Terms of Service

01, AgreementThe agreement.

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") form a legal agreement between you and RipCo Pty Ltd, an Australian company (ACN 678 901 234, "RipCo", "we", "us", "our"). They govern your use of the RipCo iOS app, the website at ripco.app, and any related services (collectively, the "Service").

By installing, opening, or using the Service you accept these Terms. If you do not accept them, please stop using the Service. Where you use the Service on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you have authority to bind that organisation.

02, ServiceWhat RipCo is (and isn't).

RipCo is a decision-support and information tool for Australian beachgoers. It aggregates publicly available data (weather, swell, surf life-saving status, live cameras) and adds an AI rip-detection layer to help you choose where and when to swim or surf.

03, Acceptable useHow to use the Service responsibly.

You agree not to:

• Use the Service in a way that could mislead other users about beach conditions or safety.
• Scrape, redistribute, or rebroadcast the live camera streams or AI detections to third parties without our written permission.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to extract the source of our AI models.
• Submit false hazard reports or attempt to spoof the patrol-status system.
• Use the Service to harass, defame, or stalk any individual (including lifeguards, partners, or other users).
• Use the Service in any manner that violates Australian or applicable foreign law.

We may suspend or terminate access for accounts that breach this section. Where the breach is honest or accidental, we will warn first.

04, AccountsAccounts & signup.

An account is optional. You can use most of RipCo without one. If you create an account:

• You must be at least 14 years old. (Younger users are welcome to use the no-account version with a parent or guardian.)
• You must provide a valid email address and keep it accurate.
• You are responsible for keeping your sign-in credentials secure. Tell us immediately at security@ripco.app if you suspect unauthorised access.
• You may close your account from Settings → Data & Privacy at any time. Closure deletes account data within 14 days; see our Privacy Policy for details.

05, IPContent & intellectual property.

Our content

The RipCo brand, name, logo, app design, AI models, source code, and the structure and presentation of beach data are owned by RipCo Pty Ltd or licensed to us. You receive a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service for its intended purpose. You receive no other rights, express or implied.

Third-party content

Some content shown in the Service (live camera feeds, BoM data, SLSNSW patrol status) is owned by third parties and used under licence or as publicly available data. Their respective rights and terms apply. See §6 for the source list.

Your content

If you send us feedback, bug reports, or hazard reports, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free licence to use that feedback to improve the Service. We will not attribute reports to you publicly without your consent.

06, Partner dataThird-party data we display.

RipCo presents data from these official sources, in order of how often it appears in the app:

• Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), wind, weather, swell forecasts, marine warnings. Used under the BoM Public Sector Information licence.
• Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW), patrol status, beach closures, hazard alerts. Used under our partnership data-sharing agreement.
• Local councils & surf clubs, live camera feeds. Used under written partnership agreements with each operator.
• Geoscience Australia / OpenStreetMap, coastline shapes, satellite imagery. Used under their respective open licences.

RipCo does not control the accuracy or availability of upstream data. If a feed is offline, we will show an explicit "data unavailable" state rather than guess.

07, AvailabilityService availability.

We aim for 99.5% uptime on a 30-day rolling basis but make no guarantees. Maintenance windows are scheduled in low-usage hours (typically Sunday 2am–5am AEDT) and announced in-app where practical.

Some features depend on third-party uptime (live cameras, BoM, SLSNSW). When upstream is offline, the corresponding feature in RipCo will be offline too. We will surface this clearly in the UI rather than fall back to stale data.

08, LiabilityLiability & disclaimers.

Without limiting the above, RipCo is not liable for:

• Personal injury, drowning, near-drowning, or death sustained while using or after using the Service.
• Loss arising from inaccurate or stale upstream data (including BoM forecasts, SLSNSW status, or live camera frames).
• AI rip-detection results, these are predictions, not guarantees, and should never be used as a sole basis for a swimming decision.
• Any consequential, indirect, or special damages.

Where we are liable for a breach of these Terms despite the above, our total aggregate liability for all claims in any 12-month period is limited to AU$100, or, if greater, the amount you paid RipCo for the Service in that period (currently AU$0, since the Service is free).

09, ACLAustralian Consumer Law.

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any right under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), the Australian Consumer Law, or any other law that may not lawfully be excluded.

Our goods and services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures with the Service you are entitled to:

• Cancel your service contract with us; and
• A refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value.

You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. If the failure does not amount to a major failure you are entitled to have problems with the Service rectified in a reasonable time.

10, TerminationEnding the agreement.

You may stop using the Service at any time, and delete your account from Settings → Data & Privacy. We may suspend or terminate your access if:

• You materially breach these Terms (we'll usually warn first, except where the breach is serious or repeated).
• We are required to do so by law or by a regulator.
• We discontinue the Service. We will give at least 60 days' notice in this case and provide a full data export.

11, DisputesDisputes & jurisdiction.

We hope you never need this section. If a dispute arises, please email legal@ripco.app with a clear description; we will respond within 14 days and try to resolve it informally. Most things can be solved by talking.

If informal resolution fails, the Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, and you and RipCo submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales. Australian residents retain all rights to lodge complaints under the Australian Consumer Law and applicable privacy law.

12, GeneralGeneral provisions.

• Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Safety Disclaimer, are the entire agreement between you and RipCo for the Service.
• Severability. If any clause is found unenforceable, the rest of the Terms remain in force.
• Waiver. Our failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of that right.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign them on reasonable notice as part of a corporate reorganisation or sale.
• Force majeure. Neither party is liable for failure caused by events outside reasonable control (natural disasters, infrastructure failures, government action).
• Notices. We may give notice via in-app banner, email to your registered address, or a notice on this page. You may give notice to legal@ripco.app.
• Updates. If we change these Terms, we will update the version and effective date above and email signed-in users at least 14 days before the change.

Changelog · v2.0 (1 Jan 2026), Plain-English rewrite, added partner data section · v1.0 (Q1 2025), Initial terms.