Tripshepherd Acceptable Use Policy

Status: Draft — pending review by legal counsel.

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") forms part of our Terms of Use and applies to everyone who uses the Tripshepherd platform — travellers, guests, Operators, guides, hosts, partners, resellers, and visitors.

1. What this policy is for

The platform exists to help people plan, book, deliver, and enjoy real-world experiences. This AUP describes the conduct that breaks that contract. Where conduct is unclear or borderline, we apply the spirit of this policy: act honestly, respect other users and the people who deliver the tours, do not abuse the system, and do not use the platform to harm anyone.

We may suspend or terminate accounts, restrict access, refuse bookings, or remove content if we reasonably believe an account is engaged in any of the conduct below. Where required by law or where the conduct presents urgent risk, we may act immediately and without notice.

2. Fraud, abuse, and platform integrity

You must not:

• create fraudulent bookings (for example bookings with no intent to attend, used to obtain inventory, or used to abuse refund or chargeback mechanisms);
• impersonate another person, business, Operator, or Tripshepherd staff;
• create, control, or operate multiple accounts to circumvent suspensions, rate limits, promo limits, or the rules of an OTA channel;
• abuse promo codes, referral programs, or credits beyond their intended use;
• initiate chargebacks or refund requests in bad faith — if you have an issue, contact us or the Operator first;
• attempt to bypass payment, identity, or age verification controls;
• attempt to manipulate reviews, ratings, recommendations, or search rankings (for example by paying for reviews, posting fake reviews, mass-reporting genuine ones, or coordinating to suppress an Operator);
• buy or sell Tripshepherd accounts, bookings, or credentials.

3. Harassment, threats, and abusive behaviour

The platform is used to coordinate real, in-person experiences with guides, drivers, crew, and other guests. Behaviour that crosses into harassment, intimidation, or harm is unacceptable on the platform and at any tour. You must not:

• harass, threaten, intimidate, or stalk other users, guides, Operators, or staff, on the platform or in person;
• use slurs, hate speech, or demeaning language directed at any individual or group based on protected characteristics (race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law);
• engage in unwanted sexual conduct, sexual harassment, or share sexual content with anyone who has not requested it;
• contact users or Operators outside booking-related communication channels for purposes unrelated to the booking;
• post or share content depicting violence against, exploitation of, or sexual content involving minors;
• promote, glorify, or encourage self-harm, suicide, or violence.

Conduct that occurs in person during a booking is also subject to the Tour Participation Waiver and to the Operator's right to refuse or remove participation.

4. Privacy and data of others

You must not:

• collect, scrape, or otherwise harvest information about other users, guides, or Operators from the Platform without explicit consent;
• share personal information about another person — including phone numbers, email addresses, addresses, photos, or guide schedules — outside the platform without their consent;
• record, photograph, or film other users, guides, or staff without consent, except in clearly public settings as part of the experience itself, and never for the purpose of harassment;
• contact a guide outside the Platform to bypass booking, fee, or accountability mechanisms.

5. Security and platform abuse

You must not:

• attempt to break, bypass, disable, or interfere with security or rate-limiting controls;
• probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Platform or any associated network without our written permission;
• access non-public areas of the Platform, our infrastructure, or our partner systems;
• introduce viruses, malware, ransomware, or other harmful code;
• send spam, phishing, or unsolicited bulk messages through the Platform;
• run automated scrapers, crawlers, or bots against the Platform or any data exposed by the Platform without our written consent. Reasonable use of accessibility tools is allowed;
• use APIs in a way that exceeds documented rate limits or abuses authentication, scopes, or impersonation features.

If you believe you have found a vulnerability, please report it to security@tripshepherd.com and give us a reasonable opportunity to investigate before disclosure.

6. Operator, guide, host, and partner conduct

If you operate, guide, host, or list experiences on the platform, additional rules apply to you under your contractor, employment, host, or partner agreement. In particular:

• do not solicit guests, Operators, partners, or staff to take bookings off-platform or to break the platform agreement;
• do not record guests or share guest images, names, or booking details outside the platform without documented consent;
• do not input or upload guest data, scripts, SOPs, or internal communications into generative-AI tools or other external platforms unless we have approved that use in writing;
• do not impersonate the Operator, the Platform, or another guide;
• do not retain guest lists, booking exports, waiver records, or platform credentials after your engagement ends.

7. Reviews, ratings, and content authenticity

If you submit reviews, ratings, photos, or other content:

• the content must be your honest first-hand experience or be clearly labelled otherwise;
• you must not solicit, fabricate, buy, sell, or coerce reviews, or coordinate to suppress legitimate reviews;
• you must comply with the Community Guidelines.

We may remove content that violates these rules. For abusive, defamatory, or illegal content we may also disclose information to authorities or affected parties as described in the Privacy Policy.

8. Reporting and our response

If you see content or behaviour that violates this AUP, report it to info@tripshepherd.com or use the in-product reporting tools.

When we receive a report we may:

• review the report and the surrounding context;
• contact the people involved;
• temporarily restrict access or remove content while we investigate;
• decide whether to take action (warning, content removal, suspension, termination);
• disclose information to authorities, payment processors, or affected parties as required by law or by the Privacy Policy.

We aim to respond to serious safety, harassment, fraud, or security reports as a priority.

9. Changes to this Policy

We may update this AUP from time to time. The "Effective" date and version on this page will reflect the current version. We will communicate material changes through the Platform or by email.

10. Contact

• Acceptable use, abuse, or content reports: info@tripshepherd.com
• Security vulnerabilities: security@tripshepherd.com