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Terms & Conditions

bestoption.io · Version: 29 September 2026

1. Who provides the service

bestoption.io is operated by Annegret Widmer and Heiko Hütter (“we”, “us”). Postal contact: c/o Annegret Widmer, Mühlstraße 3, 72770 Reutlingen, Germany. You can contact us at hello@bestoption.io or +49 7121 7550727. Further operator information is available in our Imprint.

These terms cover the bestoption.io group decision service, including its web app and any official mobile apps we make available. They apply to registered users and participants using the service without an account when the terms are brought to their attention before an agreement is concluded and they agree to them. Simply visiting our information website does not, by itself, constitute acceptance.

2. What bestoption.io does

bestoption.io helps groups compare options and make everyday decisions. Depending on the available features, you can create and share polls, submit votes, view results, create reusable lists and use board-game information from external sources. Some features require an account. Available functions may differ between the web app and mobile apps.

Results reflect the votes submitted and the voting method selected. We do not verify each participant’s identity or certify that a poll represents a particular group. The service is not designed for official elections, legally binding ballots or safety-critical decisions. Users remain responsible for deciding how to act on a result.

This version of the terms covers free use of the service. It creates no payment obligation or paid subscription. Any future paid offering would require a separate, express agreement after its price and conditions have been disclosed. Your internet or mobile provider may charge for connectivity.

3. Accounts and access

You must have the legal capacity to enter the relevant agreement or obtain the consent of your parent or legal guardian where required by applicable law. Do not impersonate another person or use an account you are not authorised to access.

Keep your login credentials and any private management or recovery links secure. Tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access. You are responsible for your own conduct; you are not automatically liable for every action performed by someone else using your account.

4. Sharing polls and submitting votes

A shared poll link is not a guarantee of confidentiality. Other people may forward it, and anyone who obtains it may be able to access the poll and participate. Shared links may also generate previews in messaging services. Share polls only with the intended audience and do not include confidential or sensitive personal information.

Poll creators should explain the purpose and intended audience of a poll to participants. Names, options, votes and results may be visible to the creator or other participants depending on the feature and poll state. Do not assume that a vote is secret or anonymous simply because no account is required.

Submit votes honestly and do not deliberately manipulate results through impersonation, repeated identities, bots or unauthorised access. A poll may close automatically when its configured participant count is reached.

5. Your content and permitted use

You keep the rights you hold in your poll text, lists, images and other content. Only submit content you are entitled to use and share, including any necessary permissions relating to other people’s personal information, image rights and copyright.

To operate the service, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free permission to host, store, technically process, reproduce and display your content to the audience reached through the features you use. This includes thumbnails, poll copies and link previews created through those features. We may involve technical service providers solely to perform these functions. This permission does not transfer ownership or permit unrelated advertising use of your content.

The permission lasts only as needed to provide those functions and to complete lawful deletion, backup and retention processes. Deleting a source list does not necessarily remove copies already included in polls. Statutory rights to erasure or to retrieve content remain unaffected.

You must not use the service to:

  • publish illegal content, threats, harassment, hateful abuse or sexual exploitation material;
  • infringe intellectual property, privacy or other rights;
  • send spam, phishing material or malicious software;
  • circumvent access controls, access another person’s account without permission, or interfere with the service’s security or availability; or
  • use automation to manipulate polls or impose an unreasonable load on the service.

We permit you to use the app for its intended functions. Rights in our software, branding and design remain with their respective owners. Open-source licences and mandatory statutory rights are unaffected.

6. Reporting content and restrictions

Report suspected illegal content or misuse through the reporting function where available, or by emailing hello@bestoption.io. Include the relevant poll link, a description of the issue and enough information for us to assess it. Do not redistribute illegal material to make a report.

We assess reports and may remove content or restrict access where reasonably necessary to address a breach of these terms, a security threat or a legal obligation. We consider the seriousness, context and repetition of the conduct and its impact on others. Where appropriate, we will first give a warning and an opportunity to correct the issue. Urgent protective action may be taken without prior warning.

Where we have a means to contact you and it is legally permitted, we will explain a restriction and its main reasons. You may ask us to review it by email and provide relevant information. Reporting or requesting a review does not limit your statutory remedies.

7. Availability, updates and external services

Maintenance, technical faults or events outside our control can temporarily interrupt access. No specific uptime or response time is promised. This does not exclude duties or remedies imposed by applicable law, including any duty to provide necessary security updates.

External information, including BoardGameGeek data, may be incomplete or become outdated. External websites, authentication services and app stores operate under their own applicable terms. We do not control their services, but remain responsible for our own obligations. Keep your app, browser and operating system updated where updates are needed for secure use.

Changes to the service are subject to applicable law. Where statutory rules on digital products apply, changes beyond those needed to maintain conformity require a valid contractual and legal basis, appropriate notice and any applicable cancellation rights. These terms do not grant an unrestricted right to remove agreed features.

8. Ending use and deleting data

You may stop using the service at any time. You can request termination or account deletion by email, or use the account-deletion function where available. There is no minimum term for free use.

Polls created without an account are scheduled to expire two weeks after creation. Account deletion removes the account and its owned polls and lists, including the votes within those polls. Votes in other people’s polls may remain with the account-linked name replaced; votes that cannot be linked to your account cannot automatically be identified through account deletion. Contact us if you need help with such content. See the Privacy Policy for information on personal data and retention.

The service is not a permanent archive. Keep a separate copy of information you need. Deletion does not retrieve messages, previews or copies already received by other people.

We may end an ongoing free-use agreement with at least 30 days’ notice, communicated to your available contact address or prominently in the app. We will provide a reasonable opportunity to preserve your content before an ordinary shutdown. Termination for a serious reason remains subject to the applicable legal requirements, including any required warning or opportunity to remedy a breach. Mandatory rights relating to termination, data or content remain unaffected.

9. Liability and statutory rights

Liability is governed by applicable statutory law. These terms do not exclude or limit liability for intent, gross negligence, injury to life, body or health, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. They do not impose a financial cap on your statutory claims.

Any mandatory consumer rights, rights concerning digital products, and rights relating to defective performance remain unaffected. The description of the service’s purpose does not exclude liability for a failure to meet obligations that apply to us.

10. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains how personal data is processed and how you can exercise your rights. Agreement to these terms is not consent to optional analytics, advertising or marketing. Where consent is required, it must be obtained separately.

11. Changes to these terms

We may propose revised terms and will identify the changes and the proposed effective date. Changes to an existing agreement require your agreement unless a different procedure is expressly permitted by applicable law. Silence or continued use alone will not be treated as acceptance of revised terms. Publishing a new version does not retroactively change existing agreements.

12. Governing law and contact

German law applies. If you are a consumer, this choice does not deprive you of mandatory protection under the law of your habitual residence that would otherwise apply. Statutory rules on jurisdiction remain unchanged; these terms do not require consumers to bring proceedings exclusively in Germany.

If a provision is invalid, the statutory rules determine the consequences; it is not automatically replaced by a provision that maximises our commercial interests.

Questions about these terms: hello@bestoption.io.