Terms, privacy & liability

ZEM connects independent people who want to ride, drive, lend a vehicle, host a stay or move freight. Every agreement — the Ride Pact, Key Pact, Stay Pact and Freight Manifest — is formed directly between the two peers who sign it. ZEM supplies the template, the cryptographic signature record and the release schedule; it is not a party to your agreement and cannot perform it for you.

ZEM never holds, escrows, transmits or converts your money. Fares, rents, deposits and haul rates move directly between peers on rails they choose (PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, M-Pesa, bank or crypto). Pact "releases" are instructions and attestations shown to both peers — they are not custody, and no balance is held by ZEM. Subscription fees for Civilian and Commercial node tiers are the only money ZEM charges, and they are processed by Stripe.

Because funds are peer-to-peer, a payment sent on the wrong rail, to the wrong handle, or outside a signed pact cannot be reversed by ZEM. Confirm the handshake code before you send.

Each peer is responsible for their own licensing, insurance, roadworthiness, tax and local law compliance. Drivers and hosts confirm they hold the coverage their jurisdiction requires. Riders, renters and guests accept the risks inherent in travelling with, or staying with, another private person.

The waivers you co-sign in Safety, Keys and Nest record that acceptance with a timestamped hash. ZEM provides that record to both peers and, where a dispute is raised, to the AI mediator. ZEM is not liable for injury, loss, damage, delay or theft arising from a peer agreement, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

Discovery runs on presence, not a database of people. While a tab is open your device broadcasts a rotating peer id, your role, a handle, a trust score and a location rounded to roughly 110 metres. Close the tab and that entry disappears — nothing about your presence is retained.

Documents you add to the Digital Glovebox are stored under your account and readable only by you under row-level security. Data Oracle statistics are aggregated movement, speed and pricing signals with no peer id, route pair or document attached. Dash cam and Zem Cam footage stays on your device unless you export it. Clearing site storage rotates your peer identity.

Disputes are first mediated by ZEM's AI resolution room using the signed pact, the release history and both peers' statements. Its outcome is a recommendation to peers, not a binding arbitration award, and it does not remove your right to pursue local remedies.

Harassment, discrimination, impersonation, weapons, trafficking, unlicensed commercial hauling and fraudulent verification documents are prohibited and end network access without refund. You may stop using ZEM at any time; deleting your node account removes your Glovebox contents.