Terms and Conditions

1. Definitions

For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions:

• "Platform" or "Site" means the website hola25.com and associated mobile applications;

• "Administrator" or "Operator" or "Provider" means HOLA25 S.R.L., a Romanian legal entity, with registered office at Str. Dealului Nr. 8, Farcașești, Gorj County, Tax ID: 54114659;

• "User" or "Consumer" means any natural person who creates an account on the Platform for personal purposes, unrelated to their commercial, industrial, or production activity;

• "Teacher User" means any User who activates a teacher profile and/or publishes announcements;

• "Visitor" means any person who accesses the Platform without creating an account;

• "Service" or "Services" means any functionality offered on the Platform, including but not limited to: announcement listings, video calls, chat, waitlist;

• "Digital Content" means data produced and supplied in digital format, including Premium features;

• "Distance Contract" means any contract concluded between the Provider and the Consumer within an organized distance sales or service provision system, without the simultaneous physical presence of the Provider and Consumer, through the exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication.

2. About the platform

Hola25 is a platform for skill sharing and social connections through video sessions of up to 25 minutes. The platform allows users to learn and teach various skills (foreign languages, programming, cooking, meditation, etc.) or to socialize.

3. Applicable legal framework

This contract is governed by Romanian and European legislation in force, including but not limited to:

• GEO No. 34/2014 on consumer rights in contracts concluded with professionals (transposition of Directive 2011/83/EU);

• Law No. 365/2002 on electronic commerce;

• Law No. 363/2007 on combating unfair commercial practices in relations with consumers;

• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) on the protection of personal data;

• Law No. 190/2018 on measures for implementation of GDPR;

• Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act - DSA) on the single market for digital services;

• Regulation (EU) No. 524/2013 on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes.

4. Eligibility and acceptance

To use the platform, you must:

• Be at least 16 years old (pursuant to Art. 8 GDPR and Law No. 190/2018). Users under 16 are not permitted to create accounts;

• Have the legal capacity to enter into a contract in accordance with the Romanian Civil Code;

• Provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information;

• Accept these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the Cookie Policy.

Non-acceptance of these Terms requires immediate cessation of Platform use.

5. Pre-contractual information (GEO 34/2014)

Pursuant to Art. 6 of GEO No. 34/2014, before concluding the distance contract, we inform you that:

• Provider identity: HOLA25 S.R.L., Tax ID: 54114659, address: Str. Dealului Nr. 8, Farcașești, Gorj County;

• Communication means: Email: contact@hola25.com;

• Main characteristics of the service: connection platform for skill sharing and socializing via video, with free features and paid Premium options;

• Total price: Basic usage is free. Premium subscriptions have prices displayed on the pricing page, including VAT where applicable;

• Payment methods: Bank card via Stripe processor (PCI DSS certified);

• Delivery date: Digital services are available immediately after purchase;

• Right of withdrawal: Pursuant to Art. 16 lit. m of GEO 34/2014, the 14-day withdrawal right does not apply to Premium subscriptions, as the digital content is delivered and activated immediately upon payment (see Section 8);

• Contract duration: Unlimited for the free account; Premium subscriptions are weekly or monthly with automatic renewal;

• Complaint handling procedure: Email to contact@hola25.com, response within max. 30 days;

• Legal guarantees: Services comply with legal conformity requirements under Directive (EU) 2019/770 on digital content.

6. Account and profile data

You can register with email or Google account. You are responsible for your account security and for all activities carried out through it. Each user is entitled to only one account.

Public data: Name, username, bio, nationality, gender, photo, languages and skills with levels, call minutes.

Private data: Phone number is always private. You can edit profile data anytime, except username (editable once every 7 days).

7. Teachers and announcements

7.1. Teacher profile

Any user can optionally activate a teacher profile from account settings. Activating a teacher profile allows you to publish tutoring announcements and promote your educational services.

7.2. Tutoring announcements

As a teacher, you can create announcements that include:

• Description of services offered (languages, skills, subjects);

• Prices and payment methods (negotiated directly with students);

• Contact information (optional - email, phone, WhatsApp, etc.);

• Availability and location.

• Demonstration lessons attached to the listing, publicly visible only when the listing is active.

Demonstration lessons and related thumbnails are delivered through third party video infrastructure providers (Bunny Stream). When a listing is deleted, an account is deleted, or an administrator removes a listing, these assets are removed from our infrastructure and the provider's infrastructure according to the platform's technical flows.

7.3. Announcement display order

Announcements are ordered by the following parameters (in order of priority):

• Premium status: Premium teachers' announcements appear first;

• Publication date: Within the same category, most recent announcements appear first.

We do NOT use behavioral profiling or personalization algorithms to display announcements.

7.4. Tax obligations

Teacher Users are responsible for:

• Registering with the competent authorities (e.g., Trade Register, ANAF) if applicable;

• Declaring and paying taxes, duties, and contributions due under Romanian law for tutoring income;

• Issuing invoices or receipts in accordance with tax legislation in force.

The Administrator shall not be liable for users' non-compliance with these obligations.

8. Right of withdrawal (GEO 34/2014)

8.1. Non-applicability of withdrawal right for Premium

Pursuant to Art. 16 lit. m of GEO No. 34/2014 (transposition of EU Directive 2011/83/EU), the 14-day right of withdrawal DOES NOT apply to Premium subscriptions because:

• Premium is a digital service supplied on a non-tangible medium;

• Premium features are activated immediately upon payment processing, with no waiting period;

• By completing your purchase, you acknowledge and accept that the digital service is delivered immediately and that you waive your right of withdrawal.

8.2. Subscription cancellation (no refund)

While no refunds are issued, you may cancel your subscription at any time. After cancellation, Premium benefits remain active until the end of the current billing period, with no further renewal. No partial refunds are issued for the remaining period.

9. Video calls and waitlist

9.1. Waitlist

Authenticated users can join the waitlist to find conversation partners or skill exchange partners.

• How it works: The list displays available users in chronological order (FIFO - first in, first out);

• Manual selection: There is NO automatic matching or algorithmic matching - the user personally chooses who they want to contact from the list of available users;

• Parameters: Select category (skill exchange or socializing), desired duration (up to 25 minutes), and skills/languages of interest;

• Roles: The Host is the user who accepts requests; the Guest is the user who sends the request;

• Timeframes: The host has 15 minutes to accept requests and 5 minutes to initiate the call after accepting.

9.2. Daily minutes

• Standard users: 25 minutes/day as Host + 25 minutes/day as Guest (50 minutes total available);

• Premium users: Unlimited minutes for calls;

• Minutes reset daily at 00:00 UTC.

9.3. Call privacy

In-call messages: Are stored temporarily and deleted immediately after the call ends. Hola25 does NOT record and does NOT store the audio/video content of calls.

9.4. Private text messages

Users may send private text-only messages. The first message to a user is treated as a request and the recipient can approve, reject, or block the sender before a conversation becomes active.

• Private message content is temporary and is deleted automatically after a maximum of 24 hours;

• Users must not use messages for spam, harassment, illegal content, threats, or unsolicited commercial contact;

• Users can block or unblock another user to control whether that person can send message requests or messages.

9.5. Call photos

During video calls, the platform can automatically capture a single photo exactly at the 25th second of the call. This photo capture occurs only once per call (not every 25 seconds) as a memory of your connection.

• Capture timing: A single photo is captured exactly at second 25 of the call. A 5-second countdown is displayed starting at second 20;

• User control: You can disable call photos entirely in Settings > Media preferences. This setting is enabled by default;

• Photo sharing permission: You can choose whether other users can save photos that include you via "Allow others to have my photo" setting. This is disabled by default to protect your privacy;

• Call history display: You can choose to show only your own photo in call history via "Prefer self-only in call history" setting. This is enabled by default;

• Photo types: (1) Self-only photos showing just yourself when your video is on - available to all users; (2) Combined photos showing both users - this is a premium feature. Combined photos are only captured by premium users when their partner has given permission via "Allow others to have my photo";

• Requirements: Your video must be active at second 25 for a photo to be captured. If the call ends before 25 seconds or your video is off, no photo is taken;

• Storage: Call photos are stored securely in Firebase Storage and associated with your account. They are visible in your Call History;

• Deletion: Call photos are deleted when you delete your account. There is currently no option to delete individual photos.

10. Premium subscriptions and payments

10.1. Premium benefits

Premium subscriptions offer the following benefits:

• Unlimited minutes: No 25 minute/day limit as Host or Guest;

• Announcement promotion: Premium teachers' announcements appear first in search results;

• Premium badge: Visual indicator on profile;

• Future features: Priority access to new features.

10.2. Pricing and billing

Prices are displayed on the pricing page in the app, including VAT where applicable. Weekly and monthly plans are available.

10.3. Payment processing

Processor: Stripe Inc., PCI DSS Level 1 certified. We do NOT store your card data on our servers - it is processed directly by Stripe.

10.4. Automatic renewal and cancellation

• Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of the billing period;

• You will receive an email notification 3 days before renewal;

• You can cancel anytime from account settings or the Stripe portal;

• Cancellation becomes effective at the end of the current period - benefits remain active until this date.

10.5. Refunds

For ongoing subscriptions, cancellation does NOT imply refund for the current period, in accordance with exceptions to the right of withdrawal (Section 8.4). For special refund requests, contact contact@hola25.com. See the Refund Policy for complete details.

11. Legal guarantee of conformity

Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2019/770 on digital content and digital services, transposed into Romanian law:

• Digital services must conform to the specified description, quantity, and quality;

• In case of non-conformity, you have the right to bring into conformity or to price reduction/contract termination;

• The guarantee period for continuously supplied digital content is for the entire contract duration.

For conformity complaints, contact us at contact@hola25.com.

12. Intellectual property

Platform content (logo, design, source code, texts) is protected by copyright under Law No. 8/1996 and belongs to the Administrator. Copying, reproduction, distribution, or commercial use without prior written consent is prohibited.

User-generated content (photos, descriptions, announcements) remains their property. By posting, you grant Hola25 a non-exclusive, free license for display on the platform.

Additionally, by publishing a tutoring announcement, you grant Hola25 a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use the content of your announcement (including your profile photo, name, description, pricing, and other announcement details) for promotional and advertising purposes on external websites, social media platforms, and other marketing channels, with the purpose of promoting your announcement and the Hola25 platform. This license remains in effect for as long as the announcement is active and for a reasonable period after its removal to allow for the completion of ongoing advertising campaigns.

13. Rules of conduct

You may not:

• Provide false information or impersonate someone else;

• Post illegal, offensive, obscene, or discriminatory content;

• Harass, threaten, or abuse other users;

• Collect data about other users without consent;

• Abuse platform features or disrupt its operation;

• Use the platform for illegal or fraudulent activities;

• Create multiple accounts (one account per user only).

14. Limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by law and without prejudice to consumer rights provided by Romanian and European legislation:

• The Administrator does not guarantee the identity, qualifications, or quality of services of Teacher Users;

• The Administrator does not intervene in direct transactions between users;

• The Administrator is not responsible for user behavior;

• The Administrator does not guarantee uninterrupted platform availability.

Important: These limitations do not affect your legal rights as a consumer, including the right to compensation for damage caused by defective products/services under applicable legislation.

15. Force majeure

The Administrator assumes no liability for delays or interruptions caused by events beyond its control, pursuant to Art. 1351 Civil Code: natural disasters, war, pandemics, internet service interruptions, cyber attacks, strikes, legislative changes, or any other force majeure event.

16. Account suspension and deletion

The Administrator may suspend or delete accounts that violate these Terms, following credible reports, for illegal behavior, or at the request of authorities. The decision may be made without prior notice in serious cases.

You may contest decisions by contacting us at contact@hola25.com. You have the right to delete your account anytime from settings.

17. Personal data protection (GDPR)

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and Law No. 190/2018, you have the following rights:

• Access (Art. 15) - to obtain a copy of processed personal data;

• Rectification (Art. 16) - to correct inaccurate data;

• Erasure (Art. 17) - "right to be forgotten" - to request data deletion;

• Restriction (Art. 18) - to limit data processing;

• Portability (Art. 20) - to receive data in a structured format;

• Objection (Art. 21) - to object to processing;

• Automated decision (Art. 22) - not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing.

To exercise your rights, contact us at contact@hola25.com. We respond within a maximum of 30 days. You may file a complaint with the National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing (ANSPDCP) - www.dataprotection.ro. Details in the Privacy Policy.

18. Digital Services Act (DSA) - Transparency obligations

18.1. Single point of contact (Art. 11-12 DSA)

Pursuant to Art. 11 and 12 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), we have designated a single point of contact for communication with Member State authorities, the European Commission, and platform users:

18.2. Recommender system (Art. 27 DSA)

In accordance with Art. 27 DSA, we explain the main parameters used in our recommender systems and the options to modify them:

• Waitlist: Displays available users in chronological order (FIFO - first in, first out). There is NO automatic matching - users manually choose who they want to connect with from the displayed list;

• Teacher announcements: Announcements are ordered by: (1) Premium status (Premium users' announcements appear first), (2) publication date (most recent first within the same category);

• Behavioral profiling: We do NOT use behavioral profiling or personalization algorithms based on user's previous activity to display content.

18.3. Reporting illegal content (Art. 16 DSA)

You may report illegal content or content that violates these Terms:

• Illegal content or content that violates these Terms;

• Abusive behavior by other users;

• False or misleading announcements.

Procedure:

• Send the report to contact@hola25.com or via the "Report" button in the app;

• You will receive confirmation of receipt within at most 7 days;

• We will analyze the report and make a decision within at most 30 days;

• You will be notified of the decision and reasons.

Appeal (Art. 20 DSA): You may appeal moderation decisions within 6 months by sending a request to contact@hola25.com. We respond within a maximum of 30 days.

19. Modification of Terms

The Administrator may modify these Terms. For substantial changes:

• We will notify you by email and/or in the app at least 30 days before taking effect;

• You have the right to terminate the contract before the new Terms take effect, without penalties;

• Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the new Terms.

20. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is declared null, illegal, or unenforceable by a competent court, it shall be replaced by a valid provision that most closely reflects the original intent, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

21. Applicable law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by Romanian and European law. We always seek amicable dispute resolution.

21.1. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

Pursuant to GO No. 38/2015 and Directive 2013/11/EU, consumers may resort to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. ADR entities in Romania:

• ANPC - National Authority for Consumer Protection - anpc.ro

• Alternative Dispute Resolution Center (CSALB) for financial disputes - csalb.ro

21.2. ODR Platform

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No. 524/2013, EU consumers may use the European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform: ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr

21.3. Competent courts

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012, consumers may bring action before:

• The court at the consumer's domicile; or

• The court at the provider's registered office (Cluj-Napoca, Romania).

22. Contact and support

For questions, complaints, reports, or exercise of rights:

Response times:

• GDPR requests: maximum 30 days (pursuant to Art. 12 GDPR);

• DSA reports: confirmation within 7 days, decision within 30 days;

• General inquiries: within 14 business days.