LinkConnect — Advertising Policy

1.1 Who Can Create a Business Account

Business accounts are open to:

• Local businesses with a verifiable physical presence
• Brands and companies with established online identity
• Venues, restaurants, gyms, studios, and entertainment spaces
• Event organizers running genuine in-person events
• Non-profit organizations and community groups
• Apps and digital services relevant to LinkConnect's user base

1.2 Business Account Tiers

All business accounts operate under one of two tiers:

1.3 Verification Requirement

All business accounts must complete identity and business verification before going live. No unverified business account may post events, appear in Neighborhood, or run any promotion. Verification requires:

• Legal business name and registration number (where applicable)
• Business website with matching brand identity
• Primary contact name, email, and phone number
• Billing information matching the registered business

Verification typically takes 2–3 business days. Businesses that select the Promoted tier receive priority verification within 24 hours.

1.4 Business Account Restrictions

The following restrictions apply to all business accounts permanently and without exception:

• ✗ Business accounts may NOT post to the main Connect Feed
• ✗ Business accounts may NOT follow personal users
• ✗ Business accounts may NOT use the persona or mood system
• ✗ Business accounts may NOT appear in the organic Suggested Links row
• ✗ Business accounts may NOT host Link Wave rooms without a paid Sponsored Wave promotion
• ✗ Business accounts may NOT post Thoughts, LinkClips, or LinkFilms

These restrictions exist to protect the human-first experience of personal users. They are non-negotiable and cannot be unlocked at any spend level.

2.1 Neighborhood Promoted Events

Promoted Events allow businesses to feature their real, in-person events at the top of the Neighborhood section within the Discover tab. Promoted Events appear above organic user-generated events with a subtle amber Featured badge and left border. Maximum two promoted events are visible to any user at one time.

Eligibility:

• Business account must be verified
• The event must be a real, scheduled in-person event with a confirmed date, time, and location
• Business must have completed at least one organic (free) event posting before running a promoted event

Pricing:

• Cost per RSVP (CPR): charged per confirmed RSVP from a LinkConnect user
• Flat weekly placement fee available for repeat promoters
• Minimum campaign duration: 24 hours
• Maximum campaign duration: 30 days or until event end time, whichever comes first

2.2 Sponsored Link Cards in Discover

Sponsored Link Cards allow brands to appear as a native card in the Suggested Links horizontal scroll row in the Discover tab. The card is styled identically to organic user suggestion cards with the sole addition of a subtle 'Sponsored' label in the top left corner. Maximum one sponsored card per Suggested Links row. Maximum three unique sponsored card impressions per user per day.

Targeting options:

• Persona targeting: Social, Creative, and Professional personas only — Anonymous and Intimate are permanently excluded
• Mood targeting: target users currently in specific moods such as Creating, Active, Gaming, Relaxed, or Inspired
• Time of day targeting: morning, afternoon, or evening slots

Pricing:

• CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions): charged when card scrolls into view
• CPC (cost per tap): charged when user taps the CTA button
• CPA (cost per action): charged when user completes a follow or install
• Minimum daily budget applies

2.3 Sponsored Wave Room

Sponsored Wave Rooms allow businesses to host or co-sponsor a live audio room under the Link Wave feature. The room appears in the Live Now section with a 'Presented by' label. Users choose to enter voluntarily — nothing is forced or auto-played.

Requirements:

• Sponsored Wave must have genuine live content: a Q&A, listening party, panel, or discussion
• The business must be present as a host or co-host for the full duration
• Wave rooms cannot be used solely as audio advertisements
• Maximum duration: 3 hours per sponsored session

Pricing:

• Flat rate per event based on expected duration and estimated audience size
• Minimum 48 hours advance booking required

3.1 Prohibited Content Categories

• ✗ Adult, sexually explicit, or pornographic content of any kind
• ✗ Tobacco, vaping, e-cigarettes, or related accessories
• ✗ Alcohol advertising targeted at users under 21
• ✗ Gambling, sports betting, or casino products
• ✗ Firearms, weapons, ammunition, or related accessories
• ✗ Controlled substances, illegal drugs, or drug paraphernalia
• ✗ Cryptocurrency, NFTs, or speculative financial products
• ✗ Weight loss products making unsubstantiated health claims
• ✗ Multi-level marketing (MLM) or pyramid scheme promotions
• ✗ Political candidates, political parties, or political campaigns
• ✗ Religious organizations seeking to convert or recruit members
• ✗ Counterfeit goods or intellectual property infringement
• ✗ Clickbait, misleading headlines, or deceptive offers
• ✗ Surveillance software, stalkerware, or privacy-invasive tools
• ✗ AI-generated or deepfake content used in any ad creative

3.2 Prohibited Practices

• ✗ Targeting users based on sensitive personal attributes including health conditions, religion, political beliefs, or sexual orientation
• ✗ Retargeting users across other websites or apps using LinkConnect data
• ✗ Using user-generated content from LinkConnect in ad creative without explicit written consent from the creator
• ✗ Creating fake engagement — paying for or generating artificial likes, follows, or RSVPs
• ✗ Disguising ads as organic user content beyond the permitted native formats defined in Section 2
• ✗ Collecting user data beyond what LinkConnect explicitly provides in the advertising dashboard
• ✗ Running ads that auto-play audio without user interaction
• ✗ Placing any content that obscures or interrupts the reading of user-generated content
• ✗ Business accounts following, messaging, or directly contacting personal users without that user initiating the interaction

4.1 Data Provided to Advertisers

LinkConnect provides advertisers and business account holders with aggregated, anonymized performance metrics only. We never share individual user data. Available data includes:

• Total impressions, taps, RSVPs, and dismissals
• Estimated reach by persona category — no individual identification
• Geographic performance by city or region — never by address or precise location
• Link count and growth trends for business profiles
• Event performance metrics: views and RSVP totals per event

4.2 Data We Never Share

• ✗ Individual user identities, names, handles, or contact information
• ✗ User-level behavioral data or activity history
• ✗ Precise location data of any individual user
• ✗ Content of private messages or LinkChat conversations
• ✗ Any user data for use in external advertising platforms or data brokers

4.3 Anonymous and Intimate Persona Protection

Users operating under the Anonymous or Intimate persona are completely excluded from all advertising targeting and will never see sponsored content of any kind. This applies to all three advertising formats. This protection is absolute and cannot be overridden at any spend level.

4.4 User Controls

All personal users may permanently dismiss any sponsored card or promoted content. Once dismissed, that specific promotion will never be shown to that user again. Users may also report any business account or advertisement that they believe violates this Policy through the standard in-app reporting tools.

5.1 Creative Review

All advertising creative — including event listings, card copy, taglines, CTA labels, Wave room descriptions, and destination URLs — must be submitted for review and approved by LinkConnect before going live. Standard review takes 2–3 business days. Promoted tier accounts receive 24-hour review.

5.2 Business Verification

All business accounts and advertisers must complete identity verification before any promotion is activated. See Section 1.3 for full verification requirements.

5.3 Contextual Brand Safety

Promoted content will not appear adjacent to content that has been flagged for potential policy violations. LinkConnect maintains a brand-safe environment as a platform standard that benefits both users and advertisers.

5.4 Sensitive Moment Exclusions

Promoted Events will not appear in the Neighborhood section during or immediately following verified local emergencies, natural disasters, or community tragedies in the targeted area. This exclusion is applied automatically and cannot be overridden by any advertiser.

6.1 Neighborhood Promoted Events

• The promoted event must actually take place as described. Cancellations must be reported immediately — promoted cancelled events will be removed and credits may not be issued.
• Event capacity must be accurate at time of promotion.
• Events must be genuinely open to the public unless clearly designated as invite-only.
• All pricing information must be accurate and include mandatory fees.
• Events involving alcohol must include age restriction disclosures in the listing.
• Promoted Events expire automatically 24 hours after the event's scheduled end time, consistent with organic event behavior.

6.2 Sponsored Link Cards

• The brand emoji must genuinely represent the brand and must not impersonate any other user or brand.
• The brand tagline shown as Pulse words must be three words or fewer and must not contain misleading claims.
• The CTA button label must accurately describe what happens when the user taps it.
• Landing pages linked from the CTA must be mobile-optimized, functional, and consistent with the ad content.
• Cards may not use urgency language designed to pressure users such as 'Act Now', 'Last Chance', or 'Expires Today'.
• Cards may not impersonate LinkConnect, its features, or its team.

6.3 Sponsored Wave Rooms

• The Wave room must deliver the content described in the booking — topic, format, and approximate duration.
• Hosts must disclose sponsorship at the start of the Wave: "This Wave is presented by [Business Name]."
• Sponsored Wave rooms may not be used to conduct sales calls or pressure listeners into purchases.
• Listener data from Wave rooms — including who attended — is not shared with the sponsoring business.

7.1 Monitoring

LinkConnect monitors all active promotions and business accounts for compliance with this Policy using both automated systems and human review. Advertisers are also responsible for self-monitoring their campaigns and reporting any errors immediately.

7.2 Enforcement Actions

7.3 Business Account Suspension

In addition to campaign-level enforcement, business accounts themselves may be suspended or permanently terminated for:

• Repeated policy violations across multiple campaigns
• Providing false information during the verification process
• Attempting to circumvent business account restrictions
• Creating multiple business accounts to evade a suspension
• Any conduct that violates the LinkConnect Terms of Service

7.4 Advertiser Appeals

Advertisers who believe their promotion was incorrectly removed may submit an appeal through the advertiser dashboard within 7 days of removal. Appeals are reviewed within 5 business days. LinkConnect's decision on appeal is final.

7.5 Legal Compliance

Advertisers and business account holders are solely responsible for ensuring their promotions and business content comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where they are operating, including consumer protection laws, truth-in-advertising regulations, data protection laws, and industry-specific regulations.