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Terms of Use

Effective Date: October 2, 2026

Last Updated: October 2, 2026

Welcome to Somewhere Real.

These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of Somewhere Real, including GoSomewhereReal.com and the features, communities, writing tools, Journals, Circles and services available through Somewhere Real.

By creating an account or using Somewhere Real, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

1. About Somewhere Real

Somewhere Real is an online platform for writing, reading, sharing stories, discovering other people and participating in peer communities called Circles.

Somewhere Real may include features such as:

  • personal Journals;
  • public and private stories;
  • photographs;
  • Topics and Journal Sections;
  • Search and Wander;
  • Likes, comments, follows, sharing and recommendations;
  • AI-assisted Shape and Summary tools;
  • private Circles;
  • recovery Milestones;
  • reporting, blocking and moderation tools; and
  • other features we may add or change over time.

Somewhere Real is currently evolving, and features may change as the service develops.

2. Eligibility and Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to create a Somewhere Real account.

You must be at least 18 years old to join sensitive Circles.

Sensitive Circles currently include spaces involving subjects such as:

  • Recovery & Sobriety;
  • Veterans;
  • Grief & Loss;
  • Pet Loss;
  • Divorce & Separation;
  • Cancer;
  • Caregiving & Disability; and
  • Starting Over.

By creating an account or joining an age-restricted feature, you represent that you meet the applicable age requirement.

You may not misrepresent your age in order to access a restricted feature.

3. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and for activity that occurs through your account.

You agree to provide accurate information when creating and maintaining your account and not to impersonate another person.

You may not:

  • create an account for another person without permission;
  • use another person's account without authorization;
  • sell, transfer or give away your account;
  • use your account to evade a suspension, restriction or Block; or
  • create accounts for spam, harassment, fraud or abuse.

If you believe your account has been compromised, use the Contact form available through Somewhere Real and select “Account help.”

4. Your Content Belongs to You

You retain ownership of the original writing, photographs and other content you create and submit to Somewhere Real, subject to any rights belonging to third parties whose material you may include.

Somewhere Real does not become the owner of your original story or photograph merely because you post it on the service.

You are responsible for ensuring that you have the right to upload, publish and share the content you submit.

5. License You Give Somewhere Real

In order to operate Somewhere Real, you grant Somewhere Real a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, format, transmit and make available your content as reasonably necessary to provide, secure, moderate and operate the service.

This license includes the technical rights necessary to:

  • display your stories and photographs to the audiences you select;
  • create responsive or presentation versions of media;
  • show your content in your Journal, Search, Topics and Wander where authorized;
  • display permitted shares and excerpts;
  • provide notifications and previews;
  • process content through features you deliberately use, including optional AI-assisted features;
  • preserve reported content where reasonably necessary for moderation, safety or legal purposes; and
  • maintain backups and technical infrastructure reasonably necessary to operate the service.

This license does not give Somewhere Real ownership of your original content.

Except for limited records that may need to be retained for safety, security, moderation or legal reasons, this license ends when your content or account is deleted and the content is removed from active systems.

6. Public, Restricted and Private Content

Somewhere Real allows you to choose who may view certain Journal entries.

Depending on the feature, audience choices may include:

Everyone

People who follow me

Only me

Draft

You are responsible for selecting the audience appropriate for what you choose to share.

Content published to Everyone may be viewed, copied, screenshotted or shared by other people.

No online platform can guarantee that another person will not retain a copy of content they were permitted to see.

7. Acceptable Use

You may use Somewhere Real to express yourself, tell stories, share experiences, ask questions, support others and participate in good-faith conversation.

You may not use Somewhere Real to:

  • threaten or encourage violence;
  • encourage or assist serious self-harm;
  • exploit, abuse or endanger children;
  • harass, stalk, intimidate or bully another person;
  • expose another person's private or identifying information without authorization;
  • attempt to identify or expose a privacy-protected Circle member;
  • impersonate another person or organization;
  • engage in fraud, scams or deceptive conduct;
  • distribute malicious software or interfere with the service;
  • evade Blocks, moderation actions or account restrictions;
  • use automated systems to scrape, spam or abuse the service;
  • post content you do not have the legal right to use;
  • use sharing tools primarily to organize harassment, ridicule or pile-ons;
  • promote illegal exploitation or serious wrongdoing; or
  • otherwise violate these Terms or the Community Guidelines.

Somewhere Real may consider context when reviewing content and does not treat every discussion of difficult, illegal, traumatic or controversial experiences as prohibited merely because the subject is uncomfortable.

8. Community Guidelines

Somewhere Real's Community Guidelines are part of the rules governing use of the service.

They provide additional expectations regarding:

  • privacy;
  • respectful participation;
  • harassment;
  • threats;
  • self-harm concerns;
  • child safety;
  • exploitation;
  • sensitive Circles;
  • hidden identities; and
  • other community behavior.

If these Terms and the Community Guidelines conflict, these Terms control unless specifically stated otherwise.

9. Comments, Likes, Follows and Social Features

Somewhere Real includes social features that allow users to interact with stories and other people.

You are responsible for what you choose to post in comments and other interactive areas.

Story authors may delete comments posted on their stories where that feature is available.

Somewhere Real may also remove comments or restrict interactions when reasonably necessary to enforce these Terms or the Community Guidelines.

Blocking another user may restrict certain interactions but does not necessarily make content published to Everyone inaccessible to that person.

10. Sharing Stories and Passages

Authors may choose whether eligible public stories can be shared or quoted through Somewhere Real's sharing tools.

When sharing is enabled, another user may:

  • share a reference to the story;
  • share a limited passage from the story; and
  • add their own clearly separated commentary.

A person sharing another user's work may not edit the quoted passage and present the altered wording as the original author's words.

Sharing through Somewhere Real does not transfer ownership of the original content.

Shared stories and passages should remain attributed to the original author and linked to the original story or Journal.

If the original author disables sharing or the original story becomes unavailable, Somewhere Real may stop displaying the shared excerpt or source content.

Circle-only content may not be publicly reshared through these features.

11. Circles

Circles are peer-community spaces intended for people who may share common experiences.

Sensitive Circle participation is privacy-protected from ordinary users.

Other Circle members generally see privacy-safe identities such as:

Original Poster

and:

Circle Member

rather than your normal Somewhere Real identity.

However, Circle participation is not anonymous to Somewhere Real.

Somewhere Real maintains an internal relationship between Circle activity and the authenticated account responsible for it for purposes including:

  • ownership;
  • editing and deletion;
  • moderation;
  • abuse prevention;
  • safety; and
  • valid legal obligations.

You may not attempt to identify, expose, dox or publicly connect a Circle member to their ordinary Somewhere Real identity.

You should also understand that details you voluntarily include in your writing may reveal who you are.

Other users may be able to copy or screenshot content they are permitted to see.

12. Circles Are Peer Communities, Not Professional Services

Circles are intended for peer conversation and shared experience.

Somewhere Real is not:

  • therapy;
  • medical care;
  • mental-health treatment;
  • addiction treatment;
  • legal advice;
  • professional counseling;
  • crisis response;
  • a replacement for emergency services; or
  • a replacement for qualified professional care.

Ordinary Circle members, Circle Hosts and other users are not automatically licensed professionals merely because they share lived experience or help others.

Somewhere Real does not verify professional qualifications unless a future feature specifically states that such verification has occurred.

If you need professional medical, mental-health, legal, financial or other specialized advice, consult an appropriately qualified professional.

If you or someone else may be in immediate danger, contact appropriate emergency or crisis services.

13. Need Help Now and External Resources

Some Circles may include a Need help now? area containing links or information about third-party crisis, emergency, treatment or support resources.

These resources are provided for convenience and do not make Somewhere Real responsible for the services, advice or actions of those third parties.

Somewhere Real does not control external organizations and does not guarantee their availability, accuracy or suitability.

Opening Need Help Now does not itself create a moderation report or mean that Somewhere Real has determined that you are in crisis.

14. AI-Assisted Features

Somewhere Real offers optional AI-assisted features such as Shape and Summary.

These features may send the text of your Journal story to an external AI provider when you deliberately choose to use them.

AI output may be inaccurate, incomplete or inappropriate.

You are responsible for reviewing AI-assisted material before publishing or relying on it.

Your original Full Story remains your writing and is not automatically overwritten by AI.

Somewhere Real does not guarantee that AI-generated content will accurately represent your intent.

You should not rely on Somewhere Real's AI features for:

  • medical advice;
  • mental-health diagnosis;
  • legal advice;
  • financial advice;
  • emergency decisions;
  • professional treatment recommendations; or
  • other high-stakes decisions requiring qualified expertise.

Additional information about AI data handling appears in the Privacy Policy.

15. Moderation and Content Removal

Somewhere Real may review, restrict, remove or limit content or accounts when reasonably necessary to:

  • enforce these Terms;
  • enforce Community Guidelines;
  • protect users;
  • address reports;
  • prevent abuse or fraud;
  • comply with legal obligations;
  • protect the security or integrity of the service; or
  • respond to serious safety concerns.

Moderation decisions may include:

  • no action;
  • closing comments;
  • removing content;
  • restricting an account;
  • temporarily suspending an account;
  • permanently suspending an account; or
  • escalating a matter for additional safety or legal review.

Somewhere Real does not promise that every reported item will be removed or that every dispute will be resolved in a particular way.

Moderation decisions may be reversed if an authorized administrator determines that a prior action was mistaken.

16. Reports, Evidence and Safety Records

If content is reported, Somewhere Real may preserve a restricted copy of the content as it existed at the time of the report.

This helps permit legitimate moderation or safety review even if the original content is later changed or deleted.

Restricted moderation evidence is not publicly available.

Some limited moderation, safety, security or legal records may be retained after content or an account is deleted when reasonably necessary for:

  • safety;
  • abuse prevention;
  • dispute handling;
  • legal compliance;
  • preservation obligations; or
  • valid legal requests.

17. Copyright and Intellectual Property Complaints

You may not upload or publish content that infringes another person's copyright or other intellectual-property rights.

If you believe content on Somewhere Real infringes your copyright, use the Contact form available through Somewhere Real and select “Copyright concern.”

Please include enough information for us to understand and evaluate the complaint, including where reasonably applicable:

  • identification of the copyrighted work you believe has been infringed;
  • identification or link to the content you believe is infringing;
  • your contact information;
  • an explanation of why you believe the use is unauthorized; and
  • a statement that the information you provide is accurate and that you are authorized to act regarding the rights at issue.

Somewhere Real may remove or restrict access to allegedly infringing content while a complaint is reviewed.

Repeated infringement may result in account restriction or termination.

This section provides a general copyright-reporting process and does not represent that Somewhere Real has appointed or registered a statutory copyright agent unless separately stated.

18. Account Restriction, Suspension and Termination

Somewhere Real may restrict, suspend or terminate an account when reasonably necessary because of:

  • serious or repeated violations of these Terms or Community Guidelines;
  • threats or abuse;
  • fraud or impersonation;
  • exploitation;
  • attempts to defeat privacy or safety controls;
  • evasion of moderation actions;
  • security risks;
  • legal requirements; or
  • other serious misuse of the service.

We may also restrict specific features rather than terminating an entire account.

Where appropriate, we may provide notice of an enforcement action, but we may limit information when disclosure could compromise safety, privacy, security, an investigation or a legal obligation.

19. Deleting Your Account

You may permanently delete your Somewhere Real account through Account & data in Account settings.

Account deletion is designed to remove your public account and account-owned content as described in the Privacy Policy.

Certain restricted moderation, safety, security or legal records may be retained where reasonably necessary.

Deleting your account does not require Somewhere Real to delete content independently created by other people merely because you previously interacted with it.

However, Somewhere Real is designed so another person's share of your deleted story does not continue publicly exposing the deleted source writing.

20. Service Availability and Changes

Somewhere Real is provided on an evolving basis.

We may:

  • add features;
  • remove features;
  • change features;
  • update interfaces;
  • impose reasonable limits;
  • suspend portions of the service for maintenance or security; or
  • discontinue the service or part of it.

We do not guarantee that Somewhere Real will always be available, uninterrupted, error-free or compatible with every device or browser.

During public beta, features may change more frequently as Somewhere Real learns from user feedback.

21. Third-Party Services and Links

Somewhere Real may rely on or link to third-party services, including infrastructure providers, AI providers and external support resources.

Somewhere Real does not control those third-party services and is not responsible for their independent acts, policies, availability, content or services.

Your use of third-party services may be governed by their own terms and privacy policies.

22. Disclaimers

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SOMEWHERE REAL AND ITS SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.”

SOMEWHERE REAL MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT:

  • THE SERVICE WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE;
  • CONTENT WILL ALWAYS BE ACCURATE;
  • AI OUTPUT WILL BE ACCURATE;
  • OTHER USERS WILL BEHAVE APPROPRIATELY;
  • CONTENT WILL NEVER BE COPIED OR SCREENSHOTTED;
  • EVERY SAFETY OR MODERATION ISSUE WILL BE DETECTED; OR
  • THE SERVICE WILL MEET EVERY USER'S PARTICULAR NEEDS.

USER-GENERATED CONTENT REFLECTS THE VIEWS AND EXPERIENCES OF THE PEOPLE WHO POST IT AND DOES NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF SOMEWHERE REAL.

SOMEWHERE REAL DOES NOT ENDORSE OR VERIFY EVERY CLAIM MADE BY USERS.

23. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SOMEWHERE REAL AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN OPERATING IT WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE.

THIS MAY INCLUDE DAMAGES RELATED TO:

  • USER-GENERATED CONTENT;
  • RELIANCE ON ANOTHER USER'S STATEMENTS;
  • LOSS OF DATA;
  • SERVICE INTERRUPTION;
  • THIRD-PARTY SERVICES;
  • UNAUTHORIZED COPYING OR SCREENSHOTTING;
  • AI-GENERATED OUTPUT;
  • INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS; OR
  • CONTENT MODERATION DECISIONS.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SOMEWHERE REAL'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

(A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID SOMEWHERE REAL DURING THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM; OR

(B) $100.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY, SO SOME OF THESE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

24. Changes, Contact and General Terms

Somewhere Real may update these Terms as the service evolves.

If we make material changes, we may provide notice through the service or by other reasonable means and update the Last Updated date.

If you continue using Somewhere Real after updated Terms become effective, your continued use will be subject to the updated Terms to the extent permitted by applicable law.

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect.

Failure to enforce a provision does not waive the right to enforce it later.

These Terms constitute the agreement between you and Somewhere Real regarding use of the service, together with applicable policies incorporated by reference.

Governing law and venue: These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute that must be brought in court will be subject to the jurisdiction of the state or federal courts with proper jurisdiction in Texas, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

For questions regarding these Terms, use the Contact form available through Somewhere Real.

Website: GoSomewhereReal.com

Effective Date: October 2, 2026

Last Updated: October 2, 2026