Advertiser Terms
The rules for running paid placements on RateAds.
Last updated: May 3, 2026
These Advertiser Terms apply on top of our general Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Data Processing Agreement. When you click “I agree” in the advertiser sign-up flow, you accept all four. The version that binds you is the one dated 2026-05-03.
1. What you can and cannot advertise
Your creative (image, video, copy, landing page) must:
- Be truthful and not misleading.
- Match what the user gets when they click through.
- Comply with the laws of every market where it runs.
We do not allow ads that:
- Show nudity, sexual content, or sexual services.
- Promote violence, weapons, or illegal drugs.
- Promote hate based on race, religion, gender, or orientation.
- Sell counterfeit goods, stolen data, or stolen accounts.
- Run a multi-level-marketing scheme or pump-and-dump.
- Spread political disinformation or paid election content outside our verified-political-ads program.
- Promote tobacco, vaping, or unregistered pharmaceuticals.
- Promote gambling in markets where it is restricted without the required disclosures.
Our auto-moderation runs the moment you submit a campaign. If the system flags you and we agree, you get a clear reason and an appeal route (see § 6).
2. Payment terms
We charge your card the moment your campaign passes auto-moderation. We use Stripe to process payments — see our sub-processors list.
Daily budget cap. Set a daily cap when you create the campaign. We auto-pause for the rest of the day if you hit it. Caps reset at 00:00 UTC.
Refunds. Cancel anytime before your campaign goes live for a full refund. After it goes live, we refund unspent budget within 14 days. We do not refund spend on impressions or clicks already served.
Disputes. Open a dispute through the advertiser portal within 30 days of an invoice. Stripe chargebacks count as disputes too — they automatically pause the campaign while we investigate.
Failed charges. If your card fails, we pause the campaign and email you a billing-portal link. You have 7 days to fix billing before the campaign is cancelled.
3. What advertisers see — and what they may never do
You see how your campaign performs in the form of grouped, anonymous numbers — for example, “1,200 people aged 25–34 clicked your ad in California this week.”
Each group has at least 20 people in it. Smaller cohorts are suppressed. Users who have asked us not to share their data (Do-Not-Sell, GPC, regional opt-out) are excluded from every group, even if the group is otherwise large.
You agree not to:
- Try to re-identify any user, group, or cohort. This includes joining our reports against any external data set.
- Resell, license, or share our data with a third party.
- Scrape user profiles or reviews. Use the API or paid feed.
- Use our reports to build a profile of any individual user.
Breach of any of these is grounds for immediate termination and liquidated damages. We may also report you to your data protection authority.
4. Sponsored-content disclosure
We label every paid placement as “Sponsored” in line with FTC and IAB rules. You agree not to remove, obscure, or work around the label. If your creative tries to hide the label, we reject the campaign.
If a regulator (FTC, ASA, ACCC, etc.) opens an inquiry about your campaign, we'll cooperate fully and forward you the request. You agree to respond within the timelines set by the regulator.
5. Auto-suspension triggers
We automatically pause your campaign in these cases. Each pause writes a record you can read in your advertiser portal.
- Click-through rate too low. If CTR is below 0.05% over the first 1,000 impressions, we pause to protect users from low-quality creative.
- Stripe dispute opened. Any chargeback or dispute pauses the campaign while we investigate.
- Three user reports. If three users flag your creative, we pause and queue it for a human review.
- Brand-safety drop. If your landing page changes and our scanners find new policy issues, we pause until you confirm or fix it.
6. Appeals and disputes
If your campaign is rejected or paused, we tell you why in the advertiser portal. You can appeal in two clicks. A human moderator answers within 3 business days. Decisions on appeals are final.
For payment or billing disputes, email legal@rateads.us or use the “Open dispute” button in the portal.
7. Termination
You can pause or end any campaign from the portal at any time. We may end your access if you breach these Terms or if a regulator requires it.
On termination, we delete your unstarted campaigns, refund unspent budget, and stop using your data for any purpose other than what the law requires us to keep (e.g., tax records).
8. Limits on our liability
To the maximum extent the law allows, our total liability for any campaign is capped at the amount you paid us for that campaign in the 90 days before the dispute arose.
We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses (revenue, brand damage, etc.). This limit does not apply to gross negligence, willful misconduct, or claims that the law does not allow us to limit.