Acceptable Use Policy

1. Permitted Use

The Pitchd Platform may be accessed and used only for the following permitted purposes:

• By Consumers: to search for, discover, compare, and book Supplier services through the Platform in accordance with the Terms of Service.
• By Suppliers: to list services, manage Custom Storefronts and packages, receive and respond to Booking Requests, and receive payments through the Platform in accordance with the Terms of Service and Supplier Agreement.
• By all Suppliers and Consumers: to communicate through Platform messaging for the purpose of facilitating or managing bookings.
• By all Suppliers and Consumers: to submit reviews, manage accounts, and access Platform features made available to that account type.

Any access or use of the Pitchd Platform that falls outside these permitted purposes is prohibited unless expressly authorised in writing by Pitchd.

2. Technical Misuse

The following technical activities are strictly prohibited. This section is the primary technical misuse framework for the Pitchd Platform. These prohibitions apply to all persons and systems, including Suppliers, Consumers, third parties, and automated systems acting on behalf of any person.

2.1 Unauthorised Access and System Interference

• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Pitchd Platform, including restricted areas, administrative interfaces, databases, server infrastructure, or other systems.
• Conducting security testing, penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, or any form of security assessment of the Platform without Pitchd's prior written authorisation.
• Attempting to exploit, probe, or test any vulnerability in the Platform's security systems, authentication mechanisms, or access controls.
• Interfering with or disrupting the operation, availability, or performance of the Platform, including through denial of service attacks, resource exhaustion, or any other means.
• Attempting to bypass, circumvent, disable, or defeat any security control, authentication system, access restriction, rate limit, or other technical protection measure on the Platform.
• Introducing malware, viruses, ransomware, trojans, worms, spyware, or any other malicious code into the Platform or any system connected to it.
• Attempting to intercept, monitor, or interfere with communications, data transmissions, or network traffic associated with the Platform.

2.2 Account and Credential Abuse

• Creating accounts using false, misleading, or fabricated identity information.
• Creating multiple accounts for the same individual or business without Pitchd's prior written authorisation.
• Credential stuffing — using lists of compromised credentials to attempt to gain access to accounts.
• Account takeover attempts — attempting to gain access to another Supplier's or Consumer's account by any means.
• Sharing account credentials with third parties or permitting others to access the Platform using your account.
• Creating automated accounts, bot accounts, or accounts operated by automated systems without Pitchd's prior written authorisation.
• Impersonating another Supplier, Consumer, business, or Pitchd itself through account creation or use.

2.3 Scraping, Harvesting, and Automated Extraction

Suppliers and Consumers must not use automated systems, bots, AI agents, scraping tools, web crawlers, data extraction scripts, or any other technology to harvest, extract, reproduce, analyse, or replicate Pitchd data, Supplier information, marketplace insights, or Platform content without Pitchd's prior written consent. This prohibition applies regardless of the technical method used and regardless of whether the data is publicly visible on the Platform.

Specifically prohibited activities include:

• Scraping Custom Storefronts, listings, packages, pricing, or contact information from the Platform by automated means.
• Harvesting Consumer data, booking data, review data, or any other account data from the Platform.
• Extracting, copying, or replicating the Pitchd Supplier database or any substantial part of it.
• Using automated tools to collect marketplace intelligence, demand data, pricing trends, or Platform analytics.
• Extracting or harvesting data generated by Pitchd's AI systems, recommendation engines, trust scores, or demand forecasting tools.
• Systematically downloading or caching Platform content beyond what is reasonably necessary for normal use of the Platform.
• Using browser automation tools, headless browsers, or similar technologies to interact with the Platform at scale.

2.4 Reverse Engineering and Platform Replication

• Reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise attempting to derive the source code, algorithms, or underlying logic of any part of the Pitchd Platform.
• Attempting to replicate, clone, or create a substantially similar platform, marketplace, or service using data, structures, designs, or insights derived from the Pitchd Platform.
• Copying, reproducing, or extracting the Platform's database structure, category architecture, package framework, or other proprietary structural elements.
• Using the Platform to gather competitive intelligence for the purpose of building a competing marketplace or service.

3. Platform Integrity

The integrity of the Pitchd marketplace — including its search results, review system, booking flow, promotional systems, and AI-powered features — is a shared resource that every Supplier and Consumer depends on. The following activities undermine that integrity and are strictly prohibited.

3.1 Manipulation of Search and Discovery

• Artificially inflating search rankings, Custom Storefront views, or discovery metrics through automated traffic, click farms, or other artificial means.
• Using keywords, tags, categories, or descriptions in a misleading way designed to manipulate search results rather than accurately describe the service.
• Coordinating with other Suppliers to artificially boost each other's search placement or Custom Storefront metrics.
• Generating artificial traffic to Custom Storefronts to manipulate performance data or algorithmic placement.

3.2 Review and Rating Manipulation

• Using automated systems, bots, or scripts to generate, submit, or manipulate reviews or ratings.
• Coordinating with other parties to submit fake positive reviews for your own Custom Storefront or fake negative reviews for a competitor's Custom Storefront.
• Using multiple accounts to submit reviews for the same Listing.
• Any form of review manipulation not already addressed in the Review Policy and Content Policy.

3.3 Abuse of Promotional and Referral Systems

• Creating fake accounts, fake bookings, or fake referrals to exploit promotions, referral programs, discounts, or other incentives offered by Pitchd.
• Using automated systems to claim promotional offers multiple times.
• Exploiting pricing errors, system glitches, or unintended promotional configurations to obtain a financial benefit not intended by Pitchd.
• Coordinating with other parties to systematically exploit referral or promotional programs.

3.4 Abuse of AI and Automated Features

• Using automated systems or AI agents to interact with Pitchd's AI features in a way designed to manipulate outputs, extract training data, or probe system behaviour.
• Attempting to reverse engineer, extract, or replicate Pitchd's AI models, recommendation algorithms, trust scoring systems, or demand forecasting outputs.
• Submitting inputs to Pitchd's AI systems designed to cause them to produce harmful, misleading, or policy-violating outputs.
• Using Pitchd's AI-generated outputs for commercial purposes outside the Platform without Pitchd's prior written consent.

3.5 Booking System Circumvention

• Attempting to circumvent the Pitchd booking flow, payment system, or fee structure through technical means.
• Using technical methods to bypass the request-to-book flow, payment capture process, or booking confirmation system.
• Exploiting technical vulnerabilities to confirm bookings, release payouts, or obtain refunds outside the normal Platform process.

4. Intellectual Property and Data Protection

4.1 Pitchd's Proprietary Assets

The following are proprietary assets of Pitchd and are protected by Australian and international intellectual property law:

• The Pitchd Platform technology, software, code, and architecture.
• The Pitchd brand, trademarks, logos, and visual identity.
• The Pitchd Supplier database, including its compilation, structure, organisation and proprietary Platform-generated data.
• Pitchd's category architecture, package framework, and marketplace structure.
• Pitchd's AI models, algorithms, recommendation engines, trust scoring systems, and demand forecasting tools.
• Pitchd's marketplace intelligence, analytics, and aggregated platform data.
• Custom Storefront descriptions, layouts, and other content created by Pitchd during managed onboarding.

Suppliers and Consumers must not copy, reproduce, distribute, sell, license, or exploit any of Pitchd's proprietary assets without Pitchd's prior written consent.

4.2 Unauthorised Commercial Use of Platform Data

Suppliers and Consumers must not use data obtained from the Pitchd Platform — including Supplier information, pricing data, review data, or marketplace intelligence — for any commercial purpose outside their permitted use of the Platform. This includes selling, licensing, or distributing Platform data to third parties, incorporating Platform data into competing products or services, and using Platform data to build, train, or improve AI systems or other technology without Pitchd's prior written consent.

4.3 Supplier- and Consumer-Owned Content

Suppliers and Consumers retain ownership of content they create and submit to the Platform, subject to the content licences granted to Pitchd under the Terms of Service, Supplier Agreement, and Content Policy. Suppliers and Consumers must not reproduce, copy, or commercially exploit the content of other Suppliers or Consumers without their consent.

5. API Access

Pitchd does not currently provide a public API. Any API access provided by Pitchd in the future will be subject to separate terms, rate limits, access controls, authentication requirements, and usage restrictions determined by Pitchd from time to time.

Until Pitchd expressly makes an API available and grants access to a specific party, the following apply:

• No person or system may access the Pitchd Platform programmatically except through the standard web interface made available to all users.
• No person or system may use automated scripts, tools, or software to interact with the Platform at a rate or in a manner that is inconsistent with normal human use.
• No person or system may attempt to access any undocumented endpoint, API, or data feed associated with the Platform.

When Pitchd introduces API access, Pitchd reserves the right to:

• Grant or deny API access at its sole discretion.
• Apply rate limits, request caps, and usage quotas.
• Require authentication tokens, API keys, or other access credentials.
• Monitor API usage and revoke access where usage breaches API terms or this AUP.
• Charge for API access where Pitchd determines this is appropriate.
• Modify or discontinue API access at any time with reasonable notice.

6. Security Reporting

Pitchd takes the security of the Platform seriously. If you identify a genuine security vulnerability in the Pitchd Platform, we encourage responsible disclosure. Contact Pitchd at support@pitchd.com.au with a description of the vulnerability, the potential impact, and any steps required to reproduce it. Do not exploit the vulnerability, access data belonging to other Suppliers or Consumers, or disclose the vulnerability publicly before Pitchd has had a reasonable opportunity to investigate and address it.

Pitchd does not currently operate a formal bug bounty program. Responsible disclosure does not authorise any security testing, scanning, or probing of the Platform beyond identifying and reporting the specific vulnerability. Any testing beyond this remains a breach of this AUP.

7. Consequences for Breach

Breach of this AUP is a breach of the Terms of Service and may result in immediate account suspension or termination, referral to relevant authorities, and civil or criminal liability. Serious or repeated breaches may constitute a material breach. Depending on the nature, severity, and circumstances of the breach, Pitchd may take any one or more of the following actions:

Pitchd reserves the right to take immediate action without prior notice for serious or critical breaches. Pitchd may also seek injunctive relief, damages, and any other remedy available under Australian law for breaches of this AUP that cause or threaten to cause harm to Pitchd, its Suppliers and Consumers, or its proprietary assets.

Where a breach of this AUP may constitute a criminal offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), the Cybercrime Act 2001 (Cth), or any other applicable law, Pitchd may refer the matter to the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Cyber Security Centre, or other relevant authorities.

8. Relationship to Other Policies

This AUP is the primary technical misuse document in the Pitchd policy suite. It should be read alongside:

• Terms of Service — the master agreement governing all Platform use.
• Content Policy — governing the content Suppliers and Consumers submit to the Platform.
• Community Standards — governing behavioural conduct on the Platform.
• Off-Platform Policy — governing transactions and contact outside the Platform.
• Privacy Policy — governing the collection, use, and protection of personal information.

Where this AUP and another policy both address the same conduct, both apply and Pitchd may take action under either or both.

9. Changes to This Policy

Pitchd may update this Acceptable Use Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, platform capabilities, applicable law, or emerging misuse patterns. Where a change is material, Pitchd will provide reasonable notice by email or through the Platform where appropriate. The current version of this policy is always available on the Pitchd Platform.

10. Contact

For any questions about this Acceptable Use Policy, to report a suspected breach, or to make a responsible security disclosure, contact Pitchd support at support@pitchd.com.au. Pitchd Holdings Pty Ltd (ABN: 27 700 271 174), Level 1/100 Overton Road, Williams Landing, 3027. This Acceptable Use Policy is governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia.