These terms are the agreement between you and the owner of Familiar Knock Knock ("the app"), trading as Bonoloware ("we", "us"; named in section 12), for using the app. By creating an account or using the app you agree to them. They are written in plain language on purpose; please read the box below even if you read nothing else.
Please read this first
A knock or a reply comes from a phone, not from a verified person. It shows which group member's phone knocked or answered. It does not prove who is holding that phone. This works both ways: the person knocking may not be the person named, and a reply such as "Coming" may not be from the person named either. Phones can be borrowed, lost or taken, including by someone inside the home, and display names are chosen by users and not checked.
The app is not a security, safety or identification device. Always check who is at the door yourself before you open it.
Knocks and replies can be late or not arrive at all (for example because of the WiFi, the phone's battery settings or the networks involved). Never rely on the app in an emergency; contact your local emergency services instead.
You use the app at your own risk, and our responsibility for what happens as a result is limited, as set out in section 8, as far as the law where you live allows.
Words used in these terms
Knock: an alert sent from the app on one member's phone to the other members of a group (or to one chosen member). It makes the receiving phone ring and show a notification carrying the sender's display name, and it only reaches a phone that is on the same WiFi network as the sending phone at that moment. A knock is sent by a phone: the name on it is the display name of the account signed in on that phone. It does not identify, verify or locate the person holding the phone, and it does not mean that anyone is at a door.
Reply: a short answer ("Coming", "On my way", "Give me a minute", "Not now") or a voice note sent back from a phone that received a knock, directly over the shared WiFi. Like a knock, it comes from a phone, not from a verified person.
Group: a small private group of accounts, joined only by invitation, whose members can knock each other.
Member: an account in a group. The name it shows is chosen by its holder and is not checked by us.
1. What the app does
The app lets people in a small private group "knock" on each other's phones while they are on the same WiFi network, and answer with a short reply or a voice note. It is a convenience, like a doorbell that rings on phones.
2. What the app does not do
It does not identify or verify anyone. A name on a knock or a reply is only the name the account holder chose.
It does not tell you who is home, where anyone is, or whether a knock reached anyone.
It does not guarantee delivery or timing of knocks, replies or voice notes.
It is not designed for emergencies, security monitoring, or looking after children or vulnerable people.
3. Your responsibilities
Decide for yourself, every time, whether to open a door or act on a knock or reply. If you are not sure who is there, ask before you open it.
Only invite people you trust into your groups. Anyone you let in can knock and reply under the name they choose.
Keep your phone locked and your account secure. You are responsible for knocks and replies you send, and for those sent by people you let use your phone. You are not responsible for what someone sends from your phone after taking it without your permission, but please act quickly (see section 4).
Do not use the app to harass, frighten, deceive or impersonate anyone, or for anything unlawful.
If someone in a group bothers you, you can block them on your phone from the ⋮ on their card on the Groups screen, mute or leave the group, or ask its admin to remove them. We do not take sides in personal or family disagreements. If you are in danger, contact the police or emergency services first.
You must be at least 13 years old to use the app.
4. Your account
You can use the app without giving an email address, but such an account cannot be recovered if you lose the phone. You can secure it with Google or an email address in the app. You can delete your account at any time (Settings → your profile, or see Delete your account). We may suspend or remove an account that breaks these terms.
If a phone is lost or stolen: tell the other members of your groups, so they know knocks and replies from it cannot be trusted. A group's admin can remove that phone's account from the group on the Groups screen. If your account is secured with Google or an email address, you can sign in on another phone and delete the account there, or email us to delete it.
5. Purchases and subscriptions
Paid features (Knock Plus, Knock Plus Family and one-time unlocks) are sold through Google Play, at the prices Play shows you. Payment, renewals and cancellation are handled by Google Play under its terms. Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel them in Google Play. Refunds are covered by our Refunds and cancellations page and by Google Play's own policies. Nothing in these terms limits refund or cancellation rights you have under the law where you live.
6. Changes and availability
We may change, add or remove features, and we may stop offering the app. We will try to give notice in the app of changes that affect what you paid for. The app depends on outside services (such as Google's servers and your WiFi network) that we do not control, so we cannot promise it will always be available or work without errors.
7. The app is provided "as is"
As far as the law where you live allows, the app is provided "as is" and "as available", without promises that it will meet your needs, be uninterrupted, or be free of errors, and without any warranty that a knock or reply identifies the person behind it.
8. Limits on our responsibility
As far as the law where you live allows:
We are not responsible for any loss, damage or harm that results from relying on a knock or a reply as proof of who someone is (including a knock or reply sent from a borrowed, lost or stolen phone), from opening a door, or from acting or not acting on a knock or reply.
We are not responsible for knocks, replies or voice notes that are late, missing or delivered to the wrong group because of settings, networks, devices or services outside our control, or for what other users send.
We are not responsible for indirect or consequential loss, such as loss of property, income or opportunity.
In any case, our total responsibility to you for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us for the app in the 12 months before the claim (which is nothing if you only used the free version).
These limits do not apply where the law does not allow them, for example to responsibility for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, to fraud, or to gross negligence.
9. Your rights under your local law
If you are a consumer, the law of the country where you live may give you rights that cannot be changed or removed by an agreement like this one (for example under South Africa's Consumer Protection Act, or consumer law in the European Union or the United Kingdom). Nothing in these terms takes those rights away.
10. Which law applies
These terms are governed by the law of South Africa, where we operate. If you are a consumer living in another country, you also keep the protection of the mandatory laws of that country, and you may bring a claim in the courts where you live.
11. Changes to these terms
If we change these terms, we will update the date at the top and, for significant changes, tell you in the app. If you keep using the app after a change, the new terms apply; if you do not agree, you can stop using it and delete your account.
12. Contact
The app is operated by Teboho Ntsane Ramabele, trading as Bonoloware, in South Africa. Questions about these terms: bonoloware@gmail.com.