Terms of Use

1. Who we are

Acorn & Orbit ("we", "us", "the platform") is a product of ECHO Technologies (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa. The website at acornandorbit.com and the related parent/school applications are owned and operated by us. The school you signed up with remains responsible for the educational service itself — we provide the software that supports it.

2. Acceptance of these terms

By creating an account, visiting the website, or otherwise using the platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and Acceptable Use Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

3. Your account

• You must provide accurate information and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for everything done under your account.
• You must be at least 18 years old, or be using the platform under the supervision of a parent or guardian who has agreed to these terms.
• We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these terms, the AUP, or applicable law.

4. Intellectual property

The platform, its software, designs, logos, and content (excluding content uploaded by schools or families) are owned by ECHO Technologies and protected by copyright, trade mark, and other laws. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the platform for its intended purpose. Schools retain ownership of content they upload (school name, crest, colours, photos, communications). Parents retain ownership of content they upload.

5. Acceptable use

Your use of the platform is also governed by the Acceptable Use Policy. In short: no abuse, no unlawful content, no scraping, no reverse engineering, no interfering with the service.

6. Payments

Where the platform processes payments (e.g. school fees), payments are handled by Paystack. We do not store full card numbers. Refunds, chargebacks and billing disputes are governed by the Refund & Billing Policy.

7. Availability and changes

We aim to keep the platform available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted service. We may add, change or remove features. Where you have a paid school subscription, service commitments are described in the Service Level Agreement.

8. Disclaimers

The platform is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, we exclude all implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, except those that cannot be excluded under the South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or other applicable law.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability arising from your use of the platform is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you or your school have paid us in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) ZAR 5,000. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages. Nothing limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, death, personal injury, or any liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

10. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify us against claims arising from (a) your breach of these terms, (b) your misuse of the platform, or (c) content you upload that infringes third-party rights or applicable law.

11. Termination

You may stop using the platform at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access for breach of these terms or applicable law, or where required by a third party (such as a court order). On termination, sections that by their nature survive (IP, disclaimers, liability, indemnities, governing law) continue to apply.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. Material changes will be notified in-app or by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the updated terms.

13. Governing law and jurisdiction

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg.

14. Contact

ECHO Technologies (Pty) Ltd · investechotech.com · legal@investechotech.com.