Terms of Service
Last updated: June 6, 2026
1. Acceptance of these terms
By creating an account, accessing, or using Plug ("the Service") — including any product, feature, tool, or service made available on this site — you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms") and our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, do not use the Service.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract under the laws of your jurisdiction. By signing up, you represent that you meet these requirements.
3. Account types
Plug supports two account types:
- Creator accounts represent individuals who produce social media content. Creators can send and receive offers, run shoutout swaps, accept paid shoutouts, run collabs, and apply to brand campaigns.
- Brand accounts represent businesses or organizations promoting products or services. Brands can send paid shoutout offers and post campaigns; brands cannot offer shoutout swaps or collabs.
You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for keeping your credentials secure. Misrepresenting your identity or account type is a material breach of these Terms.
4. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Use the Service for any unlawful purpose
- Harass, threaten, or impersonate other users
- Submit false verification data, fake follower counts, or doctored screenshots
- Circumvent payment, fees, or verification systems
- Promote regulated products (firearms, controlled substances, gambling, etc.) without explicit permission
- Use the platform to launder money or facilitate fraud
- Scrape, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the operation of the Service
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules, with or without notice.
5. Marketplace transactions
Plug is a marketplace; we facilitate transactions between users but are not a party to them. Specifically:
- Paid deals are processed through Stripe. The brand (or paying creator) is charged when a deal is accepted. Funds are held in escrow until the post is verified and survives the agreed-on live window.
- Platform fees are split between both sides on every paid deal: the creator pays 8% (founding creators lock in 4% for life) and the brand pays a flat 8%. In-person deals are 10% on each side, with travel passed through at cost. Plug absorbs the Stripe processing fee.
- Brand pricing is included in the totals above. Brands pay 8% on paid shoutouts and 10% on in-person bookings, in addition to the deal amount itself. Pricing may change with notice.
- Swap deals (creator-to-creator, no money) carry no platform fee but are still subject to verification.
- Post-survival verification. Posts are monitored for the agreed minimum days live. If a post is deleted early, an automatic refund may be triggered based on the deal's terms.
6. Disputes and refunds
We provide tools for resolving disputes between users (in-deal messaging, a report button, a founder review queue for flagged deals). Refunds are issued based on the deal's verification status and post-survival rules. We may, at our discretion:
- Hold funds in escrow pending resolution
- Refund the buyer if delivery is materially incomplete
- Release funds to the creator if delivery meets the agreed terms
- Suspend either or both parties pending investigation of bad-faith behavior
Our determinations are final for platform-mediated disputes. Either party retains independent legal remedies outside the platform.
7. Intellectual property
You retain all rights to content you create. By posting content as part of a Plug deal (a sponsored post on TikTok, Instagram, etc.), you grant the counterparty the usage rights specified in the deal terms (e.g., reshare allowed, paid ads, whitelisting). Outside those specified rights, neither party may repurpose the other's content.
Plug retains rights to the Service itself — the website, software, branding, and copyrighted materials. You may not copy, modify, or redistribute the Service.
8. Termination
You may close your account at any time. We may suspend or close accounts for breach of these Terms, fraudulent activity, prolonged inactivity, or at our discretion. Pending transactions at termination follow the same dispute and refund rules.
9. Disclaimers
The Service is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We do not guarantee any specific business outcome, audience size, post performance, or deal volume. Verification systems are best-effort; you should not rely solely on them for high-value transactions.
10. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent allowed by law, Plug's total liability to any user is limited to the platform fees paid by that user in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim. We are not liable for indirect, consequential, or incidental damages.
11. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. You agree that any dispute not resolved through Plug's platform-mediated process will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Washington, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
12. Changes to these terms
We may update these Terms over time. Material changes will be announced via email or in-app notice. Continued use of the Service after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
13. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Email support@getplug.io.
Flow-specific terms
These apply only when you participate in the named flow on Plug. The relevant section is also surfaced inside an in-flow modal at the moment of agreement.
- In-person booking terms — brand side — Public-venue confirmation, what brands cannot ask for, cancellation kill-fees, dispute process
- In-person booking terms — creator side — Venue confirmation, your safety responsibilities, posting + verification, cancellation, disputes
- Paid shoutout terms — Deliverables, compliance, fees, verification, cancellation, disputes, IP
- Collab (swap) terms — Mutual deliverables, verification, cancellation, IP, disputes
In-person booking terms — brand side
1. Public-venue requirement
Plug in-person bookings are limited to public-facing events at named venues. By submitting this offer you confirm the venue is a public event — not a private home, hotel room, undisclosed location, or any setting where the creator would be isolated.
Misrepresenting the venue is a material breach of these terms and may result in account suspension, immediate refund to the creator, and reporting to local authorities if safety concerns arise.
🚫 2. What brands cannot ask for
You may not, as part of an in-person booking:
- Pressure the creator to leave the named venue for any reason
- Request non-event activities (private meetings, alternate locations, personal favors, romantic or sexual content)
- Require the creator to share personal contact information (personal phone number, home address, government ID)
- Withhold credentials, transportation, or access at the event in exchange for additional services
- Solicit content that requires the creator to be alone with you or your team
3. Cancellation and refunds
Cancellation policy on in-person deals (see also the cancel preview on each deal page):
| Timing | What happens |
|---|---|
| 7+ days before | Full refund of the appearance fee + any unpaid travel. |
| 24h–7 days before | Creator keeps 50% as a kill fee; you receive the rest. |
| <24h or after start | Creator keeps 100% of the appearance fee. |
Plug retains its platform fee on any refund path; the Stripe processing fee is non-refundable.
Travel is refundable only while no travel receipt has been uploaded. Once the creator uploads a receipt, those funds stay with the creator (they’ve already booked).
4. Evidence and verification
Plug records the offer terms, your attestation timestamps, all deal messages, uploaded credentials, and post-event verification photos as part of the deal audit trail. This evidence is reviewed in any dispute and may be shared with law enforcement on lawful request.
5. Dispute process
If something goes wrong on either side, open a dispute from the deal page within 7 days of the event. Funds stay in escrow while Plug's team reviews evidence from both parties and reaches a resolution: refund, release, or split.
6. Liability
Plug is a marketplace. We verify identities, hold escrow, and adjudicate disputes — we do not attend events or guarantee outcomes off-platform. You are responsible for your conduct at the venue and for any harm caused by misrepresentation of the booking.
In-person booking terms — creator side
1. Public-venue confirmation
You’re accepting a booking at a public-facing event venue. If the venue is not what was described — for example, the brand asks you to meet at a private home, hotel room, or unstated location — do not go. Report the change immediately from the deal page; Plug refunds the brand and protects your account.
🛡️ 2. Your safety responsibilities
Plug verifies brand identities (phone + business email + manual review) and holds the payment in escrow, but we are not present at the event. Your safety choices at and around the venue are your own. Plug strongly encourages you to:
- Verify the venue independently — Google the event, check the venue’s published schedule, confirm it’s a real public event
- Share your location with someone you trust for the day of the event (location-sharing in iMessage, Find My, Google Maps, Life360, etc.)
- Use a buddy system when possible — bring a friend, request a +1 pass, or check in with someone before and after
- Keep location services on during the booking window
- Report suspicious activity to both Plug AND local authorities as soon as it occurs — don’t wait for the deal to end
- Leave immediately if you feel unsafe. Your personal safety always overrides any contractual obligation to complete the booking; we will not penalize a creator who leaves a venue for safety reasons
By accepting this booking you confirm: (a) you’ll take responsibility for your own safety at the event, (b) you understand Plug’s role is identity verification + escrow, not on-site supervision, and (c) you’ll report suspicious activity to Plug and local authorities.
3. Posting and verification
After the event, upload required evidence (event photos, posted links) from the deal page so escrow can release. Don’t share the brand’s credentials, NDA-restricted materials, or any content covered by a non-disclosure clause on the deal.
If the deal requires a social post, it is a paid appearance: any post you make about it must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed as an ad / paid partnership (e.g. #ad or the platform’s paid-partnership label), per FTC rules.
4. Cancellation and no-show
What happens if you cancel an accepted booking:
| Timing | What happens |
|---|---|
| Before the event starts | Cancel any time — the brand is refunded in full and the deal is marked cancelled-by-creator. No penalty. |
| Can’t attend (illness / emergency) | Report it from the deal page once the event has started — our team reviews. Cancellation isn’t self-serve after start. |
| No-show (no notice) | Full refund to the brand + an automatic flag on your account. Repeat no-shows can suspend in-person access. |
5. Travel and expenses
If the deal includes a travel allowance, upload the receipt for your booked flights/lodging from the deal page as soon as you’ve paid for them. Once a travel receipt is uploaded, those funds stay with you even if the brand cancels — you’ve already committed.
6. Reporting and disputes
If something goes wrong at the event, open a dispute from the deal page within 7 days. Plug’s team reviews evidence from both parties and reaches a resolution. For safety incidents, contact local authorities first; we’ll cooperate with any lawful investigation.
Paid shoutout terms
1. What a paid shoutout is
A paid shoutout is a posted piece of content on a named platform (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch) following the deliverables spec on the deal page. The buyer (brand or creator) funds the deal before any work begins; Plug holds the funds in escrow until the post is verified and survives the agreed live window.
2. Deliverables and compliance
By accepting, the creator agrees to:
- Post the agreed format on the agreed platform by the due date
- Include the agreed mention, hashtags, link, and any FTC required disclosures (#ad, #sponsored, "Paid partnership")
- Keep the post live for the agreed minimum survival window (default 30 days unless specified otherwise)
- Not edit or replace the post in ways that remove the agreed elements
By accepting, the buyer agrees to:
- Provide accurate brief, brand assets, and any product samples on time
- Not require content that violates law, platform policy, or these terms
- Not request the creator's personal data (phone, address, ID)
3. Platform fees
On every paid shoutout: the creator pays 8% (founding creators 4% for life); the buyer pays 8%. Plug absorbs the Stripe processing fee. Both fees are non-refundable on cancellation or dispute.
4. Verification and escrow release
When the creator submits a post link, Plug Verify checks that it's public, that the agreed mention/hashtags/link are present, and captures a screenshot for the record. The buyer confirms; escrow releases. Posts removed before the survival window ends may trigger automatic refunds.
5. Cancellation and refunds
Pre-acceptance: either side can cancel for free, no fee charged. Post-acceptance: cancellation requires mutual consent or a dispute ruling. If the buyer cancels post-acceptance without creator agreement, the creator earns the agreed amount as kill-fee compensation; Plug keeps its fees.
6. Disputes
If the post doesn't meet the agreed brief, open a dispute from the deal page within 7 days of delivery. Funds stay in escrow while Plug's team reviews evidence and reaches a resolution: refund, release, or split.
7. Intellectual property
The creator retains all rights to the content they create. The deal terms specify what the buyer can do with the content (reshare, paid ads, whitelisting, etc.); outside those terms, neither side may repurpose the other's content or brand without written permission.
Collab (swap) terms
1. What a collab is
A Plug collab is a creator-to-creator swap: each party posts for the other on a named platform following the deliverables spec on the deal page. No money changes hands; no platform fee applies.
2. Mutual deliverables
By accepting, both creators agree to:
- Post the agreed format on the agreed platform by the agreed date
- Include the other creator's mention, agreed hashtags, and any FTC-style disclosure required by your platform of choice
- Keep the post live for the agreed minimum survival window
- Treat the other creator's brand and content respectfully — no disparagement, no impersonation, no edits that misrepresent them
3. Verification
Submit your post link from the deal page when it's live. Plug Verify checks the agreed elements are present. Both sides have to confirm the swap before it's marked completed on each profile's deals-done count.
4. Cancellation and bad-faith conduct
Either side can cancel before acceptance for any reason. After acceptance, cancellation needs mutual consent or a dispute ruling. A creator who repeatedly accepts collabs and fails to deliver may have their swap access suspended.
5. Intellectual property
You retain all rights to the content you create. The collab grants the other party only the rights specified on the deal (typically "may repost this specific piece"). Outside that grant, neither side may repurpose the other's content.
6. Reporting and disputes
If your collab partner doesn't deliver, posts late, or doesn't meet the agreed terms, open a dispute from the deal page. Plug's team reviews evidence from both parties and applies a resolution (re-post requirement, deal voided, or account flag).