlawful sexual content.
- Post hateful or pornographic material or other unlawful material, or use the service to facilitate exploitation or illegal activity.
- Disclose another person’s private information without permission, impersonate someone, or infringe intellectual property or other rights.
- Send scams, spam, malware or deceptive solicitations.
- Use bots, scripts or other automated means to create accounts, send or reply to messages, pick up bottles or otherwise use the service, or operate an account that is not controlled by a real person.
- Bypass blocks, suspensions, bans, usage limits, payment verification or other security controls.
- Scrape the service, access accounts or systems without authorization, or interfere with the service’s operation.
You are responsible for the content you submit, for having the rights and permissions needed to share it, and for your interactions with other users.
5. Reports, blocking and restrictions
You can select Block user or Report user from a person’s profile. A report contains only the category and any explanation you write. It does not include your conversation or the keys to read it.
We use reports and service records to address abuse, including through automated account restrictions. Discovery messages and nicknames are checked for prohibited content before sharing. Checks can miss violations or reject permitted content, and do not replace reporting and blocking. We do not review every message or guarantee that all violations are prevented. We remain responsible for safety duties that apply by law.
AI checks may reject bottles or new nicknames that appear to break the Community Rules, or flag bottles with warnings that recipients can view. A bottle that the automated checks reject may still use one of your daily sends. AI checks may be unavailable or mistaken; they do not assess encrypted conversations or profile photos, or restrict accounts by themselves. You can ask Support to review a rejection.
If we reasonably believe you have broken these terms or the Community Rules, or where reasonably necessary to protect users or the service, address fraud or security threats, or meet legal requirements, we may remove content available to us and restrict, suspend or terminate accounts or devices. We may act without advance notice where necessary to address those risks or comply with the law. We will provide notice and reasons where required by law, but may withhold details where disclosure would be unlawful or would compromise safety, security or an investigation.
Device-level restrictions and blocks can remain after account deletion. Creating another account does not entitle you to bypass them. If you believe a restriction is mistaken, contact us through Support and explain the issue. We may need information sufficient to identify the affected account or device.
6. Plans, subscriptions and daily limits
TideWhisper offers a free plan and paid Pro and Max subscriptions. The app displays the benefits, billing period and localized price before purchase. Prices and availability may vary by storefront; the purchase screen controls the price and currency for your transaction.
Subscriptions are billed through Apple and renew automatically unless cancelled in accordance with Apple’s purchase terms. Manage or cancel a subscription through Settings → Plans & offers → Manage subscription in TideWhisper, or through Apple’s subscription settings. Cancellation generally stops future renewals; access continues until the current paid period ends, subject to refunds, revocations and applicable law. See Apple’s cancellation instructions.
To restore a purchase, use the Apple Account used for the original purchase and select Restore purchases. Payments and refunds are handled by Apple under its purchase terms; we do not process payments or refunds directly. See Apple’s refund instructions.
Daily usage of bottle pick-ups and of messages sent to the shared discovery pool is counted per device in daily UTC windows. Your current verified subscription sets the limit. Usage already consumed during the current window still counts after an upgrade, downgrade, restore, Apple Account switch or TideWhisper account deletion. Multiple subscriptions do not combine to create additional daily quota on the same device.
Deleting your TideWhisper account or uninstalling the app does not cancel an Apple subscription.
7. Message availability
TideWhisper is not a permanent message archive. After both participants have read a conversation message, its encrypted copy is removed from active servers. Active message records also expire after approximately 30 days; cleanup may take time. Backups follow the retention schedule in the Privacy Policy.
Removing a server copy does not automatically remove a copy already stored on a recipient’s device. Clearing your local history does not erase another person’s local copy. Message history stored only on your device may be lost when the app is uninstalled or the device is lost, erased or damaged.
8. Deleting your account
You can request deletion using Delete account in TideWhisper. The app displays the scheduled deletion date. You may cancel before that deadline; once the deadline passes, cancellation is no longer available and deletion cannot be undone. Processing may finish after the displayed deadline.
Deletion removes your profile and associated content from active systems as described in the Privacy Policy. Some device, moderation, block, report, usage, feedback and purchase records remain. Other participants may retain copies and information needed to read their history. Removed information may remain in backups until they expire; see the Privacy Policy for retention periods.
9. Your content and our service
You retain any rights you hold in your content. You give us only the permission needed to host, process and deliver it, perform translation you request, and operate and protect the service as described in these terms and the Privacy Policy. This does not give us your private encryption keys or permission to use private messages in advertising.
If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them without any obligation to you.
The app, branding and other service materials are protected by applicable intellectual property rights. These terms do not transfer ownership of them to you.
10. Availability and changes
We may change features, require a supported app version, interrupt access or discontinue the service to maintain it, address safety or technical issues, or meet legal requirements. We will give reasonable advance notice of a planned discontinuation or a change that materially reduces benefits in a paid subscription period. We may act sooner where safety, security or law requires.
If a change or discontinuation affects benefits you have already paid for, contact Support. Cancellation and refund requests follow section 6, subject to your statutory rights in section 12. We do not offer refunds beyond those required by applicable law or Apple’s applicable purchase terms.
If these terms or the Community Rules change materially, we will update the version and date of these terms and provide notice through the app or website as appropriate. Where renewed acceptance is required, we will request it; if you do not accept, you must stop using the service.
11. Service limitations and responsibility
This section is subject to section 12.
Service promises and limits. Subject to the commitments in these terms, the plan benefits described before purchase and your statutory rights, the service is provided “as is” and “as available”. We make no additional warranties about its suitability for your particular purposes. This does not remove any right you have by law to a service supplied with reasonable care and skill or matching its description. We do not promise uninterrupted or error-free operation, delivery of every message, permanent storage, a particular bottle, or any personal or commercial outcome from using the service. A paid subscription provides the advertised plan benefits; it does not guarantee another person’s availability, behaviour or response.
Other users and advice. User messages and profiles are supplied by their authors. We do not review all content, endorse any user’s statements, or verify any user’s identity, age, qualifications, intentions or accuracy. You are responsible for what you share and for any decision to meet, pay or otherwise deal with another user. TideWhisper is not a professional advisory or emergency service. Messages and translations are not a substitute for qualified medical, legal, financial or other professional advice. In an emergency, contact local emergency services.
Privacy and content. Protect your device and PINs. Encryption does not stop recipients from sharing information, and a pseudonym does not guarantee anonymity. Device loss, uninstallation, forgotten PINs and retention limits may make information unavailable. We do not promise recovery of information no longer available to us.
Third-party services. Apple, translation providers, network operators and other providers may have their own terms and availability limits. We cannot guarantee the availability or performance of independent services outside our reasonable control. This does not exclude any responsibility we have under applicable law for providers we engage to deliver TideWhisper or for our own selection or use of those providers.
A link to an external website or service does not by itself mean we endorse its content or offers. Review the terms that apply before sharing information or making a purchase there.
Losses outside our responsibility. Subject to section 12, and only where the law permits, we are not liable for:
- losses that neither you nor we could reasonably have anticipated when you agreed to these terms;
- business losses, including lost profits, revenue, goodwill or business opportunities, arising from using this personal messaging service for commercial purposes; or
- loss caused solely by your misuse of the service, your breach of these terms, another user’s independent conduct, or an event outside our reasonable control, where our own breach, negligence or other failure to meet a legal duty did not contribute to the loss.
Liability cap. Subject to section 12, our total liability for claims arising from or related to the service or these terms is limited to the greater of the amount you paid for TideWhisper subscriptions in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim, or US$100. This cap applies only where, and to the extent that, the law permits that type of claim to be capped.
12. Your statutory rights
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Your non-excludable statutory rights and remedies remain unaffected. These service terms do not replace Apple’s applicable software licence or App Store purchase terms.
If a provision is found to be unenforceable, it applies to the maximum extent permitted and the remaining provisions continue in effect. If we do not enforce a provision straight away, we can still enforce it later. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another operator of the service where this does not reduce your rights; you may not transfer your account or rights under these terms.
13. Contact and language
For service questions, complaints or requests concerning these terms, visit Support. Describe the issue and include only the information needed to help us respond.
These terms are available in English, with Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese translations. If they differ, the English version controls to the extent permitted by law.