terms of service

hytch is a shared-route coordination platform. hytch helps people discover, request, and coordinate route matches with others who may already be traveling in a similar direction.

hytch is designed as shared-route coordination, not as taxi dispatch, delivery, courier, or on-demand transportation. hytch does not employ drivers or determine their trips. users are independent people who choose whether to share a route they already plan to take, request to join, accept a request, or travel together.

hytch is not responsible for whether a route happens, whether a user accepts a request, whether users arrive on time, or whether users choose to ride together.

you must be at least 18 years old to use hytch.

by using hytch, you represent that:

• you are legally allowed to enter into these terms;
• the information you provide is accurate;
• you will use hytch only for lawful purposes;
• you will follow all applicable laws and regulations;
• if you drive, you have a valid driver’s license, valid vehicle registration, and any insurance required by law.

hytch may suspend or remove accounts that appear to violate these terms, create safety concerns, misuse the platform, or provide false information.

to use hytch, you may need to create an account and provide information such as your name, phone number, profile photo, location information, and other profile details.

hytch may offer verification features, including phone verification and school, work, or organization email verification. verification means only that a user completed the verification step shown in the app. verification does not mean that hytch has performed a background check, identity investigation, driving record check, criminal history check, employment check, or safety screening.

you are responsible for keeping your account secure and for all activity under your account.

drivers may share routes they are already planning to take. passengers may request to join routes that appear to match their own travel needs.

a route match is only an estimate. route timing, distance, pickup feasibility, detour time, availability, and route overlap may change because of traffic, location changes, user actions, map inaccuracies, delays, or other factors.

a driver may accept, decline, ignore, cancel, or close requests at their discretion. a passenger may cancel a request at their discretion. hytch does not guarantee that any request will be accepted, that any route will happen, or that any user will complete a route.

hytch does not process ride payments, fares, tips, payouts, or driver earnings.

hytch does not set prices for routes. hytch does not require passengers to pay drivers. hytch does not take a commission from routes.

users may choose to discuss optional cost-sharing outside hytch, such as gas or toll sharing, where permitted by law. any such arrangement is strictly between users. hytch is not responsible for collecting, enforcing, transferring, refunding, or resolving any payment, reimbursement, tip, cost-sharing, or outside transaction between users.

after a completed route, hytch may show one suggested cost-share amount on the review screen. it is an estimate of vehicle operating cost only: the miles you shared, split evenly between the two of you, plus the extra miles the driver drove to include you, multiplied by a single per-mile operating cost rate that hytch sets for everyone and reviews at least once a year. it is never based on time, demand, surge pricing, or a comparison to a commercial ride price. it is a suggestion, not a bill: either person may enter any amount, including zero, and hytch never collects, transfers, holds, or takes a share of it.

after a completed route, a participant may optionally and privately record an amount that already changed hands outside hytch so hytch can estimate personal savings. recording an amount is not required, is not shown before matching, and never affects discovery, acceptance, or route access.

the savings figures hytch shows you are estimates, not amounts anyone was charged, quoted, or paid. the money figure compares what you recorded against hytch's own internal model of what a comparable commercial ride would have cost for the same distance and time of day. that model is hytch's estimate alone: it is not a quote from any transportation provider, it is not checked against any real fare, and no provider is consulted. the time figure compares your route against an estimate of the same trip by public transit. treat both as rough indications only.

users may not use hytch to operate a commercial ride service, charge fares, solicit paid transportation as a business, or misuse hytch as a ride-hailing marketplace.

you are responsible for your own decisions when using hytch.

before sharing a route, joining a route, meeting another user, or getting into a vehicle, use your own judgment. review the available profile, vehicle, route, verification, and safety information. do not proceed if something feels wrong.

hytch does not guarantee the conduct, identity, driving ability, vehicle condition, insurance status, legality, reliability, or safety of any user. hytch does not guarantee that a route, pickup, dropoff, or meeting point is safe or appropriate.

in an emergency, contact local emergency services immediately.

if you use hytch as a driver, you agree that:

• you will follow all traffic laws;
• you will not drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or any substance that impairs driving;
• you will not drive distracted;
• you will keep your vehicle reasonably safe, clean, and legally operable;
• you will maintain any insurance required by law;
• you will not demand payment as a condition of completing a route through hytch;
• you will not misrepresent your route, vehicle, license plate, identity, or availability;
• you will only accept route requests you are comfortable completing.

drivers are solely responsible for their driving, vehicle, insurance, route choices, and compliance with applicable law.

if you use hytch as a passenger, you agree that:

• you will be respectful toward drivers and other users;
• you will be ready at the agreed pickup area;
• you will not pressure drivers to speed, make illegal stops, drive unsafely, or change routes in unsafe ways;
• you will not damage vehicles or property;
• you will not harass, threaten, or abuse other users;
• you will not use hytch to request illegal transportation or illegal activity.

passengers are responsible for deciding whether to request, join, continue, or cancel a shared route.

you may not use hytch to:

• violate any law or regulation;
• harass, threaten, stalk, discriminate against, or abuse anyone;
• impersonate another person;
• provide false profile, vehicle, route, verification, or contact information;
• use hytch for commercial ride-hailing, taxi, delivery, courier, or paid transportation services;
• demand fares, tips, or payments through hytch;
• transport illegal substances or participate in illegal activity;
• carry weapons unlawfully;
• damage property;
• interfere with the app, backend, security systems, or other users’ accounts;
• scrape, copy, reverse engineer, or misuse hytch’s systems;
• create multiple accounts to avoid suspension;
• use hytch in a way that creates risk, harm, fraud, or abuse.

hytch has zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive behavior. content that harasses, threatens, or demeans another person, and any user who engages in it, will be removed from hytch.

hytch may provide tools to report users, block users, submit safety concerns, or flag route issues.

hytch may review reports and take action at its discretion, including warning users, limiting features, removing content, disabling route access, suspending accounts, deleting accounts, or contacting authorities where appropriate.

hytch is not obligated to investigate every report or resolve every dispute between users.

hytch relies on location and route information to provide route matching, pickup estimates, route activity, and related features.

location and route information may be approximate and may not always be accurate. do not rely on hytch as your only navigation, safety, emergency, or transportation tool.

you are responsible for confirming meeting points, route details, and safety before proceeding.

you may provide content such as profile photos, names, route details, reports, messages, saved places, or other information.

you are responsible for the content you provide. you may not upload or submit content that is illegal, misleading, harmful, abusive, discriminatory, sexually explicit, infringing, or otherwise inappropriate.

you grant hytch a limited license to use your content as needed to operate, provide, display, improve, and protect the service.

after a completed route, each participant may answer a short set of questions about the other person and choose from a fixed list of descriptive tags. once a user has enough reviewed routes, those tags are summarised on their profile, where another user may see them before deciding whether to share a route.

feedback must be honest and based on what actually happened on the route. do not use feedback to retaliate, to pressure someone over expense sharing, to harass, or to describe anything other than the route you shared.

hytch does not write, verify, investigate, or endorse feedback. tags reflect what other users reported and are opinions, not statements of fact by hytch.

hytch may remove feedback, withhold it from a profile, or act on the account behind it where it appears dishonest, retaliatory, abusive, or in breach of these terms. to report feedback you believe breaches these terms, contact hytch at support@hytchapp.com.

feedback may include whether someone contributed toward the cost of a drive. recording or not recording a contribution is never required, and hytch does not collect, transfer, enforce, or take a share of any amount. see the cost-sharing section above.

you may delete your account in the app (settings → account → danger zone) or by contacting hytch at support@hytchapp.com.

deletion takes effect in two stages. as soon as you request it you are signed out, your active routes and requests are cancelled, and your profile stops being visible to anyone else. your account and personal data are then permanently deleted 7 days later. during those 7 days you can sign in with the same phone number to restore your account, which is the only reason the data is kept that long. the phone number stays attached to the account for that period and cannot be used to start a new one.

some information may be retained where necessary for legal, safety, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, security, or compliance reasons.

hytch may use third-party services such as hosting providers, authentication providers, database providers, analytics tools, crash reporting tools, email providers, SMS providers, map providers, and app store services.

hytch is not responsible for third-party services, maps, networks, outages, data errors, or external links.

hytch may change, suspend, limit, or discontinue any part of the service at any time. hytch may update features, remove features, modify route matching, change verification options, or limit access for safety, legal, technical, or business reasons.

hytch does not guarantee that the service will be available, uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.

hytch is provided “as is” and “as available.”

to the fullest extent permitted by law, hytch disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, safety, availability, accuracy, non-infringement, and reliability.

hytch does not guarantee any user, route, pickup, dropoff, vehicle, driver, passenger, timing, destination, safety outcome, or transportation result.

to the fullest extent permitted by law, hytch and its owners, employees, contractors, partners, service providers, and affiliates will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, personal injury, property damage, transportation issues, missed events, route disputes, payment disputes, or user conduct arising from or related to your use of hytch.

nothing in these terms limits liability where it cannot legally be limited.

you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless hytch and its owners, employees, contractors, partners, service providers, and affiliates from claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses arising from your use of hytch, your content, your route activity, your driving, your passenger activity, your violation of these terms, or your violation of law or another person’s rights.

you may stop using hytch at any time.

hytch may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account or access to the service at any time if hytch believes you violated these terms, created risk, misused the platform, caused harm, or for any other lawful reason.

these terms are governed by the laws of the state of illinois, without regard to conflict of law rules.

any dispute will be handled in the courts located in cook county, illinois, unless another process is required by applicable law.

hytch may update these terms from time to time. if changes are material, hytch may provide notice through the app, website, or other reasonable means. your continued use of hytch after changes become effective means you accept the updated terms.

for questions about these terms, contact hytch at legal@hytchapp.com.