Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of these terms

Buddive (“Buddive,” “we,” “us”) operates the website and progressive web app at buddive.com (the “Service”). By creating an account, joining the waitlist, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”), our Privacy Policy, and the Diver Assumption of Risk waiver you must accept before using diver-facing features. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use Buddive. The Service is for adults only and is not directed at minors. By using the Service you represent that you are 18 or older, that you can form a binding contract, and that you are not barred from using the Service under applicable law. We may require identity or age verification and may suspend or remove accounts we reasonably believe belong to minors.

3. What Buddive is — and what it is not

Buddive is a coordination and matching platform. It helps certified divers find each other, communicate, and structure pre-dive conversations through tools like trip cards, dive-plan agreements, and post-dive attestations.

Buddive is nota dive operator, dive shop, instructor, divemaster, guide, travel agency, or certification agency. We do not organize, lead, supervise, or participate in any dive. We do not train or certify divers. We do not select your buddy for you, and we do not vouch for any user’s skill, fitness, honesty, or character. Any dive you undertake with someone you met through Buddive is arranged and conducted entirely between you and that person, off our platform and outside our control.

4. Assumption of risk; your responsibility for your own safety

Scuba diving is a high-risk activity. Its risks — including drowning, decompression sickness, arterial gas embolism, equipment failure, marine life injury, hypothermia, buddy negligence, and death — are inherent to the sport and cannot be eliminated by any product, app, or third party, including Buddive.

By using the Service, you knowingly and voluntarily assume all risks of scuba diving and of meeting and diving with people you find through the Service, including risks arising from the negligence or misrepresentation of other users. You are solely responsible for: (a) holding current, valid certifications for any dive you undertake; (b) diving within your training, experience, and physical limits; (c) the condition and suitability of your own equipment; (d) independently evaluating any buddy, dive site, operator, and conditions before you dive; and (e) following safe diving practices, including buddy checks, dive planning, and conservative gas management. The detailed assumption-of-risk and release language in the Diver Assumption of Risk waiver is incorporated into these Terms.

5. Verification and safety features are not guarantees

Buddive may offer features such as document-checked certification badges, photo verification, pre-dive plan agreements, post-dive attestations, and block/report tools. These features are best-effort aids, not guarantees. A verification badge means we performed a document or photo check — it does notmean a certification agency endorsed the user, that the user’s stated experience is accurate, or that the user is safe to dive with. Profile information, dive counts, and experience claims are self-reported unless explicitly labelled otherwise, and even labelled checks can be wrong. You must do your own vetting.

6. Your account

You are responsible for your account and for keeping access to your sign-in email secure. You agree to provide accurate information — including, critically, accurate representations of your certifications, dive count, and experience to divers you match with. You may delete your account at any time using the self-serve deletion option in your profile settings; deletion is described further in our Privacy Policy.

7. User conduct

Buddive only works if divers can trust what other divers say. You agree to:

• Represent your certifications, dive count, experience, and identity honestly, on your profile and in conversations.
• Treat other users with respect — no harassment, hate speech, threats, stalking, or sexual misconduct, whether on the platform or off it in connection with a Buddive match.
• Use block and report tools in good faith. Every profile has a block and report option; we review reports — including reports about off-platform behavior connected to a Buddive match — and we remove users who violate these rules.
• Report safety incidents and concerns to us promptly so we can act on them.
• Not pressure another diver to exceed an agreed dive plan, their certification level, or their stated comfort.

Violations can lead to warnings, feature restrictions, suspension, or permanent bans, at our discretion. Safety violations lead to permanent bans.

8. Prohibited uses

You may not:

• Misrepresent your identity, age, certifications, or experience, or impersonate another person.
• Use the Service if you are under 18.
• Use the Service for commercial solicitation (including advertising dive operations, instruction, or other services) without our written permission.
• Scrape, harvest, or collect other users’ data, or use automated tools to access the Service.
• Attempt to bypass verification, safety, blocking, or rate-limiting mechanisms, or probe or disrupt the Service’s security.
• Upload content that is unlawful, infringing, or that you do not have the right to share — including another person’s personal information without their consent.
• Use the Service to plan or facilitate unlawful activity, or dives that violate local regulations (e.g., protected sites, permit requirements).

9. Your content

You retain ownership of the content you submit — profile details, photos, certification evidence, trip cards, dive plans, messages, and attestations. You grant Buddive a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, display, and process that content as needed to operate the Service (for example, showing your profile to potential matches, or sharing a signed dive plan with the buddy who co-signed it). We do not sell your content or your data. How content is shared is detailed in the Privacy Policy.

10. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time if we reasonably believe you violated these Terms, created risk for other users, or misused the Service — with or without notice, depending on severity. You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including assumption of risk, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and dispute resolution) survive it.

11. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE MAKE NO WARRANTY ABOUT THE ACCURACY OF ANY USER’S PROFILE, CERTIFICATIONS, DIVE COUNT, OR CONDUCT; THE RELIABILITY OF ANY VERIFICATION BADGE OR ATTESTATION; OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BUDDIVE, ITS OPERATORS, AND ITS AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS ARISING FROM (A) YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, (B) THE CONDUCT, REPRESENTATIONS, OR NEGLIGENCE OF ANY USER, ON OR OFF THE PLATFORM, OR (C) ANY DIVE OR OTHER ACTIVITY ARRANGED THROUGH THE SERVICE — INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH — EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100) OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Buddive, its operators, and its affiliates from claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of your use of the Service, your content, your dives, your interactions with other users, or your violation of these Terms.

14. Dispute resolution — binding arbitration and class waiver

This is the binding arbitration provision referenced in the Diver Assumption of Risk waiver. Please read it — it affects your legal rights.

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the waiver, the Service, or any dive or interaction arranged through the Service will be resolved by final, binding individual arbitration administered by a recognized arbitration provider under its consumer arbitration rules, rather than in court — except that either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court, and either party may seek injunctive relief for intellectual property misuse or unauthorized access to the Service.

Class action waiver: you and Buddive each waive the right to a jury trial and the right to participate in any class, collective, consolidated, or representative action. The arbitrator may award relief only on an individual basis.

Opt-out: you may opt out of this arbitration provision by emailing support@buddive.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, with your account email and a clear statement that you opt out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Governing State], United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. To the extent a dispute is not subject to arbitration, it must be brought in the state or federal courts located in [Governing State], and you consent to their jurisdiction.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If a change is material — for example, to the dispute-resolution or liability sections — we will give notice through the Service or by email and update the “Last updated” date above. Continuing to use the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not accept them, stop using the Service and delete your account.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms, or a safety incident to report: support@buddive.com. We aim to respond to safety reports within 48 hours.