Terms of Service
These terms are an agreement between you and CarTalkie ("we", "us") for your use of the CarTalkie app and the website at cartalkie.app (together, "CarTalkie"). By creating an account or sending a message, you agree to them. If you don't agree, don't use CarTalkie. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information.
1. Who can use CarTalkie
These Terms are the end user license agreement (EULA) for the CarTalkie app and website. You must agree to them to create an account or send a message. You must be at least 18 years old. CarTalkie is for vehicles with United States license plates. You're responsible for your account and for keeping your password private. Tell us right away if you think someone else is using your account.
2. What CarTalkie is for
CarTalkie lets you send short, helpful messages about a vehicle to its owner, such as "your headlights are on" or "you're blocking my driveway". It is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, or a situation needs police, fire or medical help, call 911. We can't guarantee that any message will be delivered, seen, or acted on in time. Many plates aren't registered on CarTalkie at all.
3. Rules for messages and conduct
We have zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. You agree not to use CarTalkie to:
- harass, threaten, intimidate, stalk or embarrass anyone, or send hateful, sexual or violent content;
- try to find out who owns a vehicle, where they live, or anything else about them, or track their movements;
- send spam, advertising, or large numbers of messages, or message plates you haven't actually seen;
- impersonate someone, or register a vehicle you don't own or aren't authorized to register;
- upload false or altered documents;
- get around rate limits, CAPTCHAs, blocks or suspensions, or use bots or scripts;
- interfere with, scrape, or reverse-engineer CarTalkie, or break any law.
Messages are limited to preset texts, and the optional name and phone number you can attach are filtered for objectionable content. Every conversation can be reported, blocked or deleted from inside it, and you can report abuse to us at any time at info@cartalkie.app. We review every report within 24 hours. When content breaks these rules, we remove it and remove the user who sent it: we block the conversation and suspend or terminate their account or web access, without notice or refund. We may also report illegal activity to authorities.
4. Your content
You're responsible for the messages and information you send. You keep ownership of them, and you give us a limited license to store, transmit and display them as needed to run CarTalkie. Messages are anonymous by default, but anything you choose to share, such as a name or phone number entered on the website, is shown to the recipient.
5. Registering a vehicle
To receive messages about a vehicle, you must own it or be authorized by its owner, keep an active subscription for it, and verify ownership by uploading its registration or title. We review documents by hand and may approve or reject any registration in our discretion. If a plate's ownership is disputed, we may suspend it while we investigate. You can invite up to 3 other people to share a vehicle's messages for free. You're responsible for who you invite.
6. Subscriptions
- Receiving messages for a vehicle requires a monthly auto-renewing subscription plan for your account: $2.99 per month for 1 vehicle, $4.99 per month for up to 2, or $6.99 per month for up to 3. Prices may vary by region and are shown before you buy.
- The 1-vehicle plan may start with a free first month, offered once per Apple ID or Google Play account and shown before you buy. Unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the free month ends, it becomes a paid subscription at $2.99 per month, charged when the free month ends. Free months aren't offered on the 2- or 3-vehicle plans or when switching plans.
- You can switch plans at any time. Moving to a larger plan takes effect right away; moving to a smaller one takes effect at your next renewal, after which only as many vehicles as the plan covers keep receiving messages.
- Payment is charged to your Apple ID or Google Play account when you confirm the purchase, or when a free first month ends.
- Your subscription renews automatically each month at the same price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends.
- You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store or Google Play account settings (also reachable from the app's Account screen). Canceling stops future renewals; you keep access until the end of the period you've paid for.
- Deleting your CarTalkie account does not cancel your subscription. Cancel it in your store account first.
- Refunds are handled by Apple or Google under their policies. We can't issue refunds for store purchases ourselves.
- A subscription includes one printed QR sticker for each vehicle it covers, mailed to the address you provide, usually within 2–4 weeks after the vehicle is verified.
- If a subscription lapses, your vehicles stop receiving new messages until it's renewed.
We may change prices for future periods. We'll tell you in advance, and the store will ask for your consent where required.
7. Ending your use
You can stop using CarTalkie and delete your account at any time from the app's Account screen. We may suspend or end your access if you break these terms, if required by law, or if we discontinue CarTalkie. Sections 8–10 continue to apply after your access ends.
8. Disclaimers
CarTalkie is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We don't control what users send and aren't responsible for it, for anything users do in response to a message, or for any dispute between users. We don't guarantee that CarTalkie will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.
9. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, CarTalkie will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, profits or goodwill, arising from your use of CarTalkie. Our total liability for any claim relating to CarTalkie is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or $50. Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not apply to you.
10. Indemnity
You agree to defend and hold CarTalkie harmless from claims, losses and costs (including reasonable legal fees) that arise from your content, your use of CarTalkie, or your breaking these terms or anyone's rights.
11. Apple App Store
If you downloaded CarTalkie from the Apple App Store, these terms are between you and CarTalkie, not Apple. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app, and isn't responsible for addressing any claims relating to it. If the app fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple for a refund of its purchase price, and Apple has no other warranty obligation. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you. You also agree to Apple's Usage Rules in the App Store Terms of Service.
12. Changes and general terms
We may update these terms. We'll change the date at the top, and tell you in the app or by email before a significant change takes effect. Continuing to use CarTalkie after that means you accept the updated terms. If any part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies. These terms are the entire agreement between you and us about CarTalkie.