Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Fotovault (the "Service"). Please read them carefully. By creating an account, or by accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you may not use the Service.

1. Definitions

In these Terms: "we", "us", "our" and "Fotovault" mean Craig Foster, a sole proprietor trading as "Fotovault" (the operator of the Service). "You" and "your" mean the person or entity that registers for or uses the Service (the "Photographer"). "Client" means an end recipient with whom you share a gallery. "Content" means photographs, files, text, logos and other material you upload, store, or transmit through the Service.

2. The Service

Fotovault is a photo-delivery platform that lets photographers create private, branded client galleries, share them by secure link, and (optionally) store the underlying files with us or in a storage account you connect. Features, storage limits and pricing differ by plan and may change from time to time. We may add, modify, or remove features at any time.

3. Accounts & eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract.
• You must provide accurate account information and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for safeguarding your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately of any unauthorised use.
• One free trial is available per person/account. Trials and their limits are described at sign-up and may be changed or withdrawn.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• upload, store, or share content that is unlawful, infringing, defamatory, obscene, or that you do not have the rights to;
• upload content depicting minors unlawfully, or any material that is illegal under South African law;
• infringe the intellectual-property, privacy, or other rights of any person;
• transmit malware, attempt to gain unauthorised access, probe or breach security, or disrupt the Service or its infrastructure;
• resell, sublicense, or provide the Service to third parties except as expressly permitted by your plan;
• use the Service in any way that imposes an unreasonable load on our systems or that we reasonably consider abusive.

We may investigate suspected violations and may remove content or suspend accounts that breach these Terms.

5. Your content & ownership

You retain all ownership of your Content. We do not claim any ownership of your photographs. You grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to host, store, copy, transmit, resize, generate previews/thumbnails of, and display your Content solely as necessary to operate and provide the Service to you and your Clients, and to make backups. This licence ends when you delete the relevant Content or close your account, except for copies retained transiently in backups or as required by law.

You are solely responsible for your Content and for having all necessary rights and consents (including from the people depicted and from your Clients) to upload it and to share it through the Service.

6. Your responsibilities

• You are responsible for your own dealings and contracts with your Clients. Fotovault is a tool you use to deliver work; we are not a party to your relationship with your Clients.
• You are responsible for the lawfulness of your Content and for complying with all applicable laws, including data-protection law (see clause 15).
• You are responsible for maintaining your own independent backups of any Content you cannot afford to lose (see clause 7).
• You are responsible for the accuracy of the branding, business name, and contact details you enter, which may appear to your Clients and on invoices.

7. Storage, backups & data loss

• Galleries and files may be subject to storage limits, retention periods, and expiry windows described in your plan. Files may be moved to cold/archived storage or removed after the applicable period.
• If you connect your own third-party storage (e.g. Google Drive), those files live in your account and are additionally subject to that provider's terms; we are not responsible for their availability, security, or your provider's actions.
• On account closure or non-payment, your Content may be made inaccessible and subsequently deleted after any grace period described in your plan.

8. Availability & changes

We aim to keep the Service available but do not guarantee any particular uptime or that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. We may perform maintenance, and may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service, at any time, with or without notice. We are not liable for any unavailability of the Service.

9. Third-party services

The Service integrates with third parties, including PayFast (payment processing) and Google Drive (optional storage). Your use of those services is governed by their own terms and privacy policies. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party services, including any outage, error, security incident, or charge on their part. We never receive or store your full card details; card payments are handled by PayFast.

10. Fees, billing & trials

• Paid plans are billed in South African Rand (ZAR) at the prices shown at the time of purchase, on a monthly or annual cycle as selected. Prices may change; we will give reasonable notice of changes affecting your renewal.
• Fotovault is not a registered VAT vendor; no VAT is added — the displayed price is the full price.
• Payments are processed by PayFast. By subscribing you authorise the applicable recurring charge until you cancel.
• Except where required by law, fees are non-refundable, including for partial billing periods, unused storage, or features you did not use.
• Free trials are provided as described at sign-up and may include reduced limits and exclude certain features. We may modify or end trials at any time. If you do not move to a paid plan, your account may become read-only and your Content may later be removed.
• You are responsible for any taxes applicable to you in your own jurisdiction other than those we are legally required to collect.

11. No warranties

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties or representations of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, availability, accuracy, or that the Service will be secure, uninterrupted, or free of errors, viruses, or data loss. Any warranties that cannot lawfully be excluded are limited to the minimum extent permitted by law.

12. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

• You use the Service at your own risk.
• We will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, goodwill, business, opportunity, or for any loss of, corruption of, or inability to access data or Content, however arising, whether in contract, delict (tort), negligence, or otherwise, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
• Our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to the Service or these Terms will not exceed the amount you actually paid to us for the Service in the three (3) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim (or, if you are on a free trial, ZAR 0).

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for gross negligence or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence. If applicable consumer-protection law gives you rights that these Terms cannot lawfully exclude, those rights prevail to that extent, and the rest of these Terms continue to apply.

13. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Fotovault and its owner, employees, and contractors from and against any claims, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your Content; (b) your use of the Service; (c) your breach of these Terms or of any law; or (d) your infringement of any third party's rights, including any dispute between you and a Client.

14. Suspension & termination

You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, fail to pay, use the Service unlawfully or abusively, or where we are required to do so by law or to protect the Service or other users. On termination, your right to use the Service ends and your Content may be deleted after any applicable grace period. Clauses which by their nature should survive (including 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18 and 19) survive termination.

15. Privacy & personal information

We process personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) and our Privacy Policy. In respect of the personal information contained in your Content (for example, your Clients' details and the individuals depicted in your photographs), you are the responsible party and we act as an operator processing that information on your behalf and on your instructions. You are responsible for having a lawful basis and any necessary consents for that information, and for informing the individuals concerned as required by law.

16. Force majeure

We are not liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations where the failure or delay results from causes beyond our reasonable control, including power or internet failures, hosting-provider or third-party outages, acts of God, load-shedding, strikes, cyber-attacks, or governmental action.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above and, where changes are material, take reasonable steps to notify you (for example by email or in-app notice). Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

18. Governing law & jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. You and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the South African courts in respect of any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service.

19. General

• Entire agreement. These Terms (together with any plan details and our Privacy Policy) are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements.
• Severability. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary, or severed, and the remaining provisions continue in force.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• Notices. We may give notices by email to the address on your account or by posting in the Service.

20. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at support@fotovault.co.za.

By using Fotovault you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms & Conditions.