1. Acceptance of Terms
Welcome to Gibbet ("the Platform," "we," "us," or "our"). Gibbet is a community-focused social platform operated by Gibbet ("the Company"). By creating an account, accessing, or using Gibbet — including the mobile application, website at gibbet.app, and all related services — you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms").
If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use Gibbet. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes to these Terms constitutes acceptance of those changes.
These Terms are a legally binding agreement between you and Gibbet. They govern your access to and use of the Platform, including all features, content, communities, and services offered through Gibbet.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 13 years of age to create an account and use Gibbet. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement.
If you are between the ages of 13 and 17, you represent that you have the consent of a parent or legal guardian to use the Platform. We encourage parents and guardians to monitor their children's online activity.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 13. If we discover that a user is under 13, we will promptly terminate their account and delete associated personal data.
Your birthday is collected during registration and cannot be changed after account creation. This information is used internally for age-based safety features and is never publicly displayed. Only you can see your exact birthday in your account settings.
3. Your Account
Account Creation
To use Gibbet, you must create an account with a valid email address, a unique username, and a password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.
Global Identity & Community Identities
Gibbet uses a compartmentalized identity system. You have one global account (your username, email, and account-level settings) and separate community identities for each Lily Pad you join. Each community identity can have its own display name, avatar, and bio. Your community-specific identity is visible within that community, while your global identity is managed separately.
Account Privacy
Gibbet offers three global privacy levels for your account: Public (discoverable by anyone, open following), Guarded (discoverable but requires follow approval, posts hidden from non-followers), and Ghost (not discoverable via search, requires follow approval). You can change your privacy level at any time in Settings. Regardless of your global privacy setting, you remain visible to other members within any Lily Pad you have joined.
Account Security
You agree to notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized use of your account. Gibbet is not liable for any losses resulting from unauthorized use of your credentials. We may use device tracking and other security measures to protect accounts from unauthorized access.
One Account Per Person
Each person may maintain only one Gibbet account. Creating multiple accounts to evade bans, manipulate systems, or deceive other users is prohibited and may result in permanent removal of all associated accounts.
4. Communities & Lily Pads
Gibbet's communities are called Lily Pads. Each Lily Pad is an independent space with its own culture, rules, and moderation staff.
Joining & Creating Communities
You may join Lily Pads freely (subject to any community-specific requirements) and create your own, subject to rate limits. When you create a Lily Pad, you become its Agent — the owner and highest authority within that community.
Community Roles
Lily Pads operate under a role hierarchy: Agents (community owners), Leaders (senior moderators appointed by the Agent), and Curators (junior moderators appointed by Leaders). Each role has defined powers and responsibilities. You may only hold one moderation position per community.
Community Rules
In addition to these platform-wide Terms, each Lily Pad may establish its own community-specific rules. Community staff may moderate content and members according to those rules, provided they do not conflict with these Terms or Gibbet's Trust & Safety policies.
Listed Communities
Lily Pads that meet certain quality, activity, and compliance standards may become Listed Communities, granting priority in discovery and eligibility for platform-wide featuring. Listed status can be revoked if standards are no longer met.
Leaving & Removal
You may leave any Lily Pad at any time. When you leave, your contributions (posts, comments) are archived. Community staff may remove members in accordance with community rules and Gibbet's moderation policies. Agents cannot leave their Lily Pad without first transferring ownership.
5. User Content
Your Content, Your Responsibility
You are solely responsible for all content you create, upload, or share on Gibbet — including posts, comments, messages, wiki entries, images, and profile information. You represent that you have the right to share any content you post and that it does not violate any third party's rights.
License to Gibbet
By posting content on Gibbet, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable license to use, display, reproduce, and distribute your content solely for the purpose of operating, maintaining, and improving the Platform. This license exists only for as long as your content remains on Gibbet. When you delete content or your account, this license terminates (except where content has been shared by others or is retained for legal obligations).
You Retain Ownership
You retain all ownership rights to your original content. Gibbet does not claim ownership of anything you create. The license above is strictly limited to what is necessary to operate the service.
Content Editing & Deletion
You may edit your posts within the editing window provided by the Platform. After the editing window closes, posts become view-only but can still be deleted. You may delete your own content at any time, subject to moderation holds on content under review.
Content Limits
Gibbet enforces character limits on posts, comments, bios, and other content fields. Publishing is also subject to rate limits (which are not displayed to users) designed to maintain platform health and prevent spam.
6. Prohibited Conduct
You agree not to use Gibbet to:
- Produce, distribute, or possess child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Gibbet maintains an absolute zero-tolerance policy. Violations result in immediate permanent ban, evidence preservation, and reporting to NCMEC and law enforcement.
- Harass, bully, threaten, or intimidate other users, whether in public spaces or direct messages.
- Share personal information of others without consent (doxxing), including real names, addresses, phone numbers, or private images.
- Post or distribute content that is illegal under applicable law, including but not limited to content that incites violence, promotes terrorism, or facilitates illegal activities.
- Engage in hate speech — content that attacks individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics.
- Spam, manipulate, or abuse platform systems, including artificially inflating engagement, creating misleading content, or exploiting bugs for unintended gain.
- Impersonate other users, Gibbet staff (Studio Gibbet), or any real person or entity.
- Distribute malware, phishing links, or otherwise compromise the security of other users or the Platform.
- Use automated tools, bots, or scrapers to access or collect data from Gibbet without written authorization.
- Circumvent moderation actions by creating new accounts after a ban, or by evading content filters or rate limits.
- Engage in sexual solicitation or distribute sexually explicit content in communities or messages where such content is not permitted or involves minors in any context.
- Make credible threats of violence against any individual or group.
CSAM violations result in immediate and permanent account removal with no appeal. All evidence is preserved and reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcement. There are no exceptions.
7. Moderation & Enforcement
Two-Tier Moderation
Gibbet uses a two-tier moderation system. Community staff (Agents, Leaders, and Curators) moderate public content within their own Lily Pads. Gibbet Trust & Safety (platform administrators, operating under the Studio Gibbet identity) handles platform-level enforcement, DM report reviews, automated high-severity flags, and account-wide actions. Community staff do not have access to direct messages, cross-community data, or account-level enforcement powers.
Automated Content Moderation
All public content is scanned in real time for policy violations using automated moderation systems. This includes posts, comments, community chat messages, profile content, and uploaded images. Low-severity flags may prompt you to self-correct before publishing. High-severity content is blocked automatically.
Direct Message Privacy
Direct messages are private by default and are not routinely scanned for general content. Automated scanning of DMs is limited to high-severity content detection, specifically CSAM and credible threats of violence. When a DM conversation is reported, Gibbet Trust & Safety may review up to 30 of the most recent messages in the reported conversation to take appropriate action.
Community Standing
Gibbet uses a global, account-wide standing system. Your standing reflects your enforcement history and determines whether any restrictions are active on your account. Standing can recover over time through sustained positive behavior. You can view your standing status in your account settings.
Enforcement Tiers
Enforcement is proportional to the severity and frequency of violations, progressing through the following tiers: self-correction nudges (no record), formal warnings, privilege restrictions (7–14 days), account suspension (7–30 days), and permanent ban. Critical violations such as CSAM, credible threats, and doxxing bypass lower tiers and result in immediate severe action.
Appeals
You may appeal any enforcement action (except CSAM-related bans) through the designated appeals process. Appeals are reviewed by Gibbet Trust & Safety within 7 business days. If your appeal is upheld, the action is reversed and your standing is restored. Each enforcement action may only be appealed once.
8. Virtual Currency & Subscriptions
Coins (Virtual Currency)
Gibbet features an in-app virtual currency called coins. You can earn coins through daily check-ins and positive engagement. Coins can be spent on cosmetic items including chat stickers, chat bubbles, avatar frames, and other personalization features. Coins have no real-world monetary value, cannot be exchanged for cash, and are non-transferable except through in-app donation mechanics.
Donations
You may donate coins to content creators and chat hosts within communities. Donations in chatrooms are displayed as anonymized banners. A philanthropy leaderboard tracks lifetime donation amounts within each community. Donations are voluntary, non-refundable, and final.
Subscriptions
Gibbet offers optional subscription tiers: Cricket and Cricket Deluxe (beta/early-adopter tiers) and PatoPlus (standard premium tier, available post-beta). Subscriptions provide cosmetic and convenience perks such as increased community join limits, exclusive stickers, high-quality uploads, and other features. Subscriptions are account-tied, not device-tied.
PatoPlus Gifting
Members may gift PatoPlus subscriptions to other users, either to specific individuals or to random community members. Gifted subscriptions are non-refundable.
Founder's Program
Early supporters may participate in the limited-time Founder's Program through Cricket and Cricket Deluxe subscriptions. Founders receive friend codes that grant recipients permanent Founder status and one month of free subscription. The Founder's Program and its specific terms are subject to change or discontinuation at Gibbet's discretion.
No Real-World Value
All virtual items, currencies, cosmetics, and subscription benefits exist solely within the Gibbet Platform. They have no real-world monetary value, and Gibbet has no obligation to provide refunds or exchanges except where required by applicable law. You acknowledge that virtual items may be modified, rebalanced, or discontinued at any time.
9. Voice & Video Features
Gibbet offers voice and video calling features within communities. Audio and video streams are processed in real time through our third-party communications provider to deliver the call.
We do not record, store, or monitor the contents of your voice or video calls. However, you are still expected to adhere to these Terms and Gibbet's community guidelines during voice and video interactions. Users may be reported for misconduct during calls, and Gibbet may take enforcement action based on credible reports.
You agree not to use voice or video features to harass, threaten, or broadcast prohibited content to other users.
10. Privacy
Your use of Gibbet is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information. By using Gibbet, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in the Privacy Policy.
Key privacy commitments:
- We do not sell your personal information.
- We do not display ads on the Platform.
- Direct messages are private by default and not routinely monitored.
- Voice and video calls are not recorded or stored.
- Your community identities are compartmentalized — what you share in one Lily Pad stays in that Lily Pad.
11. Intellectual Property
Gibbet's Property
The Gibbet name, logo, frog branding, "Lily Pad" terminology, "Studio Gibbet" identity, and all original design elements, code, and documentation are the intellectual property of Gibbet. You may not use Gibbet's branding or intellectual property without written permission, except as necessary to share links to the Platform.
Your Property
As stated in Section 5, you retain ownership of your original content. Gibbet does not claim intellectual property rights over user-generated content.
Third-Party Rights
You must respect the intellectual property rights of others. Do not post copyrighted material you don't have the right to share, and do not use Gibbet to infringe on trademarks, patents, or other proprietary rights. We will respond to valid takedown requests in accordance with applicable law.
12. Disclaimers & Limitations
As-Is Basis
Gibbet is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We make no warranties, express or implied, regarding the Platform's reliability, availability, accuracy, or fitness for a particular purpose. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service.
User-Generated Content
Gibbet is not responsible for content created by users. While we employ automated moderation and community-level moderation tools, we cannot guarantee that all harmful content will be caught or removed promptly. You use the Platform and interact with user-generated content at your own discretion.
Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Gibbet and its officers, employees, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Platform, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of reputation, or loss of virtual currency or items.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Gibbet and its officers, employees, and affiliates from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising from your use of the Platform, your content, or your violation of these Terms.
13. Termination
By You
You may delete your account at any time through the app's settings. Upon deletion, your personal data will be removed in accordance with our Privacy Policy, and your content will be handled as described in the data retention section of the Privacy Policy.
By Gibbet
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of these Terms, our Trust & Safety policies, or applicable law. We may also terminate accounts that have been inactive for an extended period, with prior notice where practical.
Effect of Termination
Upon termination, your right to access the Platform ceases immediately. Any virtual currency, subscription time, cosmetic items, or other in-app benefits associated with your account are forfeited and non-refundable, except where required by applicable law. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 5, 11, 12, and 14) will continue to apply.
14. Disputes & Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to conflict of law provisions.
Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of Gibbet shall first be addressed through good-faith informal negotiation. If a resolution cannot be reached within 30 days, either party may pursue binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, conducted in California. You agree that any arbitration will be conducted on an individual basis and not as a class action.
Nothing in this section prevents Gibbet from seeking injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property or address imminent harm.
15. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you through the app, via email, or by posting a notice on the Platform. The "Effective" date at the top of this page will be updated accordingly.
Your continued use of Gibbet after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree with any changes, your remedy is to stop using the Platform and delete your account.