Terms of Service

1. Introduction and Acceptance

1.1. These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are a binding agreement between you and the operator of Leadly ("Leadly," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of the Leadly websites, applications, and related services (collectively, the "Service"), available at https://www.joinleadly.com.

1.2. By creating an account, clicking to accept, or using the Service, you accept these Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Community Guidelines, and the Acceptable Use Policy, each of which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. Acceptance may be recorded electronically, including the version accepted, the date, and related technical information, and such electronic records constitute valid evidence of agreement.

2. Definitions

2.1. "User" means any person who accesses or uses the Service. 2.2. "Job Poster" means a User who publishes a job listing. 2.3. "Job Seeker" means a User who searches for, views, or responds to job listings. 2.4. "User Content" means any content a User submits to the Service, including job listings, applications, messages, profile information, and reports. 2.5. "Minor" means a User under 18 years of age. 2.6. "Parent" means a Minor's parent or legal guardian. 2.7. "Work Arrangement" means any agreement, engagement, or relationship formed between Users in connection with a job listing, whether or not work is performed or payment is made.

3. Eligibility and Minors

3.1. Minimum age. You must be at least 13 years old to create an account or use the Service. The Service is not directed to children under 13, and they are prohibited from using it.

3.2. Minors. If you are a Minor, you may use the Service only with the permission of a Parent who has reviewed these Terms, agrees to them on your behalf, and agrees to supervise your use of the Service — including any decision to communicate with, meet, or perform work for another User. Leadly does not independently verify age or parental permission; you and your Parent are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide.

3.3. Age accuracy. Misrepresenting your age, or a Minor's age, is a material violation of these Terms and may result in suspension or termination under Section 11.

3.4. Plain-English note for teens and parents: guidance in the Service about minimum working ages, permits, and hour limits is informational only. The laws of your state or province control, and compliance with them in any Work Arrangement is the responsibility of the Users involved — see Sections 6 and 7. The Parent & Guardian Guide explains this in ordinary language.

4. Leadly's Role; What Leadly Is Not

4.1. Technology platform. The Service is a venue that enables Users to publish job listings, discover and respond to listings, communicate through in-app messaging, and — for freelancers — identify local businesses using public business data. Leadly does not participate in, and is not a party to, any Work Arrangement.

4.2. No employment or agency relationship. Leadly is not an employer, joint employer, staffing agency, recruiter, employment agency, or placement service. No employment, agency, partnership, joint-venture, fiduciary, or franchise relationship is created between you and Leadly by use of the Service.

4.3. No payment processing or escrow. Leadly does not process, hold, escrow, transfer, or guarantee any payment between Users, and takes no commission on Work Arrangements. Any payment occurs entirely off-platform and entirely between the Users involved. Payment disputes are between the Users involved, although Users are encouraged to report non-payment or payment fraud so Leadly can consider enforcement action under Section 11.

4.4. No guarantees. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Leadly does not guarantee: (a) that any User will obtain employment, applicants, or responses; (b) that any party to a Work Arrangement will perform or pay; (c) the identity, age, legitimacy, qualifications, or conduct of any User or business; (d) the accuracy or completeness of any listing or third-party data; (e) anyone's safety; or (f) uninterrupted or error-free operation of the Service. Leadly does not perform background checks, criminal-record checks, identity verification, business verification, licensing checks, or insurance checks on Users.

4.5. Plain-English note: treat every listing, applicant, and message as coming from someone you have not met and must evaluate yourself. The safety features described in Section 11 reduce risk; they do not eliminate it.

5. Accounts

5.1. Registration. Account creation requires accurate information, including a valid email address. Authentication is provided by email and password and, where enabled, by third-party sign-in (such as Google or Apple). Automated bot-protection challenges (such as Cloudflare Turnstile) may be required at sign-up or sign-in.

5.2. Security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us promptly at [email protected] of any suspected unauthorized use. Password reset and sign-in activity records are available through account settings.

5.3. Account sharing. Accounts are personal. You may not share credentials, permit others to use your account, transfer your account, or create an account on behalf of another person (except a Parent assisting their Minor consistent with Section 3.2).

6. Job Posts; Job Poster Responsibilities

6.1. Any User may publish a job listing, subject to screening under Section 11 and rate limits. Listings display an approximate location (neighborhood or city) — exact addresses must not be posted — and do not display the Job Poster's contact details; responses arrive through in-app messaging.

6.2. Accuracy. Job Posters represent that each listing is a genuine offer of work and that its description, pay, schedule, and location are accurate and not misleading.

6.3. Work involving Minors. Because Minors use the Service, every Job Poster must ensure each listing and each Work Arrangement complies with applicable child-labor laws, including minimum-age requirements, permitted tasks and occupations, hour and schedule limits, and any work-permit or working-papers requirements. At publication, Job Posters must confirm the job is appropriate for young workers and complies with local minor-labor laws. The categories listed in Section 10.2 are prohibited platform-wide.

6.4. Workplace responsibility. As between Leadly and the Job Poster, the Job Poster is solely responsible for the Work Arrangement, including lawful hiring practices, supervision, workplace safety, compensation, any required insurance, worker classification (employee versus independent contractor) under applicable law, and associated tax obligations, including any withholding or reporting. Leadly plays no role in classification and provides no tax, legal, or compliance advice.

7. Applications; Job Seeker Responsibilities

7.1. Responding to a listing is free. An application includes a message, availability, an age range, and optional experience details, and is delivered to the Job Poster as an in-app message. For external listings that link to a third party's application page, Leadly only records that you started or completed the application and never submits it on your behalf (see Section 15).

7.2. Job Seekers represent that application information is accurate, and agree to follow the safety acknowledgments accepted at sign-up, including: never paying to apply or to obtain work; never sharing banking details or government identification numbers with unverified persons; meeting in safe public places; involving a Parent when under 18; and reporting suspicious activity. The Teen Safety Guide and Scam Prevention Guide provide informational safety guidance; they are not part of these Terms' binding obligations except as restated in this Section and Section 10.

8. Independent User Relationships

8.1. Work Arrangements are formed directly and exclusively between Users. Each User is solely responsible for evaluating the other party, negotiating terms, performing obligations, and resolving disputes arising from a Work Arrangement. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Leadly has no responsibility for the acts, omissions, statements, payments, or conduct of any User, whether online or offline.

9. User Content; License

9.1. Ownership. You retain ownership of your User Content.

9.2. License to Leadly. You grant Leadly a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, distribute, and moderate your User Content solely to operate, secure, improve, and promote the Service (for example, showing your listing to nearby Users). This license ends when the content or account is deleted, except: (a) content already delivered to other Users (such as sent messages); (b) records retained under Section 21.3; and (c) cached or backup copies pending routine deletion.

9.3. Representations. You represent that you have all rights necessary to submit your User Content and that it complies with these Terms, the Community Guidelines, and applicable law.

9.4. Feedback. Suggestions or feedback you provide about the Service may be used by Leadly without restriction or compensation.

10. Prohibited Content and Conduct

10.0. Zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users. There is zero tolerance for objectionable content and for abusive behaviour on the Service. Leadly serves Minors, and content that is sexual, hateful, harassing, threatening, violent, discriminatory, exploitative, or otherwise objectionable, and conduct that harasses, bullies, endangers, or attempts to groom or solicit any User, are prohibited without exception. Leadly filters content before publication, provides in-product reporting on every listing and conversation, provides blocking so a User can remove another User from their own experience, and reviews reports. Objectionable content is removed and the accounts responsible are suspended or permanently banned, at Leadly's discretion and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. This applies regardless of whether the content or conduct also violates any other provision of these Terms.

10.1. The Community Guidelines and Acceptable Use Policy set out the complete conduct rules. Without limiting them, the following are prohibited on the Service:

10.2. Prohibited job categories (platform-wide, because Minors use the Service): alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vapes, adult content, weapons, gambling, driving-only work, overnight unsupervised work, and hazardous labor.

10.3. Prohibited conduct: fake or deceptive listings; scams of any kind, including advance-fee schemes, overpayment schemes, and phishing; requests for passwords, authentication codes, banking credentials, or government identification numbers; impersonation or misrepresentation of identity, age, or affiliation; harassment, stalking, or threats; hate speech or unlawful discrimination, including discriminatory hiring statements; sexual solicitation or sexual content of any kind; exploitation of any person, including any form of trafficking; requesting that a Minor conceal communications, meetings, or work from a Parent; soliciting unnecessary personal information from a Minor; violent content; offering or seeking illegal goods or services or dangerous work; spam or bulk unsolicited messaging; malicious links or malware; scraping or bulk data harvesting; and circumventing security, rate limits, or moderation (including evasion of screening through obfuscation).

11. Reporting, Moderation, and Enforcement

11.1. Screening. Listings are screened automatically before publication using keyword rules and an AI-assisted classifier. The classifier may route a listing to human review but cannot itself reject it; clearly violating listings are rejected by fixed rules. Listings may be held in a pending-review state, and published content remains subject to review. Leadly does not guarantee that every harmful item will be detected or removed before Users see it.

11.2. Reporting and blocking. Users may report any listing through the in-app report function (with a stated reason) and may report any conversation from within the chat; reports are reviewed by a human. A listing reported by multiple distinct Users is hidden automatically pending review. Users may also block another User from a listing or a conversation: blocking hides that User's listings and conversations from the blocking User and is not disclosed to the blocked User. Blocking is a personal control and does not by itself remove content for other Users; Leadly may separately restrict, suspend, or ban a reported account.

11.3. Enforcement options. Leadly may, at its discretion and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law: reject content before publication; send content to review; hide, remove, restrict, or restore content; add moderation notes; restrict features; and suspend or permanently ban accounts — with or without prior notice, particularly where safety, legal compliance, fraud prevention, or platform integrity is implicated, and including for repeat violations.

11.4. Records. Moderation and enforcement actions, including automated screening decisions, are logged. Leadly may preserve relevant records, cooperate with lawful legal process, and notify authorities where required by law.

11.5. Mistakes and review. Automated and human moderation can make mistakes. If you believe an action affecting your content or account was made in error, contact [email protected]; a human will review the request, and content restoration and account reinstatement are available outcomes. Leadly does not operate a separate formal appeals tribunal.

12. Business Verification

12.1. The Service does not currently offer business or identity verification, and no "verified" badge exists. Any claim by a User that Leadly has verified them is false and should be reported. If a verification feature is introduced, its scope and limitations will be described in the Business Verification Policy, and any badge will reflect only the checks described there.

13. AI Features

13.1. The Service uses AI for the specific features described in the AI Policy: safety screening of new listings (Section 11.1); opportunity scoring, business analysis, and outreach drafting for freelancers; and on-request application assistance (such as sample resume points and interview preparation). Job listings are ordered by distance, not by AI matching.

13.2. AI-generated output — including scores, drafts, pay or market estimates, and application tips — may be inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or biased. You are responsible for reviewing AI output before relying on it or sending it, and it is not legal, career, tax, or professional advice. Human administrators may override AI moderation outcomes. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Leadly is not liable for decisions made in reliance on AI-generated content.

14. Languages and Translations

14.1. Portions of the Service interface are available in English, Spanish, and French; coverage is partial and untranslated elements fall back to English. User Content and legal documents are displayed in the language in which they were written; the Service does not translate User Content. Translations may contain inaccuracies.

14.2. If a translation of these Terms or any policy conflicts with the English version, the English version controls to the extent permitted by applicable law.

15. Third-Party Services, Data, and Links

15.1. The Service displays data from third parties, including mapping and business-listing data from Google, publicly listed business contact information, and external job listings linking to third-party application pages. Leadly does not control and does not warrant third-party data, sites, or services; their terms and privacy practices govern your use of them. External applications are completed on the third party's site — Leadly only records your started/completed status.

16. Blog, Newsletter, and Communications

16.1. Blog articles are general educational information, not legal, employment, tax, or safety advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change over time.

16.2. The newsletter is optional. You may unsubscribe at any time by contacting [email protected]. Service communications (such as security alerts, password-reset messages, and message notifications) are sent as part of operating the Service; message-notification emails can be controlled in settings.

17. Analytics and Cookies

17.1. The Service uses first-party analytics and only essential first-party cookies, as described in the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, including anonymous blog engagement measurements. An analytics opt-out is available in settings.

18. Fees and Subscriptions

18.1. The Service is currently free while in beta; no features are paywalled. If paid subscription plans are introduced, they will be billed through a third-party payment processor (Stripe) on a recurring basis until cancelled, with cancellation effective at the end of the then-current billing period and pricing changes communicated with notice. Payments between Users remain outside the Service in all cases (Section 4.3).

19. Intellectual Property

19.1. The Service, including the Leadly name, logo, software, design, and Leadly-created content, is owned by Leadly or its licensors and protected by law. Leadly grants you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service as intended by these Terms. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. You may not copy, modify, resell, or create derivative datasets from the Service except as permitted by law.

20. Copyright Complaints (DMCA)

20.1. Leadly responds to copyright complaints under the process described in the Copyright & DMCA Policy, including takedown notices, counter-notices, and termination of repeat infringers. Send notices to [email protected] with the elements listed in that policy.

21. Account Deletion; Termination

21.1. Deletion by you. You may stop using the Service at any time and may permanently delete your account in Settings → Delete account (see the Account Deletion page). Deletion removes your profile, listings, applications, conversations, and saved data as described in the Privacy Policy.

21.2. Termination by Leadly. Leadly may suspend or terminate accounts as described in Section 11. Upon termination, your license under Section 19.1 ends.

21.3. Retained records. Certain records may be retained after deletion or termination where reasonably necessary for security, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, enforcement of these Terms, or compliance with legal obligations — including security logs and moderation records — together with backup copies pending routine deletion, and copies of content already delivered to other Users, as described in the Privacy Policy.

21.4. California minors. If you are a California resident under 18, you may request removal of User Content you posted by using in-app deletion tools or emailing [email protected]. Removal applies to content you posted and may not extend to content that has been delivered to other Users, reposted by others, or that we are required to retain; complete or comprehensive removal is not guaranteed where the law does not require it.

21.5. Survival. Sections 4, 8, 9.2, 11.4, 21.3, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 survive termination.

22. Changes to the Service and to These Terms

22.1. The Service evolves; features may be added, changed, or removed. We may update these Terms, and material changes will be indicated by an updated "Last updated" date and version and, where appropriate, in-app notice and renewed acceptance. Continued use after the effective date of a change constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree to a change, stop using the Service and delete your account.

23. Disclaimers; Assumption of Risk

23.1. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. LEADLY DOES NOT WARRANT THE MATTERS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 4.4, THE SECURITY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE, OR THE ACCURACY OF ANY CONTENT, AI OUTPUT, OR THIRD-PARTY DATA.

23.2. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you assume the risks inherent in dealing with other Users online and in person — including the risk that another User misrepresents identity or intentions, fails to perform or pay, or engages in criminal or otherwise wrongful conduct — and Leadly is not responsible for user-to-user interactions or for the criminal or wrongful acts of third parties. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions or risk assumptions, so parts of this Section may not apply to you. Nothing in this Section limits protections that applicable law provides to consumers or to Minors.

24. Limitation of Liability

24.1. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, LEADLY AND ITS OPERATOR, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE OR ANY WORK ARRANGEMENT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

24.2. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, LEADLY'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID LEADLY IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100).

24.3. Non-waivable liability. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law — including, where applicable, liability for fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct, or death or personal injury caused by negligence — and nothing limits non-waivable statutory rights of consumers or Minors. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so Sections 24.1 and 24.2 may not fully apply to you.

25. Indemnification

25.1. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, if you are an adult User — including a Parent who has permitted a Minor's use under Section 3.2 and any Job Poster — you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Leadly and its operator from and against claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your User Content, your use of the Service, your Work Arrangements, or your violation of these Terms or of law. This Section does not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law and is not intended to impose indemnity obligations directly on Minors.

26. Governing Law; Disputes; Venue

26.1. Governing law. These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Service are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, except where the law of your place of residence mandatorily applies.

26.2. Informal resolution first. Before filing any formal claim, you agree to contact us at [email protected] with a description of the dispute and give us thirty (30) days to attempt an informal resolution.

26.3. Venue. Any dispute not resolved informally and not subject to a valid agreement to arbitrate shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Orange County, California, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there — except that you may bring qualifying claims in small-claims court, and except where the law of your place of residence gives you a non-waivable right to bring claims elsewhere.

26.4. California consumer notice. The Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210. You may contact Leadly at [email protected].

27. General Provisions

27.1. Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining provisions remain in full effect. 27.2. No waiver. A failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. 27.3. Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; Leadly may assign them in connection with a reorganization, sale, or transfer of the Service, with notice where required by law. 27.4. Force majeure. Leadly is not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control. 27.5. Export and sanctions. You may not use the Service in violation of applicable export-control or sanctions laws, and you represent that you are not located in an embargoed jurisdiction or on a restricted list. 27.6. Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the policies incorporated by reference and the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Leadly regarding the Service. 27.7. Electronic acceptance. You consent to transact electronically and agree that electronic acceptance records satisfy any requirement of a writing.

28. Contact

Questions about these Terms, legal notices, and all other requests: [email protected].