Terms of Use

Nowza is for talking with friends you choose. There's no tolerance for harassment, threats or sexual content; we remove people who do it.

Effective October 9, 2026. Nowza is made by Cypress Oak Studios LLC ("we", "us"). These terms apply to the Nowza apps for iPhone and Apple Watch, this website and our servers (together, "Nowza").

By signing in to Nowza you agree to these terms and to our privacy policy. If you don't agree, don't use Nowza. We may update these terms; when we make a significant change we'll change the date above and tell you in the app. Using Nowza after a change means you accept it.

Your account

• You must be at least 13 years old, and old enough where you live to agree to these terms yourself.
• You sign in with Sign in with Apple. Keep your Apple ID secure: you're responsible for what happens on your account.
• One person per account, and accounts are for people: no automated accounts, apart from the Test Bot we run ourselves.
• Your screen name and picture are seen by your friends. Don't use a name or picture that is offensive or that impersonates someone else.

Community rules

When you use Nowza, in what you say, your screen name and your picture, you may not:

• Harass, bully, intimidate or threaten anyone, or encourage anyone to harm themselves or others.
• Share sexual content, or any content that sexualizes minors.
• Share hateful content that attacks people for their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or illness.
• Impersonate another person, or mislead people about who you are.
• Send spam, scams, or content you don't have the right to share.
• Break the law, or help anyone else break it.
• Interfere with Nowza: probe or get around its security, overload it, collect other people's information, or use it in ways the apps don't offer.

Reports, blocks and removal

• Only people you've accepted as friends can reach you. You can block anyone from their page in the app; a blocked person can't reach you, and a conversation with them ends at once.
• You can report a friend from their page in the app, with a reason, or by email at nowza@cypressoakstudios.com. We don't tell the person who reported them.
• We review reports promptly, usually within a day. If someone has broken these rules, we may remove their picture or screen name, or suspend or delete their account, without notice.
• We don't listen to or keep conversations (see the privacy policy), so a report is how we learn about abuse.

Your content

What you say, your screen name and your picture stay yours. You give us permission to carry them to the friends you talk to and to show them in Nowza, only as needed to run it. Your voice is relayed as you talk and is not stored, as the privacy policy explains. We may remove any screen name or picture that breaks these terms.

The app

The Nowza apps are licensed to you under Apple's Licensed Application End User License Agreement, together with these terms. Nowza, its design, mascots and logos are ours; you may not copy, resell or reuse them without our written permission.

Nowza is new, and parts of it may change or stop. We may change, suspend or end Nowza, or any feature, at any time. You can stop using it whenever you like, and delete your account in the iPhone app's Settings.

No warranty, and limits on our liability

Nowza is provided "as is" and "as available". A walkie-talkie depends on networks, Apple's services and your devices, so messages can be late, cut short or not arrive. Don't rely on Nowza in an emergency: call your local emergency number.

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost data, profits or goodwill, arising from your use of Nowza, its unavailability, or anything another person says or does through it. Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you.

Contact

Questions about these terms: nowza@cypressoakstudios.com.

Adapted from the Basecamp open-source policies / CC BY 4.0.