Terms and Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Woolpin (the “Platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”), our Privacy Policy, and any additional rules posted on the Platform. If you do not agree, please do not use Woolpin.

These Terms apply to all visitors, readers, editors, contributors, and users of Woolpin, whether or not they create an account.

2. About woolpin

Woolpin is a community‑driven, free knowledge platform focused on content related to India and the world, including but not limited to nature, wildlife, environment, culture, history, science, and related topics.

Content is created and edited by volunteers. Woolpin does not guarantee that any article is complete, accurate, up‑to‑date, or fit for any particular purpose.

3. Eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and contribute content, or have parent/guardian consent if you are a minor.
• If you are acting on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you have authority to agree to these Terms on its behalf.

4. User Accounts and Security

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password.
• You must not share your account with others or allow anyone else to use your credentials.
• You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account.
• Woolpin reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or applicable law.

5. Content You Contribute

5.1 Licence to Woolpin and Others

By submitting text, images, audio, video, or other material to Woolpin (“User Content”), you:

• Confirm that you have the right to share it; and
• Grant Woolpin and its users a worldwide, non‑exclusive, royalty‑free, perpetual, irrevocable licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content in connection with Woolpin and its mirrors, under the licence chosen by the community (for example, a Creative Commons licence), subject to attribution as required by that licence.

You retain your ownership rights, but you allow the community to freely build on your contributions.

5.2 Accuracy and Responsibility

• You are solely responsible for the accuracy, legality, and originality of your contributions.
• You must not post content that is defamatory, infringing, hateful, harassing, sexually explicit (unless clearly appropriate to an educational context and compliant with law), or otherwise unlawful under Indian law.
• You must not impersonate others or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or organisation.

5.3 Removal and Moderation

Woolpoin volunteers and administrators may edit, move, hide, or remove content that:

• Violates these Terms;
• Violates community policies; or
• Appears to breach applicable laws, including Indian law.

We do not guarantee that all violating content will be identified or removed.

6. No Professional Advice; Educational Purpose Only

Woolpin is intended for general informational and educational purposes only.

• Nothing on Woolpin constitutes legal, medical, financial, tax, or other professional advice.
• You should not rely on Woolpin content as a substitute for advice from a qualified professional.
• Your use of Woolpin content for any decision (including health, legal, financial, or safety decisions) is at your own risk.

7. Disclaimers (No Warranties)

Woolpin is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, including Indian law:

• Woolpin disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, security, uninterrupted access, or non‑infringement.
• We do not warrant that:
  • The Platform will meet your requirements;
  • Content will be accurate, reliable, or up‑to‑date;
  • The Platform will be secure, error‑free, or free from viruses or other harmful components;
  • Your information will always be secure.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain disclaimer provisions. In such cases, those provisions may not apply to you, but our liability will still be limited to the maximum extent allowed by law.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

• Woolpin, its founders, volunteers, administrators, contributors, and associated entities shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages, including but not limited to:
  • Loss of profits, data, goodwill, or business opportunities;
  • Personal injury or property damage;
  • Costs of procurement of substitute services;
  arising out of or in connection with your use of or inability to use Woolpin, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
• In no event shall the aggregate liability of Woolpin and its related parties exceed ₹1,000 (one thousand Indian rupees) or the equivalent in your local currency, whichever is lower, except where higher liability is mandated by law.

If any part of this limitation is held unenforceable, the remaining parts will continue to apply, and our liability will be limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.

9. Third‑Party Links and Content

Woolpin may contain:

• Links to third‑party websites;
• Embedded content from third parties; or
• References to external resources.

We do not control, endorse, or assume responsibility for:

• The content, accuracy, opinions, or practices of such third parties;
• Any damages or losses arising from your use of third‑party sites or content.

Your interactions with third parties are solely between you and them.

10. Prohibited Uses

You agree not to:

• Use Woolpin for any unlawful purpose or to promote illegal activities.
• Upload malware, viruses, or any code designed to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of the Platform.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of Woolpin, its servers, or related systems.
• Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, etc.) in a way that harms the Platform or violates our policies, unless explicitly permitted.
• Harass, threaten, or harm other users or contributors.

Violation may lead to account suspension, content removal, and reporting to authorities as required by law.

11. Data Protection and Privacy (DPDP Act, 2023)

Woolpin is committed to protecting your personal data in line with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”) and applicable rules.

11.1 Roles under DPDP Act

• Woolpin (operated by its governing entity) acts as a Data Fiduciary.
• You, as an individual whose data is processed, are a Data Principal.

11.2 Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following types of personal data, as needed:

• Account data: username, email address, password (hashed), optional profile information.
• Contribution data: edit history, talk page messages, logs of actions taken on the Platform.
• Technical data: IP address, device type, browser type, approximate location (as derived from IP), timestamps, and similar metadata, as necessary for security, abuse prevention, and analytics.
• Communications: messages sent to administrators, support emails, or grievance communications.

We aim to collect only data that is necessary for specified, lawful purposes.

11.3 Purposes of Processing

We process personal data for purposes including:

• Providing and maintaining the Woolpin Platform;
• Managing user accounts and contributions;
• Preventing fraud, abuse, spam, and security incidents;
• Complying with legal obligations under Indian law;
• Improving the Platform and understanding usage patterns (in aggregated or anonymised form where possible).

11.4 Legal Basis and Consent

Where required by the DPDP Act:

• We will seek your free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous consent before processing personal data that is not covered by “legitimate uses” under the Act.
• You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to technical and legal constraints (for example, we may need to retain certain logs for security or legal compliance).

Certain processing may be carried out under legitimate uses recognised by the DPDP Act (for example, voluntary sharing of data by you to create an account or contribute content).

11.5 Data Principal Rights

Under the DPDP Act, you have the right to:

• Obtain information about the processing of your personal data;
• Seek correction or erasure of your personal data, subject to legal and technical constraints (for example, edit histories may be retained in anonymised or pseudonymised form to preserve the integrity of the project);
• Nominate another person to exercise your rights in case of death or incapacity;
• Lodge a grievance with our Grievance Officer (see Section 12).

Requests can be made via the contact details in our Privacy Policy or Grievance section.

11.6 Data Security and Retention

• We implement reasonable security safeguards to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
• We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the stated purposes or as required by law.
• In case of a data breach that is likely to cause harm, we will take steps to inform affected users and the Data Protection Board of India, as required by law.

11.7 Children’s Data

• We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 18 without verifiable parental/guardian consent, where such consent is required under the DPDP Act and applicable rules.
• If you are a parent/guardian and believe your child has provided personal data to us without consent, please contact our Grievance Officer.

12. Grievance Redressal (India)

In compliance with Indian law, including the DPDP Act and applicable IT rules:

• Woolpin will appoint a Grievance Officer based in India.
• You may submit grievances regarding content, accounts, data protection, or these Terms to the Grievance Officer via the email/address listed on our “Contact” or “Privacy” page.
• We will acknowledge your grievance within a reasonable time and work to resolve it in line with our policies and legal obligations.

Details of the Grievance Officer (name, email, postal address) will be published on the Platform.

13. Modifications to These Terms

Woolpin may update these Terms from time time to reflect:

• Changes in the Platform;
• Changes in community policies;
• Changes in law, including the DPDP Act and related rules.

We will:

• Post the updated Terms on the Platform with a clear “Last updated” date;
• Provide reasonable notice of substantial changes via the Platform (for example, a banner, notice on key pages, or a community announcement), and where appropriate, invite community feedback before the changes take effect.

Your continued use of woolpin after the updated Terms become effective means you accept the new Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Platform.

14. Termination and Suspension

Woolpin may, at its sole discretion:

• Suspend or terminate your access to the Platform;
• Remove or restrict your content;
• Block certain IP addresses or accounts,

if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, community policies, or applicable law. We will try to act fairly and consistently, but we do not guarantee prior notice in all cases, especially where urgent action is needed to protect the Platform or users.

15. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

• These Terms are governed by the laws of India.
• Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of Woolpin shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Delhi, India, unless mandatory law provides otherwise.

This does not prevent regulators or courts in other jurisdictions from taking action where required by their laws.

16. General Provisions

• Entire agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and published community policies, form the entire agreement between you and Woolpin regarding your use of the Platform.
• Severability: If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force.
• No waiver: Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision.
• Assignment: You may not assign your rights under these Terms. Woolpin may assign or transfer its rights and obligations as needed for operational or legal