Terms of Service

1. Provider, scope and agreement

These Terms apply to XIVFriends at xivfriends.net and its related web and app functions. The provider is Maurice Bothe, Tischbeinstr. 14, 34121 Kassel, Germany. XIVFriends is a free, unofficial FFXIV community fan project.

By registering, you agree to these Terms. Mandatory consumer rights and statutory protections in your country of residence remain unaffected.

2. Minimum age

You must be at least 16 years old. Where the law applicable to a minor requires permission from a parent or guardian, you may use XIVFriends only with that permission.

3. Registration and account security

You must provide accurate, current information and may operate only one account per person unless we permit otherwise. Registration and login may use email and password or supported third-party login; some functions may require Lodestone verification.

Protect your credentials, use available security features and notify admin@xivfriends.net promptly of suspected misuse. You are responsible for third-party activity only to the extent provided by law.

4. Functions and availability

XIVFriends includes profiles and character search, friends and direct or group messages, feeds, Daily Prompts, blogs, forums and community boards, galleries, comments, reactions and polls, shoutbox and guestbook, communities, creator pages, events and calendars, party finder, housing, mentoring, pen pals, icebreakers, notifications, and virtual points, shop, bingo and group-loot functions.

Early-access or test functions may change, be restricted temporarily or be discontinued. There is no entitlement to any particular function or uninterrupted availability.

5. Visibility and public content

Depending on the feature and visibility you select, profile details, FFXIV character data, posts, images, blogs, comments, events, communities, creator content and reactions may be public. Search engines may index, link to or cache public content.

Check the audience before publishing. Do not publish another person’s private data or content that is not intended for the selected audience.

6. User content and licence

You remain responsible for, and retain your rights in, text, images, videos, links, tags and other content you provide. You confirm that you have all necessary rights and permissions.

To operate the selected feature, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free and technically sublicensable licence to store, reproduce, technically adapt, display and deliver your content publicly or to the selected audience. It normally ends when the content is deleted; backups, legal retention and material needed to preserve shared conversations may remain temporarily.

7. Communications and social features

Treat others respectfully. Private messages are generally intended only for participants. Authorised personnel may inspect the necessary content following a report, to address a specific threat, ensure security or comply with law.

Friendships, matches, mentoring, pen-pal contacts, groups, events and external invitations are arranged at users’ own responsibility. XIVFriends is not a party to later arrangements or meetings. Use normal safety precautions for real-world meetings.

8. Communities, events, housing and external offers

Organisers and administrators are responsible for their details, rules, roles, dates, links and offers. XIVFriends does not verify the identity, availability, quality or safety of every offer and does not endorse external Discord servers, websites or events.

9. Virtual points and games

Tomestones, levels, badges, rewards, shop items, bingo progress and group-loot winnings are virtual community features with no monetary value. They cannot be redeemed for cash or transferred outside intended functions and create no claim to real-world benefits.

Manipulation, multiple accounts, bots, collusion to bypass rules and exploitation of technical errors are prohibited. Virtual values credited in error may be corrected.

10. Prohibited content and conduct

• illegal material, including child sexual abuse material, non-consensual intimate content, incitement to crime or credible threats
• hate speech, harassment, bullying, stalking, doxxing, blackmail or targeted intimidation
• pornography or sexualised content; sexual contact with minors is strictly prohibited
• infringement of copyright, trade marks, personality, privacy or other third-party rights
• impersonation, phishing, malware, spam, unauthorised advertising or fraudulent offers
• cheats, hacks or instructions that violate applicable law or FFXIV rules
• unauthorised bots, scraping, automated interactions, denial-of-service activity or circumvention of security or access controls
• manipulation of rankings, votes, reach, reports, rewards or game features.

11. Reporting illegal content

Use the report function or email admin@xivfriends.net. A notice should identify the exact location, provide a reasoned explanation and any evidence, plus your name and email address. Abusive or knowingly false notices are prohibited.

We acknowledge suitable notices and communicate our decision where legally required and practicable.

12. Moderation and measures

We use human review and technical safeguards such as rate limits, spam detection and security filters. Final moderation decisions with a significant adverse effect are not made solely by automated means.

Depending on severity, frequency and context, we may reduce visibility or remove content, restrict functions, issue warnings, or suspend or ban accounts. Urgent measures may be taken without warning. Where required, we provide the main reasons and available remedies.

13. Challenging a moderation decision

You may request review at admin@xivfriends.net. Identify your account, the decision or content concerned and your reasons. Statutory judicial and out-of-court remedies remain unaffected.

14. Deletion, termination and suspension

You can delete your account in settings or request deletion. We may suspend or terminate access for good cause, particularly serious or repeated violations. Where appropriate, we first allow an opportunity to remedy the issue.

The Privacy Policy and legal obligations govern what happens to content and personal data.

15. FFXIV and intellectual property

XIVFriends is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. FINAL FANTASY XIV and related marks and content belong to their owners. Follow the applicable SQUARE ENIX material and fan-kit policies.

XIVFriends design, software and original content may not be copied or exploited without permission except where the law allows.

16. Third parties, links and voluntary support

External services and links—including Lodestone, Discord, YouTube, GIPHY, Ko-fi and Patreon—are governed by their providers’ terms. Voluntary payments are processed there; XIVFriends does not receive complete payment details. Unless expressly stated, support creates no premium rights or advantages.

17. Warranty and liability

Statutory warranty rights apply. We have unlimited liability for intent and gross negligence, injury to life, body or health, and mandatory statutory liability.

For slight negligence affecting an essential contractual duty, liability is limited to foreseeable loss typical for the contract. Liability for other slight negligence is excluded. These limits also benefit our agents.

18. Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms prospectively for legal, security or functional reasons and will give appropriate notice of material changes. Where consent is required, we will request it. Otherwise, you may delete your account before the change takes effect. Existing claims remain unaffected.

19. Law and consumer dispute resolution

German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For consumers, this choice does not remove mandatory protection in their country of habitual residence. Exclusive jurisdiction applies only where legally permitted.

We are neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.