top of page

Terms & Conditions

Terms of Use. Effective date: July 18, 2019
These Terms of Use were last updated July 18, 2019

These terms of use ("Terms of Use”) are a legal agreement between you and The Giving Step, LLC, a company incorporated in Delaware whose registered office is at 1437 Autumn Ridge Lane, Fort Mill SC, 29708 (hereafter referred to as "TGS”, "we” or "us” and/or "our” as the context may require) for the use of The Giving Step mobile application ("The Giving Step App”) and any website operated by TGS (the "TGS Website(s)”) including, without limitation, http://www.thegivingstep.com.

These Terms of Use set out important information regarding your rights and obligations in connection with The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s). Please read them carefully. In particular, we draw your attention to the limitations of liability contained in Section 13.

By downloading, installing or using The Giving Step App or accessing the TGS Website(s), you agree to these Terms of Use which shall bind you.  If you do not agree with these Terms of Use, do not download, install or use The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s). Please also read our Privacy Policy, which describes how we may use certain information that we collect when you use The Giving Step App.

TGS permits you to use The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) solely in accordance with these Terms of Use. TGS retains ownership of The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) at all times.

These Terms of Use apply to the use of any updates or changes to The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) that we may issue from time to time.

1. These Terms of Use were last updated July 18, 2019​​

TGS grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to do the following in accordance with these Terms of Use (the "Licenses”):

(i) download, install and use The Giving Step App, and any updates to it provided by TGS from time to time, in object code form for your personal use only on a compatible mobile device owned or controlled by you; and

(ii) access and browse the TGS Website(s) for your personal use only.

TGS may terminate the Licenses granted under these Terms of Use at any time in its absolute discretion with or without notice to you. If you breach any provision of these Terms of Use such Licenses shall automatically terminate.  Where any of the Licenses are terminated, you agree to immediately cease using and accessing the TGS Website(s) and The Giving Step App and to delete any copies of The Giving Step App held by you.

2. User age restrictions

The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) are not intended for use by children under the age of 13. If you are under the age of 13 you must not use The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s). If we discover that any such use is taking place, we will immediately terminate any relevant user account(s) facilitating such use. If you are below the age of 16, you must have obtained the consent of your parent or legal guardian to your use of The Giving Step App and TGS Websites(s).

3. Rights to The Giving Step App, TGS Website(s) and their content

All intellectual property rights and other rights in or to The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s), and any content of either, made available by or on behalf of TGS and its licensors, belong to and remain at all times with TGS and its licensors. Save as expressly set out in these Terms of Use, you shall not obtain (i) any rights in or to our intellectual property rights or those of our affiliates, or (ii) any intellectual property rights and other rights in or to the TGS App or TGS Website(s) or any contents of either. "The Giving Step” is the trading name of TGS and we hold registered and unregistered trade mark rights in respect of this name.

The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) are licensed and not sold under these Terms of Use. The only rights granted to you in relation to The Giving Step App and TGS Websites(s) under these Terms of Use are the Licenses described in Section 1 of these Terms of Use and no transfer of ownership or right to access or use any source code related to The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) is granted by us.

Where you submit any content whatsoever ("Content”) to The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s), including without limitation any image, text, or data, you retain all intellectual property rights that you hold in such Content. You grant to us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, perform, adapt, amend, enhance and communicate such Content from time to time for any purpose relating to The Giving Step App, TGS Website(s) and our business from time to time.

We welcome any feedback or suggestions for improvements relating to The Giving Step App, TGS Website(s) and/or any related products and services offered by us from time to time ("Feedback”).  Where you provide Feedback to us you agree that we and our affiliates shall have a royalty free right to use such Feedback for such purposes as we see fit from time to time, including, without limitation, to create new, or enhance existing products or services offered by us, and for consumer communication or product promotion, and we shall not be required to compensate you financially for any such Feedback provided, regardless of how we or our affiliates use this.

Save as expressly permitted by us in these Terms of Use, you must not use the content on The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) (other than content that is submitted by you to The Giving Step App) for any commercial purpose without obtaining written permission from us to do so first.

4. Use of The Giving Step App

In order to use The Giving Step App, you must create a user account (a "Giving Step Account”). You are responsible for all uses of your Giving Step Account whether by you or a Third-Party. You should ensure that you use your personal mobile number for verification of your account and a strong password (if applicable) for your Giving Step Account and that the details of your password are kept confidential and secure at all times. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we shall not be liable to you for any unauthorized use of your Giving Step Account resulting from your failure to maintain restricted access to your mobile device or your mobile SIM card, the confidentiality or security of your user details or failure to use a strong password. Access to your account can become restricted or outright impossible in case of a loss of your control over the mobile number to which your account is registered.

Your Giving Step Account logs details of all Giving Steps accumulated and corresponding charitable donations by you. Please review your Giving Step Account regularly. If you identify any erroneous transaction or unexpected activity on your Giving Step Account, or you believe that the security of your Giving Step Account has been compromised, you must let us know as soon as possible.

Different membership levels may apply to Giving Step Accounts of different users and, depending on the membership level you hold, your entitlement to access functionality of The Giving Step App may vary.

When using The Giving Step App on your mobile device, you acknowledge and agree that The Giving Step operates in the background of your mobile device, which in turn may have an impact to the battery life of such device.

5. Giving Steps

Giving Steps are units that users of The Giving Step App accumulate through verified physical movement (e.g. steps) reported within a mobile smart phone platforms native health-tracking application (e.g. Google Fit, Apple Health App and Samsung Health). Giving Steps are calculated into financial donations with monetary amounts controlled, managed, defined and approved by users of The Giving Step App.

You acknowledge and agree that Giving Steps may not be redeemed for cash from TGS or any of its affiliates, unless we expressly agree otherwise with you in writing.

We reserve the right and retain the absolute discretion to determine, and alter from time to time, the eligible forms of movement, source of movement data and amounts of verified movement that must be undertaken by users to generate Giving Steps using The Giving Step App.

The Giving Step App may allow you to send Giving Steps to other users of The Giving Step App. Please ensure that you have verified the identity of the recipient of the Giving Steps before sending them.  We may make available functionality enabling the donation of Giving Steps to charity. Giving Steps may be team accumulated to support challenge and/or third-party sponsorship fundraising.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree that you shall not:

(a) seek to generate Giving Steps by any means other than your genuine physical movement meeting the eligibility criteria specified by TGS from time to time and, in particular and without limitation, you shall not (i) simulate any such verified movement using artificial and/or mechanical means, (ii) enlist third parties to generate Giving Steps on your behalf (for the avoidance of doubt, however, you may receive transfers of Giving Steps from third parties using the functionality available within The Giving Step App);

(b) copy, adapt, transmit, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify, sell The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) or any content accessible on either, save as otherwise expressly permitted by these Terms of Use or applicable law;

(c) operate more than one The Giving Step Account;

(d) use The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) in any unlawful manner, for any unlawful purpose, or in any manner inconsistent with these Terms of Use, or act fraudulently or maliciously, for example, by hacking into or inserting malicious code, including viruses, or harmful data, into The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s);

(e) reproduce, frame, display or mirror The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) other than as a necessary consequence of their normal operation by you;

(f) infringe our intellectual property rights or those of any Third-Party in relation to your use of The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s);

(g) transmit any material that is defamatory, explicit, offensive or otherwise objectionable on The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s);

(h) use The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) in a way that could damage, disable, overburden, impair or compromise our systems or security or interfere with other users;

(i) employ any technology that interferes in any way with the proper operation of The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s), including by blocking any advertising or promotions displayed thereon; or

(j) collect or harvest any information or data from The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) for any commercial purpose, save as otherwise agreed in writing by us.

If we discover any breach of this Section 6 by you, we may immediately suspend or terminate your access to The Giving Step App and remove and delete any content from The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) violating this Section 6.

7. Changes and updates to The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s)

TGS reserves the right at any time, without liability of any kind, in its absolute discretion (i) to change, suspend, restrict or disable your access to The Giving Step App and/or TGS Website(s), and/or (ii) alter the functionality or contents of The Giving Step App and/or TGS Website(s) with or without notice to you.

We may issue updates to The Giving Step App from time to time. Depending upon the nature of the update, you may not be able to continue to use The Giving Step App until you have downloaded the latest version of The Giving Step App.

8. Contacting us

In relation to any matters concerning The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s), including any feedback, questions, complaints or claims, please contact us at info@thegivingstep.com.

TGS welcomes any feedback you may have on The Giving Step App.

9. No warranty

The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) are provided "as is” and "as available” without any representation, warranty or undertaking of any kind as to the availability, performance, accuracy, or completeness of The Giving Step App, TGS Website(s) or the contents of any of them. TGS does not warrant or undertake that use and availability of The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) will be uninterrupted or error-free.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, IS MADE IN RELATION TO THE GIVING STEP APP OR THE GIVING STEP WEBSITE(S).  IF THIS EXCLUSION DOES NOT APPLY UNDER APPLICABLE LAW THE LIABILITY OF TGS IN RELATION TO ANY SUCH WARRANTY SHALL IN SUCH CASE BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

10. Third-Party Content

For your convenience TGS may include in The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) links to other sites on the internet that are owned or operated by third parties ("Third-Party Websites”). You also agree that TGS has no control over the content of Third-Party Websites and does not have any responsibility for any material available on such Third-Party Websites nor for any use of or reliance on the contents of such Third-Party Websites by you.

The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) may include content submitted by other users of The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s) ("Third-Party Content”).  You acknowledge that any use of or reliance on such content by you is entirely at your own risk and we are not responsible for such Third-Party Content. 

The fact that we may link to a Third-Party Website, or display Third-Party Content, does not imply that we endorse the site or the products or services on such Third-Party Website or that we have reviewed, approved, or verified the Third-Party Content.

11. No Medical Advice

The Giving Step App utilizes your physical movement as reported within a mobile smart phone platforms native health-tracking application (e.g. Google Fit, Apple Health App and Samsung Health).  THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE DO NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE, AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED AS, ANY FORM OF MEDICAL ADVICE OR OPINION. We are not licensed medical professionals, and we are not in the business of providing medical advice. You should always consult a qualified and licensed medical professional prior to beginning or modifying any diet or exercise program. The Giving Step App is not a tool for the diagnosis or prevention of disease. We do not endorse any Third-Party products or services where these relate to your health, you should always take appropriate medical advice before using them. YOUR USE OF THE GIVING STEP MOBILE APP DOES NOT CREATE A DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND TGS.

12. Changes and updates to the Terms of Use

We may change or update these Terms of Use from time to time. If we decide to do this we will post such changes or updates on our website http://www.thegivingstep.com and on The Giving Step App, so that you are always aware of the terms and conditions for the use of The Giving Step App and TGS Website(s). If we make a significant change to these Terms of Use, we may elect to inform registered users by email, however we do not undertake to do so. Therefore, you undertake to review these Terms of Use on The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) from time to time to keep informed of any such updates and changes. Upon any such change or update to the Terms of Use, by continuing to use The Giving Step App or any TGS Website(s) you agree to be bound by such change or update.

From time to time we may make available additional terms or guidance in relation to the usage of The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s), and where we do this, you agree to comply with such additional terms or guidance that we make available by continuing to use The Giving Step App or any TGS Website(s).  

13. Limitation of liability

You acknowledge that The Giving Step App has not been developed to meet your individual requirements, and that it is therefore your responsibility to ensure that the facilities and functions of The Giving Step App meet your requirements. To the maximum extent permitted under applicable law we have no liability whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any (i) loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity, arising out of or in connection with The Giving Step App, TGS Website(s) and/or this Agreement, or (ii) loss, damage or other liability arising out of the unavailability or malfunctioning of, or other deprivation of access to, The Giving Step App or TGS Website(s) or any inaccurate or incomplete content on either, or (iii) any loss, damage or other liability arising as a result of any reallocation of The Giving Steps by us.

We are only responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms of Use or our negligence up to the maximum aggregate limit specified in the following paragraph.

14. Apple’s requirements

As users of the App Store operated by Apple Inc, we are required to include certain legal terms in our Terms of Use, and these are set out in Attachment 1 to these Terms of Use.

15. General

We may assign or transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms of Use to a Third-Party. You are not entitled to assign or otherwise transfer these Terms of Use without our prior written consent.  Any attempt to do so without our consent will be void.

We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under these Terms of Use that is caused by any act or event beyond our reasonable control.

If we fail to insist that you perform any of your obligations under these Terms of Use, or if we do not enforce our rights against you, or if we delay in doing so, that will not mean that we have waived our rights against you and will not mean that you do not have to comply with those obligations. If we do waive a default by you, we will only do so in writing, and that will not mean that we will automatically waive any later default by you.

Each of the provisions of these Terms of Use operates separately. If any court or competent authority decides that any of them are unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining conditions will remain in full force and effect.

This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the internal laws of the State of Delaware applicable to agreements entered into and performed entirely therein by residents thereof, without regarding to any provisions relating to choice of laws among different jurisdictions. Each of the parties irrevocably agrees that any legal action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement brought by any other party or its successors or assigns shall be brought and determined in the Delaware Court of Chancery and any state appellate court therefrom within the State of Delaware (unless the Delaware Court of Chancery shall decline to accept jurisdiction over a particular matter, in which case, in any federal court within the State of Delaware), and each of the parties hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the aforesaid courts for itself and with respect to its property, generally and unconditionally, with regard to any such action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement. Each of the parties agrees not to commence any action, suit or proceeding relating thereto except in the courts described above in Delaware, other than actions in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce any judgment, decree or award rendered by any such court in Delaware as described herein. Each of the parties further agrees that notice as provided herein shall constitute sufficient service of process and the parties further waive any argument that such service is insufficient. Each of the parties hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to assert, by way of motion or as a defense, counterclaim or otherwise, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, (a) any claim that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the courts in Delaware as described herein for any reason, (b) that it or its property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of any such court or from any legal process commenced in such courts (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of judgment or otherwise) and (c) that (i) the suit, action or proceeding in any such court is brought in an inconvenient forum, (ii) the venue of such suit, action or proceeding is improper, or (iii) this Agreement, or the subject matter hereof, may not be enforced in or by such courts.

Attachment 1

App Store Terms

  1. The Terms of Use are concluded between you and TGS, and not with Apple Inc ("Apple”). The Giving Step App and its contents are the responsibility of us, our licensors and users of The Giving Step App (to the extent that such users create, submit or distribute any content via The Giving Step App) and not Apple. 

  2. The license to use The Giving Step App granted under these Terms of Use is a non-transferable license for you to use The Giving Step App on an Apple-branded product that you own or control in accordance with the usage rules set forth in the Apple App Store Terms of Service, except that The Giving Step App may be accessed, acquired, and used by other accounts associated with you via any family sharing or volume purchasing arrangements with Apple.

  3. You and we acknowledge that Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to The Giving Step App. We do not offer maintenance or support services in connection with The Giving Step App.

  4. Apple will have no warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to The Giving Step App, and any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs or expenses attributable to any failure of The Giving Step App to conform to any applicable warranty set out in these Terms of Use will be solely our responsibility.

  5. We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing any claims by you or any Third-Party relating to The Giving Step App or your possession and/or use of The Giving Step App, including, but not limited to: (i) product liability claims; (ii) any claim that The Giving Step App fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement; and (iii) claims arising under consumer protection or similar legislation.

  6. In the event of any Third-Party claim that The Giving Step App or your possession or use of The Giving Step App infringes that Third-Party’s intellectual property rights, TGS and not Apple will be responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement and discharge of any such intellectual property infringement claim.    

  7. You represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a "terrorist supporting” country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

  8. You must comply with any Third-Party terms that are applicable to the use of The Giving Step App from time to time.

  9. Apple and Apple’s subsidiaries are Third-Party beneficiaries of the Terms of Use, and upon your acceptance of these Terms of Use, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms of Use against you as a Third-Party beneficiary thereof.

bottom of page