Terms & Conditions

Last updated: April 17, 2026

By using bugbitten.com you agree to these Terms.Continuing to access or use the Platform means that you have read, understood, and agreed to all of the Terms and Conditions on this page — including the safety warnings and assumption of risk in Sections 4 and 5. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Platform.

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of bugbitten.com ("Platform", "we", "us", "our"). By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Nature of the Platform

The Platform is an online service that lets users keep travel journals, share trips and reviews, and connect with other individuals for travel-related meetups and shared experiences.

We do not:

  • Organise, operate, or control any trips, meetups, or travel activities
  • Provide travel services, accommodation, or transportation
  • Conduct background checks unless explicitly stated

Users are solely responsible for their interactions, decisions, and activities.

2. Eligibility & account

You must be at least 13 years of age to create an account, and at least 18 years of age to attend or organise a meetup arranged through the Platform. By signing up you confirm that you meet these requirements.

You agree to provide accurate, current information when registering and to keep your account credentials secure. You are responsible for everything that happens under your account. One person, one account.

3. User responsibility

By using the Platform, you acknowledge and agree that:

  • You are solely responsible for your personal safety
  • You assume all risks associated with meeting others, including but not limited to physical harm, theft, fraud, or misconduct
  • You will exercise caution and good judgement when interacting with other users

You agree not to rely on the Platform as a guarantee of any user's identity, intentions, or safety.

4. Safety warning

Meeting people online carries inherent risks.

We strongly recommend that you:

  • Meet in public places initially
  • Inform friends or family of your plans
  • Avoid sharing sensitive personal or financial information
  • Trust your instincts and leave any situation where you feel unsafe

The Platform does not verify all user identities and cannot guarantee the accuracy of user-provided information.

5. Assumption of risk

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you voluntarily assume all risks arising from:

  • Interactions with other users
  • Participation in any meetups, travel, or activities arranged through the Platform
  • Travel to domestic or international destinations

6. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform and its owners, employees, and affiliates shall not be liable for:

  • Any injury, loss, damage, or harm (including death)
  • Theft, fraud, assault, or misconduct by users
  • Travel disruptions, cancellations, or accidents
  • Any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages

Your use of the Platform is entirely at your own risk.

7. User conduct

You agree not to:

  • Harass, abuse, or harm other users
  • Engage in illegal activities
  • Misrepresent your identity or intentions
  • Use the Platform for scams or fraudulent purposes
  • Post spam, sexually explicit content, hate speech, or content that infringes anyone's intellectual property rights
  • Scrape, crawl, or automate access to the Platform without our written permission
  • Attempt to circumvent rate limits, blocklists, or other technical protections

We reserve the right to suspend, restrict or remove users at our discretion.

8. Your content & licence

You retain ownership of the journal entries, photos, reviews, trips, comments and other content you submit to the Platform ("Your Content"). By submitting Your Content, you grant BugBitten a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, modify (e.g. to resize images) and display Your Content for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Platform. You can delete Your Content at any time, and the licence ends shortly after deletion (subject to backups and references already shared by others).

You are responsible for Your Content and represent that you have the rights to share it.

9. Reporting & moderation

Users may report inappropriate or unsafe behaviour using the Report button on posts, reviews, trips and profiles. While we may review and take action, we do not guarantee continuous monitoring or immediate response. We may also remove content or accounts that violate these Terms.

10. Bookings & third-party services

Where the Platform displays third-party tours, accommodation or other services via booking partners, those services are provided by the relevant operator under their own terms and conditions. BugBitten is not the seller of those services and is not responsible for their delivery, refunds, or any disputes arising from them.

The Platform also relies on third-party providers including Google (Maps / Places / Analytics), Firebase Authentication, Cloudflare, and others — your use of those features is subject to their own terms.

11. Intellectual property

The BugBitten name, logo, design, and the curated catalogue of places, descriptions and editorial content (other than Your Content) are owned by BugBitten or its licensors. You may not copy, redistribute or create derivative works of that material without our written permission.

12. Copyright reports

If you believe content on the Platform infringes your copyright, please email team@bugbitten.com with: a description of the work, the URL of the infringing content, your contact details, and a good-faith statement that you are the rights-holder or authorised to act for them. We will review and respond promptly.

13. Termination

You may delete your account at any time from Settings. We may suspend or terminate your account at our discretion if you breach these Terms or pose a risk to other users. Sections that by their nature should survive (including 5, 6, 8 and 11) will survive termination.

14. No warranties

The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available." We make no warranties regarding:

  • User behaviour or reliability
  • Safety of interactions
  • Accuracy of content

15. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Platform and its operators from any claims, damages, or liabilities arising from:

  • Your use of the Platform
  • Your interactions with other users
  • Any breach of these Terms
  • Your Content

16. Privacy & cookies

Your use of the Platform is also governed by our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. By using the site you consent to the data handling described in those documents.

17. Severability & entire agreement

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force. These Terms (together with the Privacy and Cookie policies) constitute the entire agreement between you and BugBitten regarding the Platform. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

18. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. Material changes will be flagged on the Platform. Continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

19. Governing law & jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. The courts of Victoria, Australia have exclusive jurisdiction to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform, to the extent permitted by law.

20. Contact

For questions regarding these Terms, contact us at team@bugbitten.com.

21. Acknowledgment

By using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms in full — including the safety warnings (Section 4), assumption of risk (Section 5), and limitation of liability (Section 6).