Terms of Service

1. Definitions

• Artist— a tattoo professional who creates an account on INK'D to display work, receive briefs, send proposals, and accept bookings.
• Customer— a user who submits a brief, reviews proposals, and books a session with an Artist.
• Brief— the request for work submitted by a Customer, including style, placement, size, budget, timeline, and any descriptive content.
• Proposal— an Artist's response to a Brief with pricing, estimated hours, available sessions, and notes.
• Booking— a confirmed session created when a Customer accepts a Proposal and, if payments are active, pays the Deposit.
• Deposit— the portion of the quoted price paid at Booking, typically 50% of the Proposal price, intended to be applied to the Artist's payout at the Session.
• Session— the in-person appointment at which the Artist performs the tattoo work described in the accepted Proposal.
• Content— any material submitted to the Services, including text, images, reference photos, portfolio pieces, messages, and reviews.

2. Service Status (Beta)

INK'D is in active development. You should assume the Services are a public beta. In particular, at any given time:

• Features described in these Terms may not yet be active or may behave differently in production than described.
• Payment processing, Booking creation, and Artist payouts may be disabled in production. When those features are active, they will function as described in Sections 8 and 9. When they are not, no charges or payouts will occur regardless of what the interface appears to offer.
• Account content and Briefs are currently stored in your browser's local storage rather than on a server we operate. Clearing browser site data will remove that content.
• We do not currently send transactional email. Account-related notifications you would normally receive by email may not arrive until that capability is enabled.

We may introduce, modify, or remove features at any time and will update the Terms when material changes warrant it.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority where you live, whichever is greater) to create an account or book a Session. Tattooing minors is prohibited on the Services even where a parent or guardian is present. We do not currently verify age at signup; by using the Services, you represent that you meet these requirements, have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms, and are not barred from receiving the Services under applicable law.

4. Accounts

You are responsible for activity under your account. Because INK'D does not currently operate a server-side account system, your account records live in your browser; protect your device accordingly. You must provide accurate, current, and complete information and keep it up to date. We may refuse, suspend, or terminate access at our discretion, including for inaccurate information, impersonation, or suspected fraud.

5. Customers

Customers agree to:

• Provide accurate information in Briefs, including placement, size, and any relevant medical conditions that may affect safety.
• Review each Artist's stated policies, including cancellation, rescheduling, and deposit terms, before booking.
• Arrive on time, sober, and in good health for every Session, and follow the aftercare instructions provided by the Artist.
• Raise any disagreement about work, pricing, or scheduling through the Services rather than circumventing the platform.

6. Artists

Artists represent, warrant, and agree that:

• They hold all licenses, registrations, health-department permits, bloodborne-pathogen certifications, and insurance required to perform tattoo work in their jurisdiction, and will maintain them in good standing. INK'D does not currently collect or verify these credentials; the Artist alone is responsible for their accuracy.
• Their studio or practice location complies with applicable health and safety codes, including sterilization, single-use needle, and recordkeeping requirements.
• All portfolio content they upload is their original work or is lawfully licensed, and they have the right to display it on the Services.
• They will honor accepted Bookings as scheduled, communicate proactively if a change is unavoidable, and complete work to the standard described in the Proposal.
• They operate as independent professionals — not employees, partners, or agents of INK'D — and are solely responsible for the tattoo services they provide.

7. Briefs & Proposals

Customers submit Briefs; Artists respond with Proposals. A Proposal is an offer that remains open until the Customer accepts it, it is withdrawn by the Artist, or it expires. Accepting a Proposal — and, when payments are active, paying the Deposit — creates a Booking. Neither a Brief nor a Proposal alone creates a contract for services.

8. Bookings & Deposits

When payment features are active, at Booking you authorize INK'D and its payment processor to charge your payment method for the Deposit, typically 50% of the Proposal's quoted price unless otherwise stated. The Deposit is intended to be applied to the Artist's payout at the Session; the remaining balance is due at the Session unless the Artist's Proposal provides otherwise.

We may describe Deposits as being “held” while the Booking is pending. In practice, Deposits are processed through our payment provider's standard flow; whether funds are held in a formal escrow arrangement depends on our then-current payment architecture and the controls made available by our processor. We do not represent that any particular consumer-protection, escrow-law, or trust-account safeguard applies, except as expressly required by law.

9. Payments, Fees, Refunds

When payments are active, they are processed by Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates. INK'D charges a platform fee of 5% on each charge (applied separately to the Deposit and to any remaining balance), reduceable through the Referrals program in Section 11. You authorize the deduction of platform fees and applicable processing fees from amounts you pay. Stripe's own terms apply to the portions of the flow they handle.

Final price and remaining balance.After the Session, the Artist submits a final price reflecting the actual work performed. The final price may not be more than 10% below the original Proposal price. Any remaining balance (final price minus Deposit) is automatically charged to the Customer's payment method on file. If the final price equals the Deposit amount, no additional charge is made. INK'D's 5% platform fee is applied separately to both the Deposit and the remaining balance.

Cancellations and no-shows.Deposits are non-refundable except as expressly required by these Terms, the Artist's stated cancellation window, or applicable law. If an Artist cancels or fails to provide the booked Session through no fault of the Customer, the Customer is entitled to a full refund of the Deposit. We may use reasonable judgment to resolve disputes about completion, quality, or cancellation and to direct funds accordingly.

Chargebacks. You agree to contact us before initiating a chargeback so we can investigate. Chargebacks filed without first contacting us may result in suspension of your access to the Services.

Tips.After a completed Session, the Services may offer you the option to tip the Artist. Tips are voluntary. 100% of every tip goes to the Artist's connected payout account—INK'D does not charge a platform fee, commission, or any other deduction on tips. Payment-processor fees assessed by Stripe still apply. Tips are considered income to the Artist and may contribute to tax-reporting thresholds described in Section 10. INK'D does not determine, suggest, or enforce any minimum or maximum tip amount.

When payments are inactive.If payment endpoints are disabled, no charge will occur and no Booking will be created through the Services regardless of any appearance of a “paid” state in the interface. You should confirm in writing with the Artist before traveling for a Session.

10. Taxes

Artists are responsible for reporting and paying all taxes on amounts earned through the Services. INK'D may be required to issue earnings statements (e.g., IRS Form 1099-K or 1099-NEC) based on thresholds set by law. You agree to provide any tax information we reasonably request.

11. Referrals & Fee Ladder

Artists may reduce their platform fee by referring other Artists who become active on the Services. The tiered fee schedule is displayed in the dashboard and may change on a going-forward basis with notice. Customers who refer friends may earn booking credit subject to the terms posted in the Referrals section of the Services.

Current status. The Customer referral credit shown on the dashboard is currently illustrative and does not yet reflect real balances. Before relying on any Customer-side referral payout or credit, check the Services for an activation notice or contact us.

Referral rewards have no cash value, may not be combined in ways we do not authorize, and may be revoked if we detect fraud or abuse.

12. User Content & Image Rights

You retain ownership of the Content you submit. By submitting Content to the Services, you grant INK'D a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, adapt (for formatting and display), publicly display, and distribute that Content solely to operate, improve, and promote the Services. Because Content is currently stored on your device, this license applies only to Content we actually receive. This license continues for Content we have displayed or used in aggregated or de-identified form even after you delete your account, but we will stop new uses of your Content on request to legal@inkd.design.

Photo releases.Artists may request a Customer's permission to photograph completed work for portfolio use. Posting healed or final-work photos of an identifiable Customer requires that Customer's express permission. Customers may revoke permission for future use at any time.

Reference images.Customers are responsible for the reference images they upload. Do not upload images you do not have the right to share. Reference images are currently held only in the Customer's browser and are not transmitted to the Artist through the Services.

13. Intellectual Property / DMCA

INK'D, the INK'D marks, and the Services are protected by intellectual property laws. Except for your Content, we and our licensors own all rights in the Services.

If you believe Content on the Services infringes your copyright, send a notice that complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to dmca@inkd.design. Your notice must include: (a) your physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the copyrighted work; (c) identification of the infringing material and its URL; (d) your contact information; (e) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized; and (f) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf. We will respond in accordance with the DMCA and may terminate repeat infringers.

14. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Commit fraud, impersonation, or misrepresentation.
• Harass, threaten, or direct hate speech at any user.
• Upload Content that infringes intellectual property, publicity, or privacy rights.
• Upload designs that promote hate, unlawful violence, sexual content involving minors, or other prohibited material.
• Solicit off-platform transactions to circumvent booking fees or evade our consumer protections.
• Use the Services to promote unlicensed or unlawful tattoo work.
• Scrape, reverse engineer, interfere with, or overload the Services.
• Use automated tools to create accounts, submit Briefs, or spam messages.

15. Health, Safety, and Consent

Tattooing carries inherent risks, including pain, scarring, infection, allergic reaction, and variable long-term results. The Customer is responsible for disclosing relevant medical conditions to the Artist before the Session (for example, pregnancy, bleeding disorders, diabetes, skin conditions, or current medications). The Artist may decline to proceed if they reasonably believe doing so would be unsafe.

Before the Session, the Artist should present a consent form describing the procedure, risks, and aftercare. You are responsible for reading and signing that form in person. INK'D is not a medical provider and does not offer medical advice.

16. Platform Role

INK'D provides software that connects Customers and Artists. INK'D is not a party to the Session itself, does not perform tattoo work, does not inspect studios, and does not verify licenses, certifications, or insurance beyond what Artists represent. Artists are independent professionals. INK'D is not responsible for the quality or outcome of any Session, except to the extent expressly required by these Terms or applicable law.

17. Third-Party Services

The Services integrate with third-party providers, including Vercel (hosting), Stripe (payment processing and Connect onboarding, when active), PostHog (product analytics and session replay), and Photon / komoot.io (address and place autocomplete). Your interactions with those providers are governed by their own terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for third-party services, and your dealings with them are solely between you and the third party.

18. Suspension & Termination

You may stop using the Services at any time. To remove locally stored account content, log out and clear your browser's site data for this domain. We do not yet offer an in-product “delete account” control; if you want us to confirm or discuss any residual records held by our providers, contact legal@inkd.design.

We may suspend or terminate access for violations of these Terms, for safety reasons, to comply with law, or to protect the Services, with notice where practical. Sections intended to survive termination (including 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 26) will continue to apply.

19. Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

Informal resolution. Before filing a claim, you agree to contact us at legal@inkd.design and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 60 days.

Binding arbitration.If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, you and INK'D agree to resolve it by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration will take place in Travis County, Texas (or your county of residence if you request), and may be conducted by video conference. The arbitrator, not any court, has authority to decide the dispute, including issues of arbitrability.

Class action waiver. Disputes will be resolved on an individual basis only. You waive any right to participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative action. If any part of this waiver is held unenforceable, the remainder of Section 19 will still apply to the extent allowed.

Opt-out. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days of creating your account by sending written notice to legal@inkd.design. Claims for injunctive relief regarding intellectual property or for small-claims-court-eligible matters are excluded from arbitration.

20. Disclaimers

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, INK'D disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied, or statutory, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that any specific Artist or Customer will meet your needs.

21. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, INK'D and its affiliates, officers, employees, and licensors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenues, goodwill, data, or substitute services, arising out of or relating to the Services, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Our aggregate liability for any claim arising from or relating to the Services will not exceed the greater of (a) one hundred U.S. dollars (USD $100) or (b) the total amounts you paid us in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted.

22. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless INK'D and its affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to (a) your use of the Services, (b) your Content, (c) your breach of these Terms, (d) your violation of any law or third-party right, or (e) for Artists, the tattoo services you perform.

23. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Subject to Section 19, any claim not subject to arbitration must be brought in the state or federal courts located in Travis County, Texas, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.

24. Force Majeure

Neither party is responsible for failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, power or network outages, labor disputes, public health emergencies, or government action.

25. Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted with a new effective date. Because INK'D is under active development, expect these Terms to evolve as features turn on. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree to a change, you should stop using the Services.

26. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement.These Terms and the documents they reference are the entire agreement between you and INK'D regarding the Services and supersede any prior agreement on the same subject.
• Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right is not a waiver of that right.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent. We may assign them without notice as part of a merger, acquisition, or reorganization.
• Notices.We may provide notices through the Services or by any other reasonable means. Because we do not currently send transactional email, you should not rely on email notifications from INK'D for time-sensitive matters unless we have confirmed that capability is active.

27. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach out. For legal notices: INK'D, 600 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX 78701, USA — legal@inkd.design.