---
title: Acceptable Use Policy | Timebank Ireland
description: Acceptable use policy for our community timebanking platform.
canonical: https://hour-timebank.ie/acceptable-use
generated: 2026-05-14T11:57:13.849Z
---# Acceptable Use Policy

The specific behaviours that are not allowed on Timebank Ireland . This sits alongside the Terms of Service and the Community Guidelines and applies to every account.

Version 1.0 · Last updated 2026-05-13

## 1. Scope

This policy applies to anyone using Timebank Ireland — members, organisations, visitors, API users, and integrators — and to all activity on the platform, including profiles, listings, messages, events, posts, polls, jobs, files, and outbound communications sent through the platform.

## 2. No illegal activity

You must not use the platform to:

- Carry out, plan, or facilitate anything illegal in Ireland or in the jurisdiction where you or the other person is located.
- Offer or solicit services that require professional licensing or regulation you don't hold (e.g. unlicensed medical, legal, financial, electrical, gas, or childcare work).
- Trade in regulated or restricted goods (alcohol, tobacco, prescription medicines, firearms, controlled drugs, etc.).
- Launder money or evade tax obligations.

## 3. No fraud or impersonation

- Don't impersonate another person, organisation, or official body.
- Don't create fake accounts, sock-puppets, or duplicate accounts to manipulate ratings, reviews, polls, or matching.
- Don't misrepresent your identity, credentials, qualifications, or vetting status.
- Don't manipulate time-credit balances through fake exchanges, collusion, or staged transactions.

## 4. No harm to people

- No harassment, bullying, stalking, doxxing, or coordinated targeting.
- No hate speech, slurs, or content that demeans people on the basis of protected characteristics.
- No threats, incitement, or glorification of violence.
- No content that sexualises children, in any form.
- No non-consensual sexual content, intimate-image abuse, or content posted to shame or extort.
- No promotion of self-harm or suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact emergency services (112/999 in Ireland) or a recognised helpline.

## 5. No prohibited content

- Sexually explicit content, gratuitous violence, or shock content.
- Content that infringes someone else's copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property.
- Confidential information you're not entitled to share (employer secrets, protected health information, etc.).
- Personal data about others posted without their consent.

## 6. No spam, abuse, or platform misuse

- No unsolicited bulk messaging, repeated identical posts, or promotional blasts.
- No scraping, mass-downloading, or automated harvesting of profiles, listings, or other data, except via documented APIs and within their rate limits.
- No artificial inflation of engagement (fake likes, reviews, endorsements, matches, badges, or leaderboard positions).
- No referral, MLM, pyramid, or "get-paid-to-click" schemes.
- No using the platform primarily to drive traffic to an external site or service unrelated to community exchange.

## 7. No interference with the platform

- No probing, scanning, or testing for vulnerabilities without prior written permission. Coordinated disclosure is welcomed via the Contact page.
- No malware, viruses, worms, or other malicious code.
- No attempts to bypass authentication, rate limits, paywalls, feature gates, or moderation tools.
- No denial-of-service attempts or activity that materially degrades service for others.
- No reverse engineering, decompiling, or extracting source code, except where the AGPL-3.0 licence expressly permits it.

## 8. Account hygiene

- Don't share your account credentials. You're responsible for activity under your account.
- Notify us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised.
- Don't transfer or sell your account to anyone else.
- Use the platform's tools to delete or export your data — don't try to extract it through automation.

## 9. Enforcement

Breaches may result in content removal, warnings, temporary suspension, or permanent removal of access — proportionate to severity and history. Serious breaches may be reported to An Garda Síochána, the Data Protection Commission, or other competent authorities, and we may be legally obliged to do so.

You can appeal an enforcement decision via the Contact page. Appeals are reviewed by someone not involved in the original decision.

## 10. Reporting violations

If you spot something that breaches this policy, use the in-product report tool on the relevant profile, listing, message, post, or event, or email the team via the Contact page. For safeguarding concerns about a child or vulnerable adult, follow the dedicated route on the Trust & Safety page.

## 11. Changes

We may update this policy as the platform and the regulatory environment evolve. Material changes will be announced and recorded in the legal version history.