Terms of use
1. Who may use Fishes
- You must be 18 or older. When you register you confirm “I confirm I am 18 or older”; accounts created earlier confirm before playing. This is a self-declaration: we do not verify age. We record the time and the terms version. We may close any account we believe belongs to someone under 18.
- One account per person. Keep your password private; you are responsible for activity on your account. You must confirm your email address before playing.
2. The service
Fishes is provided “as is” and is still being developed. Features, ratings and data may change. Games can be interrupted (for example during maintenance), and an interrupted game may be ended without a result. Playing is free. Fishes Premium is an optional subscription (section 3).
3. Fishes Premium (subscriptions)
- What it includes: entry to tournaments and public comments on finished public games. A paid subscription also unlocks the Strong, Expert and Master practice bots; a free trial, a promotion or a tournament prize does not. Rated online games and the standard practice bots stay free.
- Where you buy it: only in the Fishes app, through Google Play (Google) on Android or, where the iPhone app offers it, the App Store (Apple). The plans (monthly or yearly), the price in your currency and any free trial are shown by the store before you confirm. The store takes the payment and charges your store account when you confirm the purchase (or when a free trial ends). We never see your card details.
- Free trial: new subscribers may get a free month, shown by the store before you confirm. A free trial gives Premium without the Strong, Expert and Master bots; they start with the first paid period.
- Google Play: one free trial per Fishes account, whichever store it was used in. An account that already had a free trial is offered Google Play plans without one.
- App Store: Apple decides whether you get a free trial, under its own rules (generally one introductory offer per Apple Account for Fishes Premium; see the App Store before you confirm). If Apple gives you a free trial, you get Premium for that period as described above, even if your Fishes account had a free trial before.
- Automatic renewal: a subscription renews automatically at the end of each period at the price then in force until you cancel. On the App Store, renewal is charged within the 24 hours before the period ends, so turn off renewal at least 24 hours before the end of the period to avoid the next charge. On Google Play, renewal is charged on the renewal date; cancel before that date to avoid the next charge.
- Cancelling: manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store or Google Play account settings (the app’s Premium screen links there). Cancelling stops future renewals; Premium continues until the end of the period you have already paid for, or the end of the trial.
- Your right to cancel: if you are a consumer in the United Kingdom or the European Union, you may cancel a new subscription within 14 days of the purchase without giving a reason. Cancelling a free trial costs nothing. If you were charged, you get a refund, less a proportionate amount for the Premium days you already had. Ask the store first (below). If it refuses, email us within those 14 days and we will refund you.
- Refunds: payments are taken by the store, so refund requests are made to the store and decided under its policy: Apple (request a refund) or Google Play (refund policy). If a store refunds a payment, the Premium it paid for ends. Nothing in these terms limits any refund, cancellation or other rights you have under the law that applies to you.
- Price changes: a new price applies only from a later period, with the notice and, where the store requires it, the consent the store requires.
- Your account: a subscription belongs to the Fishes account it was bought with. “Restore purchases” restores it to that account only; it cannot be moved to another Fishes account, and a store account that already subscribes for one Fishes account cannot start another subscription for a different one.
- Promotions and prizes: Premium days given by us (promotions) or won in tournaments are separate from a subscription. They never pause, postpone or cancel a subscription’s charges.
- If Premium changes: if we remove a Premium feature in substance, we will tell you in the app, and you can cancel as above.
- If you subscribe through the App Store, Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement also applies. Purchases through Google Play are also subject to the Google Play Terms of Service.
4. Playing fairly
- Ratings: online games between players are rated in their exact time format. Practice games you start against a bot are unrated.
- Bot opponents in matchmaking: if no player is found within a few seconds, matchmaking may pair you with a bot at your level. This happens only if “Allow bot opponents” is on in your settings (it is on unless you turn it off) and only in apps that can show you it is a bot. These games are rated. You are told before the first move that your opponent is a bot, and the bot is marked “BOT”.
- No assistance: do not use engines, other people or any outside help during rated games.
- No manipulation: do not lose on purpose, play yourself on a second account, or arrange results. We may void affected games and correct ratings.
5. Chat, trash talk and conduct
- Before each game, both players choose a trash-talk mode (None, Filtered or Unfiltered); the game uses the milder choice, and Unfiltered applies only when both players choose it. Messages are moderated automatically before the other player sees them, in every mode (see the privacy notice).
- Even in Unfiltered games, these are never allowed: real-world threats, hate targeting protected characteristics, sexual content, sharing someone’s private information, encouraging self-harm, or harassment outside the game.
- Handles and post-game comments follow the same rules. Avatars are chosen from the built-in collection; photo uploads are not available yet.
- You can report, mute or block players. Staff may hide content, void games, and suspend or close accounts that break these rules. You can appeal moderation decisions in the app.
6. Your content
You keep ownership of what you write. You allow Fishes to store, process (including automated moderation), display and back up it, as needed to run the service. Games and their moves are shown to others according to their visibility (public matchmaking games; private friend games). After you delete your account, finished games stay, anonymised.
7. Bots and open-source components
Bots are always labelled as bots. They play with open-source engines (Otter, and Stockfish for the Strong, Expert and Master bots). The bot engine bridges’ source and notices are at /licences/engines/, and other notices, including avatar artwork credits (Twemoji, CC-BY 4.0), are in the third-party notices.
8. Ending your account
- You can delete your account at any time (Profile or Me → Delete account); the privacy notice explains what is anonymised and what is kept.
- Deleting your account does not cancel an App Store subscription. Cancel it in your Apple account settings, or Apple keeps charging. The app tells you this before you delete.
- A Google Play subscription is cancelled automatically when you delete your account. This stops future renewals; it does not by itself refund the current period. Your refund rights under Google Play’s policy and the law that applies to you are not affected.
- We may suspend or close accounts that break these terms or the law. If we close an account, we cannot cancel an App Store subscription for you: cancel it in your Apple account settings. A request for a refund after such a closure is considered under the law that applies to you and the store’s refund policy; we do not claim that every payment is forfeited.
9. Liability
Fishes is offered without warranties. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for losses arising from its use, such as lost games, ratings or data. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law, or the rights you have as a consumer.
10. Changes and governing law
We may update these terms. A change in substance gets a new version and date at the top of this page. A change to the price or terms of an active subscription follows the notice rules of the store you subscribed through. If we change these terms in substance, we will ask you to accept the new version in the app or on the website before you next start a game or a purchase; until then you can still sign in, manage your account and subscription, and delete your account. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live elsewhere, you keep the protection of the mandatory consumer laws of your country and may bring a claim in the courts where you live. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring a claim in your local courts.