Terms of Service

ARO is a privacy-conscious community information tool for everyone who lives, works, and travels in the community. It helps people view approximate community-reported alert areas, submit observations, check planned routes against recent reports, and read practical rights resources. The service does not provide legal advice, emergency services, or official government notices. It does not take political positions and does not confirm that any place, route, or time is safe.

Reports show approximate public areas only. Exact submission coordinates are not published as public pins. Community reports may be incomplete, delayed, mistaken, or outdated. You agree not to treat map areas, route results, or confirmations as official confirmation of any activity.

You may use many features with an anonymous session. Creating an account is optional and may unlock account-linked features such as saved preferences or privacy requests. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential. Provide accurate registration details and notify us if you believe your account was misused.

You agree not to: • Submit false, harassing, or deliberately misleading reports • Use the service to approach, follow, threaten, obstruct, or interfere with anyone • Attempt to reverse approximate areas into exact private locations • Scrape, overload, or disrupt the service • Use the platform while driving except through a lawful hands-free interface • Use the service for partisan campaigning or political advertising • Violate applicable law We may suspend or remove accounts or content that appear to violate these terms.

Rights resources are general educational materials for the whole community. They are not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney. Local rules and practices vary. If you need legal help, contact a qualified professional or legal-aid organization.

Our Privacy Policy explains what information we collect and how we use it. By creating an account, you must review and accept the current Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. We record consent with a policy version for accountability.

ARO is nonpartisan. The platform is intended for community safety information for all residents, workers, and visitors. It is not limited to any single group and does not endorse political parties, candidates, or campaigns.

The service is provided “as is.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim warranties of accuracy, completeness, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Community reporting systems cannot guarantee anonymity, availability, or the absence of activity in any area.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, ARO and its operators are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for decisions you make based on community-reported information.

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be reflected by a new policy version date. Continued use after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms where permitted by law.

Questions about these Terms, accessibility requests, and legal notices may be sent to support@aromap.org. For Optional Support billing questions, refunds, or cancellations, see the Refund and Cancellation Policy and email support@aromap.org. Urgent public-safety emergencies must go to local emergency services—not email.

You must be legally capable of agreeing to these Terms. If you use ARO for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization. The service is not directed to children under 13. A parent or legal guardian is responsible for a minor’s authorized use where permitted by law.

ARO is not a 911 service, emergency dispatcher, crime-reporting hotline, or substitute for official emergency information. Reports may not be monitored in real time. If you or another person faces immediate danger, contact local emergency services when it is safe and appropriate to do so.

You retain any rights you hold in content you submit. You grant the operator a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, process, reproduce, moderate, transform, redact, approximate, display, and distribute that content only as reasonably necessary to operate, secure, improve, and legally administer the service. Do not submit content you lack permission to share. Avoid names, faces, license plates, home addresses, immigration status, medical information, or other sensitive identifying details unless strictly necessary and lawful.

The operator may review, limit, redact, approximate, reject, expire, or remove content to protect privacy, reduce harm, enforce these Terms, or comply with law. Automated checks and community confirmations can be wrong. Moderation does not make a report official, verified, complete, or safe to rely upon. Users may flag reports. Flagging does not guarantee removal or a particular outcome.

Map circles are approximate and may cover a broad area. Route analysis compares a submitted route with reports available at that time; it does not monitor every event and never guarantees a safe route. Alert zones and notifications may be delayed, duplicated, omitted, or delivered after conditions change. Do not interact with ARO while driving except through a lawful hands-free interface. Always follow road rules, official instructions, and your own judgment.

Uploaded media may undergo metadata removal, safety scanning, moderation, face or plate blurring, and derivative processing. Processing can fail and does not guarantee complete de-identification. The evidence vault is private account functionality, not a legal evidence custodian, law firm, chain-of-custody certification service, or permanent archive. Users are responsible for preserving originals and obtaining legal advice about evidentiary requirements. Share tokens must be protected because anyone possessing a valid token may access the authorized content until expiration or revocation.

The service may rely on third parties for maps, directions, hosting, email, object storage, and external resources. Those services may have separate terms and privacy practices. The operator does not control and is not responsible for third-party content, availability, or conduct.

ARO, its visual design, software, and operator-created materials are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws. Except for rights expressly granted in these Terms, no rights are transferred. Third-party names, maps, and resources remain the property of their respective owners.

You may stop using the service at any time. The operator may restrict, suspend, or terminate access, remove content, or discontinue features when reasonably necessary for security, abuse prevention, legal compliance, operational changes, or enforcement of these Terms. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination—including ownership, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and dispute provisions—continue to apply.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the operator and its personnel from claims, losses, and expenses arising from your unlawful use, your content, or your material violation of these Terms. This provision does not apply where prohibited by consumer-protection law.

The governing law, venue, and any required dispute-resolution process depend on the operator’s legal entity and location. Nothing in these Terms waives rights that cannot lawfully be waived, including applicable consumer-protection rights.

If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain effective to the extent allowed by law. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not transfer your obligations without permission; the operator may transfer these Terms as part of a lawful organizational transaction. Headings are for convenience only. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, the Refund and Cancellation Policy (for Optional Support), and any feature-specific notices, form the agreement governing use of the service.

ARO may offer Optional Support (tips) so community members can voluntarily help Transup Tech LLC keep the service free, reliable, and improving. Optional Support is not a charitable donation, not a purchase of goods, and not payment for emergency services or guaranteed outcomes. One-time and monthly tips are processed by Stripe. Transup Tech LLC does not store full card numbers, CVV, or banking credentials. We may store support history, amounts, cadence, status, and Stripe references needed to manage payments, cancellations, and records. Monthly Optional Support renews until you cancel in the app or through a request to support@aromap.org. Refund and cancellation rules are described in the Refund and Cancellation Policy. By sending Optional Support, you agree that tips help fund platform operations operated by Transup Tech LLC and are subject to that policy.