英文和中文版本若有任何模糊不清或歧義之處，一概以英文版本爲準。
In the event of any ambiguity or discrepancy between the English and Chinese versions, the terms in English shall prevail.

Introduction

Heartline Hong Kong Limited (Company Limited by Guarantee) is founded by a group of university students in Hong Kong. Our goal is to help young people between the ages of 18-29 needing peer support by connecting these individuals with our volunteers for emotional support via text messages in an anonymous, confidential, non-judgemental and non-directive way. The Service is free of charge. Subject to any Operational Change (defined below), the Service is available from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Hong Kong time UTC/GMT+8) every day.

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Use of This Service

Before using or accessing the Service, please read the following carefully.

By using or accessing the Service, you agree to the Terms. This website will be referred as the ‘Website’; while its social media pages will be referred as its ‘Social Media’.

The Terms govern your use and access of the Service and the relationship between you and Heartline Hong Kong Limited. The Terms are drafted in English and translated into Chinese. In the event of any ambiguity or discrepancy between the English and Chinese versions, the terms in English shall prevail.

The Terms may be modified from time to time. Any modifications to the Terms will be effective immediately upon posting, which we may provide by any means including, without limitation, posting on the Website. You will be presented with the most up-to-date Terms every time you access the Service. Your continued use of this Website, the Service or the Social Media will constitute your acceptance of the most up-to-date Terms at the time.

If you have any enquiries regarding these Terms, you may contact us by email at info@heartlinehk.com. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service. You may find a list of other hotlines at the page ‘Related Services’.

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Operational Change

Heartline Hong Kong Limited reserves the right at any time to make any modification, improvement, alteration, degradation or other change to the Service, Website or Social Media as well as the equipment, hardware or software required to use and access the Service, Website or Social Media (an ‘Operational Change’). For the avoidance of doubt, Operational Change also includes terminating, eliminating, supplementing, modifying, adding or discontinuing any content or feature or data or service on or available through the Service, Website or Social Media.

You understand and acknowledge such Operational Change may cause disruption, delay, or have an adverse effect on the quality of the Service, Website or Social Media.

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Nature and Use of Information Provided through This Service

You acknowledge and understand that the use of Service, Website or the Social Media does not constitute medical or mental health care or treatment. Heartline Hong Kong Limited’s relationship with you does not constitute an attorney-client relationship, doctor-patient relationship, or any other sort of professional relationships between a licensed professional and a client. Heartline Hong Kong Limited and the Service are not a substitute for any services provided by any healthcare or licensed professionals. If you have any concerns, doubts or questions regarding any medical or mental health condition or are experiencing a medical emergency, we urge you to seek the advice of licensed professionals, particularly your doctor or other qualified healthcare professionals. You fully understand and agree that Heartline Hong Kong Limited will not be liable or bear any responsibility if you fail to seek such advice.

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Intellectual Property Rights

Any Intellectual Property Rights (as defined below), interests and title in the Service, Website and Social Media shall at all times remain the exclusive property of Heartline Hong Kong Limited. ‘Intellectual Property Rights’ include (but are not limited to) rights in patents (including petty patents, utility certificates and utility models), designs (whether or not capable of registration), copyrights (including rights in computer software), database rights, trade marks, signs and service marks, trade and business names, (whether or not any of these is registered and including applications for registration of any such thing) and all rights or forms of protection of a similar nature or having equivalent or similar effect to any of the foregoing which may subsist anywhere in the world.

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Risks of Use of the Service and Limitation of Liability

You acknowledge that you are using the Website, the Service, and the materials at your own risk. You assume all responsibility and risk for use of this Website, the Service and the materials including without limitation any of the information contained therein. Heartline Hong Kong Limited and any of its volunteers, social worker operators, sponsors or agents (collectively, the ‘Volunteers’) will not be liable for any decision made, or results of the decisions made, or actions taken, by you or a third party while, as a result of, or after using the Service, or based on reliance upon the information contained on or provided through Heartline Hong Kong Limited. This includes whether you choose to seek or not seek professional advice, or to modify or terminate specific treatment that you are currently receiving based on the information provided by the Service.

The Service is provided on an ‘as is’ basis and ‘as available’ basis. Heartline Hong Kong Limited, its agents and the Volunteers expressly disclaim all warranties and conditions of any kind, whether express or implied; and make no warranty or representation that Heartline Hong Kong Limited will (a) meet your requirements; (b) be uninterrupted, timely, secure, error-free, bug-free, virus-free, or accurate; (c) merchantable or fit for a particular purpose; or (d) meet your expectations. The foregoing disclaimers of liability apply to all damages or liability, including those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect or delay in operation or transmission, whether for breach of contract (including under any indemnity), tortious acts, including negligence and misrepresentation, or any other cause of action. Without limiting the foregoing, in no event shall Heartline Hong Kong Limited or any of its operators be liable for any direct, special, incidental, financial, consequential, indirect, punitive, or exemplary damages or any other losses. Under no circumstances shall Heartline Hong Kong Limited or any related parties be responsible or liable for your use or reliance of any content accessed or otherwise obtained through this Website or the Service.

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Indemnification

You agree to hold us harmless for damages arising out of (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your violation of the law; (c) claims asserted by third parties that you are in breach of these Terms; (d) information provided by you through the Service; and/or (e) your use of the Service. You agree that you shall be solely liable for any direct, special, incidental, financial, consequential, indirect, punitive, or exemplary damages or any other losses that arise.

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Only Lawful Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes, and in a manner which does not infringe the rights of, restrict, or inhibit the use and enjoyment of this Website, Service or Social Media by any third party. Such restriction and inhibition include, and are not limited to, conduct which is unlawful or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to any person, the transmission of obscene or offensive materials, and disruption of the normal flow of dialogue while using the Service. We reserve the right to unilaterally terminate your access to the Service at any time.

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Accuracy of Website and Social Media

Heartline Hong Kong Limited updates the information on this Website and the Social Media periodically. However, Heartline Hong Kong Limited cannot guarantee or accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information provided. Heartline Hong Kong Limited may revise, supplement or delete any information, services and/or the resources contained in the Website or the Social Media and reserves the right to make such changes without prior notice to past, current or prospective users.

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Third Party Services

You may contact us through approved third party websites, applications or services (‘Third Party Services’). These Terms only apply to you and Heartline Hong Kong Limited. Heartline Hong Kong Limited is not responsible for, and makes no representations regarding the policies or practices of any Third Party Services. If you contact us through a Third Party Service, you are subject to these Terms as well as the terms and policies of the Third Party Service. We encourage you to review the terms and policies of any Third Party Service you use to contact Heartline Hong Kong Limited. If you do not wish to be subject to a Third Party Service’s terms or policies, please do not contact Heartline Hong Kong Limited through a Third Party Service. Instead, you should contact us by using our web-based chat platform.

You may contact us through approved third party websites, applications or services (‘Third Party Services’). These Terms only apply to you and Heartline Hong Kong Limited. Heartline Hong Kong Limited is not responsible for, and makes no representations regarding the policies or practices of any Third Party Services. If you contact us through a Third Party Service, you are subject to these Terms as well as the terms and policies of the Third Party Service. We encourage you to review the terms and policies of any Third Party Service you use to contact Heartline Hong Kong Limited. If you do not wish to be subject to a Third Party Service’s terms or policies, please do not contact Heartline Hong Kong Limited through a Third Party Service. Instead, you should contact us by using our web-based chat platform.

Heartline Hong Kong Limited does not assume or accept any responsibility for such websites or services and shall not be liable, directly or indirectly, for any damages or loss, caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use or the reliance upon any information, content, goods or services available on or through any third party websites, services or linked resources.

Heartline Hong Kong Limited is not responsible for hypertext links from any and all third-party websites to the Website.

Governing Law

The Terms and the provision of the Service are governed solely by, and shall be construed according to, the laws of Hong Kong without giving effect to the principles of conflict of laws. Heartline Hong Kong Limited and you both consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Courts over all matters and disputes arising out of or in connection with the Terms and the Service.

The Service is operated in Hong Kong. If you are located outside of Hong Kong, please be aware that any information you provide will be collected in or transferred to Hong Kong and used in accordance with Hong Kong laws. By using the Service and/or providing us with your information, you consent to such collection, transfer and use.

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Severability: Entire Agreement

If a court finds any provision of these Terms to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the remaining Terms shall remain in full force and effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Heartline Hong Kong Limited, superseding any other written or oral agreements or understandings.

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Privacy Policy and Confidentiality Obligation

Heartline Hong Kong Limited recognizes that confidentiality is a crucial part of the Service it offers and, as such, is committed to upholding the principle as outlined in this policy. The following Privacy Policy Statement governs your use of the Website, Service and Social Media. Before using the Service, please read the following.

Heartline Hong Kong Limited undertakes to comply with all applicable law relating to the processing of Personally Identifiable Information. ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ is any data or information that can be used to identify you, directly or indirectly, including but not limited to, your full name, location, home address or an online identifier, one or more factors specific to your physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.

The Service will be strictly confidential. Any member or volunteer of Heartline Hong Kong Limited and the Volunteers shall not use, disclose or publish any Confidential Information. Confidential Information means: (i) information that is personal to you, that you reasonably expect such information to be private and that you do not intend such information to be imparted to the general public and (ii) information that is communicated in a manner which makes it clear that such information is intended to be confidential.

Notwithstanding the above, Heartline Hong Kong Limited or the Volunteers may disclose Confidential information (i) if and to the extent required by law [or by any regulatory or governmental body] or for the purpose of any judicial proceeding; (ii) to its professional advisors; (iii) if and to the extent that the information has come into the public domain through no fault of Heartline Hong Kong Limited or the Volunteers; (iv) if and to the extent that you have given prior consent to the disclosure; (v) if, in the sole opinion of Heartline Hong Kong Limited or a Volunteer, that there is a high and foreseeable risk that you will cause harm to yourself or to a third party. To the extent permitted by the law, Heartline Hong Kong Limited will make reasonable efforts to notify you of any disclosure of Confidential Information. You acknowledge that such notification may not be possible due to the anonymity of our service users.

Volunteers are extensively trained about the issues surrounding confidentiality and are aware of this policy. They are required to sign an agreement to uphold this confidentiality policy prior to starting their volunteering activities. In the case of instant messaging, calls and emails, more than one of the Volunteers may be involved in the handling of the messages, calls or emails.

The terms and obligations under ‘Privacy Policy and Confidentiality obligation’ shall continue to apply after the termination of the Service. Volunteers will maintain confidentiality both whilst volunteering and after they cease to volunteer. Thus Volunteers who have stopped volunteering with Heartline Hong Kong Limited will still not discuss contents of conversations outside of the Service.