Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing, browsing, or using the Trapster platform ("Platform"), including any associated websites, APIs, mobile applications, and services operated by Trapster ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"), you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you must immediately cease all use of the Platform.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Trapster. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) and have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement.

Trapster reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated via email or prominent Platform notice at least 14 days before taking effect. Your continued use of the Platform after such modifications constitutes acceptance. If you disagree with any changes, your sole remedy is to terminate your account.

2. Definitions

• "Platform" — the Trapster website, dashboard, APIs, and all related services.
• "Studio" — a game developer, publisher, or their authorized representative that creates campaigns on the Platform.
• "Creator" — a content creator who produces and publishes content (videos, streams, clips) for campaigns.
• "Clipper" — a user who creates short-form clips from existing campaign content for distribution.
• "Campaign" — a paid marketing initiative created by a Studio, with defined budget, rates, and guidelines.
• "Content" — any video, stream, clip, thumbnail, text, or other media submitted through the Platform.
• "Game Key" — a digital activation code (game or DLC) provided by a Studio for Creator access to a game.
• "Metrics" — view counts, concurrent viewers (CCV), engagement data, and other measurable performance indicators tracked by the Platform.
• "Payout" — monetary payment made to a Creator or Clipper for verified campaign performance.
• "Platform Fee" — the percentage commission retained by Trapster on all campaign spend.

3. Description of Service

Trapster is a creator marketplace that connects game studios with content creators and clippers for paid marketing campaigns. The Platform facilitates:

• Campaign creation, management, and budgeting by Studios.
• Creator discovery, enrollment, and content submission.
• Automated tracking and verification of content performance metrics across third-party platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram).
• Distribution and management of game keys and DLC keys.
• Payment processing, escrow, and payout facilitation via Stripe.
• Communication between Studios and Creators regarding campaigns.

Trapster acts solely as an intermediary platform. We do not produce content, develop games, or guarantee any specific campaign outcomes. The relationship between Studios and Creators is that of independent contractors, not employer-employee.

4. Account Registration & Security

To use the Platform, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration, including legal name, email address, and applicable tax identification.
• Maintain and promptly update your account information to keep it accurate.
• Maintain the confidentiality and security of your account credentials.
• Not share, transfer, or sell your account to any third party.
• Notify Trapster immediately at security@trapster.gg of any unauthorized access or security breach.
• Accept full responsibility for all activities that occur under your account.

You may only maintain one account per individual or legal entity. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions, earning caps, bans, or referral limits constitutes a material breach of these Terms.

Trapster reserves the right to verify your identity, request additional documentation, and suspend or terminate accounts that provide false information or fail verification checks.

5. Creator Terms & Obligations

As a Creator on the Platform, you agree to:

• Produce original content that complies with campaign guidelines, briefs, and any restrictions specified by the Studio.
• Publish content on the platforms specified in the campaign (TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram) using your verified account.
• Not engage in artificial view inflation, bot traffic, paid views, view exchanges, or any form of metric manipulation (see Section 14).
• Not submit content that is misleading, defamatory, obscene, or violates third-party intellectual property rights.
• Not submit content created primarily by AI/generative tools without explicit disclosure and Studio approval.
• Comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and platform-specific terms of service.
• Disclose sponsored content as required by applicable advertising regulations, including but not limited to FTC guidelines, ASA regulations, and local equivalents.
• Keep submitted content live and publicly accessible for a minimum of 30 days after submission, unless the campaign specifies otherwise.
• Not participate in campaigns for competing products simultaneously, unless explicitly permitted by both Studios.
• Respond to Studio feedback and revision requests within 48 hours during active campaigns.

Content Removal. If you delete or make private any submitted content before the minimum display period, Trapster may reclaim the associated payout and apply a penalty to your account standing.

Account Standing. Creators maintain a trust score based on content quality, metric authenticity, compliance, and responsiveness. Low standing may result in reduced campaign access, lowered payout rates, or account suspension.

6. Studio Terms & Obligations

As a Studio on the Platform, you agree to:

• Provide accurate campaign details, including game title, budget, CPM/CCV rates, content guidelines, and any platform restrictions.
• Fund campaigns in advance. Campaign budgets are held in escrow and disbursed to Creators based on verified performance.
• Maintain sufficient funds to cover all active campaign obligations. Insufficient funding may result in campaign suspension.
• The minimum campaign budget is $2,000 per platform. Campaigns below this threshold cannot be launched.
• Review and respond to content submissions within 72 hours for campaigns requiring approval. Failure to respond within this period will result in automatic approval.
• Not use the Platform to promote illegal, harmful, deceptive, or age-inappropriate products without proper content ratings.
• Provide valid, unused game keys and/or DLC keys when required by the campaign. Duplicate, expired, or invalid keys will be flagged and may result in campaign suspension.
• Not contact Creators outside the Platform to circumvent Platform fees or payment structures.
• Comply with all applicable gaming regulations, ESRB/PEGI ratings, and advertising standards in target markets.

Campaign Modifications. Once a campaign is live, Studios may increase the budget but may not decrease it below the amount already committed to active Creators. Campaign rates, guidelines, and platform requirements can be updated, but changes apply only to future content submissions.

7. Clipper Terms

As a Clipper on the Platform, you agree to:

• Create clips only from content that is explicitly marked as available for clipping within the campaign.
• Credit the original Creator and game title as specified in campaign guidelines.
• Comply with all Creator Terms (Section 5) as applicable to clip content.
• Not misrepresent clips as original content or obscure the source material.

Clippers earn based on the clip-specific rates defined in each campaign. Clip performance is tracked independently from the source content.

8. Payments, Fees & Billing

8.1 Platform Fee

Trapster charges a 20% platform fee on all campaign spend. This fee covers platform operations, metric tracking, payment processing, and support services.

8.2 Studio Billing

• Studios are billed based on actual verified metrics (views, concurrent viewers) at the agreed-upon campaign rate.
• Campaign budgets are charged upon campaign launch and held in escrow.
• Studios pay via Stripe. All payment methods must be valid and authorized.
• Failed payments will result in campaign suspension after a 3-day grace period.
• Unused budget remaining after campaign completion is refunded to the Studio's original payment method within 14 business days, minus any applicable fees.

8.3 Creator & Clipper Payouts

• Payouts are processed on the 1st of each month for the previous month's verified earnings.
• The minimum payout threshold is $50. Earnings below this amount roll over to the next period.
• Payouts are made via Stripe Connect to the bank account or payment method configured by the Creator.
• Creators are responsible for providing accurate payout information. Trapster is not liable for payments sent to incorrect accounts due to user error.
• All payments are in USD. Currency conversion fees, bank intermediary fees, and any other transfer costs are the responsibility of the recipient.

8.4 Taxes

All users are solely responsible for determining, reporting, and paying all applicable taxes on payments received through the Platform. Trapster does not withhold taxes unless required by law. Trapster may request tax identification information (W-9, W-8BEN, or equivalent) and may withhold payments until such information is provided.

For US-based Creators earning over $600 in a calendar year, Trapster will issue a 1099-NEC form as required by the IRS.

8.5 Chargebacks & Payment Disputes

If a Studio initiates a chargeback or payment dispute for a legitimately funded campaign, Trapster reserves the right to: (a) suspend the Studio's account, (b) withhold future campaign creation, (c) recover the disputed amount plus a $25 administrative fee, and (d) pursue legal remedies for fraudulent chargebacks.

9. Escrow & Budget Management

Campaign funds are held in escrow by Trapster until content performance is verified and the applicable payout cycle is reached. Escrow protects both parties:

• For Studios: Funds are released only for verified, authentic performance. Fraudulent metrics do not result in payouts.
• For Creators: Funds are secured before content creation begins. Studios cannot withdraw committed funds.

Trapster uses automated and manual verification systems to validate content performance. In cases of disputed metrics, Trapster's determination is final, subject to the appeal process described in Section 17.

10. Intellectual Property & Content Rights

10.1 Creator Content Ownership

Creators retain full ownership and copyright of all original content they produce. By submitting content through the Platform, Creators grant:

• To the Studio: A non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, and distribute the content for promotional purposes directly related to the campaign game, for a period of 12 months from submission. This license covers use on the Studio's official channels, store pages, marketing materials, and social media.
• To Trapster: A non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, and distribute the content for Platform marketing, case studies, and portfolio purposes. This license persists for the duration of the Creator's account plus 24 months.

Studios requiring exclusive rights, extended license periods, or additional usage rights (e.g., paid advertising, broadcast TV) must negotiate these directly with the Creator and specify them in the campaign terms prior to content creation.

10.2 Studio Intellectual Property

Studios retain all rights to their game titles, trademarks, logos, game assets, screenshots, trailers, and marketing materials provided through campaigns. By making these materials available to Creators, Studios grant a limited, non-exclusive license to use them solely for creating campaign content. This license terminates upon campaign completion or Creator removal from the campaign.

Creators may not use Studio assets for any purpose other than the specific campaign for which they were provided. Unauthorized use of game assets, trademarks, or proprietary materials outside the campaign context constitutes infringement.

10.3 Trapster Platform IP

The Trapster name, logo, design, code, algorithms, and all Platform features are the exclusive intellectual property of Trapster. No user may reproduce, modify, distribute, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works from Platform materials without prior written consent.

10.4 DMCA & Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on the Platform infringes your copyright, submit a DMCA notice to legal@trapster.gg including: (a) identification of the copyrighted work, (b) identification of the infringing material, (c) your contact information, (d) a statement of good faith belief, and (e) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate. Repeat infringers will have their accounts terminated.

11. Game Keys & DLC Keys

• Game keys and DLC keys provided through campaigns are for the Creator's personal use to create campaign content only.
• Creators may not resell, trade, give away, publicly share, or distribute keys received through the Platform.
• Creators may not claim keys for campaigns they do not actively participate in or intend to create content for.
• Key abuse (claiming without creating content, reselling, sharing) will result in immediate account suspension and forfeiture of all pending earnings.
• Studios are responsible for providing valid, non-revoked keys. If a Studio revokes keys after distribution, affected Creators will be compensated at the campaign's base rate for any content already produced.
• Trapster does not guarantee the functionality of keys provided by Studios and is not liable for keys that fail to activate due to regional restrictions, platform issues, or Studio errors.

12. Content Guidelines & Standards

All content submitted through the Platform must:

• Be original and created by the submitting Creator (not copied, re-uploaded, or plagiarized).
• Accurately represent the game being promoted — no misleading gameplay, fake features, or deceptive editing.
• Comply with the specific campaign brief, including format, duration, platform, and talking points.
• Include required sponsorship disclosures (e.g., #ad, #sponsored, paid partnership labels).
• Not contain hate speech, harassment, discrimination, excessive violence beyond the game's own rating, or sexually explicit material.
• Not promote illegal activities, gambling (where prohibited), or substances.
• Not include personal attacks against Studio employees, competitors, or other Creators.
• Respect the game's age rating — content for M-rated games must not be published on channels primarily targeting minors.

Trapster reserves the right to remove content and withhold payments for violations. Repeated violations result in escalating consequences: warning → content removal → temporary suspension → permanent ban.

13. Metric Tracking & Verification

Trapster tracks content performance using a combination of official platform APIs, automated monitoring, and manual review. By using the Platform, you acknowledge:

• Metrics are collected from third-party platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram) and may be subject to delays, corrections, or adjustments by those platforms.
• Trapster's recorded metrics are the basis for all payout calculations. Third-party platform analytics dashboards may show different numbers due to timing, bot filtering, or measurement methodology differences.
• Metrics may be retroactively adjusted if a third-party platform revises its counts (e.g., YouTube removing bot views). Payouts based on inflated metrics may be reclaimed.
• Trapster employs anomaly detection to identify suspicious metric patterns. Accounts flagged for review may have payouts temporarily held pending investigation.

In cases of discrepancy between Trapster metrics and third-party platform metrics exceeding 15%, either party may request a manual review. Trapster's final determination is binding, subject to the dispute resolution process in Section 17.

14. Fraud, Abuse & Prohibited Activities

The following activities constitute fraud or abuse and are strictly prohibited:

14.1 Metric Manipulation

• Using bots, scripts, click farms, or automated tools to inflate views, likes, comments, or other engagement metrics.
• Purchasing views, followers, or engagement from third-party services.
• Participating in view exchange networks, engagement pods, or mutual promotion schemes designed to inflate metrics artificially.
• Embedding content in hidden iframes, auto-playing in pop-unders, or any technique that generates non-genuine views.
• Using misleading thumbnails, titles, or metadata to bait clicks unrelated to the campaign game.

14.2 Account & Identity Fraud

• Creating multiple accounts to circumvent bans, earning limits, referral systems, or campaign restrictions.
• Impersonating another Creator, Studio, or Trapster employee.
• Using stolen identities, fake business entities, or fraudulent payment information.
• Sharing or selling account access to unauthorized third parties.
• Submitting content created by someone other than the account holder without disclosure.

14.3 Financial Fraud

• Initiating fraudulent chargebacks on legitimate campaign payments.
• Providing false payment or tax information to receive unauthorized payouts.
• Colluding with Studios or other Creators to defraud the Platform or inflate campaign spend artificially.
• Money laundering or using the Platform to process proceeds from illegal activities.
• Exploiting bugs, glitches, or calculation errors to receive unearned payments (users must report such issues immediately).

14.4 Platform Abuse

• Reverse-engineering, scraping, or extracting data from the Platform.
• Attempting to access other users' accounts, data, or private information.
• Interfering with Platform operations, servers, or infrastructure.
• Circumventing rate limits, security measures, or access controls.
• Using the Platform for spam, phishing, or distribution of malware.
• Contacting Creators or Studios outside the Platform to circumvent Platform fees (see Section 15).

14.5 Consequences

Fraud violations result in: (a) immediate account suspension, (b) forfeiture of all pending and unpaid earnings, (c) recovery of fraudulently obtained payments (including from linked accounts), (d) permanent ban from the Platform, and (e) referral to law enforcement where applicable. Trapster reserves the right to pursue civil and criminal remedies for fraud.

15. Non-Circumvention

For a period of 12 months following any campaign interaction on the Platform, Studios and Creators may not enter into direct paid arrangements that circumvent Trapster's Platform and fees for the same or similar marketing services. This includes:

• Studios directly paying Creators discovered through Trapster for game promotion content.
• Creators soliciting direct deals with Studios they connected with through the Platform.
• Using intermediaries, agencies, or other platforms to facilitate the same relationship.

Violations of this clause entitle Trapster to a fee equal to 20% of the circumvented transaction value, plus damages. This restriction does not apply to pre-existing relationships documented before Platform interaction.

16. Confidentiality

Users may receive confidential information through the Platform, including but not limited to: unreleased game information, campaign budgets, payout rates, business strategies, and proprietary game assets. You agree to:

• Keep all confidential information strictly private and not disclose it to any third party.
• Not discuss specific campaign rates, budgets, or payment terms publicly or with other users (unless permitted by the Studio).
• Not share embargoed game information, unreleased screenshots, or pre-release content outside the specified campaign scope and timeline.
• Return or destroy all confidential materials upon campaign completion or account termination.

Breach of confidentiality may result in account termination and legal action. NDAs attached to specific campaigns are binding and supplement (not replace) these general confidentiality obligations.

17. Dispute Resolution

17.1 Platform Mediation

For disputes between Studios and Creators (e.g., content quality, metric accuracy, guideline compliance), Trapster offers a mediation process. Either party may submit a dispute through the Platform dashboard. Trapster will review the evidence and issue a binding determination within 14 business days.

17.2 Appeals

Users may appeal Trapster decisions (account suspensions, payout withholdings, content removals) by emailing appeals@trapster.gg within 30 days of the decision. Appeals must include relevant evidence and a clear explanation of why the decision should be reconsidered. Appeals are reviewed by a different team member than the original decision-maker.

17.3 Arbitration

Any disputes arising from these Terms that cannot be resolved through Platform mediation shall be settled by binding arbitration administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in the State of Delaware, USA, or remotely at the arbitrator's discretion. The language of arbitration shall be English.

You agree to waive any right to a jury trial or participation in a class action, collective action, or representative proceeding. Each party bears its own costs; the arbitrator may allocate arbitration fees.

17.4 Small Claims

Notwithstanding the above, either party may bring qualifying claims in small claims court in their jurisdiction without first engaging in arbitration.

18. Refund Policy

• Pre-launch campaigns: Studios may cancel and receive a full refund of the escrowed budget before any Creators have enrolled.
• Active campaigns with no submissions: Studios may cancel and receive a refund minus a 5% administrative fee.
• Active campaigns with submissions: Studios may not cancel or reduce the budget below the amount already earned by Creators. Unspent budget is refundable upon campaign completion.
• Completed campaigns: No refunds are issued for verified, authentic content performance. Refund requests for suspected fraud will be investigated under Section 14.
• Creator payouts: Payouts for verified content are final and non-refundable unless fraud is confirmed. In cases of confirmed fraud, Trapster may recover payouts from the Creator's future earnings or connected payment methods.

All refund requests must be submitted within 60 days of the transaction. Refunds are processed to the original payment method within 14 business days of approval.

19. Data Protection & Privacy

Your use of the Platform is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. Key data commitments:

• Trapster collects and processes personal data as necessary to operate the Platform, including account information, payment details, and content performance data.
• We do not sell personal data to third parties.
• Payment information is processed securely through Stripe and is not stored on Trapster servers.
• Content performance data collected from third-party platforms is used solely for metric tracking and payout calculations.
• Users may request data export or deletion by contacting privacy@trapster.gg, subject to our legal retention requirements.

For users subject to GDPR, CCPA, or other data protection regulations, please refer to our Privacy Policy for detailed information about your rights and our obligations.

20. Third-Party Platforms & Services

The Platform integrates with third-party services including YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, Stripe, and Steam. You acknowledge:

• Your use of third-party platforms is governed by their respective terms of service, which you must independently comply with.
• Trapster is not responsible for changes, outages, or policy modifications by third-party platforms that affect content availability, metric tracking, or payment processing.
• If a third-party platform suspends or bans your account, Trapster is not liable for any resulting impact on your campaigns, content, or earnings.
• API rate limits, data availability, and metric accuracy depend on third-party platform policies and are outside Trapster's control.
• Connecting your third-party accounts to Trapster grants us permission to access publicly available data and metrics as permitted by each platform's API terms.

21. Termination

21.1 Voluntary Termination

You may terminate your account at any time by contacting support@trapster.gg. Upon voluntary termination:

• All active campaign participations will be marked as withdrawn.
• Pending earnings above the $50 minimum threshold will be paid out in the next regular payout cycle.
• Earnings below the threshold are forfeited.
• Content already submitted remains subject to the license grants in Section 10.
• Studios must resolve all active campaign obligations before account closure.

21.2 Involuntary Termination

Trapster may suspend or terminate your account at any time for:

• Violation of these Terms or any applicable policies.
• Fraudulent activity or suspected fraud (pending investigation).
• Extended inactivity (12+ months with no campaign activity).
• Legal requirements, court orders, or regulatory obligations.
• At Trapster's sole discretion, with 30 days' notice for accounts in good standing.

Upon involuntary termination for fraud, all pending earnings are forfeited. For non-fraud terminations, pending earnings above the minimum threshold are paid within 30 days.

21.3 Survival

Sections 10 (IP Rights), 14 (Fraud), 15 (Non-Circumvention), 16 (Confidentiality), 17 (Dispute Resolution), 22 (Limitation of Liability), 23 (Indemnification), and 25 (Governing Law) survive termination.

22. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

• THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
• TRAPSTER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE FROM VIRUSES OR HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
• TRAPSTER SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF REVENUE, DATA, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, GOODWILL, OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS.
• TRAPSTER'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO TRAPSTER IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) $500 USD.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of liability. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

23. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Trapster, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from or relating to:

• Your use of the Platform or violation of these Terms.
• Content you create, submit, or distribute through the Platform.
• Your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights.
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation.
• Any dispute between you and another user of the Platform.
• Fraudulent, negligent, or intentionally harmful conduct on your part.

This indemnification obligation survives account termination and these Terms.

24. Force Majeure

Trapster shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance arising from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to: natural disasters, pandemics, war, terrorism, government actions, sanctions, internet or infrastructure outages, third-party platform failures, cyberattacks, or labor disputes. During such events, affected obligations are suspended until the force majeure event ceases.

25. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Subject to the arbitration provisions in Section 17, any legal action not subject to arbitration shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Delaware. You consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

26. General Provisions

• Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any campaign-specific terms, constitute the entire agreement between you and Trapster.
• Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.
• Waiver. Trapster's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision.
• Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms without Trapster's written consent. Trapster may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• Notices. Trapster may send notices via email to the address associated with your account. You are responsible for keeping your email address current. Notices are deemed received 24 hours after email is sent.
• Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms.
• No Third-Party Beneficiaries. These Terms do not create any rights for third parties, except as expressly stated.
• Language. These Terms are provided in English. In the event of a conflict between the English version and any translation, the English version prevails.

27. Contact Information

For questions, concerns, or notices regarding these Terms:

• General inquiries: support@trapster.gg
• Legal & Terms: legal@trapster.gg
• Privacy & Data: privacy@trapster.gg
• Security: security@trapster.gg
• Appeals: appeals@trapster.gg