This Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) describes the activities, businesses, content, and conduct that are not permitted on the Hilaron platform (the “Service”). It applies to every Donor and every Organization that uses the Service, in addition to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

This AUP is incorporated into the Terms of Service by reference. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Terms of Service.

Because Hilaron processes payments through Stripe, this AUP is at least as restrictive as Stripe’s Restricted Businesses list. Where this AUP and Stripe’s policies differ, the stricter standard governs.

Organizations may not register, and Donors may not contribute to, any campaign whose purpose, beneficiary, or use of funds falls into the categories below. We may remove a Campaign or Organization at any time, with or without notice, where we reasonably believe it falls within these categories.

Illegal or regulated activity

• Anything illegal under U.S. federal law or the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Organization, beneficiary, or Donor is located.
• Activities, persons, or entities subject to U.S., U.K., E.U., U.N., or other applicable sanctions, including OFAC-listed individuals or jurisdictions.
• Money services businesses, money transmission, currency exchange, check cashing, or stored-value top-ups operated as the primary purpose of the Campaign.
• Cryptocurrency exchanges, mining operations, ICOs, or token sales.
• Cannabis (including CBD where federally restricted), kratom, kava, salvia, nitrous oxide for recreational use, and any controlled substance regardless of local legality.
• Gambling, betting, sweepstakes, raffles (including charitable raffles where licensure is absent), fantasy sports, lotteries, and skill-based wagering.
• Firearms, ammunition, weapons, weapon parts or accessories, and tactical gear marketed for combat use.
• Pseudo-pharmaceuticals, unapproved supplements, or any product making unverified medical claims.
• Tobacco, vaping products, e-cigarettes, and smoking accessories.

Adult & exploitative content

• Pornography, sexually explicit material, escort services, or adult dating.
• Any content sexualizing minors. We report apparent CSAM to NCMEC and to law enforcement.
• Human trafficking, forced labor, mail-order spouses, or any service that facilitates exploitation.

Hate, violence & harassment

• Organizations or campaigns that promote, glorify, or fundraise for violence, terrorism, or genocide.
• Hate groups; content attacking individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
• Doxxing, targeted harassment, stalking, or coordinated brigading.
• Bail funds for violent offenses, or legal defense funds for individuals charged with violent or sexual crimes against children.

Financial schemes & fraud

• Pyramid schemes, multi-level marketing, “get rich quick” programs, and matrix schemes.
• Investment opportunities, securities offerings, debt collection, debt consolidation, credit repair, and payday lending.
• Card-not-present aggregation for unrelated parties (factoring), and any attempt to use Hilaron as a payment-processing pass-through unrelated to charitable giving.
• Charity fraud: misrepresenting the beneficiary, the use of funds, the urgency of need, or the Organization’s tax status.
• Astroturfing donations, self-dealing, or coordinated reciprocal giving designed to manipulate platform metrics.

Intellectual property & deceptive content

• Counterfeit goods or sale of items that infringe trademark, copyright, or right of publicity.
• Sale of academic dishonesty services (essay mills, exam-taking, etc.).
• Misleading impersonation of another organization, public figure, or beneficiary.

High-risk & case-by-case

The following are not banned outright, but are subject to additional verification. We may request documentation, place payouts on hold, or decline onboarding at our discretion:

• Individual personal-cause campaigns (medical, memorial, disaster relief) where there is no registered nonprofit beneficiary.
• Political campaigns, PACs, lobbying organizations, and ballot-measure committees.
• International campaigns disbursing to beneficiaries in high-risk jurisdictions.
• New Organizations without an established giving history or independently verifiable charitable status.

Regardless of the Campaign’s subject matter, you must not:

• Provide false, misleading, or incomplete information during account registration, identity verification, or KYC/KYB review.
• Use someone else’s payment instrument, identity, or banking information without authorization.
• Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security, anti-fraud, rate-limiting, or payout-hold features of the Service.
• Attempt to launder funds, structure transactions to avoid reporting thresholds, or obscure the true source or destination of funds.
• Use the Service to send spam, unsolicited bulk communications, phishing, or social-engineering messages to other users.
• Harvest, scrape, or collect Donor or Organization information outside of officially documented APIs and intended export tools.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service.
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service except under a published responsible-disclosure or bug-bounty program.
• Upload viruses, malware, ransomware, or any code intended to disrupt or gain unauthorized access.
• Use automated systems (bots, scripts) in a manner that imposes unreasonable load or that bypasses CAPTCHAs or other access controls.

Campaign descriptions, beneficiary stories, photographs, video, and any other Content you publish on the Service must:

• Be truthful and not materially misleading about the beneficiary, the use of funds, or the Organization’s charitable or tax status.
• Have all rights, releases, and permissions necessary to publish — including model releases for identifiable persons and parental consent for identifiable minors.
• Not depict graphic violence, gore, or human suffering in a sensationalized or exploitative way.
• Not include personal data of third parties (addresses, phone numbers, medical information) without their explicit consent.
• Comply with all applicable advertising, fundraising-solicitation, and consumer-protection laws in the jurisdictions where the Campaign is promoted.

Donor-facing comments, social-giving group messages, and profile content must comply with the same standards. Hate speech, harassment, and spam in social features will be removed.

As a Donor, you additionally agree not to:

• Use a stolen or unauthorized payment method, or a payment method without authority to obligate the cardholder.
• Initiate chargebacks for legitimately authorized Contributions; disputes should first be raised with [email protected].
• Use the social and group-giving features to coerce, shame, or harass other Donors.
• Attempt to receive a tangible benefit, service, or quid pro quo in exchange for a Contribution.

If you believe a Campaign, Organization, Donor, or piece of Content violates this AUP, please report it to us promptly:

• Abuse, fraud, prohibited content: [email protected]
• Trust & safety, urgent risk to a person: [email protected] (we monitor this address continuously)
• In-app: use the “Report” control on any Campaign or profile.

Reports should include a link to the relevant Campaign or profile, a brief description of the suspected violation, and any supporting evidence (screenshots, links). We investigate every report and may follow up for additional information.

If you receive a subpoena, court order, or other legal process directed at Hilaron, contact [email protected].

Where we determine, in our reasonable judgment, that this AUP has been violated, we may take any one or more of the following actions, with or without prior notice:

• Remove or hide the offending Campaign or Content.
• Issue a warning, restrict features, or require additional verification.
• Place a hold on payouts, establish a reserve, or reverse settled funds.
• Refund Donors and recover associated processing or platform fees.
• Suspend or terminate the offending account and any related accounts.
• Report the activity to Stripe, payment-card networks, regulators, or law enforcement.
• Cooperate with civil or criminal proceedings, including in response to lawful process.

Enforcement actions are cumulative with our rights under the Terms of Service. Our failure to enforce any provision of this AUP is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

If your account or Campaign has been actioned and you believe it was a mistake, you may appeal by replying to the enforcement notification email or by writing to [email protected] within 30 days of the action. Please include:

• The account or Campaign URL.
• The enforcement notice you received, if any.
• The factual basis for the appeal and any supporting documentation.

We will review the appeal and respond within a reasonable time. Some actions taken at the direction of a payment provider, regulator, or law-enforcement authority cannot be reversed by Hilaron.

Your use of the Service is also subject to the policies of our service providers, including:

• Stripe Restricted Businesses and the Stripe Connected Account Agreement.
• Apple EULA and Google Play Terms for users of the mobile applications.
• Google Firebase terms governing authentication, database, and storage usage.

Conduct that violates a service-provider policy is also a violation of this AUP, even if not separately enumerated above.

We may update this AUP from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or in-app notice and will take effect on the date stated in the notice. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised AUP.

Questions about this Acceptable Use Policy can be sent to:

Hilaron, Inc.
Attn: Trust & Safety
[email protected]