Terms of Service

1. What Around Me is

• Around Me is an online marketplace that connects people who need help with small local tasks ("posters") with college students who offer to help ("students").
• Students are independent. They are not employees, contractors or agents of Around Me, and Around Me doesn't hire them.
• Around Me doesn't perform, supervise, direct or control any job. Posters and students decide between themselves what the job is, when and how it's done.
• Around Me doesn't guarantee the quality, safety or legality of any job, or that a job will be completed.

2. Who can use Around Me

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• To earn money on Around Me, you must be a current college student with a verified college (.edu) email.
• You must give accurate information, keep it up to date, and keep your password safe. You're responsible for everything done with your account.
• One account per person. One account can both get help and earn.

3. Fees

• Jobs start at $15.
• Posters pay the job price, plus an Around Me service fee (15% of the job price or $3, whichever is more), plus card processing (about 2.9% + 30¢).
• Students receive the job price minus a 5% Around Me fee.
• Students are paid out once a week, in one payout per student.
• Tips go 100% to the student.
• All fees are shown before you pay. We may change fees in the future; changes won't affect jobs already paid for.

4. Payments must stay in Around Me

• All payments for jobs found on Around Me must go through Around Me.
• Paying or asking to be paid outside the app — including cash, Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, PayPal or any other method — is not allowed. Doing so can get your account suspended or removed.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. By paying or getting paid, you also agree to Stripe's terms.

5. Held payments, confirmation and refunds

• When a poster accepts a student, the poster pays right away. Around Me holds the money.
• The money is released to the student after the poster confirms the job is done — or automatically 48 hours after the student marks it done, if the poster doesn't respond.
• If a job is cancelled before it starts, the poster gets a full refund.
• Students are paid out weekly, in one batch, once they've finished payout setup with Stripe.

6. Problems and disputes about a job

• If something goes wrong, report it in the app within 48 hours of the student marking the job done, and include photos where you can.
• Reporting a problem pauses the payment while we look into it.
• Around Me reviews the report and decides whether to release the payment, refund it in full or refund part of it. Our decision is final.

7. Your safety and responsibility

• You're responsible for your own safety, your property and your own conduct before, during and after a job.
• Use good judgment. Meet in safe settings, secure valuables and don't do anything you aren't comfortable with.
• Be respectful, honest and on time. Don't share or ask for contact details before a job is paid.
• You can block or report anyone from their profile or chat.

8. Jobs that aren't allowed

• No illegal, dangerous or adult jobs, and nothing that breaks the law or your school's rules.
• No harassment, discrimination, scams or misleading posts.
• Around Me can remove any job and suspend or remove any account at any time, especially to keep people safe.

9. Limits on our liability

• To the fullest extent the law allows, Around Me isn't liable for any damage, injury, loss or theft that happens in connection with a job, or for anything a poster or student does or doesn't do.
• To the fullest extent the law allows, Around Me's total liability for any claim about a job is limited to the fees Around Me earned on that job.
• Around Me is provided "as is". We don't promise it will always be available or error-free.

10. Ending your account

You can delete your account anytime from your profile. We may suspend or remove accounts that break these Terms. We keep payment records we're required to keep, even after an account is deleted.

11. Disputes and governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute about these Terms or Around Me will be handled in the state or federal courts located in New York.

12. Changes

We may update these Terms. We'll change the "Last updated" date above, and for important changes we'll let you know in the app or by email. Using Around Me after a change means you accept it.

Contact

Questions? Email aroundme.coo@gmail.com.