(a) Accounts are created using a valid email address. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials.

(b) We use email-based one-time passwords (OTP) and secure token-based authentication for session management.

(c) One Account Per Person. Creating multiple accounts is prohibited and may result in account suspension (see Section 11).

(d) You may not transfer, sell, or share your account with another person.

(a) You may provide profile information including your name, headline, skills, education, work experience, portfolio items, and a profile picture.

(b) Location Data. With your consent, the Platform collects geographic coordinates to enable distance-based Quest matching and display your approximate service area. You may update or remove your location at any time.

(c) Tier and Level System. Your account progresses through tiers (Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Master) and levels based on platform activity, completed Quests, and achievements. Tier advancement affects platform fee rates (see Section 5.2) and other features.

(d) Ratings. Your profile displays an aggregate rating based on quality and service reviews from completed Quests. Ratings are public and cannot be selectively removed.

To receive payments for completed Quests, you must complete Provider onboarding:

(a) Identity Verification. Submit a government-issued photo identification document (e.g., passport, driver's license).

(b) Work Eligibility. Submit documentation proving your eligibility to work in your jurisdiction.

(c) Document Review. Submitted documents are reviewed using a combination of automated AI-assisted review and human oversight. Our AI system analyzes documents for validity, and human administrators may conduct additional review. You will be notified of approval or rejection with explanatory notes.

(d) Payment Account Setup. You must connect a payment account through our payment processor (Stripe Connect) to receive payouts. Your payment account must be fully verified and activated before you can receive funds.

(e) Legal Agreements. You must accept the Contractor Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Code of Conduct during onboarding. Acceptance of each agreement is recorded with version number, timestamp, IP address, and device information.

(f) Onboarding Completion. Your profile is marked as onboarding-complete only after all documents are approved, all legal agreements are accepted, and your payment account is activated.

(a) Grounds for Suspension. We may suspend or terminate your account for violations of these Terms, including but not limited to: fraudulent activity, prohibited content, multiple account creation, payment fraud, or abuse of the review system.

(b) Automated Fraud Detection. The Platform employs AI-powered fraud detection that continuously evaluates account behavior, including device patterns, geographic anomalies, and transaction history. Accounts identified as high risk may be automatically restricted or suspended (see Section 11 for details).

(c) Appeal Process. If your account is suspended, you may submit an appeal by contacting support@mastersguild.io. Appeals are reviewed by a human administrator within 10 business days.

(d) Account Deactivation. You may deactivate your account at any time by contacting support. Upon deactivation, your profile becomes invisible to other users, but your data is retained in accordance with our data retention policy (see Section 10.4).

(e) Data After Termination. Due to legal and regulatory requirements (e.g., financial record-keeping, fraud prevention), certain account data is retained after termination. See Section 10.4 for details.

(a) Consumers may post Quests specifying a title, description, category, subcategory, type, award amount, location, preferred service date and time, and payment method.

(b) Private Quests. Quests may be marked as private, restricting visibility to invited Providers only.

(c) Content Review. All Quest descriptions are subject to automated content review upon creation or update (see Section 7.2). Quests containing prohibited content may be flagged for review or removed.

(d) Soft Deletion. If a Quest has received offers, it cannot be permanently deleted. It will be marked as deleted and hidden from search results but preserved for record-keeping.

(a) Offers. Providers may submit offers on open Quests, specifying an offer price and optional message. Consumers may also directly request offers from specific Providers.

(b) Offer Lifecycle. Offers progress through defined states: Pending, Accepted, Completed, Cancelled, Expired, or Declined.

(c) Price Negotiation. Providers may revise their offer price before acceptance. The final agreed price is recorded separately from the original offer.

(d) Daily Offer Limit. Each user is allocated a limited number of offer submissions per day (currently 10), which resets daily. Additional offer capacity may be obtained through the Shop (see Section 6).

(e) Offer Payment Methods. Offers may be submitted using daily offer tickets or MastersGold.

(a) Status Flow. Quests follow this lifecycle: Pending (awaiting offers) -> Accepted (offer accepted, work in progress) -> Completed (work finished, payment released).

(b) Payment on Completion. When a Quest is marked as Completed, the pre-authorized payment is captured and the Provider receives their payout minus applicable platform fees and taxes (see Section 5).

(c) Reviews. After Quest completion, both parties may leave reviews. Reviews include quality and service ratings. See Section 9 for review policies.

(a) Consumer Cancellation. Consumers may cancel a Quest before completion. If payment has been pre-authorized, the hold will be released according to the payment processor's timeline (typically 5-7 business days).

(b) Provider Cancellation. Providers may cancel an accepted offer before Quest completion. Repeated cancellations may affect your account standing and rating.

(c) Abandoned Quests. Quests that remain in Pending status without activity may be flagged as abandoned. Pre-authorized payments for abandoned Quests are released automatically.

(a) Processors. The Platform processes payments through Stripe. By using the Platform, you agree to the applicable payment processor's terms of service.

(b) Supported Currencies. The Platform supports payments in United States Dollars (USD) and Canadian Dollars (CAD).

(c) Pre-Authorization. When a Consumer accepts a Provider's offer, the Quest award amount is pre-authorized (held) on the Consumer's payment method. Funds are not captured until the Quest is marked as Completed.

(d) Supported Payment Methods. The Platform accepts credit cards and ACH bank transfers. Payment method details are stored securely via tokenization through our payment processors. The Platform never stores raw card numbers.

(e) Payment Method Retention. For fraud prevention and dispute resolution, payment method records are retained indefinitely using soft deletion. Removed payment methods are marked as inactive but not permanently erased.

(a) Fee Structure. Masters' Guild charges a platform service fee on each completed Quest transaction. The fee is a percentage of the Quest award amount and varies by the Provider's account tier:

(b) Taxes. For transactions in Canadian Dollars, applicable federal tax (GST, currently 5%) is calculated on the platform fee. Provincial taxes may also apply. Tax amounts are itemized in transaction records.

(c) Fee Transparency. All fees and taxes are displayed to the Consumer before confirming payment and are itemized in transaction records.

(d) Masters' Guild reserves the right to modify fee rates with 30 days' notice to affected users.

(a) Independent Contractor Status. Providers on the Platform operate as independent contractors, not employees of Masters' Guild or the Consumer. You are solely responsible for your own tax obligations, insurance, licensing, and compliance with applicable laws.

(b) Stripe Connect. Provider payouts are processed through Stripe Connect. You must maintain an active, verified Stripe Connect account to receive payments. Payouts are subject to Stripe's processing timeline and any applicable holds.

(c) Payout Amount. Providers receive the Quest award amount minus the applicable platform fee and taxes. The net payout amount is transferred to the Provider's connected Stripe account.

(d) Tax Reporting. Masters' Guild and/or Stripe may issue tax documents (e.g., IRS Form 1099 in the United States, T4A in Canada) as required by law. You are responsible for reporting all income earned through the Platform.

(e) Bank Account. Providers may add bank account details for receiving payouts, including routing numbers (US) or institution and transit numbers (Canada).

(a) Refund Eligibility. Refunds may be issued for Quests that are cancelled before completion, where payment was pre-authorized but the service was not rendered, or where a material dispute is resolved in the Consumer's favor.

(b) Dispute Process. If you have a dispute regarding a Quest or payment, contact support@mastersguild.io within 30 days of the transaction. Our team will review the matter and may request additional information from both parties.

(c) Chargebacks. If a Consumer initiates a chargeback through their payment provider, the Platform may suspend the Consumer's account pending investigation. Fraudulent chargebacks may result in permanent account termination.

(d) Limitation. Masters' Guild is not liable for disputes between Consumers and Providers regarding the quality, timeliness, or scope of services rendered. We encourage parties to communicate through the Platform's messaging system and to document all agreements.

(a) You may create and share content on the Platform, including posts (in categories: Ask Masters, Masters' Tips, Collaborations, Used Market), comments, replies, reactions, Quest descriptions, reviews, and portfolio items.

(b) Ownership. You retain ownership of content you create. By posting content on the Platform, you grant Masters' Guild a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display, distribute, and promote your content in connection with the Platform's operation.

(c) Responsibility. You are solely responsible for the content you post and must ensure it complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

(a) Automated Review. All user-generated content, including Quest descriptions, posts, and reviews, is subject to automated content review using artificial intelligence technology. This review occurs upon content creation or significant update.

(b) AI Technology. Our content moderation system uses OpenAI's language model technology to analyze text for policy violations. The system evaluates content against our content standards and produces a determination (approved, flagged for review, or rejected) with an associated confidence score.

(c) Moderation Actions. Based on the AI review: - Approved: Content is published without restriction - Flagged: Content is published but marked for human review by a platform administrator - Rejected: Content may be hidden pending human review

(d) Human Oversight. AI moderation decisions are logged in an audit trail. Platform administrators review flagged content and may override automated decisions. All moderation actions are recorded.

(e) Transparency. You will be notified if your content is flagged or hidden due to a policy violation. Notifications include the reason for the action.

You may not post content that:

(a) Contains offensive, hateful, discriminatory, or threatening language directed at individuals or groups;

(b) Is spam, excessive self-promotion, or irrelevant advertising;

(c) Exposes personal information, including phone numbers, email addresses, or social media handles, of yourself or others for the purpose of circumventing the Platform;

(d) Contains scam patterns, including requests for advance payment, off-platform transactions, security deposits, or wire transfers;

(e) Is sexually explicit or depicts graphic violence;

(f) Impersonates Masters' Guild staff or representatives;

(g) Violates any applicable law or regulation.

(a) Masters' Guild reserves the right to remove, hide, or modify any content that violates these Terms, with or without notice.

(b) If your content is removed or hidden, you may appeal by contacting support@mastersguild.io within 14 days. Appeals are reviewed by a human administrator.

(a) The Platform provides real-time direct messaging between users. Messages are limited to 255 characters per message.

(b) Chat rooms may be linked to specific Quest offers, providing context for service-related discussions.

(c) You may mute notifications for specific chat rooms or deactivate participation.

(d) Message Retention. Chat messages are retained as part of the Platform's records and may be referenced in dispute resolution.

(a) You may follow other users and establish connections. The Platform recognizes first-degree (direct), second-degree, and third-degree connections.

(b) Connection requests may be sent, withdrawn, or ignored.

(a) The Platform sends notifications via push (mobile and web) and email. You may configure notification preferences by category and distance.

(b) Notifications expire after 30 days and are automatically removed.

(c) You may unsubscribe from email notifications at any time. Unsubscribe requests are confirmed via email and take effect within 7 days.

(a) Account Data. Email address, name (optional), profile picture.

(b) Profile Data. Skills, education, work experience, headline, location coordinates, address, postal code, country, phone number.

(c) Device Information. When you access the Platform, we collect device identifiers including device brand, manufacturer, model, operating system, whether the device is a physical device or emulator, locale settings, timezone, IP address, and browser user agent. This information is collected for fraud prevention and account security.

(d) Usage Data. Session activity, screen views, user actions, and errors are logged for platform improvement and diagnostics.

(e) Payment Data. Payment method details are stored via tokenization through our payment processor; Stripe. We store card brand, expiry, billing postal code, and a fingerprint for deduplication. We never store full card numbers.

(f) Onboarding Documents. Identity and work eligibility documents uploaded during Provider onboarding are stored securely.

We use collected data for: - Providing and improving Platform services - Matching Consumers with Providers (location-based) - Processing payments and payouts - Fraud detection and prevention (see Section 11) - Content moderation (see Section 7.2) - Communicating with you (notifications, email) - Analytics and Platform improvement - Legal compliance and dispute resolution

(a) Automated Decision-Making. The Platform uses artificial intelligence for the following automated processes:

(b) AI Technology Provider. AI processing is performed using OpenAI's language model technology. Content submitted for AI review may be processed by OpenAI in accordance with their data processing terms.

(c) Audit Trail. All AI-powered decisions are logged in an append-only audit system, including the input analyzed, the determination made, confidence level, and any actions taken. This audit trail is retained for compliance purposes.

(d) Human Override. Automated decisions that materially affect your account (such as content removal or account suspension) can be reviewed and overridden by a human administrator upon request.

(a) Active Accounts. Data is retained for the duration of your account activity and for a reasonable period thereafter.

(b) Financial Records. Payment transaction records, including amounts, fees, taxes, and processor references, are retained for a minimum of 7 years as required by tax and financial regulations.

(c) Fraud Prevention Data. Device fingerprints and AI execution logs are retained indefinitely in append-only format to support ongoing fraud detection and regulatory compliance.

(d) Soft-Deleted Data. Certain data (Quests with offers, payment methods) is soft-deleted rather than permanently erased. Soft-deleted data is hidden from the user interface but retained in our systems.

(e) Account Deletion Requests. You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data by contacting support@mastersguild.io. We will process your request in accordance with applicable privacy laws (PIPEDA, CCPA), subject to the retention exceptions described above.