IMVU's Terms of Service: What You Need To Know
Any social media platform you choose to use comes with some inherent risks, and IMVU is no exception. The issue with IMVU is that it's open to anyone 13 years of age or over, but a teen who's that young may not know how to stay away from predators on IMVU. An analysis of shows what protections, if any, IMVU has in place for this type of issue and others.
However, are particularly dense compared to other social media platforms, and merely reading the entire document can be tough, let alone make sense of it. This is where DoNotPay can step in and give you a ready-made analysis of the violations in this document. If you have any complaints against IMVU and would like to receive compensation from them, DoNotPay can also help you to draft a demand letter.
Age-Related Issues With IMVU
If your issue with IMVU is age-related, you should know that you are not alone. Here's what you need to know:
- IMVU and teens: IMVU is populated mainly by teenage girls because dressing up your IMVU avatar is important for using IMVU. Users can choose an avatar whose look they like and then purchase clothes and accessories for them. This is something that most teenage girls like to do in real life and online.
- IMVU and predators: Some predators know that teenage girls use IMVU. So they use this platform to befriend them. In 2007, a DA in Denver used IMVU to arrest an adult male who had set up a meeting with an underage girl on IMVU.
- IMVU's position: The IMVU terms of service, updated June 24, 2021, state that if you are between 13 and 18, then you are presumed to have your parents' consent to be on IMVU. It's only if the teen resides in the European economic area where the law states that the parents' permission must be obtained rather than assumed that IMVU will attempt to get it.
If you feel that your teen has been exposed to predatory adults on IMVU, you can file a complaint and try to get compensation.
How to Bring a Complaint Against IMVU
When you use IMVU, you agree to abide by their terms of service, which have class-action and arbitration clauses. Here are brief explanations of these clauses:
- Class action: The IMVU terms of service state, right at the very beginning, that you are prohibited from bringing a class action suit against IMVU. This means that you can't get together with other people who might have the same complaint against IMVU and sue the platform jointly. You have to do it individually. This prevents the complaint from getting as much publicity as a class action suit and benefits IMVU.
- Arbitration: The terms of service also state that a complaint has to be solved by arbitration rather than being taken to court. This involves sitting down with IMVU in the presence of an arbitrator and then coming to a settlement. The arbitrator’s decision is legally binding and can be enforced, just like a decision in a court of law.
- Opt-out clause: IMVU's TOS also have an opt-out clause. If you don't want to be bound by the class action/arbitration clause, you have to write IMVU at the provided address, saying that you wish to opt-out. If you had the foresight to do this, you could take IMVU to court.
Some More Noteworthy Items in IMVU’s TOS
Certain clauses in the IMVU TOS are designed to protect IMVU but may be to the detriment of an IMVU user.
- Seizures: It turns out that IMVU may not be a good idea if you have seizures, epilepsy, headaches etc. The "flashing lights" and "contrasting visual patterns" may affect you adversely. The TOS do not state whether IMVU will compensate you in case this happens, but the fact that this is mentioned at all indicates that it is a serious problem with using IMVU.
- Passwords: There are certain areas of IMVU which require a password, but if anyone hacks into your account and steals your password, IMVU is not responsible.
- User transactions: If you conduct a transaction with another user on IMVU and are unhappy about it, IMVU is not responsible.
- Inactivity: If your account is inactive for a couple of years and you have credits, these will be redistributed by IMVU.
- Termination: If IMVU thinks that you're doing something that goes against their rules, they can terminate your account "for any reason, or no reason, with or without notice."
All the clauses in IMVU's terms of service are worth noting because their aim is to protect IMVU even though they may be to your detriment. So if you decide to formulate a complaint, it helps to keep these things in mind.
Analyzing IMVU’s TOS Using DoNotPay
Let's say that you do have a complaint against IMVU but you want to know what your rights are before you write a demand letter. In such cases, it can be tough to fully understand their very detailed terms of service in which they try to cover every eventuality.
It might be helpful to use DoNotPay to figure out if there are any violations in this document. DoNotPay can also help you to draft your demand letter and get compensation.
If you want to analyze terms and service but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 5 easy steps:
- Go to the Analyze Terms and Services product on DoNotPay.
- Enter the website domain you would like to scan.
- Wait for DoNotPay to identify any legal violations on the website (it should only take a few seconds!) If there are violations, proceed to drafting a demand letter.
- Enter how much you want to receive in compensation and the company name.
- Enter your contact information so the company can contact you.
Keep in mind that DoNotPay can be used to formulate your complaint against a number of online entities and platforms, not just IMVU. Here are some of the terms of service you can analyze with the help of DoNotPay:
Suing IMVU for TOS Violations
If you find that writing a demand letter doesn't yield any results, you don't have to stop there. You can even take IMVU to small claims court using DoNotPay's Sue Now product. If you have a legitimate case for which you deserve compensation, this should be your next step.
Understanding a company's TOS is no easy feat. Unless you have a legal background and a lot of patience, you may have trouble understanding all the clauses in IMVU's (or any other platform's) TOS. Fortunately, DoNotPay is there to make your job a lot easier. All you have to do is point us to the web page you would like to scan, and you'll get a list of all the legal violations on it. You can also choose to write demand letters or take that online platform to court, depending on the seriousness of the charge!