Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account and using Haystack, you agree to these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use the platform.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use Haystack. By creating an account, you confirm that you are 18 or older.

Haystack is available only to residents of the United States. By creating an account you confirm that you reside in the United States. Deposits from outside the United States are refused, and accounts found to be outside it may be closed with any balance returned by the routes described in Section 6.

3. How Haystack Works

Haystack is a paid messaging platform where conversation time has monetary value:

• Initiators: Users who start conversations pay for replies they accept, at the per-word rate agreed for that conversation (see "Pricing" below)
• Recipients: Users who receive conversation requests earn from the replies the other party accepts, keeping approximately 76% of the agreed per-word rate after platform fees
• Accept/Reject System: Initiators must accept each recipient message before payment is processed
• Recovery Messages: If a message is rejected, the recipient gets one free recovery attempt
• Platform Fee: Haystack keeps approximately 24% of the agreed per-word rate, split equally between both parties. The recipient's half is waived on their first accepted reply in a conversation

4. User Responsibilities

As a Haystack user, you agree to:

• Provide accurate account information
• Keep your account credentials secure
• Use the platform respectfully and legally
• Not send unsolicited explicit images
• Not harass, threaten, or abuse other users
• Not use the platform for spam or fraudulent purposes
• Not attempt to manipulate word counts or payment calculations
• Be responsible for content you send (messages and photos)

5. Prohibited Content and Conduct

• Harassment: Threatening, stalking, or abusive behavior toward other users
• Illegal content: Child sexual abuse material (detected material is preserved, reported to NCMEC, and results in immediate permanent termination), illegal drugs, weapons, etc.
• Explicit content: Haystack is not an adult platform. Sexually explicit photos and content are not allowed anywhere on the service — solicited or not. Uploaded images are automatically screened and explicit images are blocked.
• Hate speech: Content that attacks people based on race, religion, gender, etc.
• Spam: Bulk messaging or advertising without consent
• Fraud: Scams, impersonation, or deceptive practices
• Doxxing: Sharing others' private information without consent

Violations will result in account suspension or permanent ban without refund.

6. Payment Terms

For Initiators (Those Who Pay)

• Money you add by card can be returned to that card. Contact support@haystack.chat and we will refund the unspent amount to the card you paid with. Money added by card cannot be withdrawn to a bank account — see "Which money can be withdrawn" below
• You are charged only when you accept a recipient's message
• The per-word rate is agreed between you and the other person. Conversations begin at $0.01 per word. Either party may propose a different rate, no lower than $0.01 and no higher than $0.50 per word. A change that costs the paying party more takes effect only if that party accepts it; a recipient may lower their own rate at any time, and either party may ask the other to move it. Nothing is charged for a reply you do not accept
• A paying party may state the most they are willing to pay for a single reply. This is shown to the other person as guidance before they write; it is not a spending limit, and it does not prevent a longer reply being sent. Your protection is that no reply is charged unless you accept it. No single message may exceed 50 words in any event
• Photos carry no price. A photo is sent with a message, and only the message is charged, at the agreed per-word rate
• Word counts are calculated server-side and are final
• Insufficient balance prevents accepting new messages
• Payment processing is handled securely by Stripe
• Filing a chargeback for legitimate transactions may result in account termination

For Recipients (Those Who Earn)

• Earnings are credited when initiators accept your messages
• You can withdraw earnings to your bank account via Stripe Connect
• Clearing window: New earnings become withdrawable after a clearing period — 7 calendar days for new accounts, reducing to 5 calendar days once established (first earning at least 30 days old, at least $25 earned in total, and no chargeback involvement), plus standard 2–3 business day bank transfer time. This is Haystack's fraud-protection policy and it is what allows us to guarantee accepted earnings are never reversed. Full plain-language details: haystack.chat/how-money-works.
• Which money can be withdrawn: you may withdraw only what you have earned on Haystack. Money you added by card is not withdrawable to a bank account; it may be spent on messages or refunded to the original card
• Withdrawal fees: $2.50 for the first standard withdrawal in a calendar month and $0.50 for each additional one; a one-time $1.50 identity-verification fee deducted from your first withdrawal (waived for the first fifty verified accounts). Minimum withdrawal $5, and one withdrawal per day. Every fee is itemised before you confirm
• Fraudulent activity (fake messages, word count manipulation) results in forfeiture of earnings
• Haystack reserves the right to hold withdrawals for up to 14 days for fraud prevention
• Haystack maintains a reserve fund — funded from Haystack's own platform fees, never from your earnings — to absorb chargebacks so that legitimate earners are not affected

7. Chargebacks and Disputes

Haystack takes payment disputes seriously. By using this platform:

• Initiators: You agree that deposits and accepted message payments are final. Filing fraudulent chargebacks violates these Terms and may result in account termination, collection efforts, and legal action.
• Recipients: If a chargeback is filed on a payment you legitimately earned, Haystack absorbs it from a platform reserve — your accepted earnings are not clawed back. The sole exception is collusion: if we determine you coordinated with a disputing user to extract funds, you are liable for the disputed amount and it may be recovered from your balance, your bank account, or by legal action.
• Haystack maintains transaction logs, IP addresses, and conversation records as evidence for dispute resolution.
• We will defend legitimate transactions but reserve the right to refund at our discretion.

8. Accept/Reject Message Flow

Haystack uses a unique message approval system:

• When a recipient sends a message, it is marked "pending acceptance"
• The initiator sees the message content and must choose to Accept or Reject
• If Accepted: Payment is processed (initiator charged, recipient credited)
• If Rejected: No payment occurs, recipient gets one free recovery message opportunity
• Recipients cannot send another message until the previous one is accepted/rejected
• If recovery message is also rejected, the conversation ends permanently

9. Content Moderation

Haystack reserves the right to:

• Automatically screen every uploaded image for illegal and explicit material before it is stored
• Review a reported message or photo (review is report-triggered and limited to the reported content; every review is logged)
• Remove content, issue warnings, and suspend or ban accounts that violate these Terms
• Refund initiators for accepted messages that violated Terms
• Forfeit recipient earnings from messages that violated Terms

We do not read your private conversations. Messages are encrypted at rest, and human review happens only when another member reports specific content.

10. User Reports and Blocking

You have tools to protect yourself:

• Block: Instantly end a conversation and prevent future contact with a user
• Report: Report violations to Haystack for review

False or malicious reports may result in your account being suspended.

11. Intellectual Property

You retain ownership of content you create (messages, photos). By using Haystack, you grant us a license to store, display, and transmit your content as necessary to provide the service.

The Haystack platform, logo, and branding are owned by Haystack and protected by copyright and trademark laws.

12. Disclaimers and Limitations

Haystack is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We do not guarantee:

• Uninterrupted or error-free service
• The behavior or identity of other users
• That you will find quality conversations or earn specific amounts
• The security of data transmission over the internet

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Haystack is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform.

13. Account Termination

You may delete your account at any time. Upon deletion:

• Your profile and messages will be deleted within 30 days
• Your balance is not forfeited. We will not permanently delete an account that still holds money. Before deletion completes, earned money can be withdrawn (the $5 minimum is waived while an account is closing) and money added by card is refunded to that card. If any balance cannot be moved automatically, deletion is held and support will contact you
• Transaction records will be retained for 7 years (legal requirement)

We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, with or without notice.

14. Dispute Resolution

For payment disputes or technical issues, contact support at support@haystack.chat. We will investigate and resolve disputes based on:

• Transaction records and metadata
• Message content (if relevant to dispute)
• User behavior patterns

15. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated via email or platform notice. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the new Terms.

16. Governing law, entity and contact

Haystack is operated by [LEGAL ENTITY NAME — to be confirmed], registered at [REGISTERED ADDRESS — to be confirmed]. These Terms are governed by the laws of [STATE — to be confirmed], United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions.

General and payment enquiries: support@haystack.chat

Copyright complaints. If you believe content on Haystack infringes your copyright, send a notice to copyright@haystack.chat including: your physical or electronic signature; identification of the work you claim is infringed; identification of the material you say is infringing and where it is on the service; your contact details; a statement that you believe in good faith the use is not authorised; and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are the owner or authorised to act for them. We remove infringing material and terminate repeat infringers.