These Content and Community Guidelines (“Guidelines”) govern your use of our website located at https://www.sticko.app and/or the Sticko mobile application (collectively, the “Platform”) and is made available by HQ INFOSYSTEM (“Sticko”, “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our”), a Partnership Firm, incorporated under The Indian Partnership Act, 1932 and having its registered office at 425, Silver Stone Arcade, Beside DMart, Causeway Road, Surat, 395004 The terms “you” and “your” refer to the user of the Platform.

These Guidelines are to be read with the Sticko Terms of Use [https://www.sticko.app/terms-of-use.html] Sticko Privacy Policy [https://www.sticko.app/privacy.html], and the Sticko Privacy Policy [https://www.sticko.app/cookie-policy.html] (collectively, “Terms”). The capitalized words used in these guidelines shall have the meaning given to such words in the Terms.

Please note that we may change these Guidelines from time to time and we reserve the right to do so. The latest updated version is always available at Sticko Content and Community Guidelines [https://www.sticko.app/content-policy.html].

Our Platform connects you with people from across India and other parts of the world. The community that we have created is diverse and receptive to a variety of content, but the Platform is accessed by a variety of audience, which may include minors and young adults. Hence, in order to ensure that all our users follow a standard practice and to foster a safe environment for you to creatively express yourselves, we have put in place strict guidelines and restrictions which govern the usage of the Platform .

CONTENT GUIDELINES

We actively remove content which is not allowed on our Platform and violates both our Guidelines as well as applicable Indian laws. If such content comes to our attention, we may take it down or ban user accounts. If you come across any content that violates these Guidelines, we encourage you to report it. The intent of the creator is important. We understand the importance of creative freedom, however we do not welcome content that intends to bring discomfort, spread what may be considered hate speech and abuse or promote violence and illegal activities.

a. Adherence to Applicable Laws

All content, including without limitation, content that is uploaded, posted, commented on, or shared by you on our Platform, must adhere to the laws of India, including without limitation, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and, the Information Technology Act, 2000 along with all rules and amendments made under such laws. We cooperate with legal authorities and follow enforcement mechanisms in cases of breach of applicable laws.

b. Nudity and Pornography

We allow content that may have limited sexual imagery, provided it is posted for artistic and educational purposes, public awareness, humour or satirical purposes. Content which contains the following is prohibited on the Platform and will be considered as a strict violation of these Guidelines:

i. sexually explicit, pornographic or nude material or images/videos that expose private parts (sexual organs, female breasts and nipples, buttocks) and/or portray sexual activities;

ii. videos or images of people in compromising positions or content which portrays sexual actions or fetish or erotic intent or sexual arousal;

iii. sextortion or revenge pornography;

iv. Bestiality or zoophilia;

v. content that exploits or endangers any person (for example, listing of phone numbers, or other personal information aimed at any exploitation or endangerment of a person including for the purposes of encouraging or soliciting prostitution or escort services);

vi. child pornography (including without limitation, creation, promotion, glorification, transmission or browsing of child pornography); or

vii. content on rape, sexual objectification, non-consensual activities and molestation.

c. Harassment or Bullying

We strongly condemn any kind of harassment or bullying on our Platform. We intend to give our users the freedom to express themselves without the fear of emotional or psychological distress. We urge you to ignore any content that you may find petty and annoying. In addition to this, we also encourage you to report any such content that harasses another person or intends to degrade or shame any individual.

Content which qualifies as a violation of these Guidelines includes, but is not limited to:

i. Posting abusive language or curse words, morphed images, and/or malicious recordings.

ii. Objectifying someone based on their race, caste, colour, disabilities, religion, sexual preferences and /or making sexual advances or otherwise engaging in sexual misconduct will not be tolerated on this Platform. Similarly, extorting or blackmailing any individual otherwise or on the basis of the abovementioned content is strictly prohibited.

iii. If someone blocks you from their account, kindly do not try and contact them from a different account. If a user does not want to engage with you on the Platform, we urge you to respect the same and vice versa.

iv. any image or information of a person that is shared without their consent with an intent to harass, distress or endanger them.

However, if a matter involves critical discussion and deliberation of such individuals who are featured in the news or tend to have a large public audience, we may allow it subject to the Terms and these Guidelines.

d. Intellectual Property

We aim to safeguard intellectual property rights and consider violations of such rights as serious misconduct. All content such as literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, sound recordings, cinematographic works is subject to intellectual property protection.

Posting content on the Platform which is not original and is copied from an individual/organisation who owns the intellectual property rights in such content/ works is not allowed. Any content which violates the intellectual property rights of third parties will be taken down and strict action will be taken against users who are repeat defaulters. If you wish to reshare such content from within the Platform, kindly do not remove any attributions, watermarks and original captions which state the authentic source of the content. In addition to this, please take the required permissions and give due credits to fellow users or any other organisation/individual who own the intellectual property rights in such content by mentioning their name and /or the original source.

e. Violence

Violence includes all content that causes discomfort to our users due to the goriness in the content, such as but not limited to graphical images or videos that glorify violence and suffering, or intends to incite violence, depiction of physical violence or animal cruelty. Content which promotes dangerous and illegal activities, or praises individuals, groups or leaders involved in terrorism, organized violence or criminal activities is strictly prohibited.

Educative or informative content pertaining to violence may be allowed on the Platform. Violent content on the Platform in the form of fictional set-up, martial arts may be permitted subject to these Guidelines.

f. Hate Speech and Propaganda

Content that promotes violent behaviour against an individual or a group of individuals, intends to intimidate, target or demean any particular religion, race, caste, ethnicity, community, nationality, disability (physical or mental), diseases or gender, is prohibited. Any kind of content which produces hatred or has the intention of creating or spreading hatred or hate propaganda along the lines of including, but not limited to religion, caste, ethnicity, community, sexual orientation, or gender identity is also not allowed. We do not entertain content that spreads discrimination, intends to justify violence based on the above-mentioned attributes and refers to an individual or a group of individuals as inferior in any sense or with negative connotations.

We urge you to refrain from incendiary commentary and publishing theories or hateful ideologies that may cause outrage to our users and influence them negatively. We may permit such content which intends to raise awareness about these issues or challenge it, subject to clear intention of posting such content on the Platform.

g. Abuse, Self-Injury or Suicide

We do not permit content that exhibits suicide or such tendencies, triggers self-injury and harm or encourages participation in dangerous activities. Posting any content that relates to physical, mental, sexual, or psychological maltreatment, neglect or abuse of any person, be it that of a child or an adult, is strictly condemned. Content showcasing self-harm, glorifying self injury or suicide or even stating instructions on how to commit self-harm through any means is not allowed. Further, content that identifies, tags, attacks and negatively targets or makes fun of victims and survivors of psychological/physical maltreatment, abuse, self-injury or domestic abuse or any other form of violence is prohibited.

We allow content that intends to provide support, aid and relief to those undergoing such serious issues. We also allow users to share their experiences which may provide coping mechanisms for those who need help, subject to the intent of posting such content.

h. Illegal Activities

We have zero-tolerance for content that advocates or promotes illegal activities. We prohibit content related to organized crime, criminal activities, promotion/sale/use of weapons, firearms and explosives, violence or terrorist activities. Sale of illegal goods or services, regulated goods, drugs and controlled substances, and soliciting or selling of sexual services is strictly forbidden.

Users are not allowed to post content that displays tutorials or instructions or educates the users about illegal and prohibited activities including, but not limited to participating in criminal activities, making bombs or encouraging or doing or trading in drugs. Do not use our Platform to solicit or facilitate any transaction or gift involving such goods and services which are declared illegal by the Government of India

Impersonating another person (such as your family, friends, celebrities, brands or any other individuals/organisations) and distributing false or misleading information on our Platform in order to make personal or financial gain will be considered fraud.

i. Non-Consensual (Personal) Content

Posting or misusing personal content or data or information of another person, including pictures or videos of other people who have not given express consent to such material being posted, is not allowed. Do not post anyone’s personal or intimate photos or videos without their permission or consent. We will remove such content.

Revealing someone’s personal data or sensitive personal information, including without limitation: contact information, address, financial information, Aadhar Number, healthcare information, sexual or intimate images and videos, passport information, or threatening someone to reveal or use such information, will be considered as harassment, and such activities are strictly unacceptable.

j. Spam

Content which displays or promotes false advertisements, fraudulent or misleading representations and security breaches, falls under the ambit of commercial spam. This type of content interferes with the smooth functioning of the Platform and deters other users from sharing and connecting. It is important that the content you share is authentic and facilitates the creation of a safe and trusted environment for people to post on the Platform. Do not post the same content multiple times if it intends to annoy viewers or sell goods/services in order to promote commercial spam. Do not use artificial and manipulative means to generate traffic or increase followers, likes, views, comments and shares.

If you want to promote your goods or services, we urge you to do so in an authentic manner.

k. Fake News

We aim to combat the spread of misinformation on our Platform. Any kind of content which spreads deliberate misinformation, disinformation, hoaxes or fake propaganda, with the intent to mislead the users or general public at large, is not permitted. We prohibit posting of content that exaggerates an existing piece of news by introducing non-factual elements into it.

We do not allow content on the Platform that misleads users or attempts to create an avenue for fabricating content, or attempts to damage someone’s reputation, or hurt their financial or political standing on the basis of incorrect information. We engage third party fact checkers to combat the menace of fake news basis which we proactively warn our users that a piece of content is found to be factually incorrect. We urge you to take the same into consideration and act accordingly.

However, we do not confuse fake news with any satire or parodies. We allow for such content on the Platform provided the content does not mislead other users and the intent behind the same is not to spread false information.

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

When you use our Platform, we expect you to follow certain norms.

a. Tag It Right

All posts should be tagged with the most appropriate tag. If such a tag doesn’t exist, then create one accordingly. Any content posted with an irrelevant or inapplicable tag, if reported, will be removed from the feed.

b. Stay on Topic

Sticko is a very active platform. Make sure that any content that you post, and any discussion you participate in, relates to the caption and tags of the post. Content that does not relate to the caption or tags, or is unreasonable for a particular post, will be removed. Do not go off-track.

c. Multiple/Fake Profiles

Creating a fake profile of an individual or organisation and impersonating someone in a misleading or deceiving manner, with or without the intention of harassing or bullying them, is not allowed. We permit exceptions for community profiles, informative profiles and fan profiles of public figures. Satire or parody accounts of public figures are also permitted as long as the intention is not to mislead other users and the same is clearly mentioned in the profile description or profile status.

d. Safety and Security

Harassing someone or using abusive language in the posts or comments while addressing another user is not allowed. Do not do anything which may make other users feel uncomfortable. Action will be taken against you if you try to create hostile situations for other users.

e. Beware of Legal Consequences

Ignorance of law is not an excuse to escape liability for your actions. In order to use our Platform, you will need to comply with laws and regulations that govern conduct in the digital environment. Kindly respect all applicable laws while using our Platform. Any content featuring, encouraging, offering, promoting, glorifying or soliciting illegal activities will not be tolerated.

f. Evading Suspension

Our decision to suspend any account is binding upon the user. Any attempt to circumvent the suspension by creating other accounts, identities, personalities or presence on another user's account will also result in suspension. If you try to evade suspension, we may be compelled to terminate your account with us and block you from registering with us.

PLATFORM SECURITY

REPORTING

When you see any content or activity that violates these Guidelines, please tap or click on the REPORT button. The moment you tap or click on this tab, we will get a notification and will process your request. If we find the content or activity to be unsuitable for our Platform, we will remove it. If you believe any content on the Platform infringes your rights as a copyright holder, you can file a copyright claim to our email support@sticko.app and the same will be sent to our team for further review and action. There may be such content on the Platform which you do not like but the same does not violate these Guidelines. In that case, we request you to either unfollow or block such users.

INTERMEDIARY STATUS AND REVIEW OF CONTENT

We are an intermediary as per the applicable laws. We do not control what our users post, comment, share or say on the Platform and are not responsible for their (or your) actions (whether online or offline). We are not responsible for services and features offered by others even if you access them through our Services. Our responsibility and liability for anything that happens on our Platform is strictly governed and limited by the laws of India.

We expect you to be responsible for what you post and what you see. If any of our users report your content to be against these Guidelines, we may take enforcement actions as necessary.

RIGHT TO CHALLENGE

In case the content you upload or post, or your activity is reported by another user and removed from our Platform, and you believe that your content has been unfairly removed, you may write to us at support@sticko.app to challenge the removal. We may review the content again and determine if it may be reposted on the Platform.

OUR ACTIONS AGAINST VIOLATORS

We take strict and prompt action against those who violate these Guidelines. If your profile is reported for violating these Guidelines, then your profile may be suspended temporarily. In case of repeated breach of these Guidelines, we may be compelled to terminate your account with us permanently and block you from registering with us.

If required, we will cooperate with legal authorities and law enforcement mechanisms. Please note that we are under no obligation to assist you.