Eatfluence Terms of Service & Marketplace Rules

Effective Date: October 2025

1. Overview

Eatfluence™ (“the Platform,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) operates a two-sided digital marketplace that connects restaurants (“Restaurants”) with customers and content creators (“Participants”). Restaurants fund promotional Challenges to gain real engagement, and Participants earn cash and credits by achieving measurable performance milestones such as verified post views. Eatfluence is a facilitator — not the sponsor, employer, or co-venturer — of these promotions.

2. Legal Structure

• Each Restaurant is the independent sponsor of its own Challenge.
• Participants voluntarily join Challenges and create social media content that meets published performance criteria.
• Eatfluence provides verification, reward automation, and payment processing via Stripe Connect.
• All funds are prepaid by Restaurants and securely held in Stripe until milestone verification and payout.

3. Fees & Payments

• Restaurants pay their full Challenge budget in advance.
• Eatfluence deducts a 10% platform fee from the restaurant’s total budget at creation.
• Participants who qualify for payouts are charged a 5% service fee from their verified reward.
• Unclaimed milestone funds are automatically refunded to the Restaurant after Challenge expiration, less the platform fee.
• All transactions are processed through Stripe. Eatfluence never stores credit card details.

4. Challenge Rules & Milestones

Challenges are based on skill and measurable performance — not chance. Restaurants define milestones such as:

• First 25 Participants to reach 1,000 verified views receive $10 each.
• First 15 Participants to reach 3,000 views receive $15 each.
• First 10 Participants to reach 5,000 views receive $25 each.

Rewards are granted to Participants who meet these criteria before milestone limits are filled. Milestones are verified through third-party analytics or social API data.

No element of chance or purchase is required to participate or win. All rewards are performance-based and paid upon verified completion.

5. Eligibility

• Participants must be 18+ and legal U.S. residents.
• Restaurants must be registered U.S. businesses with valid tax and payment information.
• Employees of a sponsoring Restaurant may not participate in their own Challenge.

6. Content & Conduct

• Participants must create original content related to the Challenge.
• Misleading, defamatory, or offensive content is prohibited.
• Artificial engagement (bot views, purchased likes, or fake traffic) is grounds for disqualification and forfeiture of earnings.

7. FTC & Disclosure Compliance

Participants must comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) by clearly disclosing their partnership using tags such as #EatfluencePartner or #ad when posting sponsored content.

8. Taxes

Rewards earned through Eatfluence may be considered taxable income. Eatfluence (or its payment processor) will issue IRS Form 1099-NEC to Participants who earn $600 USD or more within a calendar year. Restaurants may treat Challenge spending as advertising or marketing expense.

9. Refunds, Disputes & Verification

In case of dispute over a reward or milestone, Eatfluence reserves the right to review data and temporarily hold payments. Refunds are issued only for unlaunched or canceled Challenges after internal verification. Eatfluence’s decision is final.

10. Limitation of Liability

Eatfluence is not responsible for user-generated content, Restaurant offers, or fulfillment of in-store perks. Our role is limited to managing the platform and facilitating secure payments. Liability is limited to the total fees paid to Eatfluence by the disputing party.

11. Data Use

Eatfluence may collect and analyze engagement metrics (e.g., post links, views, reach) solely to verify milestone completion and ensure fair payouts. This data is never sold or shared outside verification and analytics operations.

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate any user who violates these Terms, misuses the system, or attempts fraud or artificial manipulation.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Worcester County, MA.

14. Contact

For questions or legal matters:
Eatfluence Legal Team
69 Park Ave, Worcester MA 01609
Email: legal@eatfluence.app