Surfaced In — Legal, Privacy & Disclaimers

Version 1.0 — May 2026

⚠ This platform is an independent project under active development. It is not an incorporated company and does not operate under any specific legal, financial, or professional regulation. Features, terms, and conditions may change at any time without notice. The service is functional and provided in good faith — use it at your own discretion. For any concern, contact the platform operator directly at the address provided at the bottom of this page.

1. Project Status Disclaimer

This platform is currently in a pre-launch project phase. Nothing on this platform, in its documentation, or in any communication associated with it constitutes a binding commitment, service agreement, or contractual obligation of any kind.

The operator reserves the right, at any time and without prior notice, to:

• Modify, suspend, or discontinue the platform or any part of it
• Change, remove, or add features, functionality, or content
• Alter pricing, commission structures, or access conditions
• Terminate the platform entirely
• Transfer, assign, sell, or otherwise convey the platform, its intellectual property, its user base, its codebase, or any associated assets to any third party, including but not limited to: commercial buyers, investors, partner organisations, or successors in interest
• Merge the platform with another product or service
• Pivot the business model without restriction

No user or any other party shall have any claim, right of recourse, or expectation of continuity arising from the platform's current state, any prior communication, or this or any other document produced during the project phase.

2. No Affiliation with Third-Party Services and Brands

Surfed In is an independent platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, partnered with, or officially connected to any third-party service, brand, platform, or company referenced anywhere on this platform — whether in the interface, in user profiles, in content listings, or in these Terms.

The use of any third-party service, brand name, logo, or product on this platform is purely functional or descriptive. It does not imply any commercial relationship, official integration, or approval from the companies involved.

Specifically:

• LinkedIn and all related trademarks, logos, and products are the property of LinkedIn Corporation, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. This platform is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or in any way officially connected to LinkedIn or Microsoft. The feature "Sign in with LinkedIn" is a technical authentication integration using LinkedIn's publicly available OAuth API, subject to LinkedIn's own developer terms of service. The presence of this feature does not constitute a partnership or affiliation of any kind.

• Stripe and all related trademarks are the property of Stripe, Inc. This platform uses Stripe as a technical payment processing provider. This platform is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Stripe. All payment processing is governed exclusively by Stripe's own terms of service and privacy policy.

• Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Payhip, Whop, and any other content or payment platforms referenced on this platform as options for users to link their external content are independent services. Their names appear solely to describe where a user has chosen to host their content. This platform has no affiliation, partnership, or commercial relationship with any of them. Transactions conducted on those platforms are entirely outside the scope of this platform and governed by their respective terms.

• Substack, Twitter/X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, GitHub, Behance, Dribbble, Medium, and any other social, publishing, portfolio, or professional platform that users may link to from their profile are entirely independent services. Their logos, names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The display of a link to any such platform on a user's profile is a user-generated action. This platform has no affiliation, partnership, endorsement relationship, or commercial connection with any of them.

• Any external website, personal domain, or other online destination linked by a user anywhere on this platform is the sole responsibility of that user. This platform does not review, endorse, or take any responsibility for the content, availability, or legality of any externally linked resource.

• Supabase or any other infrastructure, hosting, or database provider used to operate this platform is a technical service provider only. Their involvement does not constitute affiliation with or endorsement of this platform.

• Any other third-party tool, API, platform, brand, or service referenced or linked anywhere on this platform — whether used by the operator or referenced by a user in their profile or content — is the property of its respective owner. Its presence on this platform does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any kind.

Users interacting with any third-party service via or through this platform do so subject to those services' own terms, privacy policies, and conditions, for which this platform accepts no responsibility whatsoever.

3. Limitation of Liability

The platform operator accepts no liability whatsoever — to any user, buyer, visitor, or third party — for any claim of any nature arising from or related to the platform, its content, its availability, or its termination.

This exclusion is absolute and covers, without limitation:

• Loss of revenue, income, or profits of any kind — actual, anticipated, or future
• Loss of business, contracts, or commercial opportunity
• Loss of data, content, or information
• Loss of goodwill or reputation
• Wasted time or expenditure
• Any decision made based on content found on the platform
• Transactions, arrangements, or engagements between users
• Actions or failures of any third-party service integrated with the platform
• Unauthorised access to user data
• Interruption, suspension, or permanent termination of the platform

The platform operator's total aggregate liability, under any theory of law, is zero (€0).

Use of this platform is entirely at the user's own risk.

4. No Warranty

The platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, completeness, or uninterrupted availability.

The operator does not warrant that:

• The platform will be free from errors, bugs, or interruptions
• Content published by users is accurate, complete, or fit for any purpose
• The platform will be available at any specific time or for any specific duration
• Any defects will be corrected

5. User Responsibility — All Content, All Roles

This section applies to every user of the platform without exception — regardless of role, account type, or the nature of the content submitted. This includes every person who creates an account, publishes any content, or interacts with the platform in any capacity.

Every piece of content on this platform is the sole responsibility of the user who submitted it.

This covers, without limitation: profile information, biography, headline, credentials, claimed experience, case studies, project descriptions, project briefs, requests for collaboration, paid content and its previews, reviews, external links, and any other material a user adds to their account or listing.

5.1 What the Platform Operator Does Not Do

The platform operator does not and will not:

• Verify, validate, moderate, or endorse any content submitted by any user
• Confirm the accuracy, truthfulness, completeness, or legality of any content
• Act as a party to any transaction, engagement, or agreement initiated through the platform
• Be responsible for the outcome of any connection, collaboration, or commercial relationship between users
• Be responsible for any harm arising from content a user has posted or a visitor has relied upon
• Guarantee that content will remain available, unaltered, or accessible at any given time

The operator reserves the right — but is under no obligation — to remove content that appears to violate these Terms, at sole discretion and without prior notice.

5.2 Seeker Responsibility

Users who post project listings, collaboration requests, briefs, or any expression of need ("seekers") bear the same full responsibility as any other content publisher. By posting a project or request, the user warrants that:

• The project or need described is genuine and not misleading
• They have the authority to seek, commission, or engage for the scope described — whether acting on their own behalf or with explicit mandate from an organisation or third party
• The brief does not contain confidential, proprietary, or legally protected information belonging to a third party without authorisation to disclose it
• The engagement they are seeking is lawful in all relevant jurisdictions

Authorization Declaration. Before submitting any project listing, the user is required to actively confirm the following declaration (presented as a mandatory, non-pre-checked checkbox):

I confirm that I am authorized to act on behalf of the organization or project described in this listing, and that the information provided is accurate to the best of my knowledge.

This declaration must be checked before the listing can be submitted. It cannot be pre-checked by the platform. Submission of a listing constitutes the user's binding acceptance of this declaration and of the full seeker responsibility set out in this section.

The platform is not responsible for verifying whether a seeker has the authority, budget, or intention to follow through on any listed request. The declaration above does not transfer any verification obligation to the platform — it transfers full legal responsibility to the user.

5.3 General Warranty for All Users

By submitting any content to the platform, every user unconditionally warrants that:

• The content is truthful and does not knowingly mislead any other user or visitor
• They hold all necessary rights, licences, permissions, or authorisations to publish the content publicly on this platform
• The content does not infringe any intellectual property right of any third party
• The content does not contain confidential information they are not legally permitted to disclose
• The content complies with all applicable laws in their jurisdiction and in jurisdictions where it may be accessed
• They are not using the platform to misrepresent their identity, credentials, or authority

Any breach of these warranties is the sole legal responsibility of the user. The platform operator accepts no liability for any consequence arising from such a breach.

6. Nature of the Platform — Directory Disclaimer

Surfed In is a directory. It lists. It does not verify.

This distinction is foundational and must be understood by every user before using the platform. A directory — like a telephone directory, a trade listing, or a professional register — provides a structured, searchable index of entries submitted by individuals or organisations. The directory operator does not investigate, validate, authenticate, or endorse any entry. The presence of a profile, listing, or piece of content on this platform is not a statement of quality, legitimacy, competence, or trustworthiness. It is simply a listing.

6.1 No Verification of Content

The platform operator does not and cannot verify:

• The identity of any user beyond the LinkedIn authentication signal
• The accuracy, truthfulness, or completeness of any profile, bio, case study, or project description
• Whether claimed experience, qualifications, credentials, or outcomes are genuine
• Whether any content uploaded by a user is original, owned by that user, or free of third-party rights
• Whether any Independent, builder, or founder is legally authorised to offer the services or content they describe
• The quality, fitness, or legality of any paid content listed on the platform

Users browsing and using this platform do so on the understanding that all content is self-reported and unverified. They are solely responsible for conducting their own due diligence before entering into any engagement or transaction with another user.

6.2 Full Legal Responsibility of the User

Every user who submits content to this platform — including but not limited to profile information, case studies, project descriptions, paid content previews, and reviews — accepts full and exclusive legal responsibility for that content.

By submitting content, the user warrants and represents that:

• The content is accurate and not misleading in any material respect
• The content is entirely their own original work, or they hold all rights necessary to publish it in the manner in which it is published
• Where the content refers to work done for or with a third party (e.g. a client case study), the user has the explicit authorisation, consent, mandate, or agency from that third party to publish and disclose the information contained in the content
• The content does not infringe any intellectual property right, including copyright, trademark, trade secret, or patent, of any third party
• The content does not contain confidential information belonging to any third party that the user is not legally permitted to disclose
• The content does not defame, harass, or unlawfully harm any individual or organisation
• The content complies with all applicable laws in the user's jurisdiction and in the jurisdictions where it may be accessed

The platform operator is not a party to the relationship between the user and any third party referenced in their content. Any claim arising from content published on this platform — including claims of defamation, copyright infringement, breach of confidentiality, misrepresentation, or unauthorised disclosure — is the sole legal responsibility of the user who published it. The platform operator accepts no liability whatsoever for any such claim.

6.3 Copyright

Users retain ownership of content they publish. However, by publishing content on this platform, users confirm they are the rights holders or have obtained all necessary licences, permissions, and authorisations to publish that content publicly and to grant the platform the rights described in these terms.

The platform operator will not be held liable for any copyright infringement committed by a user. If you believe content on this platform infringes your copyright, you may submit an abuse report (see section 6.4). We will review the report in good faith and take action where we deem it appropriate, but we do not guarantee a specific outcome or timeline.

6.4 Abuse Reporting

Users and visitors may report content they believe violates these terms — including false or misleading information, impersonation, intellectual property infringement, defamatory content, or any other abuse — by contacting the platform operator directly at the contact address provided on the platform.

We will review all reports in good faith and will attempt to take appropriate action as promptly as reasonably possible. However:

• We do not guarantee that any report will result in content removal
• We do not guarantee any specific response time
• The decision to act on any report is at the sole discretion of the platform operator
• We are under no legal obligation to monitor content proactively or to act on every report received

The platform's moderation capacity at this stage is limited. We will do our best. That is the only commitment we make.

7. Paid Content

The platform displays previews of paid content uploaded by users. The platform does not process, facilitate, or intermediate any payment transaction. When a visitor wishes to obtain paid content, they are directed to contact the user directly via LinkedIn or to follow an external link provided by the user to a third-party platform of their choosing (such as Gumroad, Payhip, or their own website).

The platform operator:

• Does not collect, handle, or process any payment on behalf of any party
• Is not a party to any transaction between a buyer and a user
• Has no visibility into whether any transaction takes place
• Accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the outcome of any transaction conducted outside the platform
• Does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, fitness for purpose, or completeness of any paid content
• Has no refund policy — refunds, disputes, and any other transactional matters are exclusively between the buyer and the user

Any transaction between a buyer and a user is entirely independent of this platform. The platform operator is not liable for any loss, dissatisfaction, dispute, or damage of any kind arising from such transactions.

8. Privacy & GDPR Compliance

7.1 Scope

This section applies to all users of the platform and is intended to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), the Belgian Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, and other applicable data protection legislation.

7.2 Data Controller

The data controller is the operator of this platform. Contact details will be provided on the public-facing platform upon launch. During the project phase, all data-related enquiries may be directed to the project owner.

7.3 Data Minimisation Principle

This platform is built on a principle of minimal data collection. We do not collect data we do not need. Specifically:

• No private messaging data is stored — the platform does not facilitate or store any direct communications between users
• No document storage beyond what is explicitly uploaded as public or paid content by the user
• No email databases are maintained by the platform operator
• Authentication is handled via LinkedIn OAuth — we receive only what LinkedIn makes available through its standard API scope

7.4 What Data We Collect

7.5 What We Do Not Collect

• Passwords (authentication is delegated to LinkedIn)
• Government-issued identification
• Financial account details (all payment data is handled exclusively by Stripe)
• Location data beyond what users voluntarily provide in their profile
• Behavioural tracking data, cookies for advertising, or third-party analytics (at MVP stage)

7.6 Data Retention

• Profile data is retained for as long as the user maintains an account on the platform
• Users may request deletion of their account and associated data at any time
• Purchase records may be retained for up to 7 years for legal and accounting compliance
• Data associated with reviews will be anonymised upon account deletion where technically feasible

7.7 User Rights (GDPR)

Users based in the EU/EEA have the following rights:

• Right of access — to obtain a copy of the personal data held about them
• Right to rectification — to correct inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") — to request deletion of personal data, subject to legal retention obligations
• Right to restriction — to limit the processing of their data
• Right to data portability — to receive their data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object — to object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Right to withdraw consent — at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing

To exercise any of these rights, users should contact the platform operator. Requests will be addressed within 30 days.

7.8 Data Security

The platform applies reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, or disclosure. However, no system is completely secure, and the platform operator cannot guarantee absolute security.

7.9 Third-Party Data Processing

• LinkedIn: Processes authentication data under its own privacy policy
• Stripe: Processes payment data under its own privacy policy and is PCI-DSS compliant
• Supabase (or equivalent hosting/database provider): Processes stored data as a data processor, subject to a data processing agreement

7.10 International Transfers

Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, the platform operator will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with GDPR requirements (e.g., Standard Contractual Clauses).

7.11 Supervisory Authority

Users have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory data protection authority. In Belgium, this is the Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (GBA) / Autorité de protection des données (APD): www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be

9. Intellectual Property

All platform design, branding, code, and non-user-generated content are the property of the platform operator. Users retain ownership of content they publish, but grant the platform a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display, index, and distribute that content in accordance with the platform's public-access model.

Paid content uploaded by users remains the intellectual property of the user who uploaded it. The platform does not claim ownership of any paid content.

10. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

During the project phase, this platform is operated from Belgium. To the extent any legal proceedings arise, they shall be governed by Belgian law and subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts of Belgium, without prejudice to any mandatory consumer protection rights applicable in the user's country of residence.

11. Changes to These Terms

The operator reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. Continued use of the platform following any modification constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Where required by law, material changes will be communicated to users in advance.