Acceptable Use Policy

Last Updated: December 31, 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to Owode Commerce.

This Acceptable Use Policy (“Policy” or “AUP”) explains the rules and standards that apply when you access or use the websites, applications, products, services, APIs, communications channels, and other offerings operated by Owode Commerce Ltd (“Owode”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) (collectively, the “Platform”).

This Policy is designed to help maintain a secure, lawful, trustworthy, and respectful environment for all users, including buyers, sellers, ambassadors, partners, developers, visitors, and other members of the Owode community.

By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to comply with this Policy in addition to our Terms of Service and other applicable policies.

Failure to comply with this Policy may result in warnings, restrictions, suspension, permanent removal from the Platform, or legal action where appropriate.

2. Purpose

The purpose of this Policy is to:

• promote lawful and responsible use of the Platform;
• protect users from fraud, abuse, and harmful conduct;
• safeguard the integrity, security, and reliability of the Platform;
• support fair competition within the marketplace;
• protect intellectual property rights;
• maintain trust between all members of the Owode community.

3. Our Community Principles

Everyone using Owode Commerce is expected to contribute to a marketplace built on the following principles:

Respect

Treat other users with courtesy, professionalism, honesty, and respect.

Integrity

Provide truthful information and conduct business fairly.

Safety

Help maintain a secure environment free from fraud, abuse, malicious activity, and illegal conduct.

Responsibility

Use the Platform only for lawful purposes and in accordance with applicable laws and these policies.

Trust

Protect the reputation of the marketplace through ethical behaviour and honest interactions.

4. General Responsibilities

When using the Platform, you agree to:

• comply with all applicable laws and regulations;
• provide accurate and up-to-date information;
• maintain the security of your account;
• protect your login credentials;
• use the Platform only for legitimate business or personal purposes;
• respect the rights of other users;
• comply with all published Owode policies.

5. Prohibited Activities

You must not use the Platform to engage in any activity that is unlawful, fraudulent, harmful, deceptive, abusive, or otherwise inconsistent with this Policy.

The examples below are not exhaustive.

6. Fraud, Deception and Dishonesty

You must not:

• impersonate another person or organisation;
• create fake identities or accounts;
• provide false, misleading, or inaccurate information;
• misrepresent products, services, pricing, or availability;
• submit fraudulent orders;
• manipulate transactions;
• use stolen payment methods;
• commit identity theft;
• engage in phishing or social engineering;
• knowingly assist another person in fraudulent activities.

7. Illegal Activities

You may not use the Platform to:

• violate any applicable law or regulation;
• facilitate criminal activity;
• launder money;
• finance unlawful activities;
• evade taxes or regulatory obligations;
• infringe sanctions or export controls where applicable;
• violate consumer protection laws.

8. Platform Security

You must not attempt to:

• interfere with Platform operations;
• bypass security measures;
• gain unauthorised access to systems;
• exploit software vulnerabilities;
• probe or scan networks without permission;
• perform denial-of-service attacks;
• compromise user accounts;
• disrupt Platform availability.

9. Malware and Harmful Technologies

You must not upload, distribute, transmit, or facilitate:

• viruses;
• worms;
• ransomware;
• spyware;
• trojans;
• malicious scripts;
• harmful code;
• or any technology intended to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorised access to systems or data.

10. Automated Access and Scraping

Unless expressly authorised by Owode, you must not:

• scrape the Platform;
• harvest data;
• crawl or index content using automated tools;
• use bots that negatively affect Platform performance;
• bypass technical restrictions;
• reverse engineer protected functionality;
• collect user information through automated means.

Reasonable indexing by recognised search engines is permitted where authorised.

11. Account Misuse

You may not:

• share accounts in violation of Platform rules;
• buy or sell accounts;
• transfer accounts without permission;
• create duplicate accounts to evade enforcement;
• allow unauthorised persons to use your account.

You are responsible for all activities conducted through your account.

12. Abuse of Marketplace Features

You must not misuse Platform features, including:

• storefronts;
• messaging;
• referrals;
• promotional campaigns;
• discount programmes;
• loyalty programmes;
• payment features;
• delivery coordination tools;
• reviews;
• ratings;
• search functionality.

Examples include:

• creating fake demand;
• manipulating rankings;
• abusing promotional credits;
• exploiting software bugs;
• repeatedly cancelling transactions in bad faith.

13. Off-Platform Transactions

Where the Platform facilitates introductions between buyers and sellers, users must not intentionally use the Platform solely to divert transactions away from Owode in order to avoid applicable Platform fees, policies, or protections.

Owode may investigate repeated attempts to circumvent Platform processes.

Nothing in this section prevents parties from complying with applicable law or fulfilling contractual obligations outside the Platform where permitted by our Terms of Service.

14. Reviews and Ratings

Trustworthy reviews are essential.

You must not:

• submit fake reviews;
• pay for misleading reviews;
• exchange positive reviews for incentives without disclosure;
• review your own business using another account;
• coordinate review manipulation;
• intimidate users into changing reviews.

Reviews should reflect genuine experiences.

15. Harassment and Abusive Conduct

You must not engage in:

• harassment;
• bullying;
• intimidation;
• stalking;
• threats;
• discrimination;
• hate speech;
• abusive language;
• sexual harassment;
• unwanted contact.

We encourage respectful communication at all times.

16. Harmful, Offensive or Illegal Content

You may not upload, publish, transmit, or distribute content that:

• is unlawful;
• promotes violence;
• promotes terrorism or organised crime;
• exploits children;
• contains sexually explicit material where prohibited;
• promotes self-harm;
• contains graphic violence;
• encourages criminal activity;
• is defamatory;
• infringes privacy rights;
• violates intellectual property rights.

17. Intellectual Property

You must respect the intellectual property rights of others.

You may not:

• upload infringing content;
• sell counterfeit goods;
• misuse trademarks;
• copy copyrighted materials without permission;
• remove ownership notices;
• falsely claim ownership of another person’s work.

Additional requirements may be outlined in our Intellectual Property Policy.

18. Privacy and Personal Information

You must not:

• collect personal information without lawful authority;
• misuse customer information;
• send unsolicited marketing communications;
• sell user information;
• disclose confidential information without permission;
• engage in phishing or data harvesting.

Personal information must be handled responsibly and in accordance with applicable law.

19. Fair Competition

Users must compete fairly.

Prohibited conduct includes:

• price fixing;
• collusion;
• market manipulation;
• unfair interference with competitors;
• false reports against competitors;
• manipulation of search rankings;
• coordinated attempts to damage another seller’s reputation.

20. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

Where Owode provides AI-powered features, users must not:

• misuse AI to deceive others;
• generate fraudulent content;
• create misleading listings;
• automate abusive behaviour;
• circumvent Platform safeguards;
• violate applicable law through AI-generated content.

Owode may establish additional AI usage requirements as these services evolve.

21. APIs and Developer Services

Where APIs or developer tools are provided, users must not:

• exceed rate limits;
• interfere with service availability;
• misuse API credentials;
• build services that violate Platform policies;
• compromise Platform security.

Additional API Terms may apply.

22. Cross-Border Commerce

Where international transactions are supported, users are responsible for complying with applicable:

• customs laws;
• import and export regulations;
• sanctions;
• tax obligations;
• consumer protection requirements.

Owode may restrict certain transactions to comply with applicable laws.

23. Investigations

Owode may investigate suspected violations of this Policy.

This may include reviewing:

• account activity;
• communications made through the Platform;
• listings;
• transaction history;
• reports submitted by users;
• publicly available information;
• technical logs.

Where appropriate, we may cooperate with regulatory authorities or law enforcement agencies.

24. Reporting Violations

If you believe someone has violated this Policy, please report the matter using our official support channels.

When reporting an issue, please provide as much relevant information as possible to assist our investigation.

Knowingly submitting false or malicious reports may itself constitute a violation of this Policy.

25. Enforcement

Where we reasonably believe this Policy has been violated, we may take one or more of the following actions:

• issue warnings;
• remove content;
• remove listings;
• disable specific features;
• suspend transactions;
• temporarily restrict accounts;
• permanently terminate accounts;
• recover losses where permitted by law;
• report unlawful conduct to relevant authorities;
• pursue legal remedies.

The action taken will generally depend on the seriousness, frequency, and impact of the violation.

26. Appeals

If you believe enforcement action was taken in error, you may submit an appeal through our designated support channels within a reasonable period after notification.

Submitting an appeal does not guarantee reversal of our decision.

We will review appeals fairly and may request additional information before making a final determination.

27. Relationship with Other Policies

This Policy should be read together with our:

• Terms of Service;
• Privacy Policy;
• Cookie Policy;
• Delivery Policy;
• Refund Policy;
• Seller Terms (where applicable);
• Buyer Terms (where applicable);
• Ambassador Program Terms (where applicable);
• Intellectual Property Policy (where applicable);
• any other applicable policies published by Owode.

Where there is a conflict between this Policy and another agreement governing a specific service, that specific agreement will prevail to the extent of the conflict.

28. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Acceptable Use Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, legal obligations, or business practices.

The revised version will be published on this page together with its updated Effective Date.

Your continued use of the Platform after the revised Policy becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

29. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Acceptable Use Policy or wish to report a suspected violation, please contact us using the official contact details published on the Owode Commerce website.