Acceptable Use Policy

01

Scope

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") applies to everyone who uses HeldSway — customers (the brands running affiliate programs), their affiliates, their team members, and anyone else interacting with the service. By using HeldSway, you agree to this AUP and to our Terms of Service.

If you operate an affiliate program on HeldSway, you are responsible for ensuring your affiliates comply with this AUP. We may take action against your account based on the conduct of your affiliates if you do not address it after we notify you.

02

Prohibited purposes

You may not use HeldSway to:

• Engage in or promote any activity that is illegal under applicable law (US federal, US state, or your local jurisdiction).
• Operate or promote programs for restricted or prohibited products and services, including but not limited to: tobacco, vaping, illegal drugs, weapons, gambling without proper licensing, multi-level marketing schemes that are illegal in the relevant jurisdiction, adult content involving minors, or content that exploits, abuses, or endangers children.
• Promote violence, terrorism, hate speech, or discrimination against protected classes.
• Defraud, deceive, or mislead customers, affiliates, or third parties.

03

Affiliate fraud

HeldSway exists to make affiliate programs honest. The following activities are explicit violations of this AUP:

Self-referral and incentive fraud

• Affiliates referring themselves or members of their household using their own coupon codes or links.
• Customers operating sock-puppet affiliate accounts to claim commissions on their own purchases.
• Coordinated networks of accounts created solely to claim signup or referral incentives.

Click and traffic fraud

• Generating clicks via automated tools, click farms, or bot traffic.
• Using malware, browser hijacking, ad-injection, or other deceptive techniques to drive traffic.
• Cookie stuffing, forced clicks, or any technique that drops affiliate cookies without genuine user intent.
• Coupon-extension fraud — applying coupon codes via browser extensions at checkout to claim attribution the affiliate did not earn.

Misrepresentation

• Impersonating a brand, its founders, or its employees.
• Using paid search ads on the brand's trademarked terms in a way that violates the brand's program rules.
• Promising features, prices, or guarantees that the brand does not offer.
• Failing to disclose the affiliate relationship as required by the FTC, ASA, or analogous regulators.

HeldSway runs automated fraud filters and may suspend payouts pending review when filters fire. Customers can configure thresholds — see the Fraud Protection page.

04

Security and technical abuse

You may not:

• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system or network without our prior written authorisation.
• Breach or circumvent any security or authentication measures.
• Upload viruses, malware, or any malicious code; attempt to overwhelm the service with denial-of-service attacks.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the platform, except where this restriction is prohibited by applicable law.
• Use the API to scrape data at volumes inconsistent with normal use, or to circumvent rate limits.
• Use the platform to send unsolicited messages (spam) — to affiliates, customers, or anyone else.

05

Content restrictions

When you upload content (creative assets, copy, banners, emails, affiliate communications), you must own or have permission to use that content. You may not upload:

• Content that infringes copyright, trademark, or other intellectual-property rights.
• Personal information about third parties without a lawful basis.
• Defamatory content; content that harasses, threatens, or stalks any individual.
• Content that violates the privacy or publicity rights of others.

06

Enforcement

We reserve the right to investigate and respond to AUP violations. Depending on severity and history, our response may include:

1. A written notice with a deadline to remediate.
2. Suspension of specific features (e.g. payouts, API access).
3. Temporary suspension of the entire account.
4. Termination of the account and forfeiture of any disputed commissions.
5. Referral to law enforcement where the violation is criminal.

We aim to act proportionately. Severe violations (fraud, illegal content, security attacks) may result in immediate suspension without prior notice.

07

Reporting violations

If you believe someone is violating this AUP — affiliate fraud, security issues, illegal content, copyright infringement — please report it via the contact form with as much detail as possible (URLs, account names, timestamps). We treat reports confidentially and respond as quickly as we can.

08

Changes

We may update this AUP as the affiliate-marketing landscape evolves and as new fraud techniques emerge. Material changes will be communicated via email and via an in-app notice. Continued use of the service after the effective date constitutes acceptance.