1. Acceptance of these terms
These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and Blocks, Inc. ("Blocks", "we", "us"). They govern your use of the Blocks mobile application and nycblocks.com (together, the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under 18, you confirm that a parent or guardian has reviewed and accepted these Terms on your behalf.
2. Your account
- You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for everything that happens under your account.
- Provide accurate information. Do not impersonate anyone.
- Notify us at security@nycblocks.com if you suspect unauthorized access.
- You can delete your account at any time. See Delete your account.
3. License to use the Service
Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the Blocks app on devices you own or control, for your own non-commercial use. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
4. Acceptable use
Do not:
- Use the Service for any illegal purpose or in violation of any law.
- Spoof your location, use simulators, or otherwise fake walks. We may detect and invalidate suspicious activity.
- Use the Service to harass, threaten, or harm others.
- Attempt to access another user's account, scrape the Service, reverse-engineer, decompile, or interfere with normal operation.
- Upload content that infringes someone else's rights, is illegal, or violates community standards (no harassment, hate speech, sexual content involving minors, or threats of violence).
- Resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit the Service without our written permission.
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules. We may also remove content that violates them.
5. Your content
You retain all rights in the content you create on Blocks — your maps, walks, profile, comments. By posting content visible to other users (e.g. comments on a shared walk), you grant Blocks a worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, and display that content as needed to operate the Service.
We do not claim ownership of your walks or your map. You can export your data at any time from Settings.
6. Fees
The Service is currently free. If we introduce paid features in the future, we will give you clear notice and these Terms will be updated. Free features will remain free for existing users for at least 12 months after any paid tier is introduced.
7. Our intellectual property
The Service — including the app, the website, the Blocks name, logo, and visual design — is owned by Blocks, Inc. and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not use our marks without prior written consent. The license in Section 3 does not transfer any ownership.
8. Third-party services
The Service incorporates third-party components — Mapbox (map tiles and rendering), OpenStreetMap (street and block geometry), NYC Open Data (neighborhood and DOH inspection data), Apple Sign-In, Google Sign-In, Apple Push Notification service, Supabase, Sentry, and PostHog. Your use of those services is also governed by their respective terms. We are not responsible for third-party services and disclaim liability for them.
9. Term and termination
These Terms apply for as long as you use the Service. You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, if required by law, or if we discontinue the Service. On termination, sections that by their nature should survive (IP, disclaimers, liability, disputes) will survive.
10. Disclaimers
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, Blocks disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or trade usage.
We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or accurate. Block counts, tier calculations, segment crediting, neighborhood percentages, and maps are best-effort estimates from GPS data; they are not surveying-grade. Venue information (including DOH grades) is sourced from public datasets and may not reflect current reality — always verify before relying on it.
11. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Blocks and its officers, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages — including loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses — arising out of or related to the Service.
Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or related to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) USD $50.
Walking is a physical activity. You assume all risks of walking in public spaces, including injury, property damage, and interaction with traffic. Blocks is not responsible for these risks.
12. Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Blocks, Inc. and its affiliates from any claims arising out of your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of another person's rights.
13. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.
For disputes under USD $10,000, either party may elect binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. You and Blocks agree that disputes will be resolved on an individual basis — no class actions. You can opt out of arbitration within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailing legal@nycblocks.com.
14. Apple App Store
If you obtained the app from the Apple App Store, the following also applies:
- These Terms are between you and Blocks, Inc. — not Apple. Apple is not responsible for the app or its content.
- Your license to the app is limited to use on Apple-branded devices you own or control, as permitted by the App Store Terms of Service.
- Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app.
- If the app fails to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any). Apple has no other warranty obligation.
- Blocks (not Apple) is solely responsible for addressing claims relating to the app — including product liability, legal compliance, and consumer protection claims.
- If a third party claims that the app infringes their intellectual property, Blocks (not Apple) is responsible for investigation and resolution.
- You represent that you are not in a country subject to U.S. government embargo, and not on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
- Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you.
15. General
Entire agreement. These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and Blocks on this subject.
Severability. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
Assignment. You may not assign these Terms. We may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
Changes. We may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes, we will notify you at least 30 days in advance. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the new Terms.
Contact. legal@nycblocks.com · Blocks, Inc., 123 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238.