Acceptable Use Policy

1. Purpose of this policy

ProfileBolt gives you access to information about real people. This Acceptable Use Policy describes what you may and may not do with the Service and with any information you obtain from it. It forms part of the Terms of Service, applies to every user, and applies whether you use the information inside or outside the Service.

2. Lawful and legitimate purpose

You may use ProfileBolt only when you have a legitimate and lawful purpose, such as preparing for a meeting or interview conversation, journalism, academic research, business due diligence, or personal safety before a date or a match. You must comply with every law that applies to you, including privacy and data-protection, consumer-protection, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, anti-stalking, computer-misuse and intellectual-property laws.

3. No FCRA-covered or eligibility decisions

You may not use ProfileBolt or its results, in whole or in part, as a factor in deciding whether a person is eligible for employment (including hiring, promotion, reassignment, retention or volunteer placement), housing or tenancy, credit or financing, insurance, a government license or benefit, or for any other purpose for which a consumer report may be used under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or similar laws. Recruiters and HR teams may use ProfileBolt to learn about a candidate’s public professional work before a conversation, but not to screen, rank, reject or otherwise evaluate candidates. See the FCRA & permissible use notice.

4. Prohibited uses

You may not use ProfileBolt, or information obtained from it, to:

• stalk, harass, threaten, intimidate, abuse, or monitor any person, or to locate or contact a person who does not want to be found or contacted, including a former partner or a victim of domestic violence;
• dox anyone, or publish, post or circulate a person’s personal information to expose, embarrass or endanger them;
• research, profile or contact children under 18;
• discriminate against any person on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship or immigration status, or any other characteristic protected by law;
• infer or reveal a person’s health, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, immigration status or other sensitive characteristics;
• commit or facilitate fraud, identity theft, impersonation, social engineering, phishing, extortion or any other crime;
• build marketing, mailing or telemarketing lists, send unsolicited messages, or resell, license, publish or otherwise provide ProfileBolt results to third parties as a product or service;
• research public officials, law-enforcement officers, judges or their families in order to threaten, intimidate or retaliate against them;
• conduct covert surveillance of employees, or any monitoring that requires notice or consent you have not given or obtained;
• re-identify, re-compile or re-publish information about a person who has opted out of ProfileBolt.

5. Protecting the Service

You may not:

• access the Service through bots, scrapers, crawlers or other automated means, or copy its results in bulk;
• circumvent search allowances, rate limits, challenge questions or other technical limits, including by creating multiple accounts or organizations;
• share your account credentials or let anyone outside your organization use your account;
• probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Service, or interfere with its operation, except through responsible disclosure to info@profilebolt.com;
• use the Service to access information you are not authorized to access, or to bypass the access controls of any other website or service;
• upload or submit unlawful, infringing or malicious content.

6. Journalism, due diligence and personal introductions

Journalists and researchers should follow recognised professional and ethical standards, verify information independently before publishing it, and give the people concerned a fair opportunity to respond where appropriate. Before a date or a match, use ProfileBolt to confirm that a person is who they say they are and to stay safe — not to pry into matters that the person has a reasonable expectation will stay private, and not to share what you find with others without good reason.

7. Enforcement

We may investigate suspected violations, review account activity and search history, remove content, limit or suspend searches, and suspend or terminate accounts without notice or refund. Where appropriate we may report violations to law-enforcement authorities and cooperate with them. You are responsible for any harm caused by your misuse of the Service, as set out in the indemnity in the Terms of Service.

8. Reporting misuse

If you believe ProfileBolt is being used to harm you or someone else, please email legal@profilebolt.com with as much detail as you can. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first. People who want information about themselves removed can use the removal request form.