General terms and conditions of use of the LU-Alert App

Article 1. Definitions

The term 'application' (or 'app') refers to the mobile app developed and edited by Intersec on behalf of the State, available to download on the App Store and Google Play platforms. This app is based on Intersec's 'Trela' solution and has been adapted according to the State's specifications to meet the government's needs. 

The term 'alert' refers to the different levels and categories of alerts and information that can be shared via the app.

The app consists of 'elements', i.e. 'content' and 'functions':

• the 'content' refers to the texts, the graphic charter, the logos, icons, images, illustrations and the source code;
• the 'functionalities' refer to the functions included in the app, whether these are adjustable or non-adjustable, including the receipt of messages sent to the user on his terminal that is compatible with the technology known as 'push notifications'.

The term 'message' refers to any text sent by the State to the user, by means of the app consisting of an alert, information and/or advice on the behaviour to adopt in the event of a disaster, catastrophe, crisis or any comparable event or consisting of an alert to the population in the event of a potential or actual occurrence of a disaster, a catastrophe, a crisis or any comparable event in order to warn the population and make them vigilant to any potential danger.

The term 'notification' refers to the receipt of messages sent to the user on his terminal that is compatible with the technology known as 'push notifications'.

The term 'terminal' refers to any mobile electronic device that is connected by any means to an Internet network that enables use of the app.

The term 'user' refers to a physical person who downloads the LU-Alert app on their terminal, such as a smartphone, tablet or any other similar existing or future hardware.

Article 2. Presentation and scope of application

The purpose of these General terms and conditions of use (hereinafter referred to as 'Ts&Cs') is to determine the modes of access and the rules of use of the LU-Alert mobile app (hereinafter referred to as the 'app').

The app supplements the alert system of the State of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (hereinafter referred to as 'the State') and forms part of a general campaign to make the population aware of the risks and means of protecting themselves in the event of a disaster, catastrophe, crisis, or any other comparable event. It also makes it possible to notify the population that has chosen to put the app on their terminal in the event of imminent danger on a national scale or in a specific area, by sending messages that contain information related to the behaviour to adopt.

The app has been developed and edited by Intersec S.A., a public limited company, established and with registered office at F-92800 Puteaux, 102 Terrasse Boieldieu, registered in the Trade and Companies Register in Nanterre (France) under number B 479 898 561 (hereinafter referred to as 'Intersec') to meet the State's needs. The publication of the app was done by the following State administration: Government IT Centre (Centre des technologies de l’information de l’État - CTIE), based at 560, rue de Neudorf, L-2220 Luxembourg.

By accessing and/or by using the app on their terminal for the first time, the user is deemed to have read and accepted all the Ts&Cs unconditionally. They commit to adhere to and respect all applicable laws and regulations. The Ts&Cs apply to all access or use of the app.

If the user does not agree to these Ts&Cs, he is requested not to install or use the app.

Article 3. Description of the app's functionalities

The app enables the State to send messages to users in the event of a potential or real risk of disaster, catastrophe, crisis, or any comparable event.

During installation, the user is invited to:

• adjust the use of certain functions (the activation of geolocation; the non-receipt of notifications; the activation of statistics) and to accept these Ts&Cs as well as the privacy policy;
• familiarise themselves with examples of alerts;
• define their places of interest to receive notifications concerning these personalised places; 
• define the categories of alerts they wish to receive.

Except for the acceptance of the Ts&Cs and the privacy policy, these choices can be modified at any time later during use of the app.

With a view to prevention, under the 'Info' tab, information related to the behaviour to adopt and to various emergency intervention plans is also continuously available on the app, independent of the current alerts.

The user can choose to receive messages according to the place(s) of interest he has defined, according to their approximate or precise position, and according to the categories of information chosen at the time of installation of the app or subsequently. 

If the user has activated geolocation for the app, he will receive messages according to the option chosen:

• 'My location': the user will receive a message if the GPS/Galileo/GLONASS position or that of another satellite positioning system selected by the terminal (with a precision of up to 3 to 4 metres) intersects one or more alert notification zones;
• 'Around my location': the user will receive a message if one or more alert notification zones are situated within a radius of 1 km of the GPS/Galileo/GLONASS position or that of another satellite positioning system selected by the terminal.

If the geolocation function has been disabled, the user will either only receive notifications concerning the place(s) of interest he has defined or all the alerts. If the user does not define a place of interest and does not activate geolocation on their terminal, they will not receive any message when the option 'Disable proximity alerts' is selected, or all the messages when the option 'All alerts' is selected.

Notwithstanding the above, the user can disable receipt of all notifications at any time. In this case, the messages will only be delivered to the user within the app and will not be sent as push notifications.

Article 4. Technical conditions for use of the app

The app is executable through the terminal's operating system.

To access and use the app, the user must have:

• a compatible terminal:
  • either a smartphone updated with one of the latest two major releases of the iOS operating system; 
  • or a smartphone with one of the latest four major releases of an Android operating system;
• access to an Internet network, which is the sole responsibility of the user;
• a client account on one of the 'App Store' and 'Google Play' platforms. 

Article 5. Availability of the app 

The State will ensure, insofar as is possible, that access and use of the app is secure. 

In principle, the app is accessible 24/7, except for reasons of force majeure or the occurrence of an event beyond the Government's control, as well as during:

• technical maintenance operations;
• updates; 
• technical improvements or changes to the content and/or presentation;
• any actions taken for safety reasons;
• any other intervention deemed necessary.

Such operations may be carried out at any time, without prior notice to the user.

If the app is unavailable or does not work properly, users are not entitled to any indemnification.

If access to the Internet network is cut completely, the app will continue to work in reduced mode, which is only available if the app has cache available. In this precise case:

• the app will continue to function without a network/Internet, indicating to the user that the network has been lost temporarily;
• the latest alert information (active and past alerts) as well as the latest reference information available on the whole of the alert portal (throughout the territory) prior to the access being cut are saved in the app;
• the information on points of interest will remain in place and operational;
• the user's geolocation continues to be updated.

Article 6. Financial conditions

The app can be downloaded for free from the 'App Store' and 'Google Play' platforms.

The equipment, terminals and hardware enabling access to, and use of the app are the sole responsibility of the user. The latter will also take responsibility for all the telecommunication costs incurred for access to and use of the app.

Article 7. Intellectual property of the app 

The app in its entirety and each of the elements of which it is composed (such as the texts, the databases, the source code, the logos, the images, the illustrations, and the diagrams) are protected by intellectual property rights. Except for the components listed expressly in the app under the 'Licences' tab, Intersec is the sole holder of the intellectual property rights related to the app; the State has a non-exclusive licence for access to and use of the app.

As long as the user adheres to these Ts&Cs, the State grants the user a non-exclusive free sub-licence to access and use the app, which is limited to a strictly personal use. Use of the app must conform to the nature of the app. The user is prohibited from any commercial, industrial, craft, liberal or any other non-personal use. They may otherwise be held liable. This licence may be revoked at any time, it is non-assignable and non-transferable.

Except for the usage rights stated above and expressly agreed in these Ts&Cs, this document does not entail the transfer of any intellectual property right to the benefit of the user nor of any elements of the app. 

The user expressly undertakes to refrain from using the app in such a way that may infringe the rights of Intersec and, in particular, refrain from any such use that may constitute counterfeiting or parasitic use of information, or unfair competition. Furthermore, use must conform to public order and accepted principles of morality.

None of the texts, graphics, icons, photographs, illustrations and, more generally, none of the elements making up the app, may be changed, represented, reproduced, exploited, or extracted, whether in whole or in part, on any medium whatsoever, without express prior and written authorisation from Intersec or the State. Any infringement of these intellectual property rights may result in civil and criminal proceedings.

The following signs are subject to BENELUX, French and German trademark protection (as a word mark, figurative and semi-figurative mark):

This protection prohibits others from using the trademark without prior authorisation from the owner.

Article 8. Liability

1. Use

The State cannot fully guarantee the accuracy and completeness of all information provided through the app, but it will do everything possible to ensure that the app works. 

In addition, the State may temporarily or permanently suspend access to the app and to any connected services, without being liable for any compensation whatsoever.

The State accepts no liability for any direct or indirect damage occurring in connection with changes or modifications made to the app.

The State cannot be held liable for the presence of viruses in the app or for the communication of incorrect data relating to the geographical location of the user's terminal.

The user alone is responsible for updating the app to its latest versions. The State assumes no responsibility in this regard.

The State may not be held liable if the app is inaccessible for any reason whatsoever.

The State may not be held liable if, for any reason whatsoever, the internet connection is interrupted.

The State may not be held liable for any omissions and/or errors the app may contain.

Similarly, use of the app is the sole and entire responsibility of the user, who accepts all of the consequences that may arise from it and shall not be able to hold the State liable for any indirect damages.

The State may not be held liable for:

• damage of any sort, whether direct or indirect, resulting from the use of or an inability to use the app, and in particular any operating, financial or commercial loss, or loss of programs and/or data in the app user's information system;
• damage of any sort, whether direct or indirect, resulting from the content and/or use or inability to use websites linked to the app or which the user would usually be able to access through the app.

The app user is responsible for damage of any sort caused to third parties, including the State and Intersec, due to incorrect use or illicit, fraudulent, or abusive use of the app. 

The user declares that he is aware of and accept the risks, limitations and problems of the mobile Internet network and the app's operating system, for which the State may not be held liable, and in particular, recognises that:

• use of the app is at their own risk;
• the app is accessible 'as is' and depending on its availability;
• the user is responsible for protecting his own data stored on his terminal, and for taking all appropriate measures to protect it against any damage (malfunction, virus, hacking, etc.); 
• the technical performance of the internet requires processing time to respond to, view, request or transfer information or data. 

2. Content

The messages and content are provided to the user on a purely informative basis, they are non-contractual, and the State may not be held liable for them.

The State shall proceed with the necessary corrections of any potential errors within the shortest time possible as soon as it is informed of them. The State may not be held liable for any omissions and/or errors the app may contain.

The user is warned that messages and content are likely to change rapidly, especially in the event of a disaster, catastrophe, crisis, or any comparable event. The State cannot be held responsible for a late update of the content or of a message related to the occurrence of a disaster, catastrophe, crisis, or any comparable event. The State will make every effort to notify the user within the shortest time possible. It cannot be held liable in the event of force majeure or any event outside of its due diligence.

The State cannot in any case whatsoever be held responsible for any damage of any sort whether resulting from the interpretation of messages or of content. Furthermore, it is impossible to always guarantee the receipt of all notifications by all users.

The user acknowledges that he has sole responsibility for any breach of his obligations under these Ts&Cs, and for the consequences of such a breach.

Article 9. Hyperlinks

The app's content or messages may contain hyperlinks to websites. By clicking on these links, you leave the app.

Article 10. Protection of personal data

Without prejudice to the processing of personal data conducted by Apple or Google, in particular as a result of having a personal account, the app processes the following personal data: the terminal's unique technical identifier (generated automatically by downloading the app), the terminal's geolocation (if geo tracking has been activated on the terminal) and the terminal's IP address. 

For more details, please consult the privacy policy.

Article 11. Modification of general terms and conditions of use

The State reserves the right to adapt or modify these Ts&Cs at any time, either in whole or in part, and without being limited thereto, to adapt them to developments in relation to services, technical advances, changes in the law or jurisprudence or during updates and to do so, without it being necessary to notify the user in advance.

A pop-up window will inform the user of the Ts&Cs upon first access and of any new version of the Ts&Cs in the event of an adaptation or modification of the Ts&Cs, which the user will have to accept. The new versions of the Ts&Cs will thus be deemed fully known and accepted by the user.

Any modifications made by the State will be deemed to have been brought to the user's attention by simply being published online in the app.

Article 12. Applicable law and attribution of jurisdiction

These Ts&Cs are subject to Luxembourg law, regardless of the place of use.

Any litigation or dispute, following an attempt at amicable settlement that has remained fruitless within a 6-month period, shall be subject to the sole competence of the Luxembourg courts and tribunals.

Article 13. Point of contact

For any question related to the app or to these Ts&Cs, you can contact us via the Guichet.lu Helpdesk, accessible on the following website: 

https://guichet.public.lu/en/citoyens/support/contact/contact_guichet.html.