Last updated October 19, 2026
Terms of Service
These are the rules for using Barter Together. They're written in plain language, but they're a real agreement: by joining or using Barter Together, you agree to them, along with the Community Guidelines and the Privacy page. If you don't agree, please don't use Barter Together.
1. What Barter Together is
Barter Together is an invite-only time bank for friends and neighbors, run by me, Christine Cruzvergara, in San Francisco. It's a tool that helps members find each other, arrange trades and keep track of hours. In these terms, "Barter Together," "I" and "me" mean me and the app. Barter Together doesn't provide any services itself. Members aren't my employees, contractors or representatives, and I don't supervise anyone's trades.
2. Who can join
- You must be 18 or older.
- You need an invite from a current member.
- One account per person, in your real name, with accurate information.
- Keep your account to yourself. You're responsible for everything done with it.
3. How hours work
- An hour of help is worth one hour, whatever the skill.
- Everyone starts with 2 gifted hours, so you can ask for help before you've had a chance to give. Your balance can dip as low as -5.
- Hours have no cash value. They can't be bought, sold, exchanged for money, transferred, given away, inherited or redeemed for anything.
- Hours aren't money, wages or a debt, and trades aren't contracts. They're a community commitment: the way we keep track of giving and receiving. A negative balance is an invitation to help a neighbor, not something you owe.
- To keep things fair, I may adjust anyone's hours: to fix mistakes, after reviewing proof, or for no-shows.
- If you leave, your balance goes away.
- I'm not a tax adviser. If you have questions about how this applies to you, ask your own.
4. Trades are between you and your neighbor
You decide whether to trade, with whom, and the what, when, where and how. You agree on the details directly with each other. Barter Together isn't part of any trade and makes no promises about any member's skills, honesty, reliability or safety, or about how any trade turns out. Ratings and thank-you notes are members' opinions, not a recommendation from me.
5. Money
Don't pay, charge or tip each other for time. If a trade needs materials or supplies, like wood for a fence, you can agree between yourselves to cover them at cost. That's entirely up to the two of you. Barter Together and I aren't involved and won't settle disagreements about it.
6. Safety and good judgment
Barter Together doesn't do background checks, verify identities or check licenses. Use the judgment you'd use with anyone new:
- Get to know someone first. Message, read their profile, meet somewhere public.
- Tell a friend where you'll be.
- Trust your gut, and it's always okay to cancel or leave.
If something's wrong, tell me through "Report a problem." I'm not an emergency service: in an emergency, call 911.
7. Children and childcare
Parents and guardians are fully responsible for any childcare arranged through Barter Together. You choose who cares for your child, and it's up to you to get to know them, check references and decide whether they're right for your family, just as you would with any babysitter. Barter Together and I don't screen, check or supervise anyone who offers childcare, and we're not responsible for the care your child receives.
Only adults can be members.
8. Licensed and professional work
Some work requires a license in California, such as electrical, plumbing, building and contracting, medical or mental health care, legal advice and financial advice. Only offer it if you hold the license and follow its rules. Barter Together doesn't check licenses. If you're getting licensed work done, ask to see the license and look it up (for contractors, at cslb.ca.gov).
9. Your home, belongings and pets
If you let someone into your home, lend or borrow things, or trust someone with a pet, that's your choice and your risk.
10. Insurance
Barter Together has no insurance of any kind covering members or trades. Your own homeowner's, renter's or other insurance may or may not cover something that happens during a trade, so it's worth checking.
11. What you post
You own what you post: your profile, offers, requests, photos and messages. You let Barter Together store it and show it to members so the app can work. You're responsible for what you post. Don't post anything illegal, hurtful or misleading, or photos of other people without their permission. I may remove anything that breaks these terms or the guidelines.
12. Community Guidelines
The Community Guidelines are part of these terms. Please follow them.
13. No-shows, proof and disagreements about hours
- No-shows: a first reported no-show is a friendly warning. Later ones may cost 1 hour after I review them, and three may lead to removal.
- Proof: if logged hours go unconfirmed for 7 days, the helper can send proof for me to review.
- My decisions on these are final.
14. My role
I may change or remove features, adjust hours, switch off invite links, remove content, and suspend or remove any member, at any time and for any reason, with or without notice. A removed member can only rejoin with an invite from me.
15. Leaving
You can leave any time from your profile. The Privacy page explains what's deleted and what stays.
16. The app is provided as is
Barter Together is provided "as is" and "as available." I don't promise it will always work, be free of errors or be secure, or that information won't be lost. I may change, pause or shut down Barter Together at any time.
17. Your responsibility, and mine
- You take part at your own risk. You use Barter Together, meet members and take part in trades at your own risk.
- You release me from claims. To the fullest extent the law allows, you release Barter Together and me from any claims connected to trades, other members, or your use of Barter Together. That includes injury, illness, death, property damage, theft, harm to pets, poor or unfinished work, and money spent, whether or not you know about the claim yet.
- This covers claims you don't know about yet. You waive California Civil Code section 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."
- A cap if I'm ever found responsible. If, despite this, Barter Together or I are found responsible for something, the most either of us will owe you in total is $100. Neither of us is responsible for indirect or follow-on losses.
- You cover claims you cause. If someone makes a claim against Barter Together or me because of your trades, your posts, or your breaking these terms or the law, you agree to cover the costs, including reasonable lawyers' fees.
- Where the law sets limits: some of this may not apply where the law doesn't allow it. For example, California doesn't allow releasing fraud, intentional harm or gross negligence. Everything else still applies.
18. Disagreements with Barter Together
If you have a disagreement with Barter Together or me, email hello@bartertogether.org first and give me 30 days to try to make it right. If we can't, California law applies, and any case goes to the courts of San Francisco County, including small claims court. Any claim must be brought within one year of when it happened.
19. Changes to these terms
I may update these terms. The date at the top will change. If a change matters, you'll be asked to agree to it in the app before you continue.
20. Everything else
- These terms, the Community Guidelines and the Privacy page are the whole agreement between us.
- If any part can't be enforced, the rest still applies.
- If I don't enforce something right away, I haven't given up the right to.
- If Barter Together is ever handed to someone else, such as a nonprofit, these terms go with it.