Terms of Service

Effective date: May 27, 2026 Last updated: July 18, 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Cova Labs, LLC, a California limited liability company (“Cova,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They govern your use of the Cova mobile application and the website at trycova.app (together, the “Services”).

By creating an account or using the Services, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, which are incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

These Terms contain a binding arbitration provision and a class-action waiver (Section 13). Unless you opt out within 30 days of creating your account, disputes between you and Cova will be resolved by individual arbitration, not in court and not as part of a class action.

1. Eligibility

To use Cova you must:

Be at least 18 years old. We verify age at sign-up: on devices that support it (iOS 26 and later), we use Apple’s Declared Age Range feature; otherwise we ask for your date of birth, use it only to confirm you are 18 or older, and do not store it (see our Privacy Policy). Misrepresenting your age is a breach of these Terms.
Be able to form a binding contract under applicable law.
Not be barred from the Services under prior enforcement action by Cova.

The Services are currently offered only in the United States.

2. The Services

Cova is a platform for discovering and creating small, in-person gatherings (“coves”). Creators create coves; members join and meet in person. The Services provide discovery, messaging, attendance tracking, and a trust-score system called “rings.”

Cova is a venue and communication tool, not an event organizer, promoter, or party to any gathering. Gatherings are arranged between users. Your use of the Services, and any in-person meeting, is at your own risk. See Section 10.

3. Your account

You sign in using Google or Apple; we do not maintain separate passwords.
You are responsible for activity under your account and for keeping your sign-in secure.
You may delete your account at any time in Profile → Account Settings. Deletion is described in our Privacy Policy.
We may suspend or terminate your account as described in Section 6.

4. User content and license

You retain ownership of the content you create or submit through the Services: cove titles, descriptions, addresses, messages, profile information, reports, and feedback (“Your Content”).

You grant Cova a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, modify (for formatting and display), and communicate Your Content solely to operate, provide, and improve the Services and enforce these Terms. This license ends when you delete Your Content or your account, except that:

Content shared with a gathering (messages, attendance, ring history) remains visible to other members of that gathering, in de-identified form, as part of their own records; and
Reports, safety reports, and moderation records are retained as described in the Privacy Policy.

You represent that Your Content does not infringe any third party’s rights and complies with applicable law and these Terms.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Services to:

Harass, threaten, stalk, dox, impersonate, or endanger anyone.
Post or promote hateful, violent, sexually exploitative, or illegal content.
Create coves you do not intend to create, use fake locations, or otherwise deceive.
Charge members to attend a gathering, accept payment from members, or otherwise profit from creating a cove (the underlying activity may carry its own cost paid directly to a venue or vendor).
Hold a gathering at a private residence rather than a public place.
Advertise, solicit, recruit, or drive traffic to other platforms.
Fail to attend gatherings you’ve joined without cancelling through the App.
Scrape, reverse-engineer, or circumvent the Services’ technical limits or security controls.
Misuse reporting tools, including filing false reports.

Detailed behavioral expectations are in our Community Guidelines, which are part of these Terms. Violating either document may result in enforcement under Section 6.

Cova has zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. Every cove, message, and profile can be reported in the App. We review reports of objectionable content within 24 hours; content that violates these Terms or the Community Guidelines is removed, and where warranted the user responsible is ejected from the Services.

6. Enforcement, suspension, and termination

By you: delete your account at any time in Profile → Account Settings.
By us: we may, in our reasonable discretion and proportionate to the conduct, remove content, adjust your rings, restrict features, suspend, or permanently terminate your account if we believe you have violated these Terms or the Community Guidelines, or to protect users or Cova.

A suspended account retains limited access (your profile and an appeal flow remain available), so you can request review. We aim to review appeals promptly but do not commit to a specific timeframe. On termination, your right to use the Services ends immediately; the data treatment in our Privacy Policy applies.

7. Rings and the trust system

“Rings” are a numeric trust score derived from your participation (creating and attending gatherings, late cancellations, reports, and similar signals).

Rings have no monetary value, cannot be purchased, sold, transferred, or redeemed, and are not your property.
Rings affect what you can do in the Services and how gatherings are ranked for you.
We may adjust rings to enforce these Terms or the Community Guidelines.

8. Subscriptions and payments (Cova Unlimited)

The free tier limits how many gatherings you can create and join. Cova Unlimited is an auto-renewing subscription that raises those limits and unlocks additional features.

Billing. Cova Unlimited is sold through Apple’s in-app purchase system and managed on our behalf by our subscription provider. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at purchase confirmation.
Auto-renewal. Your subscription automatically renews for the same period at the then-current price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Apple charges the renewal within 24 hours before the period ends.
How to cancel. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings (Settings → your name → Subscriptions). Deleting the App does not cancel a subscription.
Price changes. If the price increases, Apple will notify you and, where required, seek your consent before the next renewal.
Refunds. Purchases are handled by Apple under Apple’s refund policy. We do not process refunds directly.
Free trials. If a subscription includes a free trial, any unused portion is forfeited when you purchase a subscription.

9. App stores and third-party terms

You obtain the App through the Apple App Store, and your use is also subject to the App Store Terms of Service. The App is licensed, not sold, to you. To the extent these Terms conflict with Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement (“Apple Standard EULA”), the Apple Standard EULA governs the license to use the App, and Apple is a third-party beneficiary entitled to enforce it. Apple has no obligation to furnish support or to address any claim relating to the App.

10. Disclaimers

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.

Cova does not organize, supervise, vet, or take part in gatherings. We do not verify the identity, background, or conduct of any user beyond sign-in, and we do not guarantee that any gathering is safe, lawful, or as described. You meet other users at your own risk. Use good judgment, meet in public when you can, and report anything that feels unsafe.

11. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

Cova will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, goodwill, or data, arising out of or relating to the Services or these Terms.
Cova’s total liability for all claims relating to the Services will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid Cova in the 12 months before the claim or (b) US $100.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those, our liability is limited to the smallest extent permitted by law. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Cova from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of (a) Your Content, (b) your use of the Services, (c) your conduct at any gathering, or (d) your violation of these Terms or any third party’s rights.

13. Governing law and disputes

Please read this section carefully. It requires that most disputes between you and Cova be resolved through binding individual arbitration, and it waives your right to a jury trial and to participate in a class action. You can opt out within 30 days of creating your account (see “Opting out” below).

Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Section 13.

Talk to us first. Before starting arbitration or filing any claim, you agree to email us at support@trycova.app (subject line “Legal”) with a description of the dispute and give us 60 days to try to resolve it informally with you. Most issues get resolved this way. This step is required before either of us may begin arbitration.

Binding individual arbitration. If we can’t resolve the dispute informally, you and Cova agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will be resolved by binding arbitration on an individual basis, administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be held in the county where you live, or remotely by video or written submission if you prefer. The arbitrator’s decision is final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court with jurisdiction. This provision binds Cova the same way it binds you.

What’s not covered. Either of us may still (a) bring an individual claim in small-claims court, or (b) seek injunctive or equitable relief in court for infringement or misuse of intellectual property or unauthorized access to the Services. For any dispute not subject to arbitration, you and Cova consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state or federal courts in San Francisco County, California.

Class-action waiver. You and Cova each agree that disputes may be brought only in an individual capacity, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, consolidated, or representative proceeding, and the arbitrator may not consolidate claims or preside over any form of class proceeding. If this class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) must proceed in court, not in class arbitration.

Fees. AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules cap the filing fee you pay; Cova pays the remaining administrative and arbitrator fees for claims seeking less than US $10,000, unless the arbitrator finds the claim frivolous.

Coordinated filings. If 25 or more similar arbitration demands are filed against Cova with the assistance of the same or coordinated counsel, the parties agree the AAA will administer them in staged batches under its Multiple Consumer Case protocols before the remainder proceed.

Opting out. You may opt out of this arbitration provision and class-action waiver by emailing support@trycova.app (subject line “Arbitration opt-out”) within 30 days of first creating your account, stating your account email and that you opt out. Opting out has no effect on any other part of these Terms and will never affect your access to the Services.

Nothing in this section limits any non-waivable right you have under applicable consumer-protection law.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version is always available in the App under Profile → Legal and at trycova.app/terms. When we make a material change, we will provide notice within the Services. Your continued use after the change takes effect constitutes acceptance.

15. General

Entire agreement. These Terms, with the Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, are the entire agreement between you and Cova regarding the Services.
Severability. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them, including to a successor entity, without notice.
No third-party beneficiaries, except Apple as stated in Section 9.

16. Contact

These Terms are between you and Cova Labs, LLC (California, United States). Questions about these Terms or legal notices: support@trycova.app (subject line “Legal”). For privacy questions, see the Privacy Policy.