Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern your use of the Our Next Step website and related services (“Our Next Step”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

Our Next Step is an online platform intended to help adults connect with other people who may be looking for friendship, companionship, dating or a relationship.

By registering with, accessing or using Our Next Step, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you should not use the service.

You must be 18 years of age or older to register for or use Our Next Step.

By registering, you confirm that:

• you are at least 18 years old;
• the information you provide is accurate and not deliberately misleading;
• you are legally entitled to use the service; and
• you will comply with these Terms and all applicable laws.

We reserve the right to remove accounts where we reasonably believe that a member is under 18 or has provided false information regarding their age.

During the launch and development of Our Next Step, registration may place you on a waiting list.

Joining the waiting list does not guarantee access to the full service, a particular launch date, membership, a match or an introduction to another member.

We may change the operation, size or availability of the waiting list at any time.

Where appropriate, we may contact waiting-list members regarding the launch of the service, changes to the service and opportunities to participate.

You are responsible for ensuring that the information associated with your account remains accurate and up to date.

You must not:

• create an account using another person’s identity;
• create an account for another person without their permission;
• deliberately provide false or misleading information;
• create multiple accounts for deceptive or abusive purposes; or
• allow another person to use your account.

You are responsible for keeping your login information secure and should notify us if you believe that your account has been accessed without your permission.

Members may be able to create profiles containing information such as photographs, interests, preferences and other information about themselves.

You remain responsible for the information and material you upload or publish.

You must not upload:

• photographs or material belonging to another person without permission;
• deliberately misleading photographs or information;
• offensive, abusive, illegal or inappropriate material;
• material that infringes another person’s rights; or
• content intended to scam, deceive or manipulate other members.

You should only use photographs that accurately represent you.

We may remove photographs, profile information or other content where we consider that it breaches these Terms or could negatively affect the safety or experience of members.

Our Next Step may use information provided by members to help identify potential matches or connections.

Any matching, compatibility score, recommendation or suggested connection is intended as a tool to assist members and should not be treated as a guarantee of compatibility.

Our Next Step does not guarantee:

• that you will receive a match;
• that a suggested match will respond to you;
• that a match will lead to a relationship;
• that information supplied by another member is accurate;
• that a member will behave as represented in their profile; or
• that any particular outcome will result from using the service.

Members are responsible for deciding whether and how they wish to communicate with other members.

Your safety is your responsibility.

You should exercise appropriate caution when communicating with or meeting someone you have encountered through Our Next Step.

We strongly recommend that members:

• take time to get to know someone before meeting;
• avoid sharing sensitive personal or financial information unnecessarily;
• tell someone you trust when meeting another member for the first time;
• meet initially in a public place;
• make their own arrangements for travelling to and from a meeting; and
• leave a meeting if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Our Next Step cannot verify every statement, photograph, identity or intention of every member.

You should never send money or provide financial assistance to someone you have met through the service simply because they have requested it.

If you believe another member is behaving dangerously, fraudulently or abusively, you should report the matter to us and, where appropriate, the relevant authorities.

You must not use Our Next Step to:

• harass, threaten, intimidate or abuse another person;
• discriminate against another member;
• impersonate another person;
• commit or facilitate fraud;
• request money from members for deceptive purposes;
• distribute spam or unsolicited commercial communications;
• promote illegal activities;
• distribute malicious software;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website or another member’s account;
• collect personal information about other members for improper purposes;
• publish another person’s private information without permission;
• use the service for escorting, prostitution or other unlawful commercial sexual activity;
• upload illegal or seriously offensive material; or
• otherwise use the service in a manner that we reasonably consider harmful to members or Our Next Step.

We may take action against accounts that breach these requirements.

Members may be able to communicate with one another through Our Next Step.

You are responsible for your communications with other members.

You should not send communications that are abusive, threatening, discriminatory, fraudulent, sexually inappropriate, deliberately misleading or otherwise unlawful.

Our Next Step does not accept responsibility for the content of communications between members.

Where necessary for safety, moderation, fraud prevention, legal compliance or operation of the service, communications may be subject to appropriate monitoring or review in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

We want Our Next Step to provide a respectful and safe environment.

If you believe another member has breached these Terms, you should report them to us.

We may investigate reports and may take action including:

• issuing a warning;
• removing content;
• restricting account functionality;
• suspending an account; or
• permanently terminating an account.

We are not required to disclose the details of investigations to the person making a report or the person being investigated where doing so would be inappropriate, unlawful or could compromise safety or the investigation.

We may also take action where we reasonably believe an account presents a risk to other members or to the operation of Our Next Step.

At present, elements of Our Next Step may be provided free of charge.

We reserve the right to introduce paid membership, subscriptions, additional services or other charges in the future.

Where payment is required, applicable pricing and payment terms will be presented to you before you are charged.

We will not knowingly charge you for a paid service without providing appropriate information about the applicable charge.

You may stop using Our Next Step at any time.

Where account deletion functionality is provided, you may use that functionality to close your account.

If you have entered into a paid subscription or other paid service, additional cancellation and refund terms may apply and will be provided at the relevant time.

Nothing in these Terms affects any statutory rights you may have under applicable consumer protection law.

The Our Next Step name, branding, website design, software, graphics, text and other material provided by us are owned by or licensed to Our Next Step unless otherwise stated.

You must not reproduce, copy, modify, distribute, sell or commercially exploit our content without appropriate permission.

You retain ownership of content that you create and upload to Our Next Step.

By uploading content, you grant us the limited rights reasonably necessary to host, display, process and operate that content as part of providing the service.

You confirm that you have the necessary rights to upload the content you provide.

We will endeavour to keep Our Next Step available and operating properly, but we do not guarantee that the service will always be:

• available;
• uninterrupted;
• error-free;
• secure from every possible threat; or
• compatible with every device or software configuration.

We may temporarily suspend or restrict access for maintenance, security, development, technical problems or other operational reasons.

We may also modify, replace or discontinue features of the service as Our Next Step develops.

Our Next Step may use third-party services, platforms or technologies to provide certain functionality, including hosting, analytics, communications, payment processing, security or other technical services.

Your use of third-party services may also be subject to the terms and privacy policies of those third parties.

We are not responsible for the availability, operation or policies of third-party services that are outside our control.

We provide Our Next Step on the basis described in these Terms and to the extent permitted by law.

We do not guarantee that use of Our Next Step will result in a friendship, relationship, date, introduction or other particular outcome.

We are not responsible for the conduct, identity, representations or actions of other members.

To the extent permitted by law, Our Next Step is not responsible for losses arising from interactions, communications or meetings between members.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

We may suspend or terminate your access to Our Next Step if we reasonably believe that:

• you have breached these Terms;
• you have provided false or misleading information;
• your account presents a safety or security risk;
• you have engaged in fraudulent or abusive behaviour;
• your use of the service may expose us or other members to legal or regulatory risk; or
• your continued use of the service is otherwise inappropriate.

Where appropriate, we may terminate an account without prior notice.

You may also stop using the service at any time.

Termination does not affect rights or obligations that arose before termination.

We take the privacy of members seriously.

Personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable UK data protection legislation.

You should carefully consider what personal information you choose to include in your profile or provide directly to another member.

You should not assume that information shared with another member will remain confidential.

We may update these Terms from time to time as Our Next Step develops or where changes are required for legal, regulatory, security or operational reasons.

When material changes are made, we will take reasonable steps to bring them to members’ attention.

Your continued use of Our Next Step following the effective date of updated Terms will constitute acceptance of the revised Terms, where permitted by law.

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Any disputes arising in connection with these Terms or your use of Our Next Step will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory consumer rights that apply to you.