Terms of Service
Effective 21 August 2026. Last updated 21 August 2026.
The short version. Meerkat Universe is a free game for children. There is nothing to buy, nothing to pay, and no advertising. A parent should agree to these terms on behalf of a child. Beetles are points in a game and are not money. Be kind to other players, and we can remove a player who is not.
1. Who these terms are with
These terms are an agreement between you and Or Shamir, an individual trading as the developer of Meerkat Universe ("we", "us"), contactable at meerkatuniverse.support@gmail.com.
They cover the Meerkat Universe mobile app and this website.
2. Children, and who agrees to these terms
Meerkat Universe is made for children. If the player is a child, a parent or guardian must read and agree to these terms on their behalf, and is responsible for their child's use of the app.
By allowing a child to use the app, a parent or guardian confirms they agree to these terms and to the Privacy Policy.
The app asks once how old the player is. A player under 13 gets the whole game with progress stored on their own device, and cannot create an account or use the Social Hub — so nothing about them is sent to us. A player 13 or over may optionally sign in. A parent can correct that answer at any time in Settings.
3. Your licence to use the app
We give you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use Meerkat Universe on devices you own or control, for personal, non-commercial enjoyment, in line with these terms and with the rules of the app store you downloaded it from.
You may not: copy, sell, rent or redistribute the app; modify, reverse-engineer or attempt to derive its source code, except to the extent the law expressly allows; use it to break the law or to harm anyone; or access our servers other than through the app itself, including by using a modified copy of it.
4. Everything in the app belongs to us
The app, the artwork, the characters, the name "Meerkat Universe", the music and the sound effects are ours or are used with permission, and are protected by copyright and other rights. Nothing in these terms transfers any of that to you.
5. Beetles and in-game items are not money
Meerkat Universe has no in-app purchases. Nothing in the app can be bought with real money.
Beetles are points earned by playing. They and the items bought with them:
- have no monetary value and are not currency, credit, or property;
- cannot be bought, sold, exchanged or transferred, inside or outside the app;
- cannot be redeemed for money or anything else of value;
- may be changed, rebalanced or removed as the game is updated;
- are lost if the account is deleted, and we owe no compensation for them.
6. Accounts and saved progress
Playing without signing in keeps progress on the device only. If the device is lost, reset or replaced, that progress is gone and we cannot recover it, because we never had it.
Signing in with an Apple or Google account saves progress so it can be restored. Keep the sign-in account secure; anyone who can sign in to it can reach the game progress.
We take reasonable care to keep saved progress safe, but we do not guarantee that progress will never be lost — through device failure, a fault, or an interruption to the service.
7. Playing with other people
The Social Hub shows a leaderboard and lets players add friends using a friend code.
By design, there is no messaging in Meerkat Universe. Players cannot send each other text, pictures, audio or anything else, and display names are chosen from a fixed list we wrote rather than typed. This is deliberate, and it is the main way we keep the app safe for children.
You agree not to attempt to defeat those limits — for example by using a modified copy of the app to publish a name or content we did not provide, by impersonating another player, by harassing anyone through friend requests, or by trying to obtain other players' information.
We may remove a published profile, cancel friendships, or suspend or close an account that breaks these rules or puts other children at risk. Where the player is a child, we will act in the child's best interests.
8. Fair play
Do not cheat. In particular, do not modify the app, tamper with saved data, or manipulate network traffic in order to gain Beetles, items, levels or leaderboard positions you did not earn. We may reset progress obtained that way, or remove a player from the leaderboard.
9. The app may change, and may stop
We may update, change or remove features, and may stop offering the app or any part of it. Where we can reasonably do so, we will give notice on this website before shutting the service down. Because the app is free and has no purchases, no refund arises.
10. Ending this agreement
You may end it at any time by deleting the account in Settings → Account → Delete Account and removing the app. We may end it if these terms are broken in a serious or repeated way. Sections 4, 5, 11, 12 and 13 continue to apply afterwards.
11. What we do and do not promise
The app is provided as it is. We do not promise it will always be available, uninterrupted, or free of faults, and we do not promise it will meet any particular expectation.
Nothing in these terms limits rights you have by law that cannot be limited. If you are a consumer, you keep your statutory rights in full — including, in the UK and EU, rights concerning digital content that is not as described or not of satisfactory quality. Nothing here excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
12. Our liability
Subject to section 11, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, for lost game progress, Beetles or items, or for loss arising from a device fault, a lost sign-in account, or an interruption to the service.
Our total liability to you for any claim connected with the app is limited to the greater of US $100 or the amount you have paid us, except where the law does not allow such a limit. The app is supplied free of charge today, so for most players that figure is US $100; the wording is written this way so it stays fair if any part of Meerkat Universe is ever sold.
13. Which law applies
These terms are governed by the law of the State of Israel, and its courts have jurisdiction.
If you are a consumer resident in the UK or the EU, this does not deprive you of the protection of the mandatory laws of your own country, and you may bring proceedings in your local courts.
14. If you downloaded from the Apple App Store
The following applies where the app was obtained from Apple, and Apple requires it:
- These terms are between you and us only, not with Apple. Apple is not responsible for the app or its content.
- Apple has no obligation to provide any support or maintenance for the app.
- If the app fails to conform to any warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price if any — which for this app is zero. To the maximum extent the law allows, Apple has no other warranty obligation in respect of the app.
- We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing any claim relating to the app, including product liability claims, claims that the app fails to conform to a legal requirement, and claims under consumer protection law.
- We, not Apple, are responsible for investigating and resolving any third-party claim that the app infringes that party's intellectual property rights.
- You confirm you are not located in a country subject to a US Government embargo or designated as terrorist-supporting, and are not on any US Government restricted-parties list.
- Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms, and may enforce them against you.
15. If you downloaded from Google Play
Your use is also subject to the Google Play Terms of Service. These terms are between you and us; Google is not a party to them and is not responsible for the app.
16. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. The date at the top will change, and where a change materially affects you we will give notice in the app or on this website before it takes effect.
17. General
If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply. A delay in enforcing a term is not a waiver of it. These terms, with the Privacy Policy, are the whole agreement between us about the app.