INFLUENCER CONSENT POLICY

Recent Gossips — Influencer Marketing Portal

Operated by RUDE LABS Private Limited

1. Introduction and Scope

This Influencer Consent Policy ("Policy") governs the relationship between you ("Influencer", "you", or "your") and RUDE LABS Private Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, having its registered office in Uttar Pradesh, India ("RUDE LABS", "Company", "we", "us", or "our"), which operates the Recent Gossips platform accessible at rgossips.com and any associated mobile applications, subdomains, or APIs (collectively, the "Platform").

By creating an Influencer account, ticking the "I Agree" checkbox at signup, or by using any feature of the Platform, you confirm that you have read, understood, and freely consented to the terms of this Policy. This Policy is to be read together with the Platform Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, Payment Terms, and any campaign-specific terms (collectively, the "Platform Agreements").

This Policy is published in accordance with Rule 3(1)(a) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and constitutes an electronic record under the Information Technology Act, 2000. It does not require any physical or digital signature.

2. Eligibility and Age Requirements

2.1 Adult Influencers (18 years and above)

If you are 18 years of age or older, you may register as an Influencer on the Platform provided you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872, and are not disqualified from contracting under any applicable law.

2.2 Children below 13 years

Registration by children below 13 years of age is not permitted under any circumstances. If we discover that an account has been created in respect of a child below 13 years, we shall delete the account and all associated data without notice.

3. Account Registration and Identity Verification

3.1 Progressive Data Collection

The Platform follows a five-stage progressive data collection model. You consent that data will be collected from you in stages, and that additional data points will become mandatory only as you unlock higher-value features (campaign participation, payouts, premium tier access). The stages are illustrative and may be updated by the Platform without altering the overall principle.

Stage	Trigger	Data Collected (Indicative)
Stage 1	Social handle verification	OAuth-based verification of Instagram handle; public profile metadata; follower count; engagement metrics via Instagram Graph/Insights API.
Stage 2	Signup	Name, mobile number, email, password
Stage 3	Profile completion	Date of birth, gender, city, language(s), niche/category, profile photo.
Stage 4	Campaign participation	Address, content portfolio, audience demographics, prior brand collaborations.
Stage 5	First payout	PAN (mandatory), bank account details, GSTIN (if applicable), tax declarations.

3.2 Identity Verification at Signup

At the time of signup, identity verification is limited to OAuth-based verification of your Instagram handle. You will not be required to submit PAN, Aadhaar, or any other government identity document at signup.

3.3 KYC at First Payout

You consent that, prior to receiving your first payout from any campaign on the Platform, you shall be required to submit:

A valid Permanent Account Number (PAN) issued by the Income Tax Department of India;
Bank account details (name, account number, IFSC code) for direct credit;
GSTIN if your aggregate annual turnover exceeds the threshold prescribed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, or if you are otherwise registered under GST.

You confirm that all such information shall be true, current, and accurate, and you shall promptly update it on any change.

3.4 Aadhaar — Not Collected

In line with the data minimisation principle under Section 4(b) of the DPDPA, the Platform does not collect Aadhaar numbers as part of routine onboarding. Aadhaar shall be requested only where required by law (for example, mandatory PAN-Aadhaar linkage validation through authorised channels), and only with your fresh, specific consent at that point.

4. Data Privacy, Processing, and DPDPA Compliance

4.1 Notice of Processing

In accordance with Section 5 of the DPDPA, you are hereby informed of the personal data being collected, the purposes of processing, and your rights as a Data Principal. By accepting this Policy, you provide your free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous consent to such processing.

4.2 Purposes of Processing

Your personal data shall be processed for the following purposes:

Creating and maintaining your Influencer account.
Verifying your identity and social media handle ownership.
Matching you with brand campaigns relevant to your niche, audience, and tier.
Facilitating brand-influencer communication, campaign delivery, and content approval workflows.
Processing escrow-secured advance payments and payouts.
Calculating, displaying, and updating your Influencer tier (Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum) and performance metrics.
Statutory tax deductions and reporting, including TDS under Sections 194R, 194H, and 194O of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and GST compliance.
Detecting and preventing fraud, fake follower activity, content scraping, and other prohibited conduct.
Responding to grievances and complying with legal, regulatory, or law enforcement requests.
Sending transactional communications and, only with your separate opt-in, marketing communications.

4.3 Data Storage and Location

Personal data is stored on servers located in India. Where the Platform engages sub-processors located outside India (for example, transactional email services, analytics, or cloud infrastructure providers), such transfers shall be subject to contractual safeguards and shall be limited to countries not restricted by the Central Government under Section 16 of the DPDPA.

4.4 Data Retention

Personal data shall be retained for the duration of your account and for a period of three (3) years thereafter, to comply with statutory record-keeping obligations under the Income Tax Act, 1961, the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and the Companies Act, 2013. Where any dispute, claim, or legal proceeding is pending, data may be retained until final resolution.

4.5 Your Rights as a Data Principal

Under Sections 11 to 14 of the DPDPA, you have the right to:

Access a summary of your personal data being processed.
Correct, complete, update, or erase your personal data, subject to lawful retention obligations.
Withdraw your consent at any time (such withdrawal shall not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal).
Nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity.
Lodge a grievance with the Platform's Grievance Officer (see Section 13) and, if unresolved, with the Data Protection Board of India.

5. Brand Trust Score, Reviews, and Reputation

You acknowledge and consent that the Platform operates a Brand Trust Score system on a scale of 300 to 900, computed using five weighted pillars including influencer reviews. You consent that:

Reviews you submit about brands you have collaborated with may be displayed publicly on the Platform in aggregated or attributed form.
You shall submit reviews honestly and based on actual engagement; fabricated, malicious, or extortionate reviews may result in account suspension and may attract legal consequences under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and Sections 356 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Brands may rate you in return, and such ratings may influence your tier, campaign discoverability, and access to premium features.
The Platform reserves the right to moderate, remove, or anonymise reviews that violate the Community Guidelines or applicable law.

6. Campaign Participation and Content Intellectual Property

6.1 Campaign Acceptance

When you accept a campaign brief, you enter into a binding engagement with the relevant brand, mediated by the Platform. The campaign brief shall specify deliverables, timelines, platform service fees, content usage scope, and exclusivity (if any). You agree not to deviate from the brief without prior written approval of the brand and the Platform.

6.2 Content Ownership

Unless expressly assigned in writing, you retain ownership of the original creative content (including images, videos, captions, reels, and stories) created by you for any campaign ("Campaign Content"). Stock footage, brand-provided assets, music licensed by the brand, and brand trademarks remain the property of the brand or its licensors.

6.3 Time-Bound License to the Brand

Upon release of campaign payment from escrow, you grant the relevant brand a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and create derivative works from the Campaign Content, on the following terms:

License Parameter	Default Scope
Default Duration	Six (6) months for organic/social use; twelve (12) months for paid amplification.
Permitted Platforms	As specified in the campaign brief (e.g., Instagram feed, Reels, Stories, brand website, brand newsletter).
Territory	Worldwide, unless restricted in the brief.
Modification Rights	Cropping, resizing, captioning, and translation for permitted platforms. No alteration that changes the core meaning, your personal image, or attribution.
Sublicensing	To advertising agencies and media buyers acting on behalf of the brand only.
Post-License Period	Brand must cease active distribution; organic posts already published may remain online but shall not be boosted, repurposed, or used in new campaigns.
Extension / Buyout	Negotiated separately and recorded as an addendum to the campaign brief.

You further consent that the Platform may display the Campaign Content on its own marketing channels for portfolio and case-study purposes, with attribution to you, for the duration of your active membership on the Platform.

6.4 Personality Rights

You grant the brand the right to use your name, social handle, likeness, voice, and persona only to the extent reflected in the Campaign Content and only within the license duration. No standalone use of your image or likeness outside the Campaign Content is permitted without your separate written consent.

6.5 Exclusivity

Campaign-specific exclusivity (e.g., not promoting a competing brand during the campaign window) shall apply only where expressly stated in the brief and accepted by you. Blanket category-wide exclusivity beyond ninety (90) days requires a separately negotiated and signed agreement.

7. Advertising Standards and ASCI Compliance

You expressly acknowledge and agree to comply with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media (as amended from time to time), the Central Consumer Protection Authority's Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Specifically, you agree that:

You shall clearly and prominently disclose every paid partnership using a permitted label such as #ad, #sponsored, #partnership, #collab, #promo, or the platform-native paid-partnership tag. The disclosure must be made upfront and must be in the same language as the post.
Disclosures must be visible without users having to click "see more"; in videos and stories, the disclosure must appear in a prominent and durable manner.
You shall not make any claim about a product or service that you have not personally verified, used, or experienced.
You shall not endorse products or services in regulated categories (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, prescription drugs, infant milk substitutes, etc.) in any manner that violates applicable laws including the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.
You shall not engage in surrogate advertising, undisclosed influencer marketing, or deceptive endorsements.
You assume sole responsibility and liability for non-compliant content posted by you. The Platform and the brand may rely upon this consent in any consumer-redressal or regulatory proceeding.

8. Escrow Payments, Platform Service Fee, and Payout

8.1 Escrow Mechanism

All brand-to-influencer payments on the Platform are routed through an escrow mechanism operated via a regulated payment gateway Stripe. The brand funds the campaign value into escrow at the time of campaign confirmation. Funds are released to the Influencer only upon successful completion of agreed deliverables and verification by the Platform or the brand within the defined approval window.

8.2 Platform Service Fee

You consent that the Platform shall deduct a platform service fee from the amount payable to you, which shall be transparently disclosed to you on the campaign acceptance screen before you confirm participation. The fee is consideration for matchmaking, analytics, dispute mediation, escrow management, and technology services.

8.3 Payout Timelines

Subject to deliverable approval, payouts shall ordinarily be initiated within seven (7) business days of approval, and reach your bank account within the standard banking timelines. Delays attributable to incorrect bank details, KYC issues, or force majeure shall not be the responsibility of the Platform.

8.4 Refunds and Dispute Resolution

Where deliverables are rejected by the brand on reasonable grounds (e.g., non-compliance with the brief, missed timelines, low quality), the Platform shall mediate. If mediation fails, the Platform may release, partially release, or refund escrow funds in accordance with its Dispute Resolution Procedure, which forms part of the Platform Agreements.

9. Tax Acknowledgments

You expressly consent to the following tax treatments:

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) shall be deducted by the Platform or the brand (as applicable) under Section 194R of the Income Tax Act, 1961, where the consideration includes any benefit or perquisite arising from business or profession.
TDS shall be deducted under Section 194H where the payment is in the nature of commission or brokerage.
Where the Platform is treated as an e-commerce operator in respect of services facilitated through it, TDS shall be deducted under Section 194O at the prescribed rate.
You shall furnish your PAN at the time of first payout; failure to do so shall result in TDS being deducted at the higher rate prescribed under Section 206AA.
You shall be solely responsible for the disclosure of income earned through the Platform in your income-tax returns and for compliance with GST obligations applicable to you.
The Platform shall make available Form 16A / TDS certificates and transaction statements via the Influencer dashboard.

10. Platform Conduct and Prohibited Activities

You undertake that you shall not, directly or indirectly:

Purchase, inflate, or otherwise artificially manipulate followers, likes, comments, views, or engagement metrics.
Use bots, automation scripts, click-farms, or any unauthorised software to interact with the Platform or to generate engagement.
Misrepresent your identity, audience demographics, niche, or past collaborations.
Solicit or accept off-platform payments from any brand introduced to you via the Platform during the term of your account and for a period of six (6) months thereafter ("Circumvention"). Circumvention shall be a material breach and may attract liquidated damages equal to twice the amount of the bypassed transaction.
Post content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another's privacy, harmful to children, infringing of intellectual property, or in violation of Rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Engage in caste, religious, gender, or community-based discrimination, hate speech, or incitement.
Share, scrape, or resell brand information, campaign briefs, or other confidential data accessed through the Platform.
Use the Platform for money laundering, hawala, or any activity prohibited under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

11. Suspension, Termination, and Account Deletion

The Platform may suspend or terminate your account, with or without prior notice, in the event of any breach of this Policy, the Community Guidelines, or applicable law. Upon termination:

Pending campaign deliverables shall be completed unless the Platform expressly excuses performance.
Verified payouts already due to you shall be released, after adjusting for any liquidated damages, refunds, or recoveries owed to brands.
Your public profile shall be deactivated; data shall be retained as per Section 4.4.

You may at any time request voluntary account deletion by writing to grievance@rgossips.com. Account deletion shall be effected within thirty (30) days of receipt of a verified request, subject to completion of pending obligations and statutory retention requirements.

12. Liability, Indemnity, and Disclaimers

The Platform acts as a technology intermediary connecting Influencers and brands. The Platform is not a party to the underlying creative engagement and does not warrant the conduct, solvency, or content of any brand. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless RUDE LABS Private Limited, its directors, officers, employees, and affiliates from any claim, damage, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

Content posted by you in violation of any law or third-party right.
Misrepresentation of your audience, identity, or eligibility.
Non-disclosure or misleading disclosure in breach of ASCI or CCPA guidelines.
Tax non-compliance arising from incorrect or non-furnishing of PAN/GSTIN.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform's aggregate liability to you in any twelve-month period shall not exceed the platform service fees actually received by RUDE LABS from campaigns in which you participated in that period.

13. Grievance Redressal

In compliance with Rule 3(2) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and Section 8(10) of the DPDPA, the Platform has designated a Grievance Officer:

Grievance Officer & Data Protection Contact RUDE LABS Private Limited Email: grievance@rgossips.com Response timelines: Acknowledgment within 24 hours; resolution within 15 days.

If you are dissatisfied with the resolution, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India under the DPDPA, or any other competent authority.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

This Policy and your use of the Platform shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Subject to the dispute-resolution mechanism below, the courts at Dehradun, Uttarakhand shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or in connection with this Policy shall first be attempted to be resolved amicably. If unresolved within thirty (30) days, the dispute shall be referred to arbitration by a sole arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The seat and venue of arbitration shall be Dehradun. The language of arbitration shall be English. The award shall be final and binding on the parties.

15. Modifications to this Policy

The Platform may amend this Policy from time to time. Material changes shall be notified to you by email or in-app notice at least seven (7) days prior to taking effect. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date shall constitute acceptance of the revised Policy. Where the amendment materially expands the scope of data processing, fresh consent shall be obtained in accordance with Section 6 of the DPDPA.

16. Miscellaneous

16.1 Severability

If any provision of this Policy is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

16.2 No Waiver

No failure or delay by the Platform in exercising any right shall operate as a waiver thereof.

16.3 Entire Agreement

This Policy, together with the Platform Agreements, constitutes the entire understanding between you and RUDE LABS Private Limited with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior discussions and arrangements.

16.4 Language

This Policy is published in English. Translations, if any, are provided for convenience; in case of conflict, the English version shall prevail.

17. Consent and Acceptance

Acceptance of this Policy is recorded by way of a single electronic acknowledgment at the time of signup, in accordance with the prevailing industry practice followed by leading Indian influencer marketing platforms and as permitted under Section 10A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

17.1 Single-Checkbox Acknowledgment

By selecting the acknowledgment checkbox displayed at signup, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to the following set of documents, which together constitute the complete legal arrangement between you and RUDE LABS Private Limited:

This Influencer Consent Policy;
The Platform Terms of Service;
The Platform Privacy Policy;
The Community Guidelines; and
Any campaign-specific terms presented to you at the time of accepting a campaign brief.

17.2 Scope of Consent

By selecting this single acknowledgment, you provide your free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous consent under Section 6 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 for the collection, processing, storage, sharing, and use of your personal data for the purposes set out in Section 4 of this Policy, and you consent to the ASCI compliance, content licensing, tax deduction, and escrow mechanisms described in this Policy.

17.3 Withdrawal of Consent

You may withdraw your consent at any time by writing to grievance@rgossips.com or by using the in-app account deletion option. Withdrawal shall be given effect subject to completion of any pending campaign obligations and to lawful retention of data as set out in Section 4.4.

17.4 Audit Record

For each acknowledgment, the Platform shall electronically record the user identifier, policy version number, timestamp (in IST), IP address, device fingerprint, and a cryptographic hash of the policy text actually displayed at the time of acceptance. This record shall constitute conclusive evidence of consent for the purposes of Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (as preserved under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023).

Verbatim text of the signup checkbox: “I have read and agree to the Influencer Consent Policy, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines of Recent Gossips.”