Terms of Service
Thuso Yanga exists to offer a warm, safe space for healing. These terms define the shared responsibilities that make that possible — for us, and for every member of our community. By creating an account, you agree to these terms. Please read them before joining.
Nothing on this platform — including conversations with the Thuso AI Companion — constitutes professional psychological, psychiatric, medical, or legal advice. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact a qualified professional or call a crisis helpline immediately. See our Helplines Directory for free, 24/7 support options in South Africa.
1 Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using Thuso Yanga ("the Platform", "we", "us", "our"), you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to any part of these terms, you may not use the platform.
We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of the platform after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. We will notify active members of material changes via email or an in-platform notice.
2 Age Requirement
You must be at least 13 years of age to register for and use Thuso Yanga.
If you are between 13 and 17 years of age, we strongly encourage a parent or trusted guardian to be aware that you are using the platform. Users under 13 are not permitted under any circumstances. If we discover that a member is under 13, we will immediately delete the account and all associated data. For mental health support tailored to children, please call Childline South Africa on 116 (toll-free).
3 Community Standards — Zero Tolerance
Thuso Yanga is a place where vulnerable people come to heal. The following conduct is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate, permanent account termination without warning:
Targeting, intimidating, threatening, or persistently antagonising any member. This includes sending unwanted direct messages of a threatening nature.
Researching, revealing, or attempting to expose the real-world identity of any member — including their name, location, workplace, social media profiles, or any other identifying information. This is one of the most serious violations possible on this platform.
Content that promotes, celebrates, or encourages hatred, dehumanisation, or violence against any person or group based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, or any other characteristic.
Exploiting, manipulating, or psychologically harming members who share experiences of trauma, abuse, or mental illness. Recruiting members for harmful movements, cults, or illegal activity.
Posting sexually explicit material, graphic depictions of violence, or any content sexualising minors (which is a criminal offence and will be reported to law enforcement).
Deliberately spreading false mental health information, promoting unverified "cures", or posting commercial spam. Impersonating mental health professionals or crisis counsellors.
4 Respecting Anonymous Identities
Every member participates through a randomly assigned anonymous alias. This system exists to protect people in genuinely vulnerable situations. You are required to respect it completely:
- Do not attempt to discover, guess, or infer the real identity of any other member.
- Do not share information from the platform that could be used to identify a member outside it.
- If you believe you recognise someone from real life, do not acknowledge it, reference it, or use it in any way. Treat their presence as anonymous.
- Your own alias is your public identity. Do not share your real name publicly on the platform. If you choose to disclose personal information in a post, you do so voluntarily and at your own risk.
Violations of the anonymity system are treated as a fundamental breach of community trust and will result in immediate permanent account termination and, where relevant, legal action.
5 Content Moderation
All posts and comments on Thuso Yanga are subject to moderation to maintain a safe environment.
- AI-assisted moderation: An automated system continuously reviews content for violations of community standards, flagging potentially harmful posts for human review. This system may not catch everything, and may occasionally flag benign content — human moderators make the final call.
- Human moderators: A team of trained community moderators reviews flagged content and community reports. Moderation decisions are made thoughtfully and with awareness of the sensitive nature of mental health disclosures.
- Community reporting: Any member can report content that violates community standards. Reports are reviewed confidentially and you will not be identified to the person whose content you report.
We reserve the right to remove any content at our discretion if it poses a risk to the safety or wellbeing of the community, even if it does not explicitly violate a listed rule.
6 Crisis Content & Automatic Referrals
Your safety is our highest priority.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 10111 (SAPS) or your nearest emergency service. Do not rely on this platform as an emergency service.
When our systems detect language that may indicate an immediate risk to life — including expressions of active suicidal intent, self-harm, or statements suggesting danger from another person — we will automatically:
- Surface emergency helpline information prominently within the interface.
- Flag the post for immediate human moderator review.
- Temporarily hold the post from public display pending moderator assessment.
By using the platform, you acknowledge and consent to this crisis-response mechanism. We will not contact authorities or identify you to third parties based solely on crisis content, except where we believe there is an imminent, specific, and credible risk to life and we have no other means to prevent it.
7 Your Content & Intellectual Property
You retain ownership of all content you post to Thuso Yanga. By posting, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display, store, and moderate your content as necessary to operate the platform. We do not claim ownership of your stories.
We will never reproduce your content in marketing materials, sell it, or share it externally without your explicit written consent — regardless of any licence implied by these terms.
8 Account Suspension & Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or permanently terminate any account that violates these terms.
- Minor violations may receive a warning and content removal. Repeated minor violations will escalate to suspension.
- Serious violations (harassment, doxxing, hate speech, abuse, illegal content) result in immediate permanent account termination with no prior warning. Banned members are not permitted to create new accounts.
You may also voluntarily delete your account at any time. See our Privacy Policy for details on data deletion following account termination.
9 Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability
Thuso Yanga is provided on an "as is" basis. While we work hard to maintain a safe and supportive environment, we cannot guarantee:
- That the platform will be available without interruption or error.
- That all community content is accurate, appropriate, or beneficial to your mental health.
- That the AI companion will always respond optimally in a crisis — it is a supportive tool, not a clinical service.
To the fullest extent permitted by South African law, Thuso Yanga and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform. Our total liability to you shall not exceed the amount you have paid us in the 12 months preceding the incident.
10 Governing Law & Jurisdiction
These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including but not limited to the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, and the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. Any disputes arising from or relating to these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Africa.
11 Contact Us
For any legal queries, terms clarifications, or to report a serious community violation, please contact our legal team.
