Terms of Use

1. Provider and scope

tellsom is a platform for anonymous feedback and anonymous messages. The provider is the operator named in the legal notice (“we”). These terms apply to every use, with or without an account.

2. Minimum age

You may only use tellsom if you are at least 18 years old. By signing up or answering without an account, you confirm this. If we learn that an account belongs to a minor, we suspend and delete it.

3. What tellsom offers

• Events and Ask-me links: You ask a question, others answer anonymously. Every answer becomes a private 1:1 chat between you and the person who answered.
• Direct Messages: You can write to a person via their exact @name if they allow it.
• Revealing your identity: In some chats one side can ask the other to reveal themselves. Nothing is revealed unless the person asked agrees (section 7).
• tellsom Business: Businesses collect ratings for their products via QR codes and analyse them, including with an AI analyst (section 9).
• Earn: If you bring a business to tellsom Business, you receive a commission (section 12).

We keep developing tellsom. Features may change or be discontinued; paid services remain available to the promised extent for the period you paid for.

4. Anonymity and its limits

Other users do not learn who you are — unless you reveal your identity yourself. In every chat you appear under a separate pseudonym.

Anonymous does not mean untraceable: we store data pseudonymously, not anonymously. In the case of serious crimes we can link a pseudonym to an account on the order of an authority or court. We never sell identities and never disclose them for payment.

We store messages encrypted. This is not end-to-end encryption: when a message is sent, our server automatically checks it for hate and insults and can read it for that purpose. Details are in the privacy policy.

5. What is prohibited

You must not misuse tellsom. In particular, the following are prohibited:

• bullying, harassment, threats and intimidation
• hate speech and degradation based on origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or similar characteristics
• any sexual depiction of or sexual approach to minors, and intimate content without the consent of the person shown
• publishing other people’s private data (doxxing)
• encouraging self-harm, suicide or violence
• pressuring others to reveal their identity
• spam, fraud, phishing and unsolicited advertising
• impersonating another person, a business or an authority
• circumventing suspensions, using tellsom in an automated way (bots, scraping) or attacking its security
• content that infringes the rights of others — such as copyright, trademark or personality rights — and any other unlawful use

6. Moderation, reports and suspensions

Zero tolerance. tellsom has zero tolerance for objectionable content and for users who insult, threaten or harass others. Anyone who breaks section 5 must expect consequences — up to permanent exclusion.

Automatic filter. Before a message is delivered, an automatic filter checks it for insults and hate. Whatever it rejects is not delivered. You can switch the filter off for messages addressed to you in the settings; reporting and blocking always remain available.

Reporting and blocking. You can report any message, chat and profile picture and block any person. Anyone can report illegal content to us, even without an account, at kontakt@tellsom.com. We review reports carefully and objectively and act within 24 hours: if a violation is confirmed, we remove the content and sanction whoever wrote it. We inform the reporting person of our decision if we can reach them.

Sanctions. If an account’s messages are repeatedly identified as violations, we warn it after three incidents; after three more we suspend it for seven days, and again for seven days for each further violation. For serious or repeated violations we suspend the account permanently; that decision is always made by a person on our team. We may remove content that violates these terms or the law. In the case of serious crimes — such as depictions of child sexual abuse or serious threats — we inform the authorities and may terminate the account for good cause.

Statement of reasons and complaints. If we restrict your content or your account, we tell you why. Within six months you can file a complaint with us (kontakt@tellsom.com); it is decided by a human, not by an automated system alone. You can also turn to a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body under Art. 21 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) or go to court.

7. Revealing your identity

In chats started via Ask-me links and in Direct Messages, either side can ask the other to reveal their identity. If the person asked accepts — with a double confirmation — both sides see each other’s names. If they decline, the side that asked cannot send a new request in that chat for seven days. Requests can be switched off per chat. There is no revealing in event chats or in chats with businesses.

Nobody may pressure others to reveal their identity. A revealed identity cannot be taken back.

8. Your content

What you write or upload remains yours. You grant us the simple, free right to store it, check it automatically, show it to the intended recipients and — for ratings on tellsom Business — process it for the business’s analyses, to the extent necessary to operate tellsom. This right ends when the content is deleted; statutory retention obligations and the preservation of evidence for reports remain unaffected.

You are responsible for your content and make sure that it does not infringe the rights of others.

9. tellsom Business

tellsom Business is aimed at businesses. Whoever subscribes to Business acts as a trader, not as a consumer; the consumer right of withdrawal does not apply to it.

Name and verification badge. You can name your business freely. It receives the gold verification badge only after our check — via a code sent to a mailbox on the company domain or via an official social media profile. The badge cannot be bought. Names of well-known brands and authorities are shown on public pages only after this check.

Ratings. What customers submit via a product code can be read by the business and by us; unlike 1:1 chats, it is intended for analysis. Rewards such as discount codes are promised and granted by the business alone.

AI analyst. Its answers are generated automatically and may be wrong or incomplete. They are not advice; check important statements yourself. Use is limited: as long as tellsom does not require a subscription for it, each business has five questions in total; once the AI analyst requires a Business subscription, a monthly allowance based on the actual AI costs applies. Beyond that, the owner can buy extra packs (section 10).

10. Paid services

Subscriptions. tellsom Premium and tellsom Business are available monthly or yearly. The price shown before purchase, including VAT, applies. A subscription renews automatically for the same period unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the period ends; after cancellation it stays active until the end of the paid period. A free trial converts into the chosen subscription unless you cancel before it ends.

Purchases in the App Store. Payment is handled by Apple; Apple’s terms also apply. You can cancel in your Apple ID settings and request refunds from Apple.

Purchases in the browser. Payment is handled by Stripe as the merchant of record; Stripe issues the invoice and pays the VAT. You can cancel at any time in the settings in the browser.

AI extra packs. A pack is a one-time purchase in the App Store and credits the business with a balance for the AI analyst. The balance is used up according to the actual cost of each answer; “about N questions” is an estimate. It does not expire, is not paid out and is not transferable. If the AI analyst requires a Business subscription, the balance is on hold while there is none.

Price changes apply only from the next period. We announce them in advance; you can cancel before then.

Deleting your account automatically ends a subscription taken out in the browser. You must also cancel an App Store subscription with Apple.

11. Right of withdrawal

As a consumer, you can withdraw from a purchase made in the browser within 14 days. Everything about it, the model withdrawal form and what applies to App Store purchases can be found in the withdrawal information.

12. Earn — commission for referrals

With your Earn link you can invite businesses to tellsom Business. If a business subscribes to Business via your link within twelve months of its registration, you receive a one-time commission on its first payment excluding VAT: 30 %, or 50 % with an active tellsom Premium subscription.

The commission becomes final after seven days if the payment has not been refunded by then; if it is refunded, the commission lapses. We pay out collectively on the 15th of each month once at least €50 is final — by bank transfer or PayPal to the details you provide.

Referring your own business, fake accounts, spam and misleading advertising are excluded; in these cases the commission lapses. You are responsible for paying tax on your earnings.

13. Availability

We strive for uninterrupted operation but cannot guarantee it. Maintenance, security incidents or disruptions at our service providers may temporarily restrict tellsom.

14. Liability

We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence and for personal injury. In cases of slight negligence we are only liable for the breach of essential contractual obligations and only for the foreseeable, typical damage. Mandatory statutory liability, for example under product liability law, remains unaffected. Users are responsible for the content they post.

15. Deleting your account and termination

You can delete your account at any time in the settings. It is deactivated immediately and permanently removed after 30 days. We may end your use of tellsom for good cause, in particular in the case of serious or repeated violations of these terms.

16. Changes to these terms

We may change these terms, for example for new features or because of a change in the law. We announce material changes at least 30 days in advance. If you do not agree, you can delete your account or cancel your subscription before they take effect.

17. Governing law and jurisdiction

Austrian law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the conflict-of-law rules. If you are a consumer, the mandatory consumer protection rules of the country you live in remain unaffected, and you can sue and be sued there. For traders, the place of jurisdiction is Vienna.

We do not take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

18. Contact

Questions, reports and complaints: kontakt@tellsom.com