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Terms of Service

Last updated: September 22, 2026

Effective date: September 22, 2026

This is an unofficial English translation provided for your convenience. The original Japanese version (利用規約) is the authoritative text, and in the event of any discrepancy, the Japanese version governs.

These Terms of Service (these "Terms") set out the conditions for using the climbing social app "High Climb" (the "App") provided by Ryo Watanabe (渡部 龍), trading as High Climb Studio (the "Operator"). Users are required to use the App only after agreeing to these Terms.

Article 1 (Application)

These Terms apply to all relationships between users and the Operator relating to the use of the App.

Article 2 (Changes to the Service)

  1. The Operator may change the App's features, UI, data specifications, and pricing plan structure without prior notice.

Article 3 (Eligibility)

  1. The App may be used by individuals aged 13 or older who register their own account. Individuals under 13 may not register their own account and may only use the App through a Kids Account as defined in Article 4-2.
  2. If a minor (under 18) uses the App, they must first obtain the consent of a parent or other legal guardian. By registering for the App and agreeing to these Terms, the user is deemed to have obtained such consent.
  3. If the Operator determines that a user does not meet the eligibility requirements of this Article, the Operator may suspend or delete the account without prior notice.

Article 4 (Accounts)

  1. Users shall register for the App using a Google account or an Apple account.
  2. Users are responsible for properly managing their own account and may not let a third party use it, or transfer, sell, or lend it.
  3. The Operator bears no responsibility for any damage arising from a third party's use of a user's account information.

Article 4-2 (Kids Accounts)

  1. A user who is a parent or other legal guardian ("Guardian") of a child under 13 may create an account linked to their own account (a "Kids Account") to manage that child's climbing records. The number of Kids Accounts that may be created, and other conditions, are set by the Operator.
  2. A Kids Account can only be operated through the Guardian's account and has no means for the child to sign in directly. All records, posts, and other actions performed on a Kids Account are deemed to be the Guardian's own actions, and the Guardian bears responsibility under these Terms.
  3. By creating a Kids Account, the Guardian, as the child's legal representative, agrees to the child's use of the App and to the handling of the child's information as set out in the Privacy Policy.
  4. The Guardian sets the visibility of the Kids Account's profile and records. By default, the display name and climbing videos are both private, and the account is not listed on the in-gym ranking. If the Guardian changes the visibility settings, the display name and climbing videos will be shown to users within the selected scope, and if the in-gym ranking listing is enabled, the account will appear on that ranking. When event results are published on the public web page, if the display name's visibility is set to "Everyone," the display name will also appear on that page. Note that a Kids Account's profile screen is not shown to anyone other than the Guardian, and no follow relationships with other users are created for it. It is also subject to joint use with the operator of the gym where records were made (Privacy Policy §3.1). If the Kids Account enters an event held across multiple gyms, it is also subject to joint use with that event's hosting gyms (meaning the organizing gym and any gym that has accepted the organizing gym's invitation; the same applies below).
  5. Once a child turns 13 and has their own Google or Apple account, the Guardian can initiate changing (transferring) the Kids Account into the child's own regular account. On transfer, the child must agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy in their own right, and the transferred account will be subject to these Terms as the child's own account.
  6. If a Guardian deletes their account, any Kids Accounts that have not been transferred will also be deleted. In that case, the handling of data (the split between deletion and anonymized retention) follows the same rules as ordinary account deletion under Article 17.

Article 5 (User-Generated Content)

  1. Users may post content on the App such as photos, videos, problem information, comments, and links to posts on external services (e.g., Instagram) (collectively, "User Content").
  2. Users warrant that they hold valid rights in any User Content they post, and that it does not infringe the rights of any third party.
  3. When linking a post on an external service to a problem or other item within the App, users may only link their own posts. Linking a third party's post as if it were the user's own record is prohibited.
  4. Users retain copyright and other intellectual property rights in their User Content.
  5. Users grant the Operator a royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license (including the rights to reproduce, translate, adapt, edit, distribute, and make publicly transmittable) to use User Content for the following purposes:
    • Providing and improving the App (including generating thumbnails, previews, and recommendations)
    • Promoting and advertising the App (including on the Operator's official social media accounts, in app store listings, and on the Operator's website and partner media)
    • Statistics and analysis (User Content will not be disclosed externally in a form that identifies individuals)
  6. If the Operator intends to use User Content commercially beyond the purposes above, the Operator will separately obtain the user's individual consent.
  7. Users agree not to exercise their moral rights of authorship against the Operator or any third party licensed under this Article, except where the Operator or that third party uses the User Content in a manner that harms the user's honor or reputation.
  8. The Operator may remove, without prior notice, any User Content that:
    • Violates these Terms
    • Violates any law or regulation
    • Is the subject of a rights-infringement claim by a third party
    • The Operator determines to be inappropriate

Article 5-2 (Use of Images Created with the App's Image Editing Feature)

  1. Images created using the App's image editing feature (including images saved to a device or shared from the App; "Created Images") may be used for sharing, such as posting on social media, to the extent that doing so does not infringe the rights of any third party.
  2. When using a Created Image, you may not remove or alter the High Climb credit (logo, label, etc.) shown on it.

Article 6 (Rights Infringement Claims)

  1. Anyone who believes that User Content on the App infringes their copyright, trademark rights, right to one's own likeness, privacy rights, or other rights may submit a claim to the Operator in writing or by email ([email protected]).
  2. Claims should include the following:
    • The claimant's name (or organization name) and contact information
    • A description of the right alleged to be infringed
    • Information identifying the User Content alleged to infringe (URL, posting date/time, etc.)
    • The reasons why infringement is believed to have occurred
    • An affirmation that the claim is true and accurate
  3. On receiving a claim, the Operator will conduct any necessary investigation and take appropriate action in accordance with Japan's Act on the Limitation of Liability for Damages of Specified Telecommunications Service Providers and the Right to Demand Disclosure of Identification Information of the Senders (プロバイダ責任制限法, the "Provider Liability Limitation Act") and other applicable laws.
  4. The Operator may decline to act on a claim it determines to be clearly inappropriate or likely to be false.
  5. Depending on the content of a claim, the Operator may take measures such as removing the User Content in question, inquiring with the poster about measures to prevent transmission, or other necessary action.

Article 7 (Filming Guidelines)

  1. When filming at a bouldering gym or facility, users must comply with the facility's rules and etiquette.
  2. If other users may be captured in the frame, users must obtain their permission in advance or take sufficient care regarding their appearance.
  3. Posting content that includes another person's face or other personally identifiable information without their permission is prohibited.
  4. Where a facility prohibits filming, users may not use the App's filming features within that facility.

Article 8 (Subscriptions)

  1. The App offers a free plan (Free) and paid plans (Light, Pro). Details of the features and limits of each plan are provided on the pricing page within the App.
  2. Paid plans are purchased through in-app purchases (IAP) via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
  3. Paid plans renew automatically on a monthly basis. Unless you cancel by the deadline set by the applicable store (currently 24 hours before the end of the current billing period), the plan will automatically renew under the same terms.
  4. Cancellation is done through your device's store settings (the subscription management screen in the App Store, or the Payments & subscriptions screen in Google Play). Cancellation cannot be done directly within the App.
  5. If you cancel, you may continue to use the paid plan's features until the end of the current billing period. No prorated refund is given for cancellation partway through the billing period.
  6. Refunds are subject to the policies of the applicable store (Apple / Google). The Operator does not provide independent refunds outside of the stores.

Article 9 (Data Retention and Viewing Periods)

  1. Depending on your plan, limits apply to the App, such as the video retention period and viewable count, the logbook viewing period, and the activity viewing period. The specific figures for each plan are set out on the pricing plan page, and the Operator may change the content of that page without prior notice.
  2. Videos are automatically deleted from the server once the retention period elapses. Deleted videos cannot be restored.
  3. The "viewing period" for the logbook and activity refers to the range of past data displayed within the App. Past data beyond the viewing period is not shown in the App, but is retained on the server, and will be shown again within the applicable period if you upgrade your plan.
  4. If you downgrade your plan, the retention period, viewable count, and viewing period of the new plan will apply. Videos may be progressively deleted starting with those that exceed the new retention period.

Article 10 (Skill Rating)

  1. The App calculates a skill value based on the Elo rating system, using your results (send, no send, number of attempts) on climbing problems.
  2. This skill value is used to estimate problem difficulty and to visualize user growth.
  3. Ratings are calculated automatically, and users cannot manually change the value.
  4. The Operator may display a user's rating and rank in a ranking format (the in-gym ranking) to other users of the same climbing gym. The display targets, listing conditions, opt-out method, and other handling are set out in the Privacy Policy.

Article 10-2 (Event Participation)

  1. Users may enter events hosted by climbing gyms through the App.
  2. When a user enters an event, the operator of the organizing gym may, through the Gym Operator Portal or the App's gym-staff features, view the participant's display name, check-in status, and event results (including rank and score), and identify individual participants. When an event is held across multiple gyms, the operators of that event's hosting gyms may likewise view and identify the list of participants (including guest participants) at the event, check-in status at all hosting gyms, combined and per-gym rankings and scores, results per problem at each hosting gym, and visit days at hosting gyms (including operators of hosting gyms you have not yet checked in at). In addition, before an event starts or while its results are unpublished, other users of the App may view a participant's display name (subject to the display name's visibility setting) and check-in status. Once results are published, users within the same scope may also view rank and score. In addition, published results (including participants' display names, ranks, and scores) are published on a public web page provided by the Operator, viewable by anyone who knows the page's URL, including people who do not have an account for the App. The display name shown on the public web page follows the display name's visibility setting; if it is set to anything other than "Everyone," the display name is hidden. By entering an event, users agree to this handling.
  3. For events held across multiple gyms, entry is made only once, and check-in is done at each hosting gym. A participant's score is calculated based on their records on problems at the hosting gym(s) where they checked in. If an entry is canceled, it is canceled at all of that event's hosting gyms. For events held across multiple gyms as well, the combined and per-gym results (including rank, score, and the name of the hosting gym where each participant recorded climbs) are likewise published on the public web page described in the preceding paragraph. Participants' member numbers are not used for such events.
  4. Event results may continue to be displayed as a record even after the event has ended.
  5. Events may be subject to individual participation terms set by the organizing gym (including the handling of prizes, use of photos and videos within the event, and participation conditions). These individual terms are set by the organizing gym, which is responsible for their content and operation. The Operator does not guarantee the content of any individual terms and bears no responsibility for any dispute between a user and the organizing gym arising from them. For events held across multiple gyms, each hosting gym separately sets, and is responsible for, its own participation fee and facility rules.
  6. Users must comply with these Terms, the individual terms of the event, and the facility rules of the gym(s) they participate at (including any hosting gyms), when participating in an event.
  7. If the organizing gym of an event has enabled member number recording, that gym's staff may, at check-in, register the member number the user has been issued by that gym. The registered member number is used only for the purposes of matching against that gym's membership records, managing the event, and assisting input at check-in for other events that gym organizes, and is viewable only by that gym's operator. Details of this handling are set out in the Privacy Policy. If a user enters an event on their own behalf, the user agrees to this handling by entering.

Article 11 (Posting Gym Information)

  1. Users may post information about bouldering gyms (name, location, photos of walls and problems, etc.).
  2. Users are responsible for the accuracy and currency of gym information, and the Operator does not guarantee its content.
  3. Gyms posted by users ("Community Gyms") are unofficial gyms created by volunteer users. Problems registered at a Community Gym are User-Generated Content and are not official information from that gym's operator or facility.
  4. Labels users attach to problems (including tags, themes, event names, and similar notations) are attached at the user's own discretion and are not an official representation by that gym's operator, facility, or any event organizer.
  5. If a gym's stakeholders (owner, staff, etc.) wish to have posted information corrected or removed, please contact us through the App's feedback feature or the contact information below. The Operator will respond within a reasonable time.
  6. Requests to remove content due to a rights infringement or inaccurate information should be accompanied by the following information:
    • The name of the gym concerned and the content in question
    • The reason for the removal request
    • Information confirming that you are a stakeholder of the gym

Article 12 (Use of Location Data)

  1. The App uses location data with the user's permission. Location data is only obtained while the App is in the foreground (displayed on screen); the App does not track location in the background.
  2. Location data is used for the following purposes:
    • Displaying nearby gyms (calculating distance from your current location)
    • Confirming, when submitting a record (attempt) at a gym, that you are near that gym (within a 500-meter radius)
  3. Distance is calculated using the haversine formula, based on the distance between the device's location and the gym's registered coordinates. Location data submitted is used only to confirm proximity to the gym and is not stored on the server.
  4. If you do not allow the use of location data, some features that require location confirmation may be unavailable.

Article 13 (Prohibited Conduct)

Users must not engage in any of the following:

  1. Acts that violate any law or regulation, or public order and morality
  2. Acts related to criminal activity
  3. Acts that infringe the intellectual property rights, right to one's own likeness, privacy, honor, or other rights of other users or third parties
  4. Posting obscene, violent, discriminatory, or defamatory content
  5. Posting or registering false information
  6. Harassing, stalking, or threatening other users
  7. Posts intended for spam, advertising, or solicitation
  8. Acts that place an excessive load on the App's servers or network
  9. Reverse engineering, decompiling, or otherwise analyzing the App
  10. Unauthorized access, account takeover, or impersonation
  11. Any other conduct the Operator determines to be inappropriate

Article 14 (Service Interruption and Termination)

  1. The Operator may suspend all or part of the App without prior notice to users in the following cases:
    • When performing system maintenance, inspection, or updates
    • When provision is difficult due to force majeure such as earthquake, lightning, fire, or power outage
    • When the Operator otherwise determines it unavoidable
  2. If the Operator discontinues the App, it will endeavor to give reasonable advance notice.

Article 15 (Exclusion of Antisocial Forces)

  1. Users represent and warrant that they are not an organized crime group (bōryokudan), a member of an organized crime group, a person for whom five years have not yet elapsed since they ceased to be a member of an organized crime group, a quasi-member of an organized crime group, a company affiliated with an organized crime group, a corporate racketeer, a group professing to conduct a social campaign for improper purposes, an organized crime group with specialized intelligence, or any other person equivalent to the foregoing (collectively, "Antisocial Forces"), and that they do not have any socially reprehensible relationship with Antisocial Forces.
  2. Users covenant that they will not, themselves or through a third party, engage in violent demands, unreasonable demands exceeding legal responsibility, threatening language or violence in connection with a transaction, spreading rumors, using fraudulent means or force to interfere with the Operator's business or damage its credibility, or any other equivalent conduct.
  3. If the Operator determines that a user has violated any of the preceding paragraphs, the Operator may suspend or delete that user's account without any prior demand, and bears no liability for any resulting damage to the user.

Article 16 (Disclaimer)

  1. The Operator does not guarantee the content of the App or the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of User Content.
  2. Except where damage arises from the Operator's willful misconduct or gross negligence, the Operator's liability for damages arising from a user's use of the App is limited to the greater of JPY 1,000 or the total usage fees the user paid to the Operator in the 12 months preceding the occurrence of the damage.
  3. The Operator is not liable for special, indirect, or consequential damages, or lost profits, regardless of foreseeability, except to the extent this paragraph's effect is limited by Japan's Consumer Contract Act or other mandatory law, in which case the Operator is liable within that scope.
  4. The Operator bears no responsibility for disputes between users, which must be resolved between the users concerned.
  5. Problem information and difficulty ratings shown in the App are for reference only and do not guarantee safety. Users climb at their own risk.

Article 17 (Account Deletion)

  1. Users may delete their account at any time from the App's settings screen. However, you cannot delete your account while you remain registered as staff or an owner of an official gym. In that case, have the gym's owner remove your staff registration, transfer your owner registration to another staff member through the Gym Operator Portal, and have the new owner remove you as staff, before deleting your account (see the Delete Account page (Japanese) for details).
  2. If a user violates these Terms, the Operator may suspend or delete the account without prior notice.
  3. Deleting your account results in the following data processing:
    • Data permanently deleted: account information, your own rating and rating history, favorite gyms, gym memberships, and video files and thumbnail images (for how long copies remain in backups, how a partial failure of the deletion process is handled, and the retention of records of administrative actions taken by the Operator, see Privacy Policy §5)
    • Data retained in anonymized form: problem attempt records (retained as anonymized data with user information removed, used to maintain the accuracy of problem difficulty statistics), event entry information and results (may be retained as the organizing gym's record, with information identifying you anonymized), reports and feedback to the Operator, and notices, event result records, and guest participant registrations you created as gym staff (the creator/recorder will be shown as "Deleted user")
    • Data retained with your user ID: records of rating changes for problems (this includes your own user ID; it is used only for the Operator's aggregate processing and is not shown to other users)
    • Data with creator information removed: gym, wall, and problem information you created (including problem photos; the link to you as creator is removed and the content remains published as shared community information), and events, gym labels, and gym calendar entries you created as gym staff, and the updater information for gym notices
  4. Data cannot be restored after account deletion. We recommend backing up any data you need before deleting your account.

Article 18 (Changes to These Terms)

  1. The Operator may change these Terms as necessary.
  2. When changing these Terms, the Operator will display the revised Terms on the consent screen shown when the App starts, and ask users to agree.
  3. The revised Terms take effect for a user once that user agrees to them on the consent screen. If a user does not agree, they may be unable to continue using the App.
  4. When making a change that is disadvantageous to users, the Operator will consider the necessity of the change, the reasonableness of the revised content, and the circumstances of the change, and will display a summary of the change on the consent screen described above.

Article 19 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)

These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan.

Any dispute arising in connection with these Terms between the Operator and a user shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court or the Tokyo Summary Court, depending on the amount in dispute, as the court of first instance. However, if a user qualifies as a consumer under Japan's Consumer Contract Act, this does not affect any jurisdiction established by that Act or other mandatory law.

Article 20 (Supplementary Provisions for Users in Taiwan)

  1. This Article applies to users in Taiwan.
  2. Article 19 does not affect any mandatory statutory consumer protections or judicial jurisdiction available to consumers under Taiwanese law.
  3. These Terms do not affect the application of Taiwan's laws on the protection of personal data, or your right to file a complaint with the relevant authority under those laws.

Contact

For inquiries regarding these Terms, please use the in-app feedback feature or contact us at the email address below.

[email protected]

Revision History

  • May 5, 2026: Initial version
  • June 14, 2026 revision (effective June 19, 2026): Added a note on displaying the rating ranking (Article 10, paragraph 4) and newly established provisions on event participation (Article 10-2)
  • June 26, 2026 revision (effective July 10, 2026): Expanded the scope of viewing event results and participant information to all authenticated users within the app (Article 10-2, paragraph 2)
  • July 10, 2026 revision (effective July 24, 2026): Newly established provisions on Kids Accounts (revised Article 3, paragraph 1; added Article 4-2), added a note on links to posts on external services (Article 5), specified Apple accounts as an available sign-up method (Article 4), updated the description of location data (Article 12), and specified that event results are anonymized in the data processing performed on account deletion (Article 17)
  • July 24, 2026 revision (effective July 24, 2026): Added provisions on recording event participants' member numbers (Article 10-2)
  • August 27, 2026 revision (effective August 27, 2026): Added a proviso that you cannot delete your account while you remain registered as staff or an owner of an official gym (Article 17, paragraph 1)
  • August 28, 2026 revision (effective August 28, 2026): Added, as a purpose for using an event participant's member number, assisting input at check-in for other events that same gym organizes, and expanded the description of how event participant information is accessed to include the App's gym-staff features (Article 10-2)
  • September 1, 2026 revision (effective September 1, 2026): Specified that event results are published on the public web page provided by the Operator, viewable by anyone including people without an account for the App (Article 10-2). Revised the description of Kids Accounts' visibility settings to match the settings Guardians can configure, and specified the conditions for display on the public web page (Article 4-2)
  • September 17, 2026 revision (effective September 17, 2026): Newly established provisions on the conditions for using images created with the App's image editing feature (Article 5-2)
  • September 18, 2026 revision (effective September 18, 2026): With the end of beta operation, renamed Article 2 to "Changes to the Service" and removed the description of beta operation (the statement in paragraph 1 that the service was in beta, and paragraphs 2 through 4)
  • September 19, 2026 revision (effective September 19, 2026): Newly established provisions on events held across multiple gyms (definition of hosting gyms; that operators of hosting gyms may also view and identify the list of participants, including guest participants, check-in status, rankings and scores, results per problem, and visit days — including operators of hosting gyms you have not yet checked in at; that for multi-gym events, combined and per-gym results, including the names of the hosting gyms where each participant recorded climbs, are also published on the public web page; that entry is made once and check-in is done at each hosting gym, with scores based on records at the gym where you checked in; that canceling an entry removes it from all hosting gyms; that member numbers are not used; and that participation fees and facility rules are each hosting gym's responsibility. Article 10-2). Added that if a Kids Account enters an event held across multiple gyms, that event's hosting gyms are also included in the joint use described (Article 4-2). Note that, before this revision took effect, we revised the content on September 19, 2026 to state that results of events held across multiple gyms are published on the public web page
  • September 22, 2026 revision (effective September 22, 2026): Added a description of how we handle data when you delete your account (that photos attached to problems you created remain published; that reports, feedback, notices, event result records, etc. are retained in anonymized form; that records of rating changes for problems keep your user ID; how we handle cases where part of the deletion process fails; how long data remains in backups; and that we retain records of administrative actions we take. Article 17, paragraph 3). Newly established supplementary provisions for users in Taiwan (Article 20)