KampalaSnap — Terms of Service

Effective date: 2026-06-09 Last updated: 2026-06-10 Operated by: Hobermalo, a business registered in Uganda Governing law: Uganda

These are the rules of using KampalaSnap. By creating an account, listing a product or service, placing an order, contacting a seller, or even just browsing as a guest, you agree to them.

If you don't agree, please don't use the app or the website.

1. Who we are and what we do

KampalaSnap is a video-first marketplace operated by Hobermalo. We connect buyers, sellers, and service providers and we run the software they use to find each other and trade.

We provide:

The mobile app ("KampalaSnap" on Google Play and the App Store)
The website at kampalasnap.com
Two ways to transact on the platform — see § 2 below
Dispute resolution for transactions covered by escrow
Discovery surfaces — feeds, search, flash sales, the services directory, and live shopping — that connect buyers to what's on the platform

We are based in Uganda and our primary market today is East Africa, but anyone, anywhere can use the app subject to these terms and to local law in the user's own country. We are not a party to the transaction between a buyer and a seller — we provide the platform; the contract for a product or service is directly between buyer and seller.

2. Two ways to transact

The protections we provide and the obligations both sides take on depend on which of the two transaction paths is used. We design the app so the path is unambiguous at the moment of clicking the button.

2.1 Catalog orders — escrow-protected

Catalog products are listed by verified sellers and approved by us to appear in the in-app catalog. When a buyer pays for one, the payment goes into escrow (held by our payment processor). The money is released to the seller, less platform fees, only after the buyer confirms receipt of the item (or, where the buyer is unresponsive, after a review process — see § 4.1). Money is never released to the seller on the buyer's silence alone. Once released, the seller's earnings are held for a short maturity period before they can be withdrawn, during which a proven "not received / not as described" report can still reverse the payment back to the buyer.

These transactions are governed by our Disputes Policy and the buyer-protection rules in § 4 below.

2.2 Direct-contact listings and services — no escrow

Many of the listings on KampalaSnap — typical shop listings that are not in the approved catalog, and most service-provider profiles (photographers, plumbers, mechanics, tutors, drivers, etc.) — are direct-contact. Buyers reach the seller or provider by tapping a WhatsApp or Call button on the listing or profile. The conversation and any payment that results happen between the two parties, off our platform.

For direct-contact transactions:

We do not hold money in escrow
We do not see the messages, calls, or payments
We do not issue a delivery PIN
We do not run a managed dispute process
KampalaSnap is not a party to the deal and cannot guarantee or refund it

The app marks these listings clearly: they show WhatsApp / Call buttons but no "Pay through KampalaSnap" checkout. If a direct deal goes wrong, it is between you and the other party — though we will still take action on the listing or account where our rules are clearly broken (counterfeit, fraud, harassment, illegal items, etc).

3. Accounts

You can create an account if you are 18 years or older and able to enter a binding contract under the law of your country. If you create an account on behalf of a business, you confirm you have the authority to do so.

We offer three ways to create an account — phone (SMS one-time code), Google, or Apple. The account works the same way regardless of which you pick. See our Privacy Policy for what each method collects.

3.3 Account responsibility

You are responsible for everything that happens on your account. Keep your password and one-time codes private; don't share account access; tell us at support@kampalasnap.com if you suspect unauthorised use.

3.4 One account per person

You may only operate one buyer account. If you also sell, the seller shop attaches to the same account. The same goes for service profiles. Multiple accounts used to evade restrictions, manipulate ratings, or post fake reviews are grounds for permanent removal.

4. Buying

4.1 Catalog orders (escrow)

When you place a catalog order:

Your payment goes to escrow — either paid from your wallet balance (§ 5.5) or charged through our payment processor (§ 10)
The seller fulfils the order and hands the item to you (or a rider)
When the item arrives and is in order, you confirm receipt in the app or on your order page — that is what releases the escrow to the seller. A hidden delivery PIN is revealed to the seller at that point as the release token; you are never required to hand a code to anyone
If you do not confirm and do not raise a dispute, the seller may submit a proof-of-delivery report. We notify you with a deadline to confirm or dispute; only after that, and subject to review, may the order be released. Unresolved orders are escalated to us, not paid out automatically on silence
After release, the seller's earnings are held for a maturity period, during which we can reverse a proven problem back to you

What you commit to as a buyer on a catalog order:

Provide an accurate delivery address and contact phone
Be available to receive deliveries during reasonable hours
Confirm receipt promptly when the item arrives in order
Inspect items on delivery and raise disputes within 72 hours if something is genuinely wrong (see Disputes Policy)
Pay only for items you genuinely intend to receive — using disputes in bad faith is a violation

4.2 Direct-contact listings and services

When you tap WhatsApp or Call on a direct-contact listing or service profile:

You leave the app to talk to the seller or provider
Any agreement you reach is between you and them
Any payment you make — cash on delivery, direct mobile money, bank transfer, anything else — is between you and them
We are not a party, we don't see it, and we can't refund it

We strongly recommend insisting on the seller's escrow catalog listing where one exists, especially for higher-value items.

4.3 Cash on delivery for catalog orders

Some catalog sellers offer COD. When you choose COD you pay the rider on arrival, not through escrow. We cannot guarantee or refund COD payments. We recommend the standard escrow option for any item over roughly UGX 50,000 / equivalent.

4.4 Pricing and currency

Prices in Uganda show in Ugandan Shillings (UGX). The price you see at checkout is the price you pay. Delivery fees are shown separately when the seller has configured delivery zones. As we expand we will display the local currency where appropriate.

5. Selling

5.1 Becoming a seller

Anyone with a verified phone number can list items in their shop as direct-contact listings. To have items appear in our approved catalog with escrow-protected checkout, the shop must complete verification. The Become a Seller flow in the app walks you through both.

5.2 What you commit to as a seller

Only list items you have legal right to sell
Provide accurate photos, descriptions, and prices (no bait-and-switch)
Honor stated delivery times and methods
Fulfil catalog orders promptly once paid (within 48 hours unless you've declared longer lead times)
Use the delivery PIN flow correctly — never ask buyers for the PIN before delivery
Respond to buyer messages and disputes within 48 hours
Hold any licenses required for regulated products in the buyer's jurisdiction (cosmetics, food, electronics, etc.)
Not push buyers off the platform during a catalog escrow flow to avoid platform fees (this voids buyer protection AND seller protection)

5.3 Prohibited products and services

You may not list, sell, promote, or offer:

Counterfeit goods or unauthorised replicas
Stolen items
Regulated drugs (prescription medicines, recreational drugs, controlled substances)
Firearms, ammunition, knives intended as weapons, or other arms
Live animals except where law expressly permits the sale in the appropriate category
Sexual content or adult services
Cryptocurrency, financial securities, or money-transfer services
Government IDs, passports, or other identity documents
Anything illegal under the law of the seller's or buyer's country

We reserve the right to remove any listing for any reason; repeated violations result in shop removal.

5.4 Platform fees

KampalaSnap charges a platform fee on every completed escrow catalog order. The current rate (5% as of the last revision of these terms) is displayed in the in-app Pricing surfaces and is deducted from the seller's payout. Buyers see the full price; sellers see the post-fee earnings in their wallet.

Direct-contact listings do not generate a transaction fee, because we don't process the transaction. We do offer paid promotion and verification tiers for direct listings as well; their pricing is shown in the in-app Pricing surfaces.

5.5 The KampalaSnap wallet

Every account has an in-app wallet that tracks funds the user holds on the platform. The wallet has three sources of funds and three destinations:

Funds come in via:

Deposits — you can add funds to your wallet by paying through our payment processor (see § 10). Minimum deposit is UGX 500 per transaction; maximum is UGX 5,000,000 per transaction.
Escrow earnings — when a catalog order you sold completes, the buyer's payment is released to your wallet, less platform fees.
Affiliate commissions — creators earn commissions on tagged products they promote when those orders complete.

Funds go out via:

In-app spending — wallet balance can be used to pay for catalog orders, paid promotion (Boost, Flash Sale slots, video ads), subscriptions, and other in-app charges. Spend can only happen up to the available balance — the wallet does not go negative and does not extend credit.
Withdrawals — verified sellers may withdraw their wallet balance to a registered mobile money or bank account on Tuesdays and Fridays (local time). The twice-weekly window gives buyers a dispute period before money leaves the platform.
Dispute settlements — if a dispute is resolved against you, the relevant amount may be debited from your wallet (see § 8 and the Disputes Policy).

Important:

The wallet is an account-bound balance. You cannot transfer wallet funds to another user's wallet outside of a transaction on the platform. The wallet is not a peer-to-peer money transfer service.
Wallet funds are held under our payment processor's regulated infrastructure (see § 10). KampalaSnap maintains the ledger; the processor moves the money.
KampalaSnap does not pay interest on wallet balances.
If your account is closed, any remaining wallet balance can be withdrawn during the closure-window described in Delete your account. Wallet funds left unclaimed after that window may be forfeited per applicable unclaimed-property and tax-record law in our operating jurisdiction.

6. Service providers

6.1 Service profiles

Service providers can publish a ServiceProfile listing them in the Services directory with their categories, location, contact, and showcase content. Verified providers get full profile features (showcase, ratings, etc.); unverified providers can publish a limited profile while they complete verification.

Service transactions are direct-contact — the buyer reaches the provider via WhatsApp or Call, they agree terms, and the work happens between them. There is no escrow on service bookings today.

6.2 What service providers commit to

Accurate description of services offered
Honesty about availability and pricing
Showing up when an appointment is scheduled
Holding any occupational licenses required where they operate
Not using the platform to bait-and-switch on price or scope

6.3 Tipping / paid promotion

Paid placement (Featured rail, Sponsored tag) earns position in the Services directory, not credibility. Featured providers are still subject to all the same rules.

7. Content you post

7.1 Your content

Videos, photos, product descriptions, reviews, posts, comments — you own them. By posting them on KampalaSnap, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, display, and distribute them inside the platform (including in discovery surfaces, video feeds, search, and notifications) for as long as your account is active.

7.2 What you can't post

Hateful, harassing, or threatening content
Sexually explicit content
Personal information about other people without their consent
Spam, deceptive advertising, or pyramid schemes
Content that infringes someone else's copyright or trademark
Reviews you were paid to write or wrote without using the product or service

See our Community Guidelines for the full rules.

7.3 Moderation

We review reported content and remove what violates these terms or the Community Guidelines. We are not required to monitor all content proactively, but we do run automated checks at upload time for obvious violations (explicit content, malware, infringement patterns).

8. Disputes (catalog orders)

If something goes wrong on a catalog escrow order, raise a dispute in the app within 72 hours of delivery. Our team reviews the evidence and resolves to refund the buyer or release escrow to the seller. The full process is in our Disputes Policy.

By using KampalaSnap you agree that disputes about catalog transactions go through our resolution process before any other remedy. This does not waive your statutory consumer-protection rights under the law that applies to you.

Direct-contact transactions are not covered by this process — see § 2.2.

9. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your account if you:

Violate these terms or our Community Guidelines repeatedly
Engage in fraud
Misuse the dispute process
Try to evade platform fees or controls (e.g. moving an in-progress catalog order off-platform)
Behave abusively toward buyers, sellers, support staff, or our community

We will tell you why your account was suspended (unless legally prevented) and how to appeal. Appeals go to support@kampalasnap.com. You may close your account at any time — see Delete your account.

10. Payments, the wallet, and our payment processor

The following payment flows on the platform are handled by our payment processor (currently Pesapal — https://www.pesapal.com) and the relevant mobile money or bank provider in the buyer's country:

Catalog order checkout paid by card or mobile money
Wallet deposits (§ 5.5)
Subscription and promotion charges paid by card or mobile money
Refunds back to the original payment source

Wallet-funded checkouts and wallet-funded subscriptions are settled inside our wallet ledger and do not pass through the processor for that specific charge — the funds were already deposited via the processor earlier.

Payouts to seller mobile money or bank accounts (§ 5.5) go through the relevant mobile money or bank API in the destination country.

Pesapal is a payment service provider licensed by the Bank of Uganda. KampalaSnap is not a money services business, bank, or financial institution in its own right. The wallet ledger we maintain reflects amounts our users hold on the platform; the actual movement and custody of funds is provided by Pesapal under their licence and by the destination mobile money and bank operators on payouts.

If a payment fails, is reversed, or is disputed at the processor level, we apply the same dispute-resolution process to determine the outcome on the platform side.

Direct-contact transactions do not pass through our payment processor (§ 2.2).

11. Intellectual property

The KampalaSnap name, logo, app design, and code are owned by Hobermalo. You may not copy, redistribute, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works of our intellectual property except as permitted under applicable law or with our written permission.

If you believe content on the platform infringes your copyright, send a takedown request to support@kampalasnap.com including:

A description of the copyrighted work
The URL or in-app location of the infringing content
Your contact details and a good-faith statement
A signature (a digital signature on email is fine)

12. Disclaimer of warranties

We provide the platform "as is." We do not guarantee:

That every seller will ship on time
That every product matches its description perfectly
That the app will be free of bugs or downtime
That search results, recommendations, or feed videos are accurate or appropriate for you

We do guarantee what's in our Disputes Policy: on catalog escrow orders, we hold the money in escrow until the transaction is resolved.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, KampalaSnap and Hobermalo are not liable for:

Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
Lost profits, lost data, or business interruption
Disputes between buyers and sellers beyond what our published dispute-resolution process provides
Any loss arising from a direct-contact transaction (§ 2.2), including payments made off-platform

Our total liability to you for any claim related to your use of the platform is capped at the total platform fees you have paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or UGX 100,000 / local equivalent, whichever is higher.

Nothing in this clause excludes liability that cannot be excluded under the law that applies to you (e.g. liability for death, personal injury caused by our negligence, or fraud).

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms when our practices change. For material changes (fee changes, new prohibited categories, expanded liability) we will notify active users in the app at least 14 days before the change takes effect. Continuing to use the platform after a change takes effect counts as acceptance.

The Last updated date at the top reflects the most recent change.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Uganda, where Hobermalo is registered. Any dispute that cannot be resolved through our internal process will be settled in the courts of Kampala, Uganda, subject to any mandatory provision of consumer-protection law in the user's country of residence.

16. Contact

All enquiries — general support, account deletion, privacy requests, security reports, legal notices, takedown requests — go to support@kampalasnap.com. Subject-line tags help us route faster (see Contact).

17. SnapBot sourcing network

SnapBot is KampalaSnap's WhatsApp product-finder. Buyers send a product photo and SnapBot connects them with suppliers in Kampala who have that item. This section applies in addition to the rest of these terms whenever you use SnapBot — as a buyer sending a request, or as a supplier receiving them.

17.1 What SnapBot is (and isn't)

SnapBot is an introduction service. It shows a buyer which suppliers may have an item and shares contact details so the two can deal directly. SnapBot does not sell anything itself, does not hold funds, and does not guarantee that any item is available, genuine, or fairly priced. A purchase that follows an introduction is a direct-contact transaction between the buyer and the supplier (see section 2.2), with no escrow unless the item is bought through the KampalaSnap catalog.

17.2 Joining as a supplier

You join the supplier network by messaging JOIN to the SnapBot number, by being enrolled by our field team, or by confirming you have an item we relayed to you. By joining you confirm that you sell the categories you select and that you are authorised to be contacted on that WhatsApp number for business.

17.3 Messages you agree to receive

By joining you consent to receive WhatsApp messages from SnapBot — buyer requests (a product photo and details), occasional demand signals for categories you sell, item-refresh checks, and service messages about your listing. You can pause these any time by replying PAUSE, and leave entirely by replying STOP. We honour STOP until you choose to re-join.

Read this carefully — it is the core of how SnapBot works:

When you reply "I HAVE IT" to a request, you agree that SnapBot may share your WhatsApp number and shop location with that specific buyer so they can reach you. You choose, on each request, to be contactable.
If you list products or become a seller, your business name, location and contact details may be displayed publicly — for example on product cards, your shop page, and in search results — so buyers can contact you about those items.
A buyer's number is never given to you except the buyer who contacts you about their own request. You must not forward, resell, publish, or reuse any buyer's number for anything other than answering that request.

17.5 Photos and videos you send

When you send SnapBot photos or videos of your stock (for example after joining), you confirm you have the right to share them, and you grant KampalaSnap a non-exclusive licence to store them and use them to help sell your items — including showing them to buyers, setting up your listings, and improving the service. You can ask us to remove them any time via support@kampalasnap.com.

17.6 Honesty and fair use

Only reply I HAVE IT for items you genuinely have and can supply.
Keep the categories you sell accurate.
Do not use SnapBot to send spam, harass buyers or other suppliers, or to offer prohibited items (section 5.3).
Repeated false confirmations, spam, or abuse may lead to removal from the network without notice.

17.7 No employment, no guaranteed income

Suppliers are independent businesses. Joining SnapBot does not make you an employee, agent, or partner of KampalaSnap, and we do not guarantee any number of requests, sales, or income. You price, deal, and fulfil orders yourself and keep the proceeds of your direct sales.

17.8 Fees

Receiving buyer requests through SnapBot is free, subject to fair-use limits we may apply. Listing products on the KampalaSnap catalog may involve the fees described in section 5.4. We will always tell you before any charge applies.

17.9 Your data

We store your number encrypted and handle your information as described in our Privacy Policy. If you leave the network we stop sending you requests; you can request deletion of your data at any time.

17.10 Liability

Because SnapBot only makes introductions, KampalaSnap is not responsible for the quality, safety, legality, delivery, or payment of anything bought or sold through a SnapBot introduction. Sections 12 and 13 (disclaimers and limitation of liability) apply in full.