Terms of Service

1. Acceptance

By creating an account or using GuideGallery ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, do not use the Service. These Terms incorporate our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and protect your information.

2. Description of Service

GuideGallery provides a platform for tour guides to share photos with tour participants via unique gallery links. Guests may optionally leave voluntary gratitude tips for guides. The Service is available via our mobile app and web application. GuideGallery acts strictly as a platform architecture to facilitate these interactions and digital transfers; it is not a tour operator, agency, or employer.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement. If you use the Service on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation. Guide payouts are currently available to guides with a valid bank account in the United Kingdom or the United States. The Service may not be available or compliant in all local states or jurisdictions, and GuideGallery reserves the right to restrict access to comply with local laws.

4. Relationship of the Parties (Independent Contractor Status)

This section applies to all guides utilizing the Service, with particular emphasis on compliance with United States federal and state laws (including, but not limited to, California AB5 and New York labor laws):

• No Employment: You acknowledge and agree that your use of the Service does not establish an employment, joint venture, partnership, or agency relationship between you and GuideGallery. You are an independent contractor operating your own independent business entity or sole proprietorship. You are solely responsible for your own local, state, and federal taxes on gratuities and other income you receive through the Service.
• Absence of Control: GuideGallery exerts no behavioral or financial control over your services. GuideGallery does not direct, supervise, or control your tours, your schedule, your routes, your scripts, your attire, or your interactions with guests.
• Equipment and Operations: You provide all tools, vehicles, and equipment necessary to perform your tours at your own expense. You are entirely free to use other platforms, software, or tools, including those competitive with GuideGallery, at any time.

5. Account Registration & Taxpayer Identification

You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when creating an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. You may sign in via email/password or through Apple or Google. Use of Apple Sign In and Google Sign In is subject to Apple's Privacy Policy and Google's Privacy Policy.

To enable payouts for US-based guides, you are required to provide valid identity and taxpayer information during onboarding, including your Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN). Failure to provide accurate taxpayer information will result in the immediate suspension of your payout functionality.

6. Photo Consent and Privacy

By using GuideGallery, you confirm that you have obtained appropriate consent from tour participants before taking and sharing their photos. You agree to:

• Obtain verbal or implied consent before photographing guests
• Lead with "free photos" messaging to set appropriate expectations
• Respect guests' privacy preferences and requests not to be photographed
• Only share photos with participants of the specific tour via secure gallery links
• Comply with applicable privacy laws including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

7. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes. You will not:

• Upload inappropriate, offensive, or copyrighted content
• Use the Service for illegal, unauthorized, or fraudulent purposes
• Share your account credentials or compromise account security
• Violate intellectual property rights of others
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service or other users' data

8. Payments, Tips, and Tax Obligations

A. Stripe Connect Infrastructure

Payment processing services for guides on GuideGallery are provided by Stripe and are delivered via Stripe Connect destination charges. By setting up payouts, you agree to be bound by the Stripe Connected Account Agreement (Full) and the Stripe Terms. You authorize GuideGallery to collect and share your identity, transaction data, and KYC data natively with Stripe to facilitate these transfers.

B. Platform Fees & Payout Mechanics

Platform Fees: GuideGallery charges a platform application fee on guest tips: 0% for the first 30 days from when you complete Stripe Connect payout setup for a given payout account, and 5% thereafter. Each connected payout account receives exactly one promotional period; creating additional accounts to obtain repeated promotions is a material breach of these Terms. Stripe may charge additional processing or transaction fees. Guests are not charged a separate GuideGallery platform fee at checkout; the platform fee is deducted from the tip amount settled to your connected account.

Currency: Your payout currency is determined by the country of your connected Stripe payout account (for example, GBP for a UK bank account or USD for a US bank account) and is fixed upon account creation. Guests may tip using cross-border payment methods or alternate currencies; all foreign exchange conversion and related fees are managed by Stripe and the guest's card issuer. Any in-app currency preview used for display does not change your payout currency, the amount charged, or how funds are settled.

Withdrawals: Payouts are entirely manual. Funds must be explicitly withdrawn via the "Withdraw to bank" feature in the app. Funds typically settle in 2–3 business days with no withdrawal fee.

90-Day Rule: Funds must be withdrawn within 90 days of receipt. GuideGallery will issue reminders at 75 days. If funds are not manually withdrawn by day 85, our system will automatically initiate a sweep to clear the balance to your bank account on file, in accordance with standard payment network rules.

Refunds: Tips are structurally voluntary gratuities and are generally non-refundable. Any adjustments for chargebacks or fraudulent guest activity will be deducted from your connected account balance. You must keep your payout details correct and up to date.

C. US Information Reporting (Form 1099-K) & TPSO Classification

For guides operating in the United States, GuideGallery is legally classified under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 6050W as a Third-Party Settlement Organization (TPSO).

Reporting Thresholds: GuideGallery will file a Form 1099-K with the IRS and applicable state tax authorities for any guide who meets the federal reporting threshold within a calendar year (which is $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions for tax years 2025 and 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act).

State-Specific Thresholds: You explicitly acknowledge that state-level thresholds can be significantly lower than federal thresholds (for example, $600 in states such as Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, and Maryland). GuideGallery will comply with all state-specific filing mandates based on your registered address.

Gross Reporting: Per IRS guidelines, the amounts reported on Form 1099-K represent the total gross unadjusted volume of tips processed before the deduction of any platform application fees or Stripe processing fees. You are solely responsible for filing Schedule C on your federal return and deducting platform fees as a business expense.

D. Mandatory Electronic Tax Document Delivery Consent

By creating an account and accepting these Terms, you provide your explicit, affirmative consent to receive your annual tax reporting forms (including Form 1099-K) electronically via email, an online Stripe-hosted portal, or directly within the GuideGallery native application.

You may withdraw this electronic delivery consent at any time by contacting hello@guidegallery.app. Withdrawing consent means a physical paper form will be mailed to your address on file; however, GuideGallery reserves the right to restrict or terminate your access to the platform upon withdrawal of consent due to operational constraints.

E. Substitute Form W-9 Certification (US Guides Only)

For US-based guides, by entering your legal name, business address, and Taxpayer Identification Number (SSN/EIN) within the GuideGallery onboarding interface, you certify under penalties of perjury that:

• The number shown on the digital onboarding form is your correct taxpayer identification number;
• You are not subject to backup withholding because: (a) you are exempt from backup withholding, or (b) you have not been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends, or (c) the IRS has notified you that you are no longer subject to backup withholding; and
• You are a U.S. citizen or other U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien).

9. Intellectual Property

You retain ownership of the photos and content you upload. By uploading content, you grant GuideGallery a limited, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, display, modify, and transmit that content solely as necessary to operate and maintain the Service. You may not use GuideGallery's trademarks, logos, or branding without our prior written permission.

10. Photo Storage, Content, and Retention

Photos are stored securely and accessible only via unique gallery links. Default retention is 7 days, which you can configure per gallery. Guests may request deletion of their photos at any time. You may delete entire galleries at any time. Photos past the retention period may be automatically and permanently deleted from our servers.

Content Policy: You must only upload photos you have the complete legal permission to share. Do not upload unlawful, offensive, or inappropriate content. Report concerns via the app (Settings → Contact Support → Report content) or email hello@guidegallery.app.

11. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates third-party infrastructure providers including Stripe (payments), Supabase (authentication, database, storage), Resend (email), Apple, and Google (sign-in). Use of these services is subject to their respective terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the availability, security, or conduct of third-party services.

12. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access for violation of these Terms, suspected fraud, tax non-compliance (such as providing an invalid TIN/SSN), or at our sole discretion. You may request account deletion at any time by contacting us. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Data may be retained following termination as required by law (including IRS and HMRC compliance records) or for legitimate business purposes.

13. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. WE DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. OUR LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless GuideGallery, its parent company, and its affiliates from any claims, damages, liabilities, losses, penalties, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your content, your violation of these Terms, your misclassification under local labor laws, or your failure to properly report or remit federal, state, or local taxes on gratuities received.

15. Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, and disputes will be resolved in the courts of England and Wales, except where the mandatory law of your country or state of residence requires otherwise. Nothing in these Terms removes or limits any mandatory statutory consumer or contractor rights you have under the laws of your jurisdiction, including, for users in the United States, any rights that cannot be waived under applicable state or federal law. Where permitted under applicable law, you agree to resolve disputes on an individual basis and explicitly waive any right to participate in class actions or class-wide arbitration.

16. Changes

We may modify these Terms at any time to reflect changing economic, regulatory, or operational realities. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes your binding acceptance. Material changes will be communicated via email or an explicit in-app notice. We recommend reviewing the Terms periodically.

17. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at hello@guidegallery.app.