Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

Effective Date: 6 June 2025
Company: Web Sprout (Pty) Ltd

Company Registration Number: 2021/424162/07
Product: pagePod

 

1. Purpose and Scope

This Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) governs your use of the pagePod website builder platform (“the Service”), operated by Web Sprout (Pty) Ltd (“Web Sprout”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). The purpose of this AUP is to ensure the responsible use of the Service, to protect the integrity, security, reliability, and privacy of our network, infrastructure, and users, and to comply with all applicable laws.
By using the Service, you agree to be bound by this AUP. This AUP applies to all users of pagePod.

 

2. Prohibited Content and Activities

You may not use pagePod to upload, post, transmit, share, store, or otherwise make available any content or engage in activities that:

2.1 Unlawful Content or Activity

  • Violate any South African or international law, regulation, or third-party right (including intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights).
  • Promote, facilitate, or instruct others to engage in illegal activity.

2.2 Offensive, Harmful, or Abusive Content

  • Are defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, discriminatory, or intended to incite violence or prejudice.
  • Involve child sexual exploitation, sexual abuse material, or any content that exploits or harms minors.
  • Promote self-harm, suicide, violence, or dangerous acts.
  • Contain or link to obscene, pornographic, or indecent material, unless clearly allowed by law and designated as such (and not accessible to minors).

2.3 Intellectual Property Infringement

  • Infringe upon any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights.
  • Distribute or make available unauthorized copies of copyrighted works, including software, music, videos, photos, or other content.

2.4 Security Violations & Network Abuse

  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, network, or computer system.
  • Distribute malware, ransomware, spyware, viruses, trojans, worms, corrupted files, or any malicious code.
  • Scan, probe, or test the vulnerability of any system, network, or user.
  • Interfere with, disrupt, or deny service to any user, host, or network (e.g., DoS/DDoS attacks, flooding, mailbombing).

2.5 Privacy Violations

  • Collect, store, process, or share personal data without proper notice, consent, or legal basis, or in violation of data protection laws (including POPIA or GDPR if applicable).
  • Harvest or collect email addresses or other contact information for purposes of sending unsolicited messages (“spam”) or phishing.

2.6 Spam, Fraud, and Deception

  • Send, distribute, or facilitate unsolicited bulk or commercial messages (spam).
  • Use pagePod to impersonate others or misrepresent your identity or affiliation.
  • Operate scams, fraudulent schemes, pyramid schemes, or any deceptive practices.

2.7 Resource and System Abuse

  • Use excessive resources or conduct activities that degrade or disrupt the performance of pagePod, including hosting high-traffic bots, cryptocurrency mining, or automated scraping.
  • Circumvent usage limits, quotas, or any security/authentication measures.

 

3. User-Generated Content and Responsibilities

  • You are solely responsible for any content you upload, publish, display, or otherwise make available via pagePod.
  • You must ensure that your use of the Service, including all user-generated content, complies with this AUP and applicable laws.
  • We do not actively monitor all content, but we reserve the right (but not the obligation) to review, remove, or disable access to content that violates this AUP, at our discretion.

 

4. Security and Reporting

  • You must implement reasonable security precautions (such as strong passwords and not sharing login credentials).
  • You must not attempt to bypass security mechanisms, access restricted features, or probe for vulnerabilities.
  • Reporting Abuse: If you become aware of any violation of this AUP, please report it to us at:
    • Email: abuse@pagepod.co.za

 

5. Enforcement

Web Sprout reserves the right to:

  • Investigate violations of this AUP.
  • Remove or disable access to content, suspend or terminate user accounts, or restrict functionality as deemed necessary to address violations.
  • Report illegal activities to relevant law enforcement or regulatory authorities.
  • Recover costs associated with investigating and remediating violations, where applicable.

 

6. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

  • Web Sprout (Pty) Ltd is not responsible for the content uploaded or published by users, nor for monitoring or pre-screening user content.
  • We disclaim all liability for damages arising from the use, misuse, or inability to use the Service, or from content posted by users.
  • Use of pagePod is at your own risk, and you are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws.

 

7. Amendments

Web Sprout may amend this AUP at any time. Updated versions will be posted on the pagePod website and are effective upon publication. Continued use of the Service indicates acceptance of the revised policy.

This policy is designed to protect both your business and your customers. If you need it formatted for your website, want a PDF version, or need additional legal disclaimers, let me know.
If you want a specific clause strengthened or have further business needs (e.g., takedown request process, additional DMCA/copyright language), just specify!