TERMS OF SERVICE
Effective Date: 2026-03-01
These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) constitute a binding agreement between Pudding (“Pudding,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) and the individual or entity that creates an account or otherwise uses the Service (“you” or “User”). By accessing or using the Service, you accept these Terms. If you do not agree, do not access or use the Service.
1. Definitions
“Service” means Pudding’s online software‑as‑a‑service platform and related websites, applications, APIs, tools, documentation, and support.
“Organization” means a multi‑user business account within the Service, administered by one or more Authorized Users.
“Hirer” means a User acting on behalf of an Organization to evaluate Candidates for internships, contract roles, or employment as part of the Organization’s internal hiring, assessment, or talent‑selection processes.
“Candidate” means a User who participates in an Engagement to submit Deliverables for evaluation.
“Concert” means a time‑limited assessment campaign within the Service in which a Hirer invites or permits a defined number of Candidates to submit competing Deliverables in response to the same Deliverable Guidelines, subject to the applicable Proofs.
“Deliverable Guidelines” means Hirer‑authored, high‑level guidance specifying the format, submission requirements, constraints, and evaluation objectives applicable to a Deliverable, including where required the expected medium, file type, or platform for submission, but excluding any prescription of methods, processes, sequencing, supervision, hours, or manner of performance.
“Proofs” means the rules governing a Concert, including the number and sequence of stages, the compensation payable for each stage, the applicable Deliverable Guidelines for each stage, and any acceptance or evaluation criteria specified by the Hirer.
“Engagement” means the relationship between a single Candidate and a single Concert, representing that Candidate’s participation in that Concert, including the applicable stages, Deliverables, Deliverable Guidelines, Proofs, and compensation per stage. Each Candidate–Concert pairing constitutes a separate Engagement.
“Credits” means prepaid units purchased by an Organization and deducted to pay Pudding fees and Candidate compensation as described herein.
“Customer Data” means content, files, data, and materials submitted to or generated within the Service by or for you.
“Deliverables” means any work product submitted by a Candidate via prescribed channels in an Engagement.
2. Account Registration and Security
You must be at least 21 years of age and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activities under your account. We may reject, reclaim, or require changes to account identifiers at our discretion.
2.1 Verification. We may require identity, organizational, tax, and sanctions screening (including KYC/OFAC). Failure to timely provide information or maintain accurate details is grounds for suspension or termination.
2.2 Organizations; Access Controls; IAM Responsibility. Each Organization is solely responsible for configuring and maintaining its internal access controls, including designating administrators, assigning roles and permissions, inviting and removing Authorized Users, and ensuring that access rights accurately reflect each user’s responsibilities. You are responsible for all actions taken through accounts you create, invite, or authorize, and for maintaining appropriate security practices, including credential hygiene and least‑privilege access. Pudding does not monitor, audit, or manage Organization‑level identity and access management (“IAM”) settings and shall have no liability for unauthorized access, misuse, or data exposure arising from an Organization’s IAM configuration or user management decisions.
2.3 Dual Roles. You acknowledge that a single User account may act as both a Hirer and a Candidate at different times or in different contexts. The rights, obligations, and terms applicable to a “Hirer” apply to you strictly when you are administering an Organization, creating a Concert, or evaluating Deliverables. The rights, obligations, and terms applicable to a “Candidate” apply to you strictly when you are participating in an Engagement or submitting Deliverables. Your status at any given time is determined by your active conduct and the specific feature of the Service you are utilizing.
3. Relationship of the Parties
The Service facilitates pre‑hire assessment workflows conducted by Organizations between Hirers and Candidates. Pudding supports assessment in a hiring context but does not participate in, control, direct, supervise, or influence hiring decisions, work methods, or performance. Pudding is not an employer, joint employer, employment agency, recruiter, broker, or agent; no employment, contractor, joint‑venture, partnership, or agency relationship is created or implied between Pudding and any Candidate or Hirer by virtue of the Service or these Terms. Decisions regarding hiring, compensation outside the Service, classification, supervision, and termination are solely the responsibility of Hirers and their Organizations.
4. Fees and Payment Terms
4.1 Prepayment. Organizations must maintain a valid billing account and pre‑purchase Credits. Credits are applied to (a) Candidate compensation per Engagement stage and (b) Pudding fees.
4.2 Committed and Disbursed Credits Non‑Refundable. Credits that have been committed to an active Concert (held in reserve) or that have been disbursed as compensation to Candidates (and applicable Fees) are non‑refundable. Once Credits are allocated to a Concert or Engagement, such allocation is final and non‑refundable under any circumstances, including cancellation, rejection, non‑use of Deliverables, dissatisfaction with results, or termination of an Engagement.
4.3 Taxes; Credit Deductions. Fees are exclusive of taxes, which you will pay as required by law. By maintaining a balance of Credits, you authorize us to automatically deduct Credits to satisfy (a) Candidate compensation and (b) Pudding fees as they accrue, including per‑stage milestones, Candidate submissions of Deliverables, and metered usage. Applicable taxes are assessed at the time of each deduction. If your Credit balance is insufficient, we may suspend initiation or progression of Engagements until replenished.
4.4 Credits Administration; Concert Reserves. Credits may expire after 12 months if unused. Organizations are not required to maintain a general minimum Credit balance; however, prior to the launch of any Concert, the Organization must possess sufficient Credits to cover the total maximum potential compensation and Fees associated with that Concert (the “Reserve”). Pudding will restrict, hold, or deduct the Reserve upon the creation or launch of a Concert. You may not launch a Concert without a sufficient Reserve.
4.5 Set‑Off; Chargebacks; Administrative Fees; Interest. We may set off any amounts you owe (including chargebacks, reversals, fines, penalties, costs, or adjustments) against your Credit balance or future purchases and may invoice any shortfall due within 15 days. You agree not to initiate or support any chargeback, reversal, or dispute with your payment provider for Credits deducted in connection with Candidate compensation or Pudding’s fees based on such compensation. If you do so, we may immediately suspend or terminate your account, assess a reasonable administrative and investigation fee of not less than US $250 per incident to cover costs incurred, and recover the disputed amounts, including through collections or legal action, in addition to any other remedies available under these Terms or at law. Any unpaid amounts will accrue interest at the rate of 1.5% per month (or the maximum rate permitted by law, if lower), compounded monthly, from the due date until paid in full.
4.6 Payouts to Candidates; Taxes.
(a) Payout Method. Remittance of compensation to Candidates is processed through a third-party payment provider selected by Pudding (e.g., Stripe). Candidates must maintain a valid account with such provider to receive funds.
(b) Tax Documentation. As a condition of receiving payment, Candidates must provide accurate tax documentation (e.g., W-9 or W-8BEN) as required by law. Pudding may withhold payouts indefinitely until such documentation is received and verified. Candidates are solely responsible for reporting and paying all taxes on income received.
(c) Net Amount. The compensation amount specified in the Proofs is the net amount payable to the Candidate. Pudding or the Organization shall bear standard transaction or platform fees associated with the payout, excluding any fees charged by the Candidate's own bank or financial institution for receipt of funds.
(d) Timing. Payouts are generally initiated within 30 days of the conclusion of the applicable Concert, subject to successful processing by the payment provider.
(e) Unclaimed Funds; Forfeiture. If a Candidate fails to provide valid payment information (including connecting a payment account) or required tax documentation within 180 days of the funds becoming payable, the Candidate shall be deemed to have waived their right to such compensation. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, such unclaimed funds will be forfeited and revert to Pudding, or otherwise be handled in accordance with applicable unclaimed property laws.
5. Service Operations and Workflow
5.1 Clarity of Scope; Relevance. Hirer will provide clear, good‑faith Deliverable Guidelines for each stage and will not design tasks that are misleading, exploitative, or unrelated to the role or assessment for which Candidates are being evaluated. Deliverable Guidelines may define required formats or submission media but will not prescribe methods, supervision, direction, hours, schedules, or manner of performance. Deliverable Guidelines must rely solely on information provided within the Service or publicly accessible content available at no cost. Candidates are informed of the number of participating Candidates in a Concert upon login.
5.2 Candidate Sourcing. Hirers may (a) invite Candidates with whom they have a pre‑existing relationship to participate in the Service, and/or (b) permit Candidates to join Concerts via Pudding‑hosted URLs, including URLs embedded in or derived from Hirer job postings or career pages. Pudding does not source, recruit, supply, or contribute Candidates independent of these channels and makes no representations regarding Candidate availability, quality, or suitability.
5.3 Compensation Minimums; No Rejections. Subject to the submission requirements in Section 5.10, all Deliverables are compensated. Hirer must set compensation reasonably expected to equal or exceed US $40 per expected hour of work, as estimated by the Hirer in good faith. Hirer acknowledges that compensation is owed for every Deliverable submitted through the prescribed channels of the Service, regardless of quality, completeness, accuracy, or relevance. Hirer bears the sole responsibility for pre-vetting Candidates before inviting them to a Concert. Hirers may not reject, void, or withhold compensation for a Deliverable based on its content or quality. Pudding may enforce, update, or publish minimums prospectively in its discretion.
5.4 Proofs; Binding Nature. Upon the launch of a Concert or Engagement, the applicable Proofs constitute a binding offer and a fixed set of rules that may not be unilaterally modified, revoked, or amended by the Hirer. Hirer represents and warrants that all Proofs, including compensation structures and Deliverable Guidelines, are accurate, complete, and finalized prior to launch. Pudding shall have no liability for errors, omissions, or ambiguities in the Proofs as defined by the Hirer, and Hirer bears all responsibility for the accuracy of such Proofs at launch.
5.5 Concurrency Limits. Pudding reserves the right to limit, cap, suspend, or throttle (a) the number of active or concurrent Concerts an Organization or Hirer may conduct at any time, and (b) the number of simultaneous or concurrent Engagements in which a Candidate may participate, in each case based on capacity, integrity, risk, fairness, abuse prevention, operational, or other business considerations. Such limits may be applied dynamically, prospectively, or retroactively and may vary by plan, usage patterns, or other criteria determined by Pudding in its discretion.
5.6 Platform Communications with Candidates. Pudding may communicate directly with Candidates during and after their participation in the Service, including on an identified (non‑anonymous) basis, for purposes including, without limitation: troubleshooting and support; platform operations; security or integrity issues; compliance with law; collecting feedback, conducting interviews, or administering surveys regarding the Service; inquiring about employment, engagement, or career outcomes (including whether a Candidate was hired, engaged, or advanced by a Hirer); and assessing aggregate or individual outcomes related to Candidates’ career progression or engagements originating from Hirers that invited them to the Service. Such communications do not create any agency, employment, recruiting, placement, or representative relationship between Pudding and any Candidate, do not obligate Pudding to introduce, recommend, or place Candidates with any Hirer, and do not restrict Pudding from communicating independently with Candidates.
5.7 Quorum; Withholding; Presentation Order. To preserve anonymity, fairness, and platform integrity, Pudding may withhold, delay, batch, or reorder the presentation of Deliverables, including until a minimum number of Deliverables or Participants (a “quorum”) is reached. In Concerts, Deliverables may be presented simultaneously or in anonymized groupings, without regard to the order or timing of submission or invitation. Users acknowledge that no Hirer or Candidate is entitled to immediate display, review, or evaluation of any Deliverable, and that submission timestamps, invitation timing, and sequencing may be obscured or withheld as part of the Service. Pudding shall have no liability for any delay, withholding, batching, or presentation mechanics implemented to prevent inference of identity or otherwise support anonymity.
5.8 No Expense Reimbursement; Candidate Responsibility for Tools.
(a) Restrictions on Hirer (No Expenses). Hirer shall not design Deliverable Guidelines or Proofs that require Candidates to incur out-of-pocket expenses, pay application fees, subscribe to third-party services, or travel to complete a Deliverable.
(b) Candidate Responsibility (BYO-Tools). Candidates are solely responsible for providing, selecting, and maintaining all equipment, software, and tools required to complete Deliverables. Candidates represent that they possess the necessary tools to participate in an Engagement prior to joining.
(c) All-Inclusive Compensation. Candidates acknowledge and agree that the compensation provided for each Stage is all-inclusive. Candidates are solely responsible for all costs and expenses incurred in connection with their participation in the Service, including but not limited to internet access, hardware, software licenses, and overhead. Candidates are not entitled to reimbursement for any expenses from Pudding or the Organization.
5.9 Platform Integrity; Sham Submissions. While Hirers are obligated to compensate all submissions as set forth in Section 5.3, Pudding reserves the right to monitor the Service for “Sham Submissions” (Deliverables that are blank, corrupted, gibberish, or wholly irrelevant to the Deliverable Guidelines). Submission of Sham Submissions constitutes a material breach of the Acceptable Use Policy. Pudding may, in its sole discretion, permanently ban or suspend a Candidate’s account and verified identity (as tracked by third-party payment providers) from the Service based on a pattern or single instance of Sham Submissions. Such bans are administrative measures to protect the integrity of the Service and apply prospectively; they do not relieve the Hirer of the obligation to pay for the specific Engagement in which the Sham Submission occurred unless otherwise required by law.
5.10 Prescribed Submission Channels. To be eligible for compensation, Candidates must submit Deliverables exclusively through the designated submission interfaces and workflows provided within the Pudding platform. Pudding does not accept, and will not process or pay for, Deliverables submitted through any other means, including but not limited to email, support tickets, chat applications, social media, or physical mail. Any such external submissions or related requests for compensation will be ignored, and the Candidate will not be compensated for that work. Candidates bear the sole risk of non-payment for any work product not submitted through the Service’s prescribed platform channels.
6. Intellectual Property Rights
6.1 Candidate Ownership; No Assignment. Candidates retain all right, title, and interest in and to their Deliverables at all times, including all intellectual property rights. No assignment, transfer, or work‑made‑for‑hire relationship applies, whether by submission, display, evaluation, acceptance, or payment through the Service. Hirers do not acquire ownership of Deliverables under these Terms.
6.2 Hirer Assessment License. Hirers are granted only a limited, non‑exclusive, non‑transferable, non‑sublicensable, royalty‑free license to access, copy, display, and retain Deliverables solely for internal evaluation and assessment purposes in connection with the applicable Engagement or Concert. No production use, commercialization, publication, distribution, derivative use, or exploitation is permitted under any circumstances.
6.3 Expiration of Assessment License. The assessment license in §6.2 automatically terminates upon completion or termination of the applicable Engagement or Concert, except that Hirers may retain archival copies solely for legal, audit, or recordkeeping purposes, subject to continuing confidentiality obligations.
6.4 Background IP. Candidate’s pre‑existing intellectual property incorporated into Deliverables is not assigned or licensed beyond what is strictly necessary to exercise the assessment license in §6.2.
6.5 No Off‑Platform IP Facilitation. Any intellectual property assignment, license expansion, or transfer between a Candidate and a Hirer occurs, if at all, entirely outside the Service and without involvement by Pudding. Pudding does not draft, enforce, record, validate, or broker any such agreements and disclaims all responsibility and liability arising from them.
6.6 Unauthorized Use by Hirers; No Platform Liability. Any use of a Deliverable by a Hirer outside the scope of the assessment license in §6.2—including any production use, commercial exploitation, internal deployment, publication, or derivative use—constitutes unauthorized use solely attributable to the Hirer. Pudding does not authorize, participate in, benefit from, or have control over such use and shall have no liability for any claims, damages, or disputes arising from it. Hirers will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pudding from and against any claims arising out of or related to any alleged or actual unauthorized use of Deliverables.
6.7 Residual Knowledge. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 6, Hirer shall not be prohibited from using any general knowledge, skills, techniques, ideas, concepts, or know-how retained in the unaided memory of Hirer’s personnel who have had access to the Deliverables (“Residuals”), provided that this Section 6.7 does not grant Hirer any license to copy, reproduce, or modify the distinct expression or tangible form of the Deliverables, nor does it affect Hirer’s obligations regarding Confidential Information or valid patent or copyright restrictions.
7. Platform License and Data Rights
7.1 License to Pudding (Hosting; Operation; Improvement). You grant Pudding a worldwide, non‑exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty‑free license to host, process, transmit, display, reproduce, and otherwise use Customer Data and Deliverables solely to provide, secure, operate, maintain, analyze, and improve the Service; to comply with law; and to prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents. We may request separate permission to use anonymized excerpts in marketing; you are not obligated to grant such permission.
7.2 Service Data; Telemetry. We may collect and use de‑identified, aggregated, or technical telemetry about use of the Service to maintain, secure, and improve the Service and to develop new features.
7.3 Goodwill Badges; Marks; Approval. Pudding may, in its discretion, create, prescribe, award, or revoke badges, marks, designations, widgets, or similar indicators of participation or achievement within the Service (collectively, “Goodwill Badges”), including badges based on assessment outcomes, hiring activity, or other criteria determined by Pudding. All Goodwill Badges are the exclusive property of Pudding and may constitute protected trademarks, service marks, trade dress, or copyrighted works, including embedded scripts or code snippets.
Subject to Pudding’s prior written approval, a Hirer may display approved Goodwill Badges solely in the form and manner expressly authorized by Pudding, and solely to accurately represent the status or achievement conferred. No license is granted by implication, estoppel, or otherwise. Pudding may condition, limit, suspend, or revoke permission to display any Goodwill Badge at any time, including upon misuse, misrepresentation, or changes in eligibility. Hirers will not modify, obscure, re‑host, sublicense, or combine Goodwill Badges with other marks or claims without Pudding’s express written consent.
7.4 Feedback. If you provide us with any feedback, suggestions, feature requests, or comments regarding the Service (“Feedback”), you hereby grant Pudding a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, modify, and incorporate such Feedback into the Service and for any other purpose, without restriction or compensation to you.
8. User Representations and Warranties
8.1 Originality. Candidate represents and warrants that the Deliverables are original to Candidate (or lawfully licensed), do not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any third‑party rights, and comply with all applicable laws.
8.2 Tools and AI. Candidate represents that any tools, platforms, or technologies (including AI) used to create Deliverables are properly licensed and that Deliverables do not include third‑party confidential information or regulated data. Except as expressly required by Deliverable Guidelines for format or submission compatibility, Candidates retain sole discretion over the methods, techniques, processes, tools, timing, and manner of performance used to produce Deliverables, without supervision or direction from Pudding or the Hirer. Candidate will disclose any material AI‑generated components upon Hirer’s reasonable request.
8.3 Independent Business Entity. Candidate represents and warrants that by accessing the Service and participating in any Engagement, they are expressly operating as a sole proprietor. Candidate affirms that they possess an existing, established skillset, trade, or profession corresponding to the Deliverables they choose to submit. Candidate agrees that their use of the Service to accept compensated Engagements constitutes a non-exclusive commercial offering of those professional skills to the market as an independent business. Candidate assumes all responsibilities and liabilities associated with operating an independent business, including, without limitation, the obligation to obtain and maintain any local business licenses, tax registrations, or permits required by their jurisdiction to provide such professional services.
9. Acceptable Use Policy
9.1 Prohibited Conduct. You will not: violate law; submit unlawful, hateful, violent, pornographic, or otherwise prohibited content; engage in reverse engineering or security circumvention; scrape, rate‑limit evade, or interfere with the Service; misrepresent identity; or use the Service for high‑risk activities without written consent. You will not solicit Deliverables for the purpose of designing, developing, benchmarking, or training candidate assessment platforms, hiring automation tools, or merit-based evaluation systems (i.e., using the Service to build a competing product).
9.2 Anonymity; No Circumvention; No Early Disclosure. Hirers and Candidates must comply with the Service’s anonymity mechanisms. Both Hirers and Candidates are prohibited from attempting to circumvent, bypass, defeat, or undermine anonymity features, including by direct or indirect identification attempts, metadata analysis, out‑of‑band signaling, self‑identification, solicitation of identifying information, or use of third‑party services to infer identity. Hirers have no right to obtain, request, or receive Candidate identities or identifying information before completion of a Concert or other anonymity‑protected evaluation phase, and Pudding may refuse any such request in its sole discretion. Candidates will not include personally identifying information in Deliverables or communications intended to remain anonymous.
9.3 No Off‑Platform Contact. Direct communications between Hirers and Candidates regarding an ongoing Engagement outside the Service are prohibited unless and until Pudding’s workflow authorizes such contact.
9.4 Platform Integrity; Abuse and Intrusion Detection. Creating or coordinating multiple accounts, seeding sham Engagements, artificially inflating metrics, attempting to infer identities, interfering with security controls, or otherwise gaming, abusing, or manipulating the Service is prohibited. Pudding may monitor, investigate, and deploy automated or manual systems to detect suspected abuse, intrusion attempts, fraud, manipulation, or security threats. We may cancel affected Engagements or Concerts, void Deliverable ownership transfers, claw back Credits where permitted, and immediately suspend or terminate accounts without notice or refund if we determine, in our sole discretion, that such activity has occurred or is reasonably suspected.
9.5 Equal Opportunity; Accessibility; Civil Rights Compliance Notice. Users will not design or administer Engagements or Concerts that discriminate on protected bases or violate applicable accessibility, civil rights, or anti‑discrimination laws (including, where applicable, disability access requirements). Hirers and Candidates are responsible for promptly notifying Pudding if they become aware of any content, Deliverable Guidelines, Proofs, workflows, or conduct that may be non‑compliant with accessibility, civil rights, or similar laws, so that Pudding may investigate and take appropriate action. Failure to provide timely notice may limit or preclude available remedies. We may remove, suspend, or modify affected Engagements or Concerts, or take other actions as required to address compliance concerns.
9.6 API Access. Access tokens are personal and confidential. We may impose or modify rate limits and revoke keys for security or abuse. You will not benchmark or replicate the API to compete with the Service.
9.7 Anonymity Enforcement. Any circumvention or attempted circumvention of anonymity mechanisms by a Hirer or a Candidate constitutes a material breach of these Terms. Without limiting other remedies, we may terminate the applicable Engagement or Concert, suspend or terminate accounts, forfeit Credits for the stage, void Deliverable ownership transfers where permitted by law, and assess a US $1,000 administrative fee.
10. Content Management and Storage
We are not an archival service and do not guarantee storage or continued availability of any Customer Data or Deliverables. We may remove content at any time for any reason, including breach of these Terms, legal demand, or operational necessity. You are responsible for exporting or backing up your content.
10.1 Deliverable Transmission; Fidelity; Stamping. Pudding will use commercially reasonable, good‑faith efforts to transmit and present Deliverables to Hirers in substantially the same form as submitted by Candidates. However, Pudding does not warrant or guarantee flawless, bit‑for‑bit replication, perfect fidelity, or absence of formatting, rendering, encoding, metadata, or transmission differences across systems, devices, or formats.
Pudding reserves the right to apply visible or invisible stamps, watermarks, fingerprints, hashes, identifiers, metadata modifications, or other technical markers to Deliverables for purposes including attribution, integrity verification, auditability, security, abuse prevention, rights management, anonymity enforcement, or platform operations. Such measures do not alter ownership rights under §6 and do not constitute modification or creation of derivative works for purposes of acceptance, compensation, or evaluation.
11. Confidentiality
Nonpublic information disclosed through the Service, including prompts, briefs, evaluation materials, and anonymized workflows, is Confidential. The recipient will use it solely for the Engagement and protect it with reasonable care. Breach may cause irreparable harm; injunctive relief is available without bond.
12. Data Privacy and Security
We implement commercially reasonable technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the risk. No system is perfectly secure; you acknowledge residual risk. Pudding uses third‑party service providers and subprocessors to operate, secure, analyze, and support the Service (including payment processing, infrastructure hosting, analytics, logging, and customer communications), as described in the Privacy Policy, which may be updated from time to time. Our processing of personal data is described in our Privacy Policy located at pudding.work/privacy.
12.1 Data Residency; United States. The Service is operated with data storage and processing located in the United States. Customer Data, Candidate data, Deliverables, logs, and related metadata are stored and processed in the U.S. We do not offer data localization, regional storage, or residency options at this time. If you require data to be stored or processed outside the United States, you must not use the Service. Hirers are solely responsible for evaluating and complying with any data‑residency, cross‑border‑transfer, or localization requirements applicable to their use of the Service and for informing Candidates of these facts before inviting them to participate.
12.2 Candidate Data Sharing with Hirers. Pudding may disclose and share personal data and account metadata associated with Candidates to Hirers after the completion of a Concert or Engagement, or after a Candidate’s participation in the Service generally, including, without limitation: email addresses; internal or external user identifiers; usernames, handles, or nicknames; contact or account identifiers associated with third‑party or social media services that a Candidate has provided or connected in connection with a Concert or Engagement; and limited identity or verification information received from third‑party verification providers (such as full legal name returned through identity verification services). Such disclosures may be made for purposes including hiring, follow‑up communications, recordkeeping, compliance, attribution, and assessment of outcomes.
Candidates acknowledge and agree that anonymity applies only during the evaluation phases designated by the Service and does not restrict post‑completion or post‑participation disclosures described in this Section. Hirers are solely responsible for their use, processing, and compliance obligations with respect to any personal data received from Pudding.
12.3 Data Processing Addendum. Where Customer Data includes personal data, the parties agree to the Data Processing Addendum at pudding.work, including Standard Contractual Clauses as applicable.
12.4 Subprocessors. We may use subprocessors listed in our Privacy Policy and will provide notice of material changes as required by the DPA.
12.5 Vulnerability Disclosure. Good‑faith security reports to security@pudding.work are authorized for testing that avoids service disruption or data access. No data exfiltration. We may provide safe harbor from claims for compliant research.
13. Third‑Party Services and Content
The Service may interoperate with third‑party products or services. Those third parties are solely responsible for their offerings; your use is subject to their terms and privacy policies. We are not liable for third‑party acts or omissions.
13.1 Deliverables; No Review; Use at Own Risk. Deliverables are provided solely by Candidates. Pudding does not create, author, endorse, verify, certify, or approve Deliverables, and makes no representations or warranties regarding their accuracy, safety, legality, quality, fitness for a particular purpose, or non‑infringement.
Pudding may, in its discretion, apply automated or manual checks, filtering, scanning, or sanitization processes to Deliverables; any such measures are provided on a best‑effort basis only and do not constitute review, validation, approval, or a guarantee of safety, legality, or compliance. Pudding does not guarantee that Deliverables are free from errors, defects, malicious code, security vulnerabilities, infringing material, unlawful content, or content that may be objectionable, offensive, disturbing, or inappropriate to some users.
For clarity, Pudding does not guarantee that Deliverables will be acceptable, appropriate, or suitable for any particular audience or use, and has no obligation to filter or remove objectionable content except as required by law or expressly stated in these Terms.
Hirers assume all risk arising from access to, use of, reliance on, or implementation of Deliverables, including any harm to systems, data, intellectual property, persons, or business operations, and including regulatory, export‑control, privacy, or compliance exposure.
Without limiting the foregoing, Pudding shall have no liability for any damages, losses, claims, or injuries caused by or arising from Deliverables, whether or not Pudding was aware of the possibility of such harm and whether or not any screening, sanitization, or moderation was performed. This section supplements and does not limit §§8 (Warranties; Indemnification), 15 (Disclaimers), and 16 (Limitation of Liability).
13.2 Copyright (DMCA). We respond to notices under 17 U.S.C. §512 and may terminate repeat infringers. Send notices to [DMCA Agent contact] with the required elements.
14. Employment Disclaimers
Pudding does not screen, endorse, guarantee, or control any hiring decision, outcome, or opportunity. Participation in the Service, performance in an Engagement, submission of Deliverables, or receipt of compensation does not create any promise, offer, expectation, or entitlement of employment, continued engagement, interview, offer, or future work with any Hirer. Hirers may make decisions for any lawful reason or no reason, subject to applicable law.
Hirers are solely responsible for compliance with employment and labor laws and for addressing any related complaints or claims.
14.1 Classification. Hirers are solely responsible for worker classification, wage/hour compliance, and any required filings or withholdings. Pudding is not a party to any employment or contractor relationship between Users.
15. Indemnification
You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pudding, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against third‑party claims and associated liabilities arising from (a) your use of the Service; (b) Customer Data or Deliverables; or (c) your breach of these Terms.
15.1 Candidate Specific Indemnity. Candidate will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Hirer, the applicable Organization, and Pudding (and our affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents) from and against claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to the Deliverables or Candidate’s breach of this Section 8 or Section 11.
15.2 Hirer‑Specific Indemnities — Employment, Assessment, and Discrimination. Hirers will additionally defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pudding from and against any claims, investigations, demands, penalties, or proceedings arising out of or related to: (i) hiring or non‑hiring decisions; (ii) assessments, Concerts, Engagements, Deliverable Guidelines, or Proofs; (iii) alleged discrimination, bias, retaliation, or disparate impact; or (iv) accessibility, accommodation, labor, or employment‑law compliance. This applies regardless of whether such claims allege that Pudding enabled, facilitated, or failed to prevent the underlying conduct.
15.3 Hirer‑Specific Indemnities — Data Protection and Privacy. Hirers will additionally defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pudding from and against any claims, liabilities, fines, or regulatory actions arising from: (i) Hirer’s use or misuse of Candidate personal data disclosed under §14; (ii) Hirer’s failure to comply with data‑residency, localization, privacy, or record‑retention requirements; or (iii) Hirer’s communications with Candidates before, during, or after use of the Service.
15.4 Hirer‑Specific Indemnities — Access Controls and Badge Use. Hirers will additionally defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pudding from and against any claims or damages arising from: (i) misconfiguration or misuse of Organization‑level IAM, roles, permissions, or user invitations; or (ii) any unauthorized, misleading, or improper display, modification, or use of Goodwill Badges or other Pudding marks.
16. Disclaimers of Warranties
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON‑INFRINGEMENT, AND QUIET ENJOYMENT. THE SERVICE MAY CONTAIN BUGS, ERRORS, DEFECTS, OR INTERRUPTIONS.
NO SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (SLA) OR UPTIME GUARANTEE IS PROVIDED. PUDDING DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, ERROR‑FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT CONTENT WILL BE PRESERVED WITHOUT LOSS.
PUDDING WILL USE COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE, GOOD‑FAITH EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN AND OPERATE THE SERVICE, INCLUDING TO ADDRESS MATERIAL ISSUES AS PRACTICABLE, BUT MAKES NO GUARANTEES REGARDING AVAILABILITY, PERFORMANCE, OR RESPONSE TIMES.
17. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL PUDDING BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES; OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, OR DATA; EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO PUDDING FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY OR (B) US $100. The foregoing limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.
18. Modifications to Terms
We may modify or discontinue features or functionality at any time. We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email or in‑product notice at least 30 days before the effective date unless a shorter period is required by law or to address security, legal, or emergency situations. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.
19. Term and Termination
We may suspend or terminate access immediately for breach, suspected fraud or abuse, legal risk, failure to pay, or risk to the Service. You may cancel at any time via the account settings or billing portal. Upon termination, your right to access the Service ceases; we may retain or delete content per our retention practices and legal obligations.
20. Export Control and Sanctions
You will not use or access the Service in violation of export control, sanctions, or anti‑corruption laws. You represent that you are not a sanctioned person or located in a sanctioned jurisdiction.
20.1 U.S. Government Rights. The Service is “Commercial Computer Software.” Government use is subject to these Terms under FAR 12.212 and DFARS 227.7202.
21. Governing Law and Venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of California, United States, excluding its conflicts‑of‑law rules. Exclusive venue for any action not subject to arbitration will be the state and federal courts located in Sacramento, California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there. You waive any objection based on forum non conveniens, improper venue, or inconvenient forum.
22. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
22.1 Agreement to Arbitrate. Except for (a) claims seeking temporary or permanent injunctive relief, (b) claims relating to intellectual property ownership, infringement, or misappropriation, and (c) eligible small‑claims matters, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration and not in court.
22.2 Administrator; Rules; Seat. Arbitration will be administered by a nationally recognized alternative dispute resolution provider mutually agreed upon by the parties under its commercial or consumer arbitration rules then in effect.
22.3 No Class or Representative Proceedings. YOU AND PUDDING AGREE THAT ARBITRATION WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims, preside over any form of class, collective, mass, or representative proceeding, or award relief to anyone other than the individual party.
22.4 Delegation. The arbitrator has exclusive authority to resolve any threshold issues of arbitrability, including the existence, scope, or enforceability of this arbitration agreement.
22.5 Fees; Costs; Damages Waiver. Each party will bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs, subject to the arbitrator’s authority to award fees where permitted by law. THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT AWARD PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, AND ANY DAMAGES AWARDED MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THE LIMITATIONS IN SECTION 16.
22.6 Opt‑Out. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days of first acceptance by emailing legal@pudding.work with the subject “Arbitration Opt‑Out.” Opting out does not affect any other provisions.
22.7 Survival. This Section 22 survives termination of these Terms.
23. General Provisions
23.1 No Third‑Party Beneficiaries. These Terms are solely for the benefit of Pudding and the applicable User and do not create any third‑party beneficiary rights in any Candidate, Hirer, or other person or entity. No third party may assert any claim, right, or remedy under or based on these Terms.
23.2 Independent Actors; No Control Over Off‑Platform Conduct. Hirers and Candidates act as independent actors. Pudding does not control, supervise, direct, or monitor how Hirers use Deliverables or other information outside the Service, including any post‑Engagement or post‑Concert conduct. Any off‑platform use, misuse, or exploitation of Deliverables is the sole responsibility of the Hirer, and Pudding shall not be deemed a joint tortfeasor, contributor, or participant in such conduct.
23.3 Entire Agreement. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Pudding regarding the Service and supersede prior or contemporaneous agreements on the same subject.
23.4 Order of Precedence. If you and Pudding execute a signed order form or master subscription agreement, those terms control to the extent of a conflict.
23.5 Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a reorganization, merger, asset transfer, or by operation of law.
23.6 Severability; Waiver. If any provision is unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable; the remainder remains in effect. No waiver is effective unless in writing and signed by the waiving party.
23.7 Force Majeure. We are not liable for delays or failures due to events beyond our reasonable control.
23.8 Notices. Legal notices to Pudding must be sent to legal@pudding.work. We may provide notices to you via the Service, email, or your account contact information.
23.9 Records; Audit Logs. Our system logs and records (including timestamps, IPs, account actions, and credit deductions) are prima facie evidence of transactions between the parties.
23.10 Publicity. We may identify you as a customer and display your name and logo, subject to your right to opt out by notice.
23.11 Survival. Sections [Confidentiality, IP, Indemnities, Disclaimers, Liability Caps, Credits Administration, Equal Opportunity, API Access, Anonymity Enforcement, Governing Law/Disputes, Records] survive termination.
23.12 Interpretation. “Including” means “including without limitation”; headings are for convenience only.
Contact: Pudding, legal@pudding.work