Terms of Service

Terms of Service

Valid as of January 24th 2019

1. Object and Validity

  1. The company
    EduBaba GmbH, Karl-Marx-Strasse 39, 12043 Berlin
    Authorized managing director: Lihan Deng
  2. E-Mail address: hello@thehowapp.com
    Recorded in the Commercial Register of District Court Potsdam under Commercial Register Number: HRB 30369

    VAT-ID No.: DE318531233

    (hereinafter referred to as     “HowApp”) operates a platform for mobile application (hereinafter referred to as “Platform”) on the Internet portals http://www.thehowapp.com and other websites, as well as on mobile applications (a.k.a. Apps) HowApp provides learning-related tips and advice for users as well as a mobile social network in which users can connect with each other and share their learning insights and stories.
  3. The use of the platform (including the apps) shall be subject to the following General Terms and Conditions (“General Terms and Conditions” ) in the version valid at the time of registration or order. HowApp does not acknowledge any different general terms and conditions belonging to you unless HowApp agrees to their validity in writing.
  4. No separate contract text is provided for the Agreement pertaining to the use of the platform. The content of the agreement between you and HowApp is based on these General Terms and Conditions, as well as on the specific information provided as part of the registration (see Section 3) and by signing up for a paid subscription (Section 4), that will be saved by HowApp and that is available in your user account at any time.
  5. You accept the validity and applicability of these General Terms and Conditions by registering and/or purchasing a paid subscription, as the case may be.

2. HowApp’s Services and Rights

  1. HowApp provides learning-related tips and advice for users as well as a mobile social network in which users can connect with each other and share their learning insights and stories.  HowApp creates their own content, which is accessible (either paid or unpaid) through HowApp’s “Library”.
  2. The extent of the material in HowApp and the options available to use (“License”) depend on the type of subscription you selected (you may as well choose not to subscribe and use a free account). There is a difference between a free account (see Section 3) and an account with a paid subscription (see Section 4). In terms of duration, the License is limited by the validity period of the free account or paid subscription.
  3. The rights to HowApp's service and the content distributed through the service are and will remain with HowApp. The HowApp software applications and content are licensed to users under the terms of the user agreement. We only grant users a non-exclusive (simple), time-limited right to personal use of the HowApp service and its contents.
  4. All HowApp trademarks as well as our trade names, logos, domain names and other distinctive features of the HowApp trademark are the sole property of EduBaba GmbH. The license does not give you any right to use the HowApp trademarks, our trade names, logos, domain names or any other distinctive features of the HowApp trademark, be it for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
  5. If a user does not use a paid service, EduBaba GmbH is allowed to show them promotional information in HowApp.

3. Registering with HowApp

  1. In order to be able to use HowApp’s services, the registration with HowApp is required. Individuals over the age of 18 have the right to register. As a minor, you may only register with HowApp if you are at least 6 years old and your legal representatives have provided their consent. We have the right to make the use of HowApp services contingent on proper proof of your identity, your legal age, or your legal representative’s consent.
  2. The registration itself is free of charge (free account) and does not make you sign up for a paid subscription. By registering, you are executing an agreement with HowApp for a limited, free use of the platform.
  3. You can use your e-mail address as well as a password of your choice to register. Alternatively, you may register using a single sign-on service (for example, Facebook, Google or Wechat login).
  4. Any information required for registration must be complete and correct, and always up-to-date. HowApp has the right to save and process the data you provided during registration, in accordance with the provisions on Data Protection.
  5. The password used must be kept confidential. Keeping it a secret is solely and fully your responsibility. The HowApp user account may only be used by you. Any unauthorized use of your user account, as well as any such suspicion to that effect should be communicated to HowApp immediately.

4. Executing an Agreement for a Paid Subscription

  1. To be able to fully benefit from HowApp's services, additional service packages in the form of paid subscriptions (“Subscription access”) will be made available to you after registering. These can be purchased for different and variable periods of time, which you will see in the order options.
  2. HowApp's subscriptions are ad-free (however, product placement is allowed in both accounts with no subscription and with paid subscriptions), paid subscriptions that allow you to access additional content and features through our mobile and web-based applications. We currently offer the following subscription / service package:
    The HowApp Premium service package includes ad-free access to all of our content for a (per subscription) defined period of time.
  1. You will have access to the respective services as long as your subscription is valid.
  2. You submit a legally binding offer for a fee-based subscription, if you click to either unlock the content or a “subscribe” button, fill in the necessary information (if necessary) and finalise the payment. By doing so, you submit a legally binding offer for an agreement for a paid subscription. Before submitting your order, you may change and view the data at any time. Your subscription starts immediately after you finalise the payment for the subscription.
  3. You can also sign up for a paid subscription through an in-app purchase through our iOS or Android apps (if applicable)  via an app store operator. In order to do this, you must select the desired option on the subscription screen within the app, and a pop-up will appear where you have to enter your iTunes or Google Play password (if applicable). As soon as you finish, a pop-up will appear in which you have to confirm the purchase of the subscription again. At this point you can still cancel the process.

5. Cancellation Policy

  1. If you are a consumer (i.e., a person completing the legal transaction for purposes that can be predominantly attributed to neither their commercial nor their independent professional activity), you are entitled to a legal withdrawal right when executing a distance selling agreement, so in this case when signing an agreement for a fee-based subscription with HowApp, about which HowApp informs below, as per the requirement of the statutory model. Please note that in the case of an in-app purchase, you have the right to withdraw from the respective operator of the app store, i.e., Apple or Google (if applicable). A model withdrawal form can be found in Section 5 (2).

- BEGIN CANCELLATION POLICY -

Withdrawal Right

You have the right to withdraw from this agreement within fourteen days without providing any reasons. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the date the agreement was executed.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must notify us at

EduBaba GmbH

Karl-Marx-Strasse 39

12043 Berlin

Germany

E-mail: hello@thehowapp.com

by submitting a clear explanation (e.g., in a mailed letter, fax or e-mail) regarding your decision to cancel this agreement. You can use the attached model withdrawal form, which, however, is not required.

In order to maintain the cancellation period, all you have to do is send the notification of the right the withdrawal before the expiration of the withdrawal period.


Cancellation Consequences

If you cancel this Agreement, we must refund all payments we received from you, including delivery charges (except for the additional costs arising from choosing a different delivery method other than the low-priced standard delivery we offer) immediately and at the latest within fourteen days from the date when we received the notification of your cancellation of this Agreement. For this refund we use the same payment method that you used in the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you; you will not be charged any fees associated with this refund.

If you requested that the services start during the cancellation period, you must pay us a reasonable amount equal to the proportion of services already provided to you at the time you inform us that you are exercising your right to withdraw with respect to this Agreement, proportional to the total volume of services provided for in the agreement.

- END CANCELLATION POLICY -

  1. According to the legal provision, HowApp states the following about the sample cancellation form:

Sample Cancellation Form

(Please fill out this form and send it back if you wish to cancel the Agreement.)

–        To:
EduBaba GmbH
Karl-Marx-Strasse 39
12043 Berlin
Germany
hello@thehowapp.com

–        I hereby revoke the Agreement executed by me relating to the purchase of the following products (*)/the following service (*) provided
– Ordered on (*)/received on (*)
– Consumer name(s)
– Consumer address
– Consumer signature (only if notification is on paper)
– Date

(*) Cross out if it does not apply.

7. Reimbursement and Payment Methods, Compensation and Retention Rights

  1. The subscription for access (Section 4) is subject to a fee and must be paid at the beginning of the subscription. As payment methods, HowApp currently payment through iTunes, if available, specified before beginning of the order process.
  2. If accessing by using a code, payment will be made by the payment method specified by you prior to the purchase of the code.
  3. When purchasing a subscription with the HowApp iOS or Android apps (if applicable), payment is made by Apple's or Google's (if applicable)  in-app purchase process.
  4. As part of your subscription, your payment obligation to HowApp will be automatically renewed at the end of the relevant subscription term if you do not cancel your paid subscription at least 24 hours before the end of your term (Section 8 (2)).
  5. You are not entitled to any claims against EduBaba GmbH, unless your counterclaims are legally valid or undisputed. You are also entitled to offset against the claims of EduBaba GmbH, if you make complaints or counterclaims based on the same agreement.
  6. You may only exercise your right of retention if your counterclaim results from the same agreement.

8. Term and Cancellation

  1. The free usage agreement starts from the time you register according to Section 3 of these Terms of Use and runs indefinitely. You may cancel the free usage agreement at any time. To this effect, you can delete your account via our web app in the "Settings" menu item.
  2. The paid subscription access (see Section 4) will run for at least the term you originally selected and will automatically renew if it is not canceled within 24 hours of the end of that period. The subscription term will be extended according to the subscription model used so far. You can cancel as instructed below:
    A paid subscription completed in our iOS or Android apps (if applicable) can be cancelled in your iTunes or Google Play (if applicable) settings.
  1. The subscription access cancellation takes effect on the day following the last day of your current subscription period and you will be downgraded to the free subscription agreement (free account). However, once you renew a subscription again, you will be able to access your old status and reading lists. If you wish to delete your entire account, you can do so from the settings in our web apps (see Section 8 (3)). All data will be deleted irrevocably.
  2. The right to blocking and cancellation for an important reason due to a good cause remains unaffected by the preceding provisions.

9. Liability

  1. HowApp disqualifies any claims for damages coming from you. This does not apply to claims for damages arising from fatal injuries, physical injuries, health damage or from the breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations) as well as liability for other damages that are based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by HowApp, its legal representatives or affiliates. Essential contractual obligations are those the fulfillment of which enables the proper execution of the Agreement in the first place and on the fulfillment of which you can trust.
  2. In the event of a breach of essential contractual obligations, HowApp shall only be liable for the typical, foreseeable damages stipulated in a contract, if they were simply caused by negligence, unless it also involves claims for damages due to fatal injuries, physical injuries or damages to health.
  3. The restrictions mentioned in Section 9 (1) and 9 (2) also apply to breaches of duty by HowApp’s affiliates and legal representatives, if claims are made directly against them.

10. Change of Terms and Conditions

  1. HowApp reserves the right to make changes to individual clauses of the General Terms and Conditions with effect in the future, by taking into account HowApp’s interests and provided it is reasonable for you. If no explicit consent is obtained from you to adapt the General Terms and Conditions, you will be notified by HowApp of any changes to the terms and conditions in a timely manner (at least four weeks before the amended General Terms and Conditions enter into force). To this end, HowApp will send you the new version of the General Terms and Conditions to the e-mail address specified by you in the registration. In this context, HowApp will expressly point out to you the possibility and deadline for objections to the change, as well as the consequences, should you refuse to submit an objection.
  2. If you do not object to the change within six weeks after the effective date of the amended General Terms and Conditions, the amended GTC shall be deemed accepted. The deadline starts on the date you are notified by email (or in HowApp, if we don’t have access to email information) as being the effective date of the change.
  3. If you object to the change, HowApp has the right to terminate the User Agreement with effect from the day the amended Terms of Use enter into force and cancel your User Account, in the event that adherence to the contractual relationship under the validity of the existing General Terms and Conditions is not possible or reasonable, taking into account your interests.

11. Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution

  1. For the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes, the European Union has set up an Online Dispute Resolution (“OS Platform”) platform that can be accessed at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The platform serves as a point of contact for the out-of-court resolution of disputes concerning contractual obligations arising from online agreements. According to § 36 VSBG [Verbraucherstreitbeilegungsgesetz, Consumer Dispute Resolution Act], HowApp points out that HowApp is neither obligated nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.

12. Final Provisions

  1. If any provision of these General Terms and Conditions is invalid, the remainder of the agreement remains valid. The statutory provisions shall take effect over the invalid regulations.
  2. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply, excluding the provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The legal provisions restricting the choice of law and the applicability of mandatory regulations, in particular of the state in which the customer normally resides as a consumer, remain hereof unaffected.
  3. If no exclusive legal court of jurisdiction is given, all disputes arising out of or in connection with the contractual relationship shall be settled exclusively by the court at HowApp’s registered office, thus Berlin, provided that you are a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law or have no general court of jurisdiction in Germany or another EU member state, or have moved your (residential) address to non-EU countries subject to the validity of these General Terms and
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