Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of these Terms

These Terms form a binding legal agreement between you and TipaTale. They apply to all visitors, registered users, readers, and writers (“Creators”) who use the Service, including our website and any mobile applications. Our Privacy Policy is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. If you are under 18 (or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction), you may only use the Service under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf. Access to books or chapters marked as Mature Content is restricted to users who are 18 or older, or the age of majority in their jurisdiction, whichever is higher. By using the Service you represent that you meet these requirements.

3. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at support@tipatale.com if you suspect unauthorized use of your account. You agree to provide accurate information when registering and to keep it up to date. We may suspend or terminate accounts that provide false information or violate these Terms.

4. Your Content & the License You Grant Us

You retain full ownership of the stories, chapters, cover art, comments, and any other content you post to TipaTale (“User Content”). We do not claim ownership over your work.

By posting User Content, you grant TipaTale a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, display, distribute, and perform that content solely for the purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the Service — for example, displaying your book on the site and apps, generating previews, or featuring it in promotional placements within TipaTale. This license ends when you remove the content or delete your account, except to the extent copies reasonably persist in backups or as required by law.

You are solely responsible for your User Content and confirm that you have the rights necessary to post it, and that it does not infringe any third party’s copyright, trademark, privacy, or other rights.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Post content that is unlawful, defamatory, or infringes someone else’s intellectual property rights;
• Post sexual content involving minors, in any form — this is never permitted, regardless of framing;
• Harass, threaten, dox, or incite violence against any person or group;
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation;
• Upload malware, scrape the Service at scale, or attempt to bypass rate limits or access controls;
• Manipulate reads, ratings, comments, or coin transactions through bots, fake accounts, or coordinated activity;
• Circumvent paywalls, coin-gated chapters, or DRM by unauthorized technical means.

We may remove content or restrict accounts that violate this section, with or without notice, at our discretion.

6. Mature Content

TipaTale permits certain mature themes (including violence and sexual content between adult characters) when properly tagged, subject to our content guidelines. Content sexualizing minors is strictly prohibited under any circumstances and will result in immediate account termination and may be reported to law enforcement. Readers may opt to hide mature content in their browsing settings.

7. Coins & Payments

TipaTale offers “Coins,” a virtual currency you may purchase with real money to unlock chapters, tip Creators, or access other paid features on the Service.

• Coins have no cash value and cannot be exchanged, redeemed, or refunded for cash, except where required by applicable law.
• Coins are non-transferable between accounts and may not be sold, gifted, or resold outside the Service.
• All Coin purchases are final and non-refundable. Once a purchase is completed, we do not offer refunds or exchanges, including for unused Coins, accidental purchases, or Coins spent on content you did not enjoy. Please review your purchase carefully before confirming.
• This no-refund policy does not affect any statutory rights you may have under the mandatory consumer protection laws of your jurisdiction that cannot be waived by agreement.
• We may offer promotional or bonus Coins at our discretion; these are subject to expiration and additional terms disclosed at the time they are granted.
• Coins are processed through third-party payment providers (such as app store billing or card processors). Your payment information is handled by those providers subject to their own terms; TipaTale does not store full card numbers.
• We may adjust Coin pricing, packages, or the Coin cost of unlocking content at any time. Changes do not affect Coins you already own.
• If your account is suspended or terminated for violating these Terms, any unused Coins may be forfeited.

8. Creator Earnings & Payouts

Creators may earn a share of the Coins that readers spend unlocking their chapters or tipping them directly, in accordance with the revenue share rate published in your Creator dashboard, which may vary by content type and may change from time to time with notice.

• Payout schedule. Earnings accrued during a calendar month are calculated after that month closes and are paid out during the first week of the following calendar month, provided your account meets the minimum payout threshold and has valid, verified payout details on file.
• If your balance is below the minimum payout threshold, it rolls over and is included in the following month’s payout calculation.
• Payouts are sent via the payout method you configure in your Creator settings (e.g. bank transfer or supported third-party payment provider). Processing times after we initiate payment depend on your bank or provider and are outside our control.
• You are solely responsible for reporting and paying any taxes owed on your earnings in your jurisdiction. We may be required to collect tax information (such as a W-9, W-8BEN, or local equivalent) before releasing payouts, and may withhold or delay payment until valid information is provided.
• We may withhold or reverse payouts associated with fraudulent activity, coin manipulation, chargebacks, or violations of these Terms, and may require repayment of amounts paid in error.

9. Intellectual Property & Copyright Complaints

TipaTale respects intellectual property rights and expects the same from our users. If you believe content on TipaTale infringes your copyright, send a notice to copyright@tipatale.com including: (a) identification of the copyrighted work; (b) the URL or location of the allegedly infringing content; (c) your contact information; (d) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized; and (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the rights holder. We will respond in accordance with applicable law and may remove content and/or terminate repeat infringers’ accounts.

10. Suspension & Termination

You may delete your account at any time from your account settings. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms, created risk or legal exposure for us, or for any other reason at our discretion, including extended inactivity. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Coins, Payouts, Disclaimers, Limitation of Liability, and Disputes) will survive.

11. Disclaimers

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that any User Content is accurate or reliable. Content posted by Creators reflects the views of those Creators, not TipaTale.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, TipaTale and its officers, employees, and partners will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service. Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the twelve months preceding the claim, or (b) $100 USD. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless TipaTale from any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your User Content, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of a third party.

14. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which TipaTale is incorporated, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except where mandatory local consumer protection law provides otherwise. Any dispute arising out of these Terms will first be attempted to be resolved informally by contacting support@tipatale.com. [Placeholder — insert your company’s actual jurisdiction, arbitration clause, and venue here before publishing; this varies significantly by country and should be set by counsel.]

15. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated Terms with a new “Last updated” date and, where appropriate, through the Service or by email. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

16. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to support@tipatale.com.