Terms of Service

Actuator is operated by Actuator [entity type and state of formation to be confirmed], located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States (“Actuator”, “we”, “us”). These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) govern your use of actuato.com, api.actuato.com, our hosted connectors for AI assistants, our software development kits, and every related service (together, the “Service”).

By creating an account, connecting an AI assistant, using an API key, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you use the Service on behalf of a company, you confirm that you have authority to bind that company, and “you” means the company.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service.

Actuator is a platform where people who need something done in the physical world (“Principals”), often through an AI assistant acting for them, post jobs, and independent local workers (“Workers”) offer to do them at a price they set. We provide the tools to post, match, rank, and communicate, and we arrange for Stripe to process payments and pay Workers once a job’s release conditions are met. We do not perform the work, supervise it, employ Workers, or guarantee any outcome.

A contract for the work itself is formed directly between the Principal and the Worker when the Principal hires. Actuator is not a party to that contract. We do not verify the quality of work in advance, and any ranking, score, or estimate we display is information to help you decide, not a recommendation or warranty.

You need an account to post, apply, or connect an assistant. Keep your credentials, sign-in links, and API keys confidential. You are responsible for everything that happens under your account, including actions taken by AI assistants you connect, until you tell us the account has been compromised.

You must give us accurate information and keep it current. We may suspend or close accounts that provide false information, are used for fraud, or break these Terms.

You can let an AI assistant or other software (an “Agent”) act for you by connecting it through our API, our hosted connector, or a sign-in flow on your behalf. When you do, you set the limits that apply: whether the Agent may publish without asking, the largest amount it may hire and fund on its own, and per-job, daily, and monthly spending caps. Anything above those limits is held as an approval request for you to decide.

You are bound by what your Agent does within the limits you set. An Agent that posts a job, hires a Worker, pays for a hire, or approves completed work within its grant is doing so on your behalf, and the resulting obligations are yours. Depending on the limits you choose, an Agent may take these actions without asking you each time. When you connect an Agent we keep a record of exactly what you authorized: the permissions and spending limits you set, the date and time, the version of these Terms, and every later change or revocation. Every action the Agent then takes is also recorded with the limits in force at that moment. You can review, tighten, or revoke an Agent’s access at any time in your account. Revocation stops future actions but does not undo completed ones.

If you build or operate an Agent, you are also responsible for its behavior: respect rate limits, do not post jobs for people who have not authorized you, do not attempt to bypass approval requests or spending limits, and follow the developer documentation. API keys are personal to the account that issued them.

As a Principal you agree to:

• Describe the job honestly, including hazards, access details, and anything unusual about the site.
• Only request work that is legal where it takes place and that you have the right to have done.
• Fund the agreed price and fees before work begins, and pay for approved work.
• Be reachable while a Worker is on site, or ensure someone who can act for you is.
• Review submitted work and approve or request a fix within the review window described below.

Some categories of work legally require a license (for example plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work in Maryland). For those categories only Workers with a verified license can be hired, and this requirement cannot be removed. You must not structure or describe a job to avoid a licensing requirement. Home improvement work is not currently offered through the Service, because Maryland requires specific written contract terms for it that our job flow does not yet produce.

New accounts are limited to jobs of $300 or less until three jobs have been completed. We may adjust limits for safety or fraud prevention.

Workers are independent professionals, not employees, agents, or contractors of Actuator. As a Worker:

• You choose which jobs to bid on and accept, and you set your own price.
• You control how, and when within the agreed schedule, the work is done, and you bring your own tools.
• You may work for anyone else, on or off other platforms. Nothing here is exclusive.
• You are responsible for your own taxes, insurance, licenses, permits, and compliance with the law.
• When you are hired, you contract directly with the Principal. Actuator is not a party to that contract. Its terms are written down in a job agreement that both of you can open from the hire.

Payouts are made through Stripe, which handles tax reporting where required.

As a Worker you agree to:

• Only claim skills, experience, and licenses you actually have, and upload genuine documents.
• Only apply for licensed work if you hold the required license in the job’s jurisdiction.
• Show up when you said you would, check in on site, and tell the Principal promptly if plans change.
• Do the work described, to the stated success criteria, safely and lawfully.
• Submit honest before and after evidence. Faked or reused photos are grounds for removal.

We may mark a Worker’s profile as verified, licensed, or background-checked based on documents and third-party checks. A badge reflects what we confirmed on the date shown, from the license number, type, issuing jurisdiction, and expiration date we recorded. Licenses can later expire, or be suspended or revoked, and we do not monitor them continuously, although we check the expiration date again when a Worker is hired for licensed work. Workers must keep their licenses current and tell us promptly of any change. A badge is not a guarantee.

Payments are processed by Stripe. When a Principal hires, the agreed price plus the Principal service fee is charged, and payout to the Worker is withheld until the release conditions are met: the Principal approves the work, or the review window ends without a decision or a dispute. The Worker is then paid the agreed price less the Worker service fee. This arrangement is not a legal escrow, and Actuator is not an escrow agent. Actuator never holds your card details. By using the payment features you also agree to Stripe’s terms, including the Stripe Connected Account Agreement for Workers.

Current standard fees, shown before you confirm any hire:

• Principal service fee: 12% of the agreed price, with a $2.00 minimum, added on top of the price.
• Worker service fee: 8% of the agreed price, deducted from the payout.

We may change fees for future jobs with notice on the site. Fees already shown for a hired job do not change. Every hire records the version of these Terms in force at the time.

Review window. After a Worker submits work, the Principal has 72 hours to approve it or request a fix. If nothing happens in that time, the work is treated as approved and payment is released. A Principal may request a fix up to two times per job. Either side may open a dispute before payment is released, which pauses the release until the dispute is resolved.

Off-platform payment is prohibited. Do not pay or accept payment for work found through Actuator outside the Service. Doing so removes the protections described here and results in removal.

Each hire carries a cancellation policy shown before you confirm: flexible, moderate, or strict.

• If a Worker cancels, the Principal receives a full refund.
• If a Principal cancels before the Worker has checked in on site: full refund under flexible and moderate policies, and 25% of the agreed price goes to the Worker under a strict policy.
• If a Principal cancels after the Worker has checked in: no payment to the Worker under flexible, 50% under moderate, and 100% under strict.

Service fees on the refunded portion are returned. Jobs with no hire yet can be cancelled at any time for free. Refunds go back to the original payment method and typically appear within 5 to 10 business days.

Before payment is released. Either side may open a dispute at any time before payment is released, including during the 72-hour review window. Opening a dispute pauses the release. Each side then has 72 hours to add evidence and messages. The parties can settle by proposing and accepting an offer. If they do not, Actuator reviews the record, including the job description, success criteria, check-in data, photos, and messages, and decides how the withheld payment is split. That decision is final as between the parties for that amount, but it does not limit any claim one party may have against the other outside the Service.

After payment is released. Once payment has been released, a dispute can no longer be opened through the Service. You can still report a problem to us. Where the record shows the work was not done as agreed, we may help the parties reach a refund, and we may reverse or offset a payout where Stripe and the law allow, but we are not required to.

Card chargebacks are separate. A chargeback is a dispute you raise with your card issuer, not with Actuator, and it follows the card network’s rules and timelines. If a Principal files one, we may give the card network the job record. Opening a chargeback does not open a dispute on the Service, and a dispute on the Service does not stop a chargeback.

Actuator is not an insurer. We do not cover property damage, injury, or losses beyond the withheld payment for a job unless a written guarantee program says otherwise for that job.

After a job completes, both sides may leave a review. Reviews are double-blind: they are published when both have been submitted or 14 days after completion, whichever comes first. Reviews must be honest and about the job. We may remove reviews that are abusive, unrelated, retaliatory, or that reveal private information.

You may not use the Service to request, offer, or perform:

• Anything illegal, or work that requires a license the Worker does not hold.
• Work involving weapons, controlled substances, or hazardous materials without proper authorization.
• Surveillance, stalking, harassment, or collection of information about a person without their consent.
• Medical, dental, or other regulated personal services, or any work involving unsupervised minors.
• Deliveries or errands whose purpose is concealed, or that a reasonable person would find suspicious.
• Sexual services, or any content or conduct that is discriminatory or hateful.

You also may not:

• Misrepresent your identity, credentials, or the job.
• Move payment off the platform or ask the other party to.
• Scrape the Service, reverse engineer it, or access it other than through the interfaces we provide.
• Interfere with rate limits, approval requests, or spending controls.
• Use the Service to build a competing worker database.

Jobs and messages are screened automatically and may be reviewed by our team. We may hold, edit, or remove content and suspend or terminate accounts that break these rules, with or without notice.

You own the photos, descriptions, documents, and messages you upload. You give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store, process, display, and share that content as needed to run the Service: for example showing job photos to Workers, showing evidence photos to the Principal and their Agent, and using images to check that submitted work matches the job. We may use content in de-identified, aggregated form to improve matching, pricing estimates, and safety systems.

The Service itself, including our software, designs, and trademarks, belongs to Actuator or its licensors. Our API, SDKs, and job schema may be used under the license terms published with them.

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose, and any warranty about the quality, safety, legality, or timeliness of work performed by Workers, or the accuracy of estimates, rankings, AI-generated descriptions, and verification results. AI assistants can make mistakes. Read what your Agent proposes before you approve it, and set limits you are comfortable with.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Actuator and its officers, employees, and suppliers will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of the Service or from any work performed by a Worker. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim and $100. Some jurisdictions do not allow these limits, so they may not apply to you.

You agree to defend and indemnify Actuator against claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your content, your use of the Service, work you perform or request, actions taken by Agents you have authorized, or your breach of these Terms or of the law.

You may stop using the Service at any time and delete your account under Account in the app, or by writing to support@actuato.com. Open jobs and contracts must be completed, cancelled, or resolved first. We may suspend or terminate access for breach, suspected fraud, safety risk, or legal requirement. Sections that by their nature should survive (payments owed, content license, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnity, disputes, and governing law) continue after termination.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to conflict of law rules. Before filing a claim against Actuator, you agree to contact us and try in good faith to resolve it informally for 30 days. Claims that are not resolved must be brought in the state or federal courts located in Baltimore, Maryland, and you consent to their jurisdiction. Either party may seek relief in small claims court where eligible. To the extent permitted by law, claims must be brought individually and not as part of a class action.

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will post the new version here with a new effective date and, where we have your email, notify you at least 14 days before it takes effect. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the change. Each hire is governed by the version in force when it was made.

Actuator [entity type and state of formation to be confirmed]
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
support@actuato.com