Terms of Service

Effective Date: October 18th, 2026

This Terms of Service agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into by and between you (the “User”) and Around Technologies Inc. (“Around,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By accessing or using our website, mobile applications, or related services (collectively, the “Services”), you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be legally bound by this Agreement. If you do not agree to these terms, you must discontinue all use of the Services.

1. Changes to the Agreement

Around may revise these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes by posting an updated version with a new effective date. In some cases, we may provide notice via email or in-app notification. Your continued use of the Services after such changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

2. Eligibility and Access

You must be at least 18 years old, and able to form a binding contract, to book a service, offer a service, or receive payment through Around. People aged 13 to 17 (16 to 17 in the EU or UK) may browse the Services, and may take part in a booked service only with the consent and supervision of a parent or guardian who makes the booking. The Services are not available to anyone under 13.

You must not use the Services if you are barred from doing so under applicable law, or if we have previously suspended or removed your account.

3. User Accounts and Security

To use certain features, you must create an account by providing accurate and current information, including your age and email address. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and all activities that occur under your account. Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized use.

4. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your data. By using the Services, you agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy and consent to the transfer and processing of your data in the United States and other countries.

5. Content Ownership and Licensing

You retain ownership of any content you submit through the Services. By posting content, you grant Around a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and display such content for purposes related to the operation and promotion of the Services.

We retain all rights in our proprietary content, including software, branding, and interface designs. You may not copy, distribute, or exploit any portion of the Services without our prior written consent.

6. Around's Role as a Marketplace

Around is an online marketplace. It lets independent creators, such as photographers, videographers, artists, musicians and other service providers ("Creators"), list their services, and lets people looking for those services ("Customers") find and book them. Around does not itself provide any creative or other service listed on the Services, and is not a photographer, studio, agency, employer or event company.

When a Customer books a Creator, the agreement for that service is made directly between the Customer and the Creator. Around is not a party to that agreement and does not take on the Creator's or the Customer's obligations under it. Around's role is limited to providing the Services, collecting payment on the Creator's behalf, and applying these Terms, including the cancellation and refund policy below.

For payments, the Creator appoints Around as its limited agent to accept payment from the Customer. When a Customer pays Around for a booking, that payment counts as payment to the Creator, and the Customer's obligation to pay the Creator for that booking is satisfied.

Around does not control, direct, supervise or guarantee the conduct of Creators or Customers, the quality, safety, legality, timing or outcome of any service, the truth or accuracy of any listing, profile, message or review, or the ability of any Creator to provide a service or any Customer to pay for one.

7. Creators and Their Businesses

Creators are independent businesses and individuals. They are not employees, agents, partners, joint venturers or franchisees of Around, and nothing in these Terms or in a Creator's use of the Services creates any such relationship. Creators have no authority to make commitments, statements or agreements on Around's behalf.

Each Creator decides for itself whether to offer a service and on what terms, including its prices, availability, location, the way it performs the work, the equipment it uses and the people it brings. Around does not set working hours, train Creators, or tell them how to perform their services, and may not be held responsible for those choices.

If a Creator is a company, studio or other business, it is responsible for everyone who works on its behalf, including its owners, employees, contractors, assistants and second shooters. Any such person is the Creator's responsibility and not Around's.

Creators are solely responsible for: holding and keeping current any license, permit, registration, certification or insurance their services require; obtaining any location permits, property permissions, model releases or other consents a shoot or performance requires; complying with all laws that apply to their business, including employment, consumer protection, privacy, drone and aviation, and health and safety laws; and reporting and paying their own income, self-employment and other taxes, other than sales tax that Around collects and remits as described below. Around may provide tax forms, such as a Form 1099, where the law requires it.

Creators agree to describe their services, qualifications and prices accurately, to honor the bookings they accept, and to perform their services with reasonable care and skill.

8. Payments and Bookings

Booking a creator is a request, not a purchase. When you send one we authorize your payment method for the amount shown, which places a hold on those funds without taking them. Nothing is charged until the creator accepts. If the creator declines, or does not respond, the hold is released and you are charged nothing.

Around charges no fee to browse or to hold a booking. Prices, including any duration or per-person terms, are set by the creator and shown on the listing before you book. We take payment through Stripe; we do not store your card details ourselves.

What you pay. Your total is the creator's price, plus an Around service fee of 15% of that price, plus applicable sales tax. Bookings under $50 also carry a flat $2 small booking fee. Every one of these appears as its own line at checkout before you confirm, and the total shown there is the amount we authorize and the amount we charge. The minimum booking on Around is $25.

What creators receive. Around deducts a 10% commission from the creator's own price. Creators are paid the remainder after the booking has taken place. The service fee paid by the customer is not deducted from the creator's earnings, and sales tax is never part of them; tax is collected by Around and remitted to the relevant authority.

We may change these fees. If we do, the change applies to bookings made after it takes effect and never to a booking you have already confirmed.

9. Cancellations and Refunds

You may cancel a booking at any time from the booking itself. What comes back to you depends on when you cancel, and the amount is calculated by Around at the moment you cancel and shown to you before you confirm.

Before the creator accepts: you receive a full refund. Nothing has been taken, and the hold on your card is released.

After the creator accepts: you receive a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours of booking, provided the session is more than 48 hours away. You receive nothing if you cancel less than 48 hours before the session starts, as the creator has by then set that time aside and is unlikely to fill it. You receive 50% if you cancel at any other time.

For example, if you book on a Monday at noon for a session the following Monday at 2 PM, canceling before noon on Tuesday returns everything, canceling from then until 2 PM on Saturday returns 50%, and canceling after 2 PM on Saturday returns nothing. If a creator does not show up for a booking, you receive a full refund.

If a creator cancels a booking they had accepted, you receive a full refund regardless of timing. A cancellation by the creator is not treated as yours.

The percentages above apply to your total, fees and tax included. A refund of half your booking returns half of the service fee and half of the tax along with it, and reduces what the creator receives by the same proportion. A full refund returns everything.

Refunds are returned to the original payment method. Card networks typically take five to ten business days to show them, which is outside our control. Where a creator and a customer agree a different arrangement between themselves, that is a matter between them; the figures above are what Around will process.

10. Verification, Badges, Featured Placement and Reviews

Some profiles show badges such as "ID verified", "Verified license" or "Verified certification". These mean only that a document or detail was checked, by Around or by a provider such as Stripe, at one point in time, using information supplied by the Creator. They are not a background check, criminal record check, reference check, insurance check, or confirmation that a license is still valid, and they are not an endorsement or guarantee of the Creator or the Creator's work.

Labels and placements such as "Team's choice", "Spotlight", featured creators, recommendations and search ranking reflect Around's editorial and commercial choices. They are not a guarantee of quality, safety or suitability.

Profiles, listings, portfolios, prices and descriptions are written by Creators, and reviews are written by Customers. They are the opinions and statements of the people who write them, not of Around. Around does not verify them and is not responsible for them, though it may remove content that breaks these Terms.

Statistics shown on profiles, such as bookings completed or usual reply time, are estimates drawn from activity on Around. They may be incomplete or out of date and are not a promise of future performance.

11. Meeting in Person and Safety

Many services booked through Around take place in person, at locations chosen by the Customer, the Creator or both. Around does not inspect, approve or control those locations and is not present at any booking. You are responsible for your own safety and belongings, and for using good judgment when you meet someone you found through the Services, including meeting in a suitable place and telling someone where you will be.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Around is not responsible for any injury, illness, death, property damage, theft, loss or other harm that happens during or in connection with a booking, travel to or from it, or any other interaction between users, whether online or in person.

If you are in danger, contact local emergency services first. You can then report the person or the booking to us from the Services.

12. Photos, Videos and Other Deliverables

Anything a Creator makes or delivers for a Customer, such as photos, videos, edits, recordings or artwork ("Deliverables"), is provided by the Creator, not by Around. Ownership of and permitted uses for Deliverables, including any license to use them commercially, are agreed between the Creator and the Customer. If they have not agreed otherwise, the Creator keeps its copyright and the Customer may use the Deliverables for personal, non-commercial purposes.

Around does not store, back up or guarantee delivery of Deliverables, and is not responsible for their loss, late delivery, quality, or for any claim that they infringe someone else's rights, including the privacy or publicity rights of people who appear in them.

13. Third-Party Services

The Services rely on, link to and work with services run by other companies, including Stripe for payments, payouts and identity verification, Google and Apple for sign-in, and providers of messaging, email, maps, hosting and social media such as Instagram. These companies are independent of Around. Your use of them is governed by their own terms and privacy policies, and Around is not responsible for their services, content, availability, security or conduct, or for any loss caused by them.

Creators who receive payouts must accept Stripe's Connected Account Agreement, which governs their relationship with Stripe. Around is not responsible for decisions Stripe makes about a Creator's account, including holds, reviews, limits or closures.

Links to websites, social media profiles or other services that are not run by Around, including links Creators add to their profiles, are provided for convenience only and are not an endorsement.

14. User Conduct

You agree not to misuse the Services. Prohibited conduct includes unauthorized access, scraping, automated data collection, introducing malware, disrupting the Services, posting false, misleading or infringing content, harassing, threatening or discriminating against other users, and violating the rights of others or any law.

You agree to book and pay for services found on Around through Around. Asking for or accepting payment outside the Services for a booking that began on Around, or using the Services to find people and then moving the booking off Around to avoid fees, is not allowed. Payments made outside Around are not covered by these Terms, the refund policy, or any help Around might otherwise give.

We may remove content and suspend or terminate accounts that break these rules.

15. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that we believe violates these Terms or is harmful to other users or us. Upon termination, your right to use the Services will cease immediately.

16. Disputes Between Users

If you have a problem with a booking, you agree to try first to resolve it directly with the other user. Around may, but is not required to, help, review messages and booking records, and decide whether a refund is due under the cancellation and refund policy. Any decision Around makes about a refund applies only to the money Around holds or has processed for that booking and does not limit any claim you may have against the other user.

Because Around is not a party to the agreement between a Customer and a Creator, you release Around Technologies Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, agents and affiliates from all claims, demands and damages of every kind, known or unknown, arising out of or connected with any dispute between you and another user, or any service, Deliverable, conduct or content of another user, to the fullest extent permitted by law. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party." You waive any similar law in any other place.

17. Disclaimers

The Services are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Around disclaims all warranties, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, and any warranty arising from a course of dealing or usage of trade.

Around does not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, secure or free of errors, that any Creator, Customer, listing or review is genuine or accurate, or that any service booked through the Services will meet your expectations, be performed safely, or take place at all.

18. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Around and its officers, directors, employees, agents and affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill or business opportunity, or for any personal injury, emotional distress or property damage, arising out of or connected with these Terms, the Services, any booking or service, any Deliverable, or any interaction with another user or third party, even if Around has been told such damages are possible.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Around's total liability for all claims arising out of or connected with these Terms or the Services will not be more than the greater of (a) the fees you paid to Around, not counting amounts passed on to Creators or tax, in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, and (b) one hundred US dollars ($100).

Some places do not allow certain warranties to be excluded or certain liability to be limited, so some of the above may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by Around's own negligence.

19. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Around Technologies Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, agents and affiliates from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of or connected with your use of the Services, your content, your breach of these Terms or of any law, or your interactions with any other user.

If you are a Creator, this also covers any claim connected with the services you provide or offer, your Deliverables, the people who work with you, your taxes, and any license, permit, insurance or consent you were responsible for obtaining.

20. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New York. Any disputes shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

21. Miscellaneous

This Agreement, together with the Privacy Policy and any policies referred to in it, is the entire agreement between you and Around about the Services. If any part is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be enforced to the greatest extent allowed and the rest will remain in effect. Around's failure to enforce any part of this Agreement is not a waiver of it.

Around is not liable for any delay or failure caused by events outside its reasonable control, including outages of third-party services, internet or power failures, natural disasters, severe weather, public health emergencies, strikes, or government action.

Sections that by their nature should continue after your account ends, including those on payments owed, content licenses, disclaimers, limitation of liability, release, indemnification and governing law, will continue to apply. We may assign this Agreement without your consent. You may not assign or transfer your rights under this Agreement.

22. Contact Us

If you have questions or need to send notices, you may contact us at:

Around Technologies Inc.
[email protected]