Terms of use

The rules for using United World Couches, and what the site is and isn’t responsible for. By getting verified you agree to them.

In short

• The site helps UWC alumni find each other. It does not arrange, check or supervise stays, meetups or events.
• You use the site, host, stay with or meet other members, and go to events posted here, at your own risk.
• “Verified” only means I found reasonable signs that someone has a UWC connection. I can’t guarantee it, and it is not an identity, background or safety check, or a recommendation.
• Harassment, stalking, threats and abuse are forbidden. They lead to a ban and, where it’s a crime, can be reported to the police.
• The site is free and run privately. It can go offline, change or stop at any time.

What this site is

United World Couches is a free, non-commercial, private project run by Levin Thomas (“I” on this page), with help from volunteer moderators. It is a place where UWC alumni can show where they live, whether they can host or meet up, and send each other messages. It is not an official UWC website.

Any agreement, promise, booking, invitation, accommodation arrangement, meetup, event, journey or other interaction between members is solely between those members. I am not a party to it, and I don’t act as an agent, broker, intermediary, guarantor, insurer, host, travel provider or representative of either member. I don’t check homes or plans, and I can’t step in if something goes wrong.

I don’t guarantee that a member will reply, accept a request, keep to an arrangement, provide a place to stay, come to a meetup, stay available, or behave as described in their profile.

Who can use it

• You must be at least 18 years old. I don’t check ages, so I can’t guarantee that every member has given their true age or meets the other requirements here.
• You must be a UWC alumnus, or someone a moderator has accepted.
• Use your real name, not a nickname or made-up name, unless I have agreed otherwise. Using a real name on the site does not mean I have confirmed anyone’s legal identity.
• One account per person. Keep your password to yourself.
• If a moderator removed your verification or banned you, don’t create a new account.

Rules for members

You must not use the site to:

• harass, threaten, intimidate, insult, discriminate against or abuse anyone, online or in person, including sexual harassment or unwanted advances;
• stalk anyone: use what you see on the site to find, follow, watch or turn up where someone is without their clear agreement, or keep contacting someone who has said no or stopped replying;
• share other members’ details, photos, locations, travel plans or messages outside the site without their permission;
• copy members’ details in bulk (including their contact details), collect them automatically, or build lists of members;
• pretend to be someone else, create fake profiles, or give false information about yourself;
• advertise, sell anything, or charge money for a stay;
• post or send anything illegal, or anything that breaks other people’s rights, such as their photos;
• attack, overload or get around the security of the site.

Respect a “no”. Hosts and guests can decline any request and end any stay or meetup at any time, without giving a reason.

Your content

You are responsible for what you put on the site. Make sure that:

• you have the right to upload your photos, and anyone else in them agrees;
• you only share information about other people if they agree;
• your profile is true and not misleading;
• nothing you post breaks the law or other people’s rights.

Your photos and texts stay yours. You give me a free, non-exclusive, worldwide permission (a “licence”) to store, copy, show and technically adapt them (for example, shrink a photo) only as far as needed to run, maintain and improve the site. This permission ends when you delete the content or your account, except for copies kept for a limited time in backups or where the law requires me to keep them (see the Privacy page).

Reports, removal and bans

If someone breaks these rules, use “Report” on their profile or in your conversation, or Report a problem. Reports are reviewed, and action is taken where we consider it appropriate.

To protect members and the site, I or the moderators may:

• look into reports and ask the people involved about them;
• remove content or limit who can see it;
• suspend an account for a time, or ban it permanently;
• remove a member’s verification.

We can act on the information we have, without needing to prove beyond doubt that something happened, and in urgent cases without warning. If we take action against your account, the site tells you, with the reason where one is given. You can ask about or challenge a decision by writing to levinjazthomas@icloud.com. There is no duty to watch everything on the site.

• Moderators can’t read private messages. I could technically access them through the database, but I don’t ordinarily read them (see the Privacy page). In a report, describe what happened, because moderators only see what you tell them.
• Where the law requires it, I pass information to the police or other authorities, for example when there is a threat to someone’s life or safety.

If you are in danger, call the police first (112 in Europe, or the local emergency number). The site is not an emergency service and moderators may not see a report straight away.

Use at your own risk

Hosting, staying with, meeting or travelling with people you know from the site, and going to events posted on it, is your own decision and at your own risk. Events are organised by members, not by me. Please read the safety tips below. In particular:

• Members are not screened for safety. Verification is a light check, based on another member’s word, an invite or a document someone sends in. I try to keep the site to UWC alumni, but I can’t guarantee that every member is who they say they are or went to a UWC. I don’t check identities in depth, criminal records, homes or behaviour, and a verified member can still behave badly.
• Verification is not a recommendation. It only means someone may join the community. It does not mean that I endorse, recommend, approve or vouch for a member, their character, conduct, identity, home, money matters or suitability as a host or guest. The same goes for “Known by” counts and invites from other members.
• Profiles are written by members. I don’t check that names, places, photos, tips or anything else members write are true, complete or up to date.
• I am not responsible for what members do, on the site or when they meet. This includes, for example, harassment, stalking, theft, damage to property, accidents, injury, illness, cancelled or changed plans, costs, or disagreements between members. Any claim arising from these is between the members involved.
• Following a member’s local tips is up to you. Check opening times, safety and rules yourself.

No warranties

I do my best to keep United World Couches useful, reliable and welcoming. However, because it is a free community project, I cannot guarantee that the site, the verification process, member information, messages, maps or location data will always be accurate, complete, up to date, secure or available.

The site may have errors, be unavailable, lose data or messages, send notifications late or not at all, or show places in the wrong spot. I may change or close it at any time. Don’t rely on it for anything important, such as your only way to reach a host.

Liability

My liability for harm I cause, for whatever legal reason, is as follows:

1. I am fully liable for harm I cause on purpose or through gross negligence.
2. I am fully liable for injury to life, body or health that I cause.
3. I am fully liable wherever the law requires it, for example under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) or if I gave a guarantee.
4. For slight negligence, I am only liable if I break a duty that is essential for the site to work at all and that members rely on (“essential obligations”), and then only for the kind of harm that was typical and foreseeable.
5. Apart from this, I am not liable for slight negligence.

I am not responsible for content members post or send, or for what members do. I act on illegal content once I know about it, which is what reports are for. The site being free does not take away any rights you have by law.

If a claim is made against me because of you

If you break these terms or the law through your own fault, and someone else makes a claim against me because of it, you must cover that claim and the reasonable, necessary costs of defending against it, such as legal fees, as far as the law allows. This doesn’t apply where I caused or contributed to the harm myself. I’ll tell you about such a claim promptly.

Safety tips

• Talk through messages on the site first, and agree clearly on dates, sleeping arrangements and house rules.
• Meet in a public place first if you can, and trust your instinct. It’s fine to change your mind.
• Tell a friend where you’ll be staying, with whom, and when you expect to be in touch.
• Have a backup plan: money for a hostel, a charged phone, and the local emergency number.
• Keep valuables and documents with you or locked away. Have your own travel insurance.
• Only share your exact address, phone number or travel plans once you’re comfortable.
• Report anyone who makes you uncomfortable, even if nothing happened. It helps protect others.

These tips are general advice. Following them can’t guarantee that nothing goes wrong.

Ending your use

You can stop using the site and delete your account at any time on the Account page. I can end your access as described above, or close the whole site. See the Privacy page for what happens to your data.

Changes to these terms

If I change these terms, I’ll say so on the site or by email before the change applies. If you don’t agree, you can delete your account.

Law

German law applies. If you live in another country, you keep any protection the consumer laws of that country give you. If one part of these terms turns out to be invalid, the rest still applies.

Contact

Questions about these terms: levinjazthomas@icloud.com. Last changed: 5 October 2026. See also the Privacy page and the Impressum.