Terms of use

These terms are the agreement between you and XQ Tech Solutions ("we", "us"), which runs Voice of Keralam. They apply to the Voice of Keralam app and the website voiceofkeralam.in. Please read them with our Privacy policy, which explains how we handle personal data.

1. What Voice of Keralam is

• A place where people in Kerala report public problems (roads, water, waste, streetlights, drains, public health, transport) and follow them in public until they are fixed.
• Independent. It is not a government service and does not speak for any government body, party or elected representative.
• Not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 112 (fire 101, KSEB 1912) first.

2. Accepting these terms

By creating an account, you accept these terms and the seven community rules (section 4). Anyone can browse without an account; these terms apply to browsing too, as far as they are relevant.

3. Your account

• You must be 18 or older to create an account.
• Give a real email address and your own mobile number, and keep your password safe. You are responsible for what happens in your account.
• One account per person. Don't share, sell or transfer accounts, and don't pretend to be someone else.
• Tell us at once if you think someone else is using your account.

4. The seven community rules

You agree to these when you create an account:

1. Report a public problem. Roads, water, waste, lights, drains, public health, transport. No private disputes.
2. Post what you saw yourself, recently. No old or internet photos.
3. One problem per post. Put the pin where the problem is.
4. Talk about the problem, not the person. No abuse, caste, religion, party slogans or flags.
5. Protect privacy. Avoid faces, children and number plates (we blur them too). No phone numbers or house addresses.
6. Emergencies: call 112 first. Fire 101 · KSEB 1912. Post afterwards if it is still a problem.
7. Only say "Solved" when it really is. False claims cost trust and can suspend accounts.

Breaking the rules brings strikes: a warning, then a 7-day posting pause, then a 30-day pause, then a permanent ban. Strikes stop counting after 12 months.

5. Content that is not allowed

As the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 require, you must not post anything that:

• belongs to someone else and you have no right to post;
• is obscene or pornographic, invades another person's privacy (including their body), or is insulting or harassing on the basis of gender;
• is defamatory, or promotes hatred or violence based on religion, caste, race or community;
• is harmful to children;
• infringes a patent, trademark, copyright or other rights;
• knowingly deceives or misleads about where it came from, or is patently false or misleading;
• impersonates another person;
• threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with other countries or public order, incites a crime, or insults another nation;
• contains a virus or any code meant to disrupt a computer or device;
• breaks any law in force.

Also not allowed on Voice of Keralam: accusing a named person of a crime (go to the police or the Vigilance department; representatives are referred to by their office), political campaigning and party symbols, adverts and spam, and other people's phone numbers or home addresses.

6. Your content

• You own what you post. By posting, you give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store, show, copy, resize, blur, compress, translate and share it in the app, on the website and in links people share, and to include it, without personal data, in open data about local problems and rankings.
• Public record. Reports help other residents and are counted in the rankings. If you delete your account, posts that others have voted on, commented on or acted on stay, shown as "Former resident" without your name. The licence continues for those posts.
• You confirm that you have the right to post it, that it is true to the best of your knowledge, and that you took any photos and videos yourself.
• Edits. Phone numbers in text are masked. Faces and number plates in photos are blurred. Moderators may blur, trim or translate content to keep it within the rules.

7. Moderation, flags and removal

• Anyone signed in can flag a post or comment. When three established members flag it, it is hidden until a moderator decides.
• Moderators can keep, edit (blur or trim), close or remove content, and give strikes. You can appeal a removal or a strike once; a different moderator decides.
• We act on lawful orders from courts and the government, and on complaints to our Grievance Officer, as the law requires.
• A valid report about a public problem is not removed because an elected representative or official objects to it. They get a public right of reply on the report.

8. Elected representatives and their offices

• A representative can claim their seat in the app. We check each claim against official election records and proof, such as the Certificate of Election, photo ID and an independent confirmation. Their office can add up to 3 staff, who act for the office and are shown as such.
• Office updates, replies and "Solved" claims are public and show the office's name. A "Solved" claim needs photos taken at the place; residents near the problem confirm or dispute it.
• False "Solved" claims bring public office strikes: a warning, then moderator checks for 30 days, then the verification is suspended. Abusive replies can suspend an office's verification.
• We publish elected representatives' names and the office contact details that government bodies publish. If any of it is wrong, tell us (section 15).
• An office must not use reporters' mobile numbers for anything other than the reported problem.

9. What we can and cannot promise

• We cannot make any office or department act on a report, and we don't guarantee that a problem will be fixed.
• Statuses, timelines and rankings reflect what was reported and done in the app. They are not official government records.
• Machine translations and "Write it for me" drafts can contain mistakes. The original text is always available, and you check AI drafts before posting.
• The service is free. We may change, pause or stop features, and we try to give notice of important changes.

10. Rankings

Rankings and scorecards compare offices and areas, not parties or people. How the Voice Score is worked out is public in the app (Me → How ranking works). Changes to the method are announced 30 days ahead, and the method is not changed during an election code-of-conduct period. Scores come only from what happens to reports; no one can edit a score.

11. Our name and the app

The Voice of Keralam name, logo, app and website belong to us. Don't copy them or suggest that we endorse you. If we publish open data about local problems and rankings, we will say under which licence it may be reused.

12. Limits of our responsibility

As far as the law allows:

• The service is provided "as is". We work to keep it accurate and available, but we don't guarantee that it will always work without errors or interruptions.
• We are not responsible for what users post or for what offices and departments do or don't do. We act on content as these terms and the law require.
• We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from using the service.

Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under Indian law that cannot be limited.

13. Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time (see the Privacy policy, section 8). We can suspend or close an account that breaks these terms or the community rules, or when the law requires it.

14. Changes to these terms

We will publish any new version here with its date, and tell you in the app before an important change takes effect. If you keep using Voice of Keralam after that, the new terms apply.

15. Law, courts and contact

• These terms are governed by the laws of India. Courts at Palakkad, Kerala, have jurisdiction.
• Grievance Officer: Ashok Kumar G, xqtechsolutions@gmail.com, +91 62354 55560, XQ Tech Solutions, Nattukal, Kozhinjampara, Palakkad, Kerala 678554. We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days.
• General questions: xqtechsolutions@gmail.com.
• These terms are available in Malayalam and English. If the two versions ever differ, the English version applies.