Terms of Use

Introduction

Welcome to NOW.

By creating an account or using the platform, you agree to these Terms of Use.

If you do not agree with these terms, you should not use NOW.

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and use NOW.

By using the platform, you confirm that you meet this requirement.

Purpose of the Platform

NOW is a live visual map designed to help people understand what is happening in places around the world.

The platform is intended to provide real-world context through photos and observations shared by users.

A guiding principle of NOW is:

"What does this content help people understand about this place, at this moment?"

User Content

You retain ownership of the content you upload to NOW.

By uploading content to NOW, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, display, distribute, modify and publish that content in connection with the operation, promotion and development of NOW and other related services, websites, applications, publications or curated projects operated by us.

This may include use within:

• The NOW platform
• The NOW website
• Related services, websites or applications operated by us
• Thematic, geographic or archival collections based on content shared on NOW
• Social media channels
• Promotional materials
• Presentations and marketing content

This licence remains in effect for as long as the content remains available on NOW and to the extent reasonably necessary for archival, legal, operational or promotional purposes.

If content has already been incorporated into promotional, marketing, archival, operational or curated materials before being deleted from NOW, we may continue to retain and use those existing materials.

When content is used outside the main NOW platform, we may credit the contributing user when their profile is public.

User Responsibilities

Users are responsible for the content they upload, publish or share through NOW.

You must have the necessary rights and permissions to upload any content submitted to the platform.

Users are responsible for ensuring that their content complies with applicable laws and respects the rights of others.

Users must not upload content that violates the privacy, image rights or other rights of third parties.

You agree not to upload content that:

• Violates applicable laws
• Infringes the rights of others
• Is intentionally misleading or fraudulent
• Is presented as real while being AI-generated or manipulated
• Contains harassment, abuse or threats
• Contains pornographic material
• Is intended primarily to shock, provoke or disturb others

Content Classification

Users are responsible for selecting the category and any tags that they believe best describe their posts.

NOW may change, correct or reclassify the category, tags or other descriptive metadata associated with a post when reasonably necessary to better reflect its content, improve the accuracy and usefulness of the map, or maintain consistency across the platform.

Routine classification adjustments may be made without individual notice.

Such changes do not alter the authorship or ownership of the content and do not necessarily indicate that the user has violated these Terms.

Content Moderation

NOW reserves the right to review, restrict, remove or otherwise moderate content when necessary to protect the platform, its users or the public interest.

Content may be removed if it violates these Terms, the Moderation Guidelines, applicable laws, or is otherwise inconsistent with the purpose of the platform.

Content that does not meaningfully contribute to helping people understand what is happening in a place at a particular moment may also be removed.

Examples may include:

• Selfies without relevant context
• Portraits focused primarily on an individual
• Photos of newspapers or printed media
• Screenshots
• Memes
• Motivational quotes
• Excessively personal content
• Content unrelated to a place, event or situation

These examples are not exhaustive.

Moderation may involve human review and, where used, automated systems.

Moderation decisions are made by NOW in accordance with these Terms, the Moderation Guidelines and the purpose of the platform, using reasonable judgment based on the circumstances of each case.

User Reports

Users may report content that they believe violates the platform's rules or purpose.

Reports may be reviewed by NOW as part of its moderation process.

Submitting a report does not guarantee that content will be removed or that individual feedback will be provided.

Accounts

Users may delete their accounts at any time.

NOW reserves the right to suspend, restrict or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, the Moderation Guidelines or applicable laws.

User-Generated Content

Content published on NOW is created by users.

NOW does not endorse, verify or guarantee the accuracy, legality, completeness or reliability of user-generated content.

Users should independently evaluate information before relying on it.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, NOW is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or legality of content submitted by users.

Availability of the Service

NOW is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis.

We do not guarantee that the platform will always be available, uninterrupted, secure or error-free.

Features, functionality and availability may change at any time.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, NOW shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising from the use of the platform.

Users assume responsibility for how they interpret and use information obtained through NOW.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Use from time to time.

When significant changes are made, we may provide additional notice within the platform.

The latest version will always be available on this page.

Contact

If you have questions regarding these Terms of Use, please use the Contact page.