Terms of Use

Effective: October 17, 2026

These terms are the rules for using Yokuasa ("the Service"). The person who runs the Service is called "the Operator" below. The Operator's details are on the "Legal notice (Japan)" page. By using the Service, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use it.

The short version (a summary; the full terms below are what count)

• Your photos stay yours. The Operator uses them only as needed to run the Service (store them, show them to the people at your event). Never for advertising, and never to train AI.
• After "developing", the photos in an album are visible to everyone who joined that event. Hosts should tell their guests this up front.
• Photos are deleted automatically when the plan's storage period ends. Download what you want to keep before then. Deleted photos cannot be restored.
• If you are not happy, you get a full refund within 7 days of developing. A refunded event's photos are scheduled for deletion.
• Storage Extension (a paid option to keep photos longer) is in preparation. It is not available now, and nothing renews or is charged automatically. Before it starts, we will update these terms and tell you (section 11).

1. What the Service is

1. Yokuasa is a web service that turns the phones (browsers) of people at an event into disposable cameras. A host creates an event. Guests join with a QR code or a link and take photos. At a time the host chooses, all photos are "developed" together and become viewable in an album.
2. Before developing, nobody can see the photos in the normal screens, including the host. The one exception: for about 3 seconds right after you take a photo, it is shown on your own screen so you can check it.
3. The album only contains photos taken with the Service's camera. Photos taken with your phone's built-in camera app are not included. Not every guest will take photos, so we cannot promise that every moment of your event will be captured.
4. The Service is meant for the browser of a smartphone that can connect to the internet and use the camera. Some features may not work on some devices or older browsers.

2. Terms used

• "Host": the person who created the event. A "co-host" is someone the host invited to help manage the same event.
• "Guest": a person who joins an event through a QR code or link and takes photos.
• "Developing": the moment photos become viewable in the album.
• "Storage period": how long photos are kept, counted from developing (see section 12).

3. Accounts and joining

1. Hosts log in by entering an email address and tapping the link we send. There is no password. Keep your email secure and do not let others use it. You will get a notification email every time you log in.
2. Guests do not need an account. A nickname is enough, and it does not have to be your real name. We recognize a guest's device with a cookie. If you clear cookies or site data, you may no longer be able to delete your own photos yourself.
3. Hosts must be 18 or older. If you are under 18, you need the consent of a parent or legal guardian to be a host.
4. Guests under 16 should join with a parent's or guardian's consent. Hosts of events where children take part should let parents know.
5. If a host sets a passphrase, only people who know it can join. If there is no passphrase, anyone who has the link or QR code can join. Share the link or QR code only with the people you want at your event, and do not post it publicly.

4. Host responsibilities

Hosts must:

1. Tell participants in advance that (a) photos will be taken, (b) after developing, everyone who joined the event can see the album, and (c) how long photos are kept.
2. Check the venue's rules on photography.
3. Take care with photos of children and others who need extra care.
4. Take responsibility for any photos they download (for example as a ZIP file). The Operator cannot delete files you have saved.
5. Hide or delete unwanted photos from the album management screen.

5. Guest responsibilities

Please take photos in a way that respects other people. Do not take:

• Private moments of people who do not want to be photographed or do not know (for example in changing rooms or restrooms).
• Photos in places where photography is not allowed.
• Photos meant to hurt or harass someone.

6. Rights in photos

1. Copyright and other rights in a photo stay with the person who took it. The Operator does not take ownership.
2. The person who took a photo gives the Operator permission to use it only as needed to run the Service, at no charge. That covers:
   • storing it, and resizing or converting it (photos are saved with the long edge shrunk to 2048 pixels);
   • showing it to the participants of the same event in the album and letting them save it;
   • reviewing it if it is reported, and handling legal requests;
   • keeping it with outside service providers (such as cloud hosting) that run the Service for us.
3. The Operator does not use photos for advertising or promotion, does not use them to train AI, and does not give them to third parties, except as required by law. If the Operator would like to feature a photo, it will ask the photographer for permission each time.
4. The Operator does not look at what is in your photos except to (a) review a reported photo, (b) do the minimum needed to investigate a technical problem, or (c) respond to a legal obligation.
5. If you take a photo, you promise that you have the right to give this permission.
6. People in photos have rights too (such as privacy and the right to control their image). Whoever takes, saves, or shares a photo should respect the people in it. If you post a photo taken by someone else, or a photo showing someone else, please remove it if the photographer or the person pictured asks.
7. The Service's software, screens, design, text, and name belong to the Operator. You only receive a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service.

7. What you must not do

Do not:

1. Break the law.
2. Infringe anyone's copyright, image rights, privacy, reputation, or other rights.
3. Take or upload sexual images of minors, sexual images, violent images, images that discriminate or harass, or private images of people without their consent.
4. Pretend to be someone else.
5. Access the Service or anyone's devices without permission, overload the Service, or damage how it works.
6. Get around rate limits (for example on login or passphrase attempts) or use automated tools to send large amounts of traffic.
7. Try to view photos before they are developed.
8. Resell, rent, or rebuild the Service for others without the Operator's permission (except as the law allows).
9. Use someone else's card or payment method without permission.
10. Repeatedly file false reports, or abuse the refund guarantee.
11. Have any connection with organized crime groups.
12. Do anything else the Operator reasonably judges to be inappropriate (we will explain why).

8. Reports, removal, and suspension

1. After developing, guests and hosts can report a photo, one photo at a time.
2. The Operator looks only at reported photos, as small images, and decides: hide, delete, or no problem.
3. Hosts can hide or delete photos. Guests can delete the photos they took.
4. If you believe your rights have been infringed, email support@yokuasa.com with (a) enough detail to identify the event or photo and (b) your reason. We will review it and respond as needed.
5. If the Operator finds a photo or behavior that breaks section 7, it may delete the photo, suspend participation, or suspend the event or account without prior notice. When urgent, we may hide a photo before reviewing it.
6. If a deletion or suspension is caused by a rule violation, there is no refund. If the cause is on the Operator's side, we handle it as described in section 10.
7. If a court, the police, or another authority makes a legally valid request, the Operator may provide the necessary information as the law requires.

9. Fees and payment

1. The Service has a free plan (Free) and paid plans. Paid plans are paid once per event (they are not subscriptions). Prices, guest limits, photos per guest, and storage periods are shown on the pricing page and at checkout. The price shown at checkout is the amount you pay; any taxes are shown there as well.
   Paid plans are currently sold in Japanese yen on the Japanese pages only. Paid plans in US dollars (the English pages) are in preparation. We will tell you before they start.
2. You pay on Stripe's payment page. The payment methods available are shown on that page. Stripe receives your card details directly. The Operator's servers never receive or store them.
3. A paid plan is active as soon as payment completes. An event you have not paid for stays in draft, and guests cannot join. A draft event is deleted automatically after 7 days if unpaid.
4. To move up to a bigger plan later, you pay the difference between the new plan's price and what you already paid.
5. Internet charges and any fees your card issuer applies (such as foreign-transaction fees) are your responsibility.

10. Satisfaction guarantee and refunds

1. Within 7 days of developing, you can get a full refund of what you paid for that event (the plan and any upgrade), for any reason.
2. To ask for a refund, email support@yokuasa.com with (a) the host's email address and (b) the event name. We refund to the original payment method. Depending on your card issuer, it may take a few weeks to show up.
3. When an event is refunded, the plan for that event ends and its photos are scheduled for deletion. Save what you need as a ZIP first.
4. After 7 days from developing, we do not refund, except where we could not provide the Service because of a problem on our side. In that case we will refund as appropriate.
5. If you want a refund before developing, for an event you have not used, please ask. We decide case by case.
6. The Service is digital, so there are no returns. The guarantee above is a promise of a refund, not a return. In Japan, there is no cooling-off period for online sales like this.
7. If you notice a billing mistake (for example a double charge), tell us right away. We will check and refund.

11. Storage Extension (in preparation)

1. "Storage Extension" is a paid option, now in preparation, that would extend the storage period one year at a time. It is not available now, and you cannot buy it.
2. Right now there are no automatic renewals or recurring charges. Paid plans are a one-time payment per event. After you pay, we do not charge your payment method again automatically.
3. Before Storage Extension starts, we will update these terms and tell you (section 15). At that time we will show the price, the renewal date, the period, how to stop renewal, and the refund conditions in these terms and at checkout.
4. Even after it starts, no Storage Extension charge begins unless you sign up for it yourself.
5. For now, the storage period cannot be extended. Save the photos you want to keep (for example as a ZIP) before the storage period ends (section 12).

12. Storage period and deletion

1. The storage period is counted from developing (or from the event's end time, if developing is set earlier than that). By plan:

1. Storage Extension, which would extend the storage period, is in preparation (section 11). For now the storage period cannot be extended.
2. When the storage period ends, photos and the data tied to them are deleted automatically. Deleted data cannot be restored.
3. Photos are also deleted when (a) the host deletes the event, (b) the host deletes the account, (c) the event is refunded, or (d) we remove them under section 8. Guests can delete their own photos after developing.
4. After deletion, copies may remain in backups or system records for a short time because of how the system works.
5. Save what you want to keep (for example as a ZIP) before the deadline. We may send a reminder, but photos are deleted at the deadline whether or not you receive one.
6. A draft event that has not been paid for is deleted after 7 days.
7. Payment records (amount, date, and similar; they do not include photos or guest information) are kept after an event is deleted, for the period required by accounting and tax law.

13. Changes, interruptions, and ending the Service

1. The Operator may change the Service or pause it for maintenance or improvements. Outages at outside services (such as cloud hosting) can also interrupt it.
2. If we end the Service, we will give at least 30 days' notice on the site and by email, stop taking new purchases, and give you a period to save your photos as a ZIP.
3. For the part of a paid storage period you can no longer use because the Service ended, we will refund on a pro-rated basis. We will explain how in the notice.
4. When urgent (for example for legal or safety reasons), we may stop the Service without notice.

14. Disclaimers

1. We build the Service to run as reliably as we can, but we cannot promise it will never stop, never have errors, or work on every device.
2. Photos may fail to be taken, uploaded, or collected if, for example, the signal is weak, the phone is out of storage, camera permission is off, or the browser is out of date. For important occasions, we recommend also using another method, such as your phone's built-in camera.
3. Disputes between users (host and guest, guest and guest) should be settled between them. We help with the report and delete tools.
4. The 3-second check screen cannot stop someone from capturing it (for example by screenshot).
5. If the Operator is responsible for a loss you suffer, the Operator will compensate you. Except where the Operator acted intentionally or with gross negligence, the amount is limited to what you paid for that event, and to losses that normally arise from the cause.
6. The previous paragraph does not apply to the extent that the law (such as consumer protection law) does not allow it.

15. Changes to these terms

1. The Operator may change these terms in the cases the Japanese Civil Code allows. Before a change takes effect, we will announce it on the site or by email.
2. A change will not make the contents of a plan you already bought (guest limit, photos per guest, storage period, price) worse for you.

16. Personal information

How we handle personal information is described in the Privacy Policy.

17. Governing law and courts

1. These terms are governed by the laws of Japan.
2. If a dispute arises about the Service, the Tokyo District Court or Tokyo Summary Court has exclusive jurisdiction in the first instance, unless the law provides for a different court.
3. These terms are provided in Japanese and English. If the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. This does not limit any mandatory consumer-protection rights you have under the law of the country or region where you live.

18. Contact

For questions, refunds, reports, and cancellation:

• Email: support@yokuasa.com

We usually reply within a few business days, and we handle refunds and cancellations as quickly as we can.