Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account on or using dootsa.com or dootsa.co.za (the “Platform”), operated by Dootsa (Pty) Ltd (“Dootsa”, “we”, “us”, “our”, “Company”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”), our Privacy Policy, and our Cookie Policy.

If you are using our services on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organisation to these Terms. If you do not agree, you may not use the Platform.

2. Eligibility

1. You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Platform or participate in any promotions.
2. By registering, you confirm that you are 18 or older (or have guardian consent where applicable) and that the information you provide is accurate and complete.
3. Promotions may be limited to specific regions or countries. Eligibility will be clearly stated in the relevant promotion details.
4. If we discover that a user is under 18, their account will be terminated immediately and all associated data deleted.

3. Account Registration & Security

1. You must provide a valid email address, your real full name, and create a secure password (minimum 8 characters).
2. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities under your account.
3. You may not create multiple accounts, impersonate another person, or use a false identity.
4. You agree to provide accurate and complete information and to update it as necessary.
5. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, without notice in cases of severe misconduct.

4. Platform Description

Dootsa is an enterprise survey and market research platform that connects survey participants (“End Users”) with businesses and researchers (“Creators”). End Users earn points by completing surveys, which can be redeemed for rewards. Creators distribute surveys and receive anonymised, aggregated response data.

4.1 Developer SDK and Integrations

• Where Dootsa provides a mobile SDK, API client, or integration tooling (“SDK”), it may be published publicly for transparency and interoperability.
• You acknowledge that client-side software is an untrusted environment and may be reverse engineered, modified, or instrumented by third parties.
• You must not embed private keys, long-lived secrets, or privileged credentials in mobile applications, SDK distributions, or client code.
• Integrators must use short-lived, scoped access tokens issued by secure backend systems under their control and must implement server-side authorization checks.
• Dootsa may suspend, rate-limit, or block SDK traffic or integrations that materially increase fraud, abuse, privacy, or security risk.

5. User Roles

• End Users (Survey Participants): Complete surveys, earn points, redeem rewards, and complete a voluntary profiling questionnaire.
• Creators (Businesses): Create surveys, purchase audience distribution, and receive anonymised research data.
• Staff and Admins: Internal roles for platform management, moderation, and compliance.

5.1 Field Staff, Field Supervisors, and Assisted Onboarding

• Dootsa may permit authorised staff, field agents, supervisors, or managers to assist customers with onboarding, activation, OTP capture, profile completion, telephonic surveys, and field-based survey collection.
• Staff may only act within their assigned permissions, documented procedures, and compliance controls, and must record operational notes where required by Dootsa.
• Where phone calls, recordings, or geolocation are used for compliance, verification, safety, quality assurance, or dispute handling, you consent to such processing to the extent permitted by applicable law and our Privacy Policy.
• Customers must provide truthful information and may not knowingly give false OTPs, impersonate another person, or obstruct identity, fraud, or quality checks.
• Dootsa may suspend field or assisted workflows, limit permissions, or invalidate submissions where misconduct, coercion, device-sharing abuse, or policy violations are suspected.

6. Points and Rewards

6.1 Earning Points

• Points are earned by completing published surveys. The point value is displayed before you start each survey.
• Points may also be awarded for account actions (e.g., welcome bonus, referrals) at our discretion.
• Points have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for currency or cryptocurrency.

6.2 Account-to-Account Donations

• Where Dootsa provides an approved points-donation feature, members may donate points only through the official in-product flow, including donation QR codes or equivalent controls issued by Dootsa.
• See our Donation Policy for operational rules, default availability, and compliance controls.
• Dootsa may require recipient confirmation, account-status checks, notes, fraud review, rotation of donation QR codes, or temporary suspension of donation functionality.
• Donation availability is discretionary. Dootsa may block, reverse, investigate, or refuse donations where fraud, coercion, compromised accounts, policy violations, or operational risk is suspected.
• Donors are responsible for confirming the intended recipient before final submission. Unless required by law or caused solely by Dootsa's error, completed donations may be irreversible.
• Dootsa may allow donors to appear anonymously or by alias. You must not use an alias to impersonate, mislead, harass, or evade enforcement action.
• Points donations are loyalty-unit transfers only and are not cash, e-money, deposit, cryptoasset, or a regulated payment service. You must not buy, sell, exchange, or broker points for money or off-platform consideration.
• We record donation transaction metadata (including sender, recipient, amount, timestamps, visibility mode, and moderation events) to maintain an audit trail for fraud prevention, dispute resolution, and legal compliance.

6.3 Redeeming Points

• Points may be redeemed in the Rewards Shop for items including digital gift cards, merchandise, charitable donations, and digital access passes.
• All redemptions are final once confirmed. Items are subject to availability.
• For physical items, you must provide a valid shipping address. Dootsa is not responsible for items lost in transit after dispatch.
• Gift cards and subscriptions are subject to the issuer's own terms and conditions.

6.4 Reward Limitations

• Dootsa reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the rewards programme at any time with 30 days' written notice.
• Points expire 12 months after your last earning activity (survey completion). We will notify you 30 days before expiry.
• Fraudulent activity (e.g., automated survey completion, multiple accounts) will result in forfeiture of all points and account termination.
• You are solely responsible for any tax obligations arising from rewards received. Dootsa does not provide tax advice.

7. Profiling Questionnaire

1. After registration, you may complete a profiling questionnaire to improve survey matching.
2. Completion is voluntary. You may skip the questionnaire, though this may reduce the number of surveys available to you.
3. Your profiling data is used to match you with relevant surveys. It is shared with survey creators only in anonymised, aggregated form.
4. You may update or delete your profiling data at any time through your account settings.

8. Survey Participation & User Accuracy

1. By completing a survey, you consent to your anonymised responses being used for research purposes by the survey creator.
2. Your identity is never disclosed to survey creators. Responses are associated with anonymised respondent identifiers.
3. You may only submit one response per survey. Duplicate submissions will be rejected.
4. You certify that all information provided (text, images, or other content) is truthful to the best of your knowledge, not misleading, fraudulent, or defamatory, and voluntarily submitted without coercion.
5. You will review responses before submission to correct errors. You will not impersonate others or falsify data.
6. You agree not to submit illegal, hateful, or harassing material; confidential or third-party intellectual property without permission; or personally identifiable information (PII) unless explicitly requested.
7. You are solely responsible for ensuring your responses comply with applicable laws (e.g., defamation, privacy) and professional or ethical obligations.
8. Dootsa is not responsible for offence taken by third parties due to your responses, consequences of your submissions (e.g., legal claims, reputational harm), or accuracy of aggregated data derived from your input.
9. You waive all claims against Dootsa related to the use, modification, or publication of your survey responses, and disputes arising from your content.
10. Dootsa may remove or report violative content without notice.

9. Creator Obligations

1. Creators must not include questions that collect directly identifying personal information (e.g., ID numbers, bank details) unless explicitly authorised.
2. Survey content must comply with all applicable laws and must not contain harmful, discriminatory, or illegal material.
3. All surveys are subject to review and approval before publication.
4. Creators receive anonymised data only and may not attempt to re-identify individual respondents.

10. Promotions, Contests & Prize Draws

1. These rules apply to any contests, giveaways, surveys, or promotions (“Promotions”) conducted by Dootsa.
2. Entry methods will be specified for each Promotion. Unless otherwise stated, only one entry per person is allowed.
3. Prizes will be clearly described in the Promotion details (e.g., gift cards, cellphones, or cash). Prizes are non-transferable and subject to availability.
4. Dootsa reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize becomes unavailable.
5. Winners will be selected as described in the Promotion details and notified via email, phone, or other specified method within 7 days of the selection date.
6. Winners may be required to provide proof of identity, age, and eligibility. Failure to respond within 48 hours of notification will result in forfeiture of the prize, and an alternate winner may be selected.
7. By participating, you grant Dootsa the right to use your name, likeness, and entry content for promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law.
8. Prizes are provided “as is” without any warranty, express or implied. Dootsa is not responsible for any tax implications associated with claiming or using the prize.
9. Dootsa is not responsible for technical issues, including website malfunctions or errors in winner selection, or force majeure events.
10. You may opt out of future promotions by contacting us at help@dootsa.com.

11. Intellectual Property

1. All content, trademarks, logos, and software on our website are owned by or licensed to Dootsa and are protected by intellectual property laws.
2. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the Platform for personal, non-commercial purposes.
3. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works based on our content without our prior written consent.
4. Survey content is owned by the respective Creator, subject to a licence granted to Dootsa for platform operation.
5. You retain ownership of your User Content but grant Dootsa a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, and modify it for business purposes.
6. Your survey responses are owned by you and licensed to Dootsa and the survey Creator for research use in anonymised form.

12. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Use bots, scripts, or automated tools to interact with the Platform
• Create multiple accounts or share your account
• Attempt to exploit, hack, or reverse-engineer the Platform
• Submit fraudulent, misleading, or spam responses
• Use the Platform for any illegal or unauthorised purpose
• Scrape, harvest, or collect data from the Platform
• Harass, defame, or harm other users or our staff
• Interfere with the operation of our website or services
• Upload or distribute harmful content, such as viruses or malware

13. Shipping & Delivery

1. You are solely responsible for providing accurate and complete shipping information (e.g., full name, correct address, and valid contact details) when redeeming prizes or placing orders.
2. Dootsa is not liable for any delays, failed deliveries, or lost packages resulting from: incorrect, incomplete, or outdated shipping details provided by you; unforeseen issues with third-party shipping carriers; or packages lost due to customs, theft, or other external factors beyond our control.
3. While we make reasonable efforts to ensure successful delivery, Dootsa is not responsible for lost, stolen, or misdelivered packages once they are handed to the shipping carrier, or packages returned due to incorrect addresses or failure to claim the shipment.
4. If a package is lost in transit, you must contact the shipping carrier directly and provide any necessary documentation (e.g., tracking numbers, proof of address) to assist in recovery.
5. No replacements or refunds will be issued for lost, stolen, or undelivered items unless the error was solely due to Dootsa's negligence (e.g., wrong item shipped by us).
6. Delivery times, tracking, and claims are subject to the policies of the third-party shipping carrier (e.g., DHL, FedEx, local postal services). Dootsa does not guarantee delivery timelines or assume liability for carrier delays.

14. Refunds & Returns

14.1 Eligibility

• Services: If you are dissatisfied with a service provided by Dootsa, you may request a refund within 14 days of the service delivery date.
• Products: Products must be returned in their original condition, unused, and with all packaging and tags intact. Returns must be requested within 30 days of the purchase date.

14.2 Process

1. To initiate a refund or return, contact our customer support team at help@dootsa.com. Provide your order number, details of the issue, and any supporting documentation (e.g., photos of damaged products).
2. For product returns, you are responsible for the return shipping costs unless the return is due to an error on our part (e.g., wrong item shipped).
3. Once we receive and inspect the returned product, we will process your refund within 7–10 business days.

14.3 Refund Methods & Non-Refundable Items

• Refunds will be issued to the original payment method used for the purchase, or as store credit at your preference.
• The following items are non-refundable: digital products (e.g., downloadable software, e-books); services that have been fully performed; products damaged due to misuse or improper handling.

14.4 Exchanges & Cancellations

• If you received a defective or incorrect product, we will gladly exchange it for the correct item.
• You may cancel a service before it is performed and receive a full refund. You may cancel a product order before it is shipped. If already shipped, follow the return process above.
• This policy does not affect your statutory rights under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) or other applicable laws.

15. Data Protection

We process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where applicable.

You have the right to access, correct, delete, and port your personal data. See our Privacy Policy for full details and how to exercise your rights. By using our services, you consent to such processing.

16. Research Materials & Data Use

1. All data, reports, analyses, and information (collectively, “Research Materials”) provided by Dootsa to clients, users, or third parties are compiled using commercially reasonable efforts but Dootsa makes no guarantees as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or fitness for a particular purpose.
2. Research Materials may contain errors, omissions, or subjective interpretations.
3. Research Materials are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice. Recipients assume all risk in relying on such information.
4. Where Research Materials incorporate third-party data, Dootsa disclaims liability for inaccuracies or misuse of such data.

17. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services. These links are provided for your convenience, and we do not endorse or assume responsibility for their content or practices. Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk and subject to their terms and policies.

18. Account Termination

1. By you: You may delete your account at any time from your account settings. Your data will be deleted within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
2. By us: We reserve the right to terminate or suspend your access to our services at any time, without notice, for any reason, including breach of these Terms.
3. Upon termination, all unredeemed points are forfeited.
4. You may stop using our website or services at any time.

19. Disclaimers

1. The Platform and all services are provided “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including merchantability, accuracy, or non-infringement.
2. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, accuracy of survey content, or availability of specific rewards.
3. Third-party rewards (gift cards, subscriptions) are subject to the respective provider's terms.
4. For mobile applications and SDK-powered integrations, we do not warrant that any client environment is tamper-proof, malware-free, or resistant to reverse engineering, rooting, instrumentation, custom ROM modification, or emulator abuse.
5. Forked, uncertified, or heavily modified Android distributions may not support equivalent platform security features (including device integrity attestation), and certain features may be restricted or unavailable.

20. Limitation of Liability

1. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Dootsa shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages (including lost profits, reputational harm, data loss, or business opportunities) arising from: use of or reliance on the Platform or Research Materials; errors, delays, or interruptions in data delivery; actions taken based on Research Materials; or your use of or inability to use our services.
2. Dootsa's maximum aggregate liability for any claim related to the Platform or Research Materials shall not exceed the total fees paid by you or the total value of rewards you have redeemed in the 12 months preceding the claim, whichever is greater.
3. Without limiting the foregoing, Dootsa is not liable for losses caused by customer or end-user device compromise, rooted or jailbroken devices, forked Android behaviour, disabled security controls, insecure SDK implementation, leaked client credentials, or failure to apply recommended security updates.

21. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Dootsa (Pty) Ltd and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) resulting from:

• Your breach of these Terms or misuse of our website or services
• Your misuse or misrepresentation of Research Materials
• Disputes with third parties (e.g., clients, regulators) related to Research Materials
• Your failure to provide correct shipping details
• Lost, stolen, or undelivered packages after dispatch
• Any disputes with shipping carriers regarding missing items
• Your survey responses or User Content
• Violations of applicable laws or regulations

22. Dispute Resolution

1. Governing Law: These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
2. Mediation: In the event of a dispute, both parties agree to attempt mediation before pursuing legal action.
3. Jurisdiction: Any legal proceedings shall be brought in the courts of South Africa, unless you are an EU/EEA resident, in which case you retain access to your local courts as required by GDPR.

23. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or a prominent notice on the Platform at least 30 days before taking effect. The updated version will be posted on our website with the effective date. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree with the changes, you may delete your account.

24. Miscellaneous

1. Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
2. Entire Agreement: These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Dootsa regarding your use of the Platform and supersede all prior agreements.
3. Waiver: Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision.
4. No Reliance: Decisions based on Research Materials or Platform content are made at your own risk.