1. General
This Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”) sets out how BottleChallenge, a project run by Fundacja BrainGreen (BrainGreen Foundation, the “Foundation”), may be used. It applies to all users, including people who use the Service without an account, BottleChallenge Partners, reward partners, people who run teams in BottleChallenge League, and moderators.
This Policy supplements the BottleChallenge Terms of Service (the “Terms”) and the Privacy Policy. Terms defined in the Terms have the same meaning here. A breach of this Policy may lead to your access to BottleChallenge being suspended for a time or permanently.
BottleChallenge helps people find places where they can fill a bottle free of charge instead of buying water in single-use bottles. The Foundation expects users to use the Service honestly and responsibly.
2. Permitted use
You may use BottleChallenge to:
- find places with water near you and when you travel;
- add genuine, checked places with water that others can use;
- add authentic photographs of places with water and suggest corrections to places already listed;
- collect EcoDrops by holding your phone to an NFC sticker at a participating place with water;
- exchange EcoDrops for rewards in the Rewards section;
- set up and join teams in BottleChallenge League;
- recommend BottleChallenge to friends and family;
- apply for your venue to become a BottleChallenge Partner or for your organisation to become a reward partner;
- report inaccurate information and inappropriate content;
- use the API for non-commercial environmental projects, with the Foundation’s approval.
3. Prohibited activities
You must not use BottleChallenge for:
- fraud and manipulation, including faking filled bottles, faking your location, using automated tools to collect EcoDrops and creating several accounts to abuse rewards;
- false information, including submitting places with water that do not exist, adding misleading photographs, suggesting corrections you know to be wrong and impersonating other users or businesses;
- bullying, threatening or harassing other users, partners or people working on the Service, and posting hate speech, discriminatory or violent content;
- spam, including sending unsolicited messages, posting repetitive or irrelevant content and advertising products or services without authorisation;
- any purpose that breaks local, national or international law;
- privacy violations, including collecting or storing other users’ personal data and posting other people’s personal data without their consent;
- infringing intellectual property, including using other people’s works, trade marks or other protected content without authorisation;
- commercial exploitation of BottleChallenge data, content or services, including reselling them, without the Foundation’s written permission.
4. Content standards
All content you add must meet the standards below. You can add photographs of places with water, the details of a new place with water and suggested corrections to a place already listed.
4.1 Photographs
- must be your own, or you must have the right to use them;
- must show the place with water concerned;
- must not show identifiable people without their consent;
- must not contain offensive, sexual or otherwise inappropriate content;
- must not be edited in a way that misrepresents the place.
4.2 Details of a place with water
- must concern a real place, open to the public, where a bottle can be filled;
- must include an accurate address and map position;
- must describe the type of place correctly, for example a café, a drinking fountain or a restaurant;
- must include accurate opening hours, where known;
- must not concern private homes or places with restricted access without the owner’s consent.
6. EcoDrops and rewards
6.1 Collecting EcoDrops fairly
- EcoDrops may be collected only for genuine activity, meaning a filled bottle recorded at an NFC sticker during a real visit to a place with water, or adding a place with water that really exists.
- You must not create several accounts to receive extra EcoDrops.
- You must not collude with other users or with partners to inflate EcoDrops artificially.
- Invitations must not be sent as spam or in a misleading way.
6.2 Exchanging EcoDrops fairly
- Rewards may be obtained for your own use only.
- You must not resell or trade rewards you have obtained, or use them commercially.
- Voucher codes must not be published or sold.
- You must not exploit pricing errors or system faults.
6.3 Consequences of fraud
Fraud in collecting or exchanging EcoDrops leads to:
- the immediate loss of all EcoDrops collected;
- the reversal of rewards obtained through fraud;
- suspension of the account for a time or permanently;
- for serious or repeated breaches, possible legal action.
7. Partner obligations
BottleChallenge Partners and reward partners have additional obligations.
7.1 BottleChallenge Partners
- must genuinely let people fill a bottle with water free of charge during the stated opening hours;
- must keep the information about their place up to date, such as opening hours, address and availability;
- must keep NFC stickers in good condition at the agreed spot on the premises;
- must treat BottleChallenge users with respect and without discrimination;
- must ensure that the water meets local health and safety requirements;
- must not make filling a bottle conditional on a purchase.
7.2 Reward partners
- must honour vouchers for rewards published in the Service at the stated price in EcoDrops;
- must describe rewards accurately and must not attract users with an offer they then do not deliver;
- must honour vouchers without undue delay;
- must not treat BottleChallenge users less favourably than other customers;
- must comply with the Reward Partner Terms.
8. Security
You must not:
- try to gain unauthorised access to the Service, to other people’s accounts or to the Foundation’s systems;
- probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Foundation’s systems without authorisation;
- use bots, crawlers, scrapers or other automated tools to access the Service without the Foundation’s written permission;
- upload or distribute viruses, malware or other harmful code;
- interfere with or disrupt the Service, its servers or networks;
- reverse-engineer, decompile or disassemble any part of the Service;
- get round rate limits, authentication or access controls;
- exploit bugs, faults or vulnerabilities instead of reporting them.
A security vulnerability should be reported to [email protected]. The Foundation does not take legal action against security researchers acting in good faith.
9. Reporting breaches
You can report a breach of this Policy:
- in the app or on the website, with the report button on a place with water;
- by email to [email protected];
- through the form on the Contact page.
A report should give as much detail as possible: the account concerned, the specific content or behaviour, screenshots if available, and the date and time of the incident. Reports are reviewed by the Foundation’s moderators and handled confidentially.
9.1 How a report is handled
Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the Digital Services Act) sets out how reports of illegal content must be handled. The Foundation applies the following to every report, whether the content is illegal or only breaks this Policy:
- where the person reporting gave contact details, the Foundation confirms receipt of the report without undue delay;
- the Foundation reviews the report in a timely, diligent and objective manner;
- the Foundation tells the person reporting what it decided and how the decision can be challenged;
- the Foundation says whether automated means were used in handling the report.
Reports should be accurate. If someone submits reports in bad faith or repeatedly without grounds, the Foundation may, after a warning, suspend their ability to submit reports.
10. Enforcement and appeals
Depending on how serious and how frequent a breach is, the Foundation may take one or more of the following measures:
| Measure | What it involves | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Warning | A written warning sent by email | A first minor breach, inaccurate details of a place with water |
| Content removal | The content that breaks this Policy is deleted | Inappropriate photographs, misleading or invented details of a place |
| Loss of EcoDrops | EcoDrops are deducted or reset to zero | Fraudulent recording of filled bottles, abuse of rewards |
| Temporary suspension | The account is suspended for 7 to 90 days | Repeated breaches, harassment, spam |
| Permanent ban | The account is closed permanently | Serious fraud, unlawful activity, persistent abuse |
| Report to the authorities | The matter is passed to the competent authorities | Criminal offences, serious financial fraud |
10.1 Statement of reasons
If the Foundation removes your content, restricts its visibility, suspends or closes your account, or suspends your ability to submit reports, it gives you a clear statement of reasons. The statement says what the Foundation did, what content or conduct it concerns, the facts relied on, whether automated means were used, which rule or law applies, and how you can challenge the decision. The Foundation omits the statement only where the law prohibits it, for example where telling you would prejudice a criminal investigation.
10.2 Appeals
You can challenge any of these decisions free of charge by writing to [email protected], within at least six months of the day the Foundation told you about the decision, in line with Article 20 of the Digital Services Act. The appeal is reviewed by a different person from the one who took the decision, and the decision is not upheld or reversed by automated means alone.
If you disagree with the outcome, you keep your right to go to court. You may also be able to use an out-of-court dispute settlement body certified under Article 21 of the Digital Services Act in the Member State where you live.
Article 19 of the Digital Services Act exempts micro and small enterprises from the obligations in Section 3 of Chapter III of that Regulation, which include the internal complaint-handling system in Article 20. The Foundation currently falls within that exemption, so it offers the six-month appeal route described above voluntarily and honours it as though it were required. The obligations in Section 2, namely handling reports under Article 16 and giving a statement of reasons under Article 17, bind the Foundation whatever its size. If the Foundation’s size changes so that Section 3 applies to it, this section will be amended accordingly.
This section covers decisions about content and accounts. Partners have a separate appeal route set out in their own terms.
11. Changes to this Policy
The Foundation may change this Policy from time to time. When it does, the Foundation:
- updates the last updated date at the top of this page;
- tells users about material changes by email or by a notification in the app;
- gives at least 30 days’ notice before a new restriction takes effect.
Continuing to use BottleChallenge after a change takes effect means you accept the revised Policy.
12. Contact
Questions about this Policy can be sent to [email protected], reports of breaches to [email protected], and security matters to [email protected].