Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of terms

By creating a PeopleOnly account or using any part of the platform, you agree to these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use PeopleOnly.

We may update these terms from time to time. When we do, we will change the date above and notify you by email. Continued use after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

2. Account registration and eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create a PeopleOnly account. By registering you confirm that the information you provide — including your email address and display name — is accurate and complete.

One account per person. You may not create an account on behalf of someone else or operate multiple accounts for the same individual. Accounts linked to fraudulent, duplicate, or impersonation activity will be terminated.

You are responsible for keeping your password secure. Notify us immediately at [email protected] if you believe your account has been compromised.

3. Identity verification (KYC)

PeopleOnly is a verified platform. To publish content, react to posts, or follow other users, you must complete identity verification via our KYC (Know Your Customer) partner, Didit. Didit is an independent identity verification provider that captures and holds your identity documents. PeopleOnly never receives or stores your identity documents — we receive only a verified token confirming you are a real, living person.

Unregistered visitors may read all published content without verification. Verification is required only to participate.

By completing KYC verification, you consent to Didit's data processing. Didit's own privacy policy governs how they handle your identity data.

4. The legal accountability model

PeopleOnly is a platform, not a publisher. We are not responsible for content posted by users, and we do not endorse, curate, or editorially control what users publish.

Because every account is linked to a verified real identity, verified users are accountable for what they post in exactly the same way they are in the physical world. If you post defamatory, harassing, or otherwise unlawful content, a court of competent jurisdiction in a recognised democratic country may order PeopleOnly to disclose the identity information held by Didit to the aggrieved party. PeopleOnly will comply with valid, properly served court orders.

Every identity disclosure is logged publicly and permanently on our disclosure ledger. PeopleOnly will never disclose identity information without a valid court order. There is no silent surveillance.

By creating an account, you acknowledge and accept this accountability framework.

5. Content ownership and licensing

You own the content you create and publish on PeopleOnly. We do not claim ownership of your articles, posts, tracks, or other content.

By publishing content on PeopleOnly, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, display, distribute, and make available your content within the platform, including to unregistered visitors who can read published content. This licence ends when you delete the content, subject to caching and backup retention periods.

You confirm that you own or have the necessary rights to all content you post, and that your content does not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights.

6. Prohibited content and conduct

You must not use PeopleOnly to publish or distribute:

• False or misleading information presented as fact
• Defamatory statements about identifiable individuals
• Harassment, threats, or targeted abuse
• Content that incites violence or hatred on the basis of race, gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or disability
• Illegal content, including material that violates copyright or privacy law
• Spam or commercially manipulative content
• Content produced by bots, AI impersonation, or any automated means intended to deceive

Violations may result in content removal, account suspension, or permanent termination. Because every user is verified, persistent misconduct may also expose you to legal action by affected parties, as described in section 4.

7. The reaction system

PeopleOnly's reaction system lets verified users express nuanced views on content — Agree, Disagree, Insightful, One-sided, and Unmissable for journalism, news, and general content; and Fire, Moving, Replay, Slept On, Classic, and Not For Me for music.

Reactions should reflect your genuine assessment. Because every reaction is tied to a verified identity, misuse of the reaction system — for example, coordinated mass-reacting to manipulate perception of content — is a breach of these terms and may expose you to legal liability under section 4.

8. Encrypted source inbox

Verified journalists on PeopleOnly may enable an encrypted source inbox. Messages sent to this inbox are end-to-end encrypted using TweetNaCl.js. PeopleOnly's servers handle only ciphertext — we never see the plaintext of any message. This is a source protection feature. Even with a valid court order, PeopleOnly cannot produce the contents of encrypted tip messages because we do not have the keys.

The encrypted inbox is designed solely for the protection of whistleblowers and journalistic sources. Misuse of this feature to send harassing, threatening, or illegal material is a breach of these terms.

9. Subscriptions

Creators on PeopleOnly may offer paid subscription tiers. Subscription fees are set by the creator. By subscribing to a creator, you agree to the price and billing frequency displayed at the time of purchase.

Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. You may cancel at any time through your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period — there are no refunds for the unused portion of a paid period.

PeopleOnly retains a 5% platform fee on all subscription and tip transactions. Creators receive 95%.

10. Payments (Paddle)

All payments on PeopleOnly are processed by Paddle, our merchant of record. Paddle handles billing, tax, subscription management, and payment security. By making a payment on PeopleOnly, you also agree to Paddle's terms of service. PeopleOnly does not store your card details — all payment data is held by Paddle.

Paddle handles all applicable taxes, including VAT, sales tax, and GST, depending on your country of residence.

11. Account termination and deletion

You may delete your account at any time. Account deletion removes your profile, display name, and personal information from public view. Published content is soft-deleted and no longer associated with your identity.

Some records cannot be deleted: the public disclosure ledger, immutable transaction records, and any voluntary retractions you have submitted remain for legal and accountability reasons — but these reference only anonymised identifiers once your account is deleted.

PeopleOnly may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these terms, engage in fraudulent behaviour, or if required to do so by law. We will give you reasonable notice before termination where possible.

12. Your rights — GDPR and POPIA

PeopleOnly respects the rights of individuals under the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the South African Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). These rights include:

• Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You can request that we delete your personal data. This is fulfilled by deleting your account, subject to the retention exceptions in section 11.
• Portability: You can request your data in a machine-readable format.
• Objection and restriction: You can object to certain types of processing or ask us to restrict processing while a complaint is resolved.

To exercise these rights, email [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute relating to these terms or your use of PeopleOnly is subject to the jurisdiction of the South African courts.

14. Dispute resolution

If you have a dispute with PeopleOnly, please contact us first at [email protected] and give us a reasonable opportunity to resolve it informally before initiating any legal proceedings. We will endeavour to respond within 10 business days.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms? Email [email protected].