Terms & conditions

1. Acceptance of terms

By creating an account or using BaitLine, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy & POPIA notice. If you don't agree with them, please don't use the app.

2. What BaitLine is

BaitLine is a companion app for anglers to log catches, track fishing gear, check fishing conditions, learn from its fishing guide, and share activity with friends, groups, and clubs. It's available as an Android app on Google Play and as a web app. Features may change, be added, or be removed over time as the app develops.

3. Your account

• You must provide accurate information when creating an account, whether you sign up with an email address or with Google.
• You're responsible for keeping your login details secure.
• You must be 18 or older to create an account yourself. Anyone younger may only use BaitLine with the consent of a parent or guardian, who accepts these terms on their behalf.
• Let us know immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

4. Plans, trials, and payment

BaitLine is free to use, within the free-plan limits shown on the plans page and in the app. Optional paid plans unlock higher limits and extra features:

• BaitLine Premium - an individual plan, billed monthly or yearly.
• BaitLine for Clubs - billed monthly to the group owner's own account, and applies to every group that account owns.

Current prices are shown in South African Rand in the app before you subscribe. If a price changes, the new price only applies from a renewal after we've told you about the change.

Billing. On the web, payment is processed by PayFast, our third-party payment processor - we don't receive or store your full card details. Subscriptions bought inside the Android app are billed by Google Play instead, under Google Play's own terms. Either way, a paid plan renews automatically at the end of each billing period until you cancel it.

Cancelling. Cancel a web subscription any time from Settings in the app; a Google Play subscription is cancelled from the Play Store's subscription settings. Cancelling stops future billing, and you keep your plan until the end of the period you've already paid for. Amounts already paid for the current billing period aren't refunded, except where the law (or, for Google Play purchases, Google Play's refund policy) requires it.

Free trials. Each account gets one free trial per paid plan. New accounts start automatically on a 14-day BaitLine Premium trial, which is that account's Premium trial. An account that hasn't had a Premium trial yet can start a 30-day one from Settings. BaitLine for Clubs offers a 30-day free trial, started from Settings. A trial doesn't need payment details and ends automatically when its time is up - you're only charged if you choose to subscribe.

Promo codes. Promo codes apply only to the plan and billing cycle they were issued for, have no cash value, and may expire or be limited in how many times they can be used.

If a BaitLine for Clubs plan lapses, Club-only features - custom branding and exports of club groups - switch off until the plan is renewed. Nothing already logged is deleted.

If we suspend or close your account for breaching these terms (see section 13), you're not entitled to a refund for any amount already paid, including the unused part of your current billing period.

5. Your content

You own the catches, photos, and gear entries you add to BaitLine. By posting content, you give us permission to store and display it back to you and to anyone you've chosen to share it with, so the app can function. We don't claim ownership of your content. We may remove content that breaches these terms, including content other users report to us.

6. Guest anglers

If you add another person as a guest angler on a catch, you confirm you have their permission to include their name and any related details in your log.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use BaitLine for anything unlawful, or to harass or harm another user.
• Attempt to access another user's account or private data without permission.
• Interfere with the app's normal operation, including through automated scraping or abuse.
• Upload content that's illegal, harmful, or infringes someone else's rights.
• Falsify a catch, its weight, or its location - especially in a club group.

8. Sharing and visibility

Who can see your catches and stats is controlled by your privacy settings in the app. New accounts start with catches and stats visible to other BaitLine users and included on leaderboards - you can change either at any time in Settings. Content shared to a group is visible to that group's members, and a catch's location is visible to anyone who can see the catch. Removing yourself from a group, or deleting shared content, may not immediately remove copies already viewed or saved by others.

9. Groups and clubs

• A group's owner and admins can remove a catch from that group's feed, and put it back later - never from the angler's own personal log.
• A group's owner and admins can require new members to be approved before they join.
• BaitLine provides the tools only. Each club or group sets and enforces its own rules, results, and prizes, and is responsible for them.
• If a group's owner deletes their account, ownership passes to one of the group's admins, or else its longest-standing member.

10. Fishing conditions, Spawn Calendar, Fishing guide, and safety

Fishing conditions scores and spawn windows are a guide, not a guarantee - they're based on weather data from WeatherAPI.com and on published research into fish behaviour, not on your exact water. They are not a safety forecast. Always check official weather warnings before heading out, and you're responsible for your own safety and for following the fishing licence, permit, bag-limit, and closed-season rules that apply where you fish.

The Fishing guide is general information for learning to fish. Its costs are rough tackle-shop estimates, not quotes, and its safety tips don't replace your own judgement or local rules.

11. Intellectual property

The BaitLine name, logo, and app design are owned by us. Nothing in these terms transfers that ownership to you.

12. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

BaitLine is provided "as is." We work to keep the app accurate and available, but we don't guarantee it will be error-free or uninterrupted at all times. Catch and gear data is only as accurate as what you enter.

To the extent permitted by law, we're not liable for indirect or consequential loss arising from your use of BaitLine, including loss of data. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be excluded under South African law, including your rights under the Consumer Protection Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.

13. Suspending or closing accounts

We may suspend or close an account that breaches these terms, without notice if the breach is serious. If you hold a paid plan at the time, no refund is due for that suspension or closure - see section 4.

You can delete your own account at any time from Settings in the app - no need to contact us first, though you're welcome to if you'd rather. Deleting an account is permanent: your catches, gear, photos, and profile are removed, and can't be restored. Cancel any paid plan first (from Settings, or the Play Store for a Google Play subscription) - deleting the account doesn't cancel billing with PayFast or Google Play by itself.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We'll update the date at the top of this page when we do, and let you know in-app about any material changes.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of South Africa.

16. Contact us

Questions about these terms? Reach us via the contact page or at info@baitline.co.za.