Terms of use of the Servas International website
Revised 30 July 2026
Servas International is an international, non-profit, non-governmental federation of national and multinational Servas groups, together forming an international network of individual members. Its purpose is to help build world peace, goodwill and understanding through personal contact and exchange among people of different cultures, backgrounds and nationalities.
Servas International is a non-profit association incorporated under Articles 60 to 79 of the Swiss Civil Code, in conformity with Swiss law, with its legal seat in Zurich, Switzerland.
These Terms govern access to and use of the Servas International website and member platform at servas.org (“ServasOnline”). They should be read with the Ethical Code for Servas Members and the Servas International Privacy Policy.
1. Membership and ServasOnline accounts
Servas members belong to a regional Servas Group affiliated with Servas International. ServasOnline supports each group’s membership processes, including applications, interviews and fees where applicable.
Membership and account status may include:
Active member: A person accepted by the relevant Servas group who meets its current membership requirements and may use the member services available through ServasOnline.
Limited-access profile (Amiko): Amiko (Friend of Servas) status applies to people who have a ServasOnline profile but do not currently have full member access. This includes applicants and members who have not renewed by the end of the grace period set by their Servas group, particularly where membership fees apply. An Amiko may log in and edit their own profile but cannot obtain a Letter of Introduction, view other members or be visible to ordinary members. The profile is visible only to authorised administrators.
Deactivated or Cancelled account: A Servas group may deactivate an account, and a member may request full cancellation. These are handled under section 6.
Each Servas group may decide how long to retain Amiko accounts. It may retain them while the person continues to confirm their profile, or deactivate or cancel them after a period. Subject to the relevant group’s policies, Amikos may continue to receive Servas news and invitations.
Each member can have only one profile in ServasOnline. Duplicate, misleading, abusive or unauthorised accounts may be combined, restricted or removed. The minimum age for an individual account is 18.
Members of the same household may manage one another’s profiles and the household settings. By joining a household, each member authorises the other household members to do this. All household members must comply with the Ethical Code for Servas Members, the Privacy Policy and these Terms. Each person nevertheless retains their own membership and personal information rights.
2. Registration and account security
You must provide accurate, current and reasonably complete information in all mandatory fields and keep it updated, particularly your name and email address. Your email address is the main way Servas communicates with you about your account. You must use your real or commonly used name. False or misleading aliases are not permitted.
You are responsible for keeping your password and login credentials confidential. If you suspect unauthorised use, change your password and notify ServasOnline administration without delay. Servas may require reasonable verification before providing access to member information or services.
3. Privacy
The Servas International Privacy Policy explains what personal information ServasOnline collects, why it is collected, how it is used and disclosed, how long it may be retained, and the rights available to members.
You must respect other members’ privacy and confidentiality. Information obtained through ServasOnline must not be collected, copied, disclosed, published or used for purposes unrelated to legitimate Servas activities.
4. Conduct
You must use ServasOnline consistently with Servas purposes, values and the Ethical Code for Servas Members. You must not:
- provide knowingly false, deceptive or seriously misleading information, impersonate another person or create an account without authority;
- violate another person’s privacy, intellectual property or other legal rights;
- attack, bully, stalk, harass, threaten, intimidate or defame a person or group, or threaten, encourage or glorify violence or serious harm;
- collect, copy, scrape or store member information for an unauthorised purpose;
- use ServasOnline for commercial advertising, unsolicited marketing or fundraising unrelated to Servas;
- use ServasOnline primarily to find sexual partners or post pornographic or sexually explicit content;
- send repeated or unsolicited private messages without a reasonable connection to Servas;
- interfere with the security or normal operation of ServasOnline; or
- help another person do any of these things.
Serious or repeated violations may lead to restricted access, suspension or cancellation under sections 6 and 7.
5. Content
You retain ownership of content you post on ServasOnline. You are responsible for it and must own it or have permission to use it.
To provide ServasOnline and Servas member services, you grant Servas International a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, copy, process, distribute and display your content, subject to your privacy and visibility settings. This does not transfer ownership.
Content deliberately submitted for Servas news, reports, testimonials, publications or promotional contributions may also be reproduced by Servas International and relevant Servas groups in non-commercial Servas communications. Specific permission should be obtained before identifiable personal photographs, private correspondence or sensitive personal stories are used in external promotional material, unless the intended use was clear when submitted.
After cancellation, private messages already sent and contributions to discussions, activities or other shared community content may remain. Where reasonably practicable, remaining community content will be anonymised or disconnected from the cancelled profile. Profile information and photographs are handled under section 6 and the Privacy Policy. The licence ends when the relevant content is deleted, except where it remains for a purpose allowed by these Terms.
6. Amiko status, deactivation and cancellation
Amiko status is not the same as deactivation or full cancellation. The access limits for Amiko accounts are described in section 1.
A Servas group may deactivate an account when a person withdraws, remains inactive or no longer meets membership or account requirements. A deactivated account may be retained for up to five years so the person may be able to rejoin without repeating the full application and interview process, subject to the relevant group’s rules and approval.
Unlike an Amiko account, a deactivated account cannot be used to log in and does not appear in member searches. Access is limited to authorised Servas group and Servas International administrators who need it for legitimate administrative, safety or technical purposes, such as reactivating the account for a returning member.
When a profile is being deactivated, the member will be informed of the reason for deactivation and that the profile may be retained for up to five years. Full cancellation may be requested at any time. Unless the person rejoins, requests earlier cancellation or another documented lawful reason requires limited retention, the profile will be deleted or anonymised at the end of the five-year period.
After a verified request for full cancellation, Servas will remove the account from ordinary member access as soon as reasonably practicable, delete or anonymise personal profile information and photographs from the active system within 30 days, and inform the relevant Servas group that the person is no longer a member.
Servas may retain the minimum information reasonably necessary to meet a legal, tax, financial or accounting obligation; establish, exercise or defend a legal claim; investigate or document a current serious safety, fraud or misconduct matter; or enforce a suspension or permanent exclusion. Access will be restricted and the information will not be used for ordinary membership purposes.
Information may remain temporarily in secure backups until normal rotation removes it. Completed deletion requests should be reapplied after a backup restoration where technically practicable. Messages already sent may remain in recipients’ accounts, and shared community contributions may remain where removal would disrupt a discussion or record, but should be anonymised or disconnected where reasonably practicable.
7. Restriction of access and handling of violations
ServasOnline administration may refuse, restrict, suspend or cancel access where account or membership requirements are not met; required information is materially false or incomplete; an account cannot be reasonably verified; it is used for spam, fraud, abuse or another unauthorised purpose; these Terms or the Ethical Code are seriously or repeatedly violated; the account creates a credible risk; or action has been decided under an applicable membership, safeguarding or conflict-resolution procedure.
Clearly invalid, fraudulent, abusive or spam accounts may be deleted without advance warning. Access may also be restricted or suspended immediately where member safety or ServasOnline security may be affected. The member will ordinarily be notified and told of any available review or appeal, unless this would create a safety risk, disclose confidential information or interfere with a legal investigation.
In other cases, the member will ordinarily receive a warning and reasonable opportunity to comply. Outcomes may include temporary or permanent restrictions, cancellation, or referral to the relevant Servas group, safeguarding or conflict-resolution body. Serious misconduct or safety concerns may also be reported to an appropriate authority.
8. Availability, responsibility and liability
ServasOnline enables members to communicate and arrange hosting, travel, activities and other exchanges. Servas International aims to provide a secure and reliable service but cannot guarantee that member information is accurate, the service will always be uninterrupted or error-free, or every feature will remain available.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, ServasOnline is provided “as is” and “as available”. Servas International may modify, maintain, suspend or discontinue all or part of the service where reasonably necessary and will give appropriate notice of significant planned changes or interruptions where practicable.
Members must use reasonable judgement when communicating, hosting, travelling or meeting through Servas. Servas International does not control every action or statement of individual members and is not automatically responsible for disputes, loss or harm caused by one member to another.
Serious misconduct or safety concerns should be reported promptly to ServasOnline administration, the relevant Servas group and, where appropriate, public authorities. Reports will be considered under relevant Servas procedures, but no particular outcome is guaranteed.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Servas International is not liable for indirect or consequential loss arising solely from temporary service unavailability, inaccurate information supplied by another member, or members’ independent hosting, travel or personal decisions. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where that would be unlawful, including liability for intentional wrongdoing, gross negligence or other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
A member remains responsible for direct loss or claims caused by their unlawful content, deliberate misuse of ServasOnline, infringement of another person’s rights or serious violation of these Terms. These Terms do not require a member to indemnify Servas International for loss caused by Servas International’s own unlawful conduct, intentional wrongdoing or gross negligence.
9. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by Swiss law.
Before formal proceedings, the parties should, where appropriate, try to resolve a dispute through direct communication and the relevant Servas review, safeguarding or conflict-resolution procedure.
Subject to mandatory legal rights or jurisdiction that cannot lawfully be excluded, disputes connected with these Terms are subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts in Zurich, Switzerland.
10. General provisions and changes
These Terms and the Ethical Code for Servas Members describe the principal conditions for using ServasOnline. The Privacy Policy explains how personal information is processed.
Servas International may provide summaries, explanations and translations. Unless formally decided otherwise, the official English version is authoritative.
If a competent authority finds a provision invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply. A failure to enforce a provision on one occasion does not prevent later enforcement.
Servas International may amend these Terms to reflect changes to ServasOnline, Servas policies, legal or regulatory requirements, safety or security needs, or corrections and clarifications. Members will be informed of material changes by email, through ServasOnline or another appropriate method before they take effect where reasonably practicable, or otherwise as soon as practicable. Members may be required to confirm revised Terms when they next log in if their rights or responsibilities are materially affected.