Terms and conditions

Definitions

The following terms are used in these conditions:

• Yohello, the platform, operated by Systematix B.V., Ermelo, the Netherlands (Chamber of Commerce 59377526).
• Visitor, a user who contacts a host through Yohello, also referred to as "you".
• Host, a user who has become a host within their own account, manages a personal page after verification and has conversations with visitors. See the chapter For hosts.
• Host page, the personal profile page of a host, shareable as a link via social media.
• Credit, the balance you top up in advance in your Yohello account, from which live conversations and tips are settled.
• Live conversation, a real-time conversation that is charged to your credit per second. The host offers the conversation with at least audio (or with video as well); you may also take part by chat only.
• Message: a written message, voice message or video message (maximum one minute) between a visitor and a host. Messages are free, in both directions. A host can set a message limit: a visitor can then send at most the number of messages set by Yohello per 24 hours until the host replies.
• Written message: a text message at no cost that you can send to a host. The host decides whether and when to reply.
• Tip, a voluntary thank-you: an amount you give to a host of your own accord as a token of appreciation, without any extra service in return.

Creating an account

To send messages (written, voice or video) or to start a live conversation you need a Yohello account. You must be at least 18 years old to register.

• You register with your own name and email address. Creating an account on behalf of another person is not allowed.
• You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and for all activity that takes place through your account.
• Only one account per person is allowed.
• You can delete your account at any time via Settings. Remaining credit can be refunded on request (see Refund of credit).

You can view host pages without an account; an account is required to send messages and have conversations.

Credit and payment

Yohello works with a prepaid credit model. You pay an amount in advance, which is stored as credit in your account. Live conversations and tips are charged to this credit. Messages are free and are never charged to your credit.

• You can top up credit via iDEAL, credit card or other payment methods available on the top-up page. Payments are processed by our payment provider Stripe.
• The minimum amount to start a live conversation is €2.50 in credit. If your credit runs out during a conversation, the conversation stops automatically.
• Credit has no expiry date as long as your account is active.
• Credit is personal and cannot be transferred to another account.

Tips: a thank-you

During or after a conversation you can send the host a tip: a voluntary thank-you for the time and attention you received. You decide yourself whether you do so and how much; there is no extra service in return. A tip is charged to your credit immediately and is non-refundable. Conversations on Yohello are strictly private, Yohello is not a party to them and bears no responsibility for their content or course. No discussion about this is possible afterwards.

Live conversations

A live conversation starts when you send a request and the host accepts it. Only from that moment does the timer start running and is credit charged.

• The host offers the conversation with audio only, or with audio and video. You choose how you take part, chat only is fine too, and you can still turn on your microphone or camera during the conversation.
• You can end a conversation at any time. Costs are calculated to the second.
• If the host does not accept a live request, no costs are charged.
• Yohello is not liable for technical problems that interrupt a conversation. In the case of demonstrable platform failures on Yohello's side, the credit charged will be refunded in consultation.

Messages

With an account you can send messages to any host: written messages, voice messages and video messages (maximum one minute). That is always free, in both directions; nothing is reserved or settled and hosts receive no fee for it.

• The host decides whether and when to reply, and with what (text, voice or video). A message gives no guarantee of a reply.
• A host can switch on a message limit. You can then send that host at most the number of messages set by Yohello (by default 5) per rolling 24-hour window until the host replies; after that the count starts again. Support conversations and responses to posts fall outside the limit.
• A host can switch off receiving voice and video messages per conversation; written messages remain possible.
• You receive a notification as soon as the host has replied.
• Messages are subject to the rules of conduct in these conditions and are stored encrypted (see Recordings).

Recordings

All live conversations and messages are stored automatically and encrypted. You can find them back in your account under Messages and History.

• Recordings are accessible only to you and the host who took part in the conversation. Yohello staff have no access to the content.
• By using Yohello you consent to conversations being recorded.
• Recordings you star yourself are kept until you delete them yourself. Unmarked recordings expire after 45 days and can no longer be retrieved.
• You may not share or publish recordings outside the Yohello platform without the host's written permission.

Refund of credit

Remaining credit in your account can be refunded on request to the payment method you used to top up, or to a bank account in your name.

• You can submit a refund request via your account settings or via support@yohello.com.
• Yohello processes refunds within 5 working days.
• No administration costs are charged for a refund.
• Credit obtained through a campaign or promotion may be excluded from refunds. This will be stated with the campaign.

Posts and content

Hosts can place photos and short videos on their page (posts). Visitors with an account can view posts, give a heart and respond; a response is visible only to the visitor who responds and the host.

• You only place content you hold the rights to and in which only you yourself, or people who gave permission for it, are recognisably in view.
• You grant Yohello a non-exclusive licence to store your posts, process them (such as resizing and converting) and show them to visitors on the platform, for as long as the post exists. You remain the owner of your content.
• The rules of conduct also apply to posts: no sexually explicit or 18+ content, no violence, no hate, no minors in an inappropriate context and no contact details or payment requests outside Yohello.
• Every post is checked automatically. Yohello can hide a post, have it reviewed by a staff member or remove it, and in the event of repeated breaches end your ability to post or your host account.
• Visitors can report a post. A post that has been removed or that you deleted is permanently removed from our servers after 30 days.
• Posts, hearts and responses are free; no credit is charged for them and hosts receive no fee for them.

Rules of conduct

Yohello is a platform for personal, respectful contact. You are having a conversation with a real person. The following rules of conduct always apply.

Not allowed

• Sexually explicit, pornographic or erotic content, and offering or requesting adult or escort services.
• Sending intimidating, threatening, insulting or hateful messages.
• Requesting or offering physical meetings via the platform.
• Arranging payments outside Yohello for services offered through the platform.
• Sending or requesting content relating to people under the age of 18.
• Creating multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions.
• Using automated means to send messages or simulate conversations.
• Assuming another person's identity or providing incorrect information about yourself.

Suspension and removal

Yohello reserves the right to temporarily suspend or permanently delete an account in the event of a breach of these rules. In the case of serious breaches, remaining credit may be withdrawn. In the case of persistent inappropriate behaviour towards hosts, Yohello may file a report with the police.

For hosts: becoming a host and verification

The articles in this chapter apply in addition to users who become a host. All other articles remain fully applicable; there is no separate host account.

• You become a host in your own account via "Become a host". You must be at least 18 years old.
• You provide a valid identity document for verification via our partner Veriff. Yohello does not store the document; only the verification status is kept.
• You provide a valid IBAN account number in your name for payouts.
• A staff member reviews your application. Until approval you can already set up your page and share your link on your own social media, but you cannot yet receive any earnings.
• You are free to promote your host page: share your personal link in your bio, in your posts, in your stories or in your newsletter. You remain responsible yourself for the rules of the channel you share on.
• You set your own rate per minute via the host portal. The minimum rate is €0.30 per minute; the maximum depends on your level.
• You choose whether you are available with audio only, or with audio and video. Offering chat only is not possible as a host; a visitor may take part in your conversation by chat only.
• Yohello is a platform for personal 1-on-1 contact. Having a live conversation with several visitors at the same time is not allowed.
• Misleading profile information (false name, fake profile or an incorrect description of your services) is not allowed. The same applies to the way you promote your link: do not promise anything you cannot deliver in a conversation.

Promotion by Yohello. Yohello may use your public profile (name, photo, subtitle, category and rate) and the earning potential derived from it in its own promotion on the website and on social media, for example in short clips about hosts. If you do not want this, you can switch it off under Settings, Privacy. Clips that have not yet been posted will then no longer be used.

For hosts: earnings and levels

Hosts receive a percentage of every live conversation and every tip, the voluntary thank-you from a visitor. Messages are free and do not generate any fee. Depending on the level reached, that percentage is 75% to 90%. Levels are awarded automatically based on your activity: the more conversations that come in via your shared link, the faster you move up. The current level structure, thresholds and rate ranges are published on the earnings page and form part of these conditions.

Your net earnings are calculated as round((amount ÷ 1.21) × your percentage, 2 decimals): VAT (21%) is deducted first, after which your share is calculated on the amount excl. VAT.

Bonuses. On top of the level percentage, Yohello may grant a host a temporary or ongoing bonus on the percentage, for example as part of a campaign, a welcome arrangement, a campaign in which you share your link, or as a token of appreciation. A bonus is a non-binding, promotional gesture by Yohello: there is no entitlement to it, it is not part of the level structure and Yohello can change, let expire or withdraw a bonus at any time without notice period and without any claim or compensation arising from it. Bonuses together increase your percentage by no more than 5 percentage points. A bonus applies only to earnings booked while it is active; nothing is reversed on earnings already booked. The notice period for changes to the level structure does not apply to bonuses.

For hosts: payout

Yohello pays out weekly, every Monday, for all earnings from the past week (Monday to Sunday), to the IBAN number you provided at "Become a host".

• Yohello always pays out the full outstanding amount; there is no minimum threshold.
• You are responsible for providing and maintaining your IBAN correctly. You can change it at any time via the host portal and it applies from the next payout onwards.
• Yohello does not withhold any costs for the payout itself; the service fee is already settled at the moment of the live conversation or the tip.

For hosts: business provider, tax and DAC7

If you are a VAT-registered entrepreneur, you can register in the host portal as a business provider with your company name, VAT identification number and, if applicable, Chamber of Commerce number. After approval, Yohello issues the invoices for your earnings on your behalf (self-billing, in accordance with article 224 of the EU VAT Directive and article 35 of the Dutch Turnover Tax Act 1968), increased by 21% VAT on the fee. You can object to an invoice within 5 days of it being made available; after that it is deemed accepted. You remain responsible yourself for declaring and paying the VAT stated.

As a host you are responsible yourself for correctly declaring your income to the Dutch Tax Administration. Under the European DAC7 directive, Yohello reports data on hosts' earnings to the Dutch Tax Administration annually when these exceed the statutory threshold. You have the right to inspect the data provided via privacy@yohello.com.

For hosts: pausing and termination

• You can pause your account as a host at any time via the host portal. Your profile then goes offline and visitors cannot start conversations. Earnings up to that moment are paid out on the next Monday.
• If you delete your account, outstanding earnings are paid out in full on the next Monday.
• Yohello can end your role as a host or your account in the event of persistent breach of these conditions or of fraud. Outstanding earnings are then paid out, unless there is a valid reason to refuse this.
• In the event of material changes to the level structure or service fee, you will be notified at least 30 days in advance; for other changes the general period of 14 days applies.

Liability

Yohello offers the platform as a technical service and is not responsible for the content of conversations or messages, nor for hosts' actions outside the platform.

• Yohello is not liable for unmet expectations about the content or quality of a conversation with a host.
• Yohello is not responsible for hosts' actions outside the Yohello platform.
• In the event of technical failures caused by Yohello, credit charged will be refunded in consultation. You can get in touch about this via support@yohello.com.
• Yohello's liability is in all cases limited to the amount of credit you had in your account at the time of the event.

Changes

Yohello can amend these conditions. In the event of material changes, you will be notified at least 14 days in advance by email and via a notification in your account.

If you do not agree with a change, you can delete your account before the effective date and request a refund of remaining credit. Continued use after the effective date counts as acceptance of the amended conditions.

Contact

Questions about these conditions, your account or your credit?