💡 Key insights
- You can use the same terms and conditions for both your website and your app if the rules, obligations and services offered are materially the same, ensuring consistency across platforms.
- If your app collects additional data or offers different features compared with your website you should tailor the terms so they accurately reflect how those functions operate and protect your legal interests.
- Clear terms help set expectations for user conduct, permitted use, payment terms, dispute resolution and limitations of liability regardless of whether the user accessed your service via web or mobile app.
- Regularly reviewing and updating your terms and conditions ensures they remain compliant with changing laws, platform requirements and business practices for both website and app users.
All online businesses should have a clearly visible terms and conditions (Ts&Cs) document on their website and app. These terms set out things such as your returns, delivery and refund policies. In this guide, we’ll discuss whether it’s wise to include the same document on both your site and app.
What Ts&Cs cover
When potential customers visit your site or app, you want to be as transparent as possible in informing them of their rights. This is to protect both your business and your customers by informing users of:
- Your returns and refunds policy (these must also meet the ACCCs minimum requirements)
- A user’s rights to use the app (and site)
- When you’ll restrict access
- Who’s responsible for external content on your site
Your website
Running a website for your business means you’ve registered a domain name, likely had it designed and publish on your site through a third party host. Ts&Cs are necessary for websites and explain what user behaviour can result in a user being banned from the website.
Example
Your website has an activated comments section, where users can leave comments. You want your Ts&Cs to reflect this and to be able to prohibit users from engaging in abusive or troll-like behaviour.
Your app
You’ve likely spent a lot of time having your app designed, or even designing it yourself. Notably, an app is different to a website being mobile friendly and is usually more interactive than a customised version of your website.
In this sense, it can be difficult to replicate your Ts&Cs to fit both your website and app. Your app will likely contain different content or have a different process for making purchases and will need its own Ts&Cs. For these reasons, tailoring your Ts&Cs to each medium will ensure you’ve covered everything.
Example
Your app does not have a comments section, but you have a special feature which allows users to use VR technology to see how a product will look in their home (you sell antiques). You want to reinforce your intellectual property rights and inform users that you’ll take legal action if this technology is plagiarised.
Conclusion
Whether you run a website, app or both for your business, it’s crucial that you have the right documents in place to protect your interests. Further, these documents need to be reflective of how your goods or services are provided, and this will differ for a website and an app. If you have further questions about protecting your business online, a business lawyer can provide you with advice.
