Terms of Service

01Who we are

Hushcontracts (“Hushcontracts”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is an online marketplace that connects clients who want work done with freelancers and teams who do it, and holds the agreed payment in escrow until the work is approved. Hushcontracts is an early-stage service operated by its founding team in India and is currently being tested ahead of full launch. Once the operating company is incorporated, its registered legal name and address will be published here. You can reach us at support@hushcontracts.com.

02Eligibility & accounts

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a legally binding contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
• You must provide accurate account information and keep it up to date. You are responsible for everything that happens under your account and for keeping your login credentials secure.
• One person or business, one account, unless we agree otherwise in writing. You may not sell, share, or transfer your account.
• We may refuse, suspend, or close accounts to comply with the law or these Terms, or where we reasonably suspect fraud or misuse.

03Our role

Hushcontracts is a venue and payment-facilitation service. The actual contract for work is between the client and the freelancer or team. We are not a party to that contract, not an employer, agency, or joint venturer of any user, and we do not supervise, direct, or guarantee the work itself.

We provide the tools — job posting, bidding and negotiation, milestones, escrow, records, reviews, and reporting — that let both sides transact with confidence. We do our best to keep the platform fair and safe, but each user is responsible for deciding who they work with.

04How the platform works

• Post & bid. A client posts a job with a scope, budget, and deadline. Freelancers and teams place bids. Both sides may negotiate the amount and terms before agreeing.
• Agree & fund. When a bid is accepted, a contract is created on the platform. The client funds the agreed amount into escrow before work begins.
• Milestones. Where a job uses milestones, both sides agree the plan. Each milestone is funded, submitted, reviewed, and approved in turn.
• Approve & release. Money held in escrow is released to the freelancer or team on the client’s approval of the work or the relevant milestone, subject to the Escrow & Refund Policy.

05Escrow & payments

Payments and escrow on Hushcontracts are processed through a third-party payment partner authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (for example, a licensed payment aggregator). Funds held for a contract are kept in that partner’s escrow arrangement and are released, refunded, or split according to instructions generated by the platform based on what you and the other side do.

Hushcontracts does not lend, invest, or earn interest on your behalf from money held in escrow. The full terms — funding, release, refunds, cancellations, and how disputes affect escrow — are set out in our Escrow & Refund Policy, which forms part of these Terms.

06Fees

It is free to create an account, post a job, and place a bid. We charge a platform fee on completed contracts, shown clearly before you commit. Payment-processing charges from our payment partner may also apply and will be disclosed at the time. We will give reasonable notice before changing our fees, and changes never apply to contracts already funded.

07Your responsibilities

You agree not to:

• Take payment or make payment for platform work outside Hushcontracts to avoid fees or escrow (“off-platform circumvention”). This defeats the protection escrow exists to provide and is a serious breach.
• Post false, misleading, infringing, unlawful, or harmful content, or impersonate any person or business.
• Harass, threaten, discriminate against, or defraud other users, or post fake reviews or manipulate ratings.
• Upload malware, attempt to breach the platform’s security, scrape it without permission, or interfere with its normal operation.
• Use the platform for money laundering, or for any activity that is illegal under Indian law.

08Content & intellectual property

You keep ownership of the content you post. You grant Hushcontracts a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host and display that content only as needed to operate and promote the platform.

Work product — what a freelancer or team creates for a client — belongs to whoever the contract between them says it belongs to. Unless that contract states otherwise, ownership of delivered, paid-for work transfers to the client on full payment. Hushcontracts claims no ownership of your work product.

The Hushcontracts name, logo, and platform are our intellectual property and may not be used without permission.

09Confidentiality & NDAs

A client may require a freelancer or team to sign a confidentiality agreement (NDA) before work begins. When you type your name and sign an NDA on the platform, you agree to be legally bound by it as an electronic signature under the Information Technology Act, 2000. An NDA is a contract between the two users; Hushcontracts is not a party to it but keeps a record that it was signed.

10Disputes

Between users. If a client and a freelancer disagree about the work, they should first try to resolve it directly. Where a contract is funded in escrow, either side may raise a dispute through the platform. We will review the records available to us and may facilitate an outcome — including releasing, refunding, or splitting escrowed funds — as described in the Escrow & Refund Policy. Our role is to administer escrow fairly on the evidence; we are not a court and do not adjudicate the underlying legal rights between users.

Between you and us. Disputes with Hushcontracts are governed by the “Governing law” section below.

11Disclaimers

The platform is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the platform will be uninterrupted or error-free, or guarantee the conduct, identity, or work quality of any user. You deal with other users at your own risk.

12Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hushcontracts will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential losses, or for loss of profit, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of the platform. Money held in escrow is not limited by this section — it is dealt with under the Escrow & Refund Policy. For all other claims, our total liability to you is capped at the greater of (a) the platform fees you paid us in the three months before the claim, or (b) ₹10,000. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited under law.

13Suspension & termination

You may stop using Hushcontracts and close your account at any time. We may suspend or close your account, or remove content, if you breach these Terms, create risk or legal exposure, or where required by law. Where fair and lawful to do so, we will give notice. Ending your account does not affect obligations already incurred, funds already in escrow, or contracts already in progress, which will be settled under the Escrow & Refund Policy.

14Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms as the platform grows or the law changes. If a change is material, we will give reasonable notice — for example by email or an in-app notice. Continuing to use Hushcontracts after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.

15Governing law & jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. The courts at Kolkata, India will have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any right you have under consumer-protection law to bring proceedings elsewhere.

16Grievance & contact

For any complaint or grievance, including about content or another user, contact our Grievance Officer at support@hushcontracts.com. We acknowledge grievances within 48 hours and aim to resolve them within the timelines set by applicable Indian law. General support: support@hushcontracts.com.