General Terms and Conditions of teststar.com

Valid from February, 2025

These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter "GTC") apply to the use of all services (hereinafter "module" or "modules") offered by Teststar GmbH, Rödingsmarkt 39, 20459 Hamburg (hereinafter "provider") by the user (hereinafter "member" or "members").

Part 1: General Provisions

§ 1 Member Account

A member account is required to use the modules. Upon registration, the member is asked to agree to these terms and conditions.
When registering, each member provides their first name, surname and email address and chooses a password. The email address and password are the access data that the member can use to log in after successful registration. The provider can also allow the member to log in using existing accounts, e.g. with Google or Facebook. When registering on the platform, the member must ensure that the information is correct, complete and up-to-date and must inform the provider of any changes immediately. Each member may only have one member account at a time.
After successful registration, the member will be set up with a member account. The member has the option of changing the cross-module data provided there at any time. In his member account, the member also has the option of activating or deactivating the modules offered by the provider in accordance with the provisions applicable to them.
The member can deactivate his/her member account at any time. Deactivating the member account also deactivates all of the member's activated modules. The member account remains and can be reactivated by the member at any time, unless the member decides to delete the member account. Any paid subscriptions within the modules will be paused for the period of deactivation of the account. The provider is entitled to delete inactive member accounts. A member account is considered inactive if the member has not logged in for a period of more than six months.
The member undertakes to keep the access data of his member account safe, not to grant any other person access to the member account and to inform the provider immediately in the event of a suspected breach of security.

§ 2 Right of Use

All consumers who are 18 years or older and who are resident in one of the countries in which the provider offers the modules may register and use the modules. A list of the countries in which the provider's modules are offered is available here.
The use of the modules offered by the provider is restricted to private use. In particular, the member may not pursue any business intentions when using the modules. Commercial use or use for advertising purposes is expressly prohibited for the member. The only exception to this rule is the proper execution of orders in the "Earn money" module.
The member must use the modules in accordance with these terms and conditions. The member is also not permitted to

access, retrieve, capture or in any way copy the Modules using robots, crawlers, bots, spiders or any other technology, method or process;
use the Modules in a way that disrupts them or otherwise negatively affects their functionality (in particular, do not upload viruses or malware or otherwise compromise the security of the Modules);
to make available, copy, modify, transmit, create derivative works from, use or reproduce any copyrighted content of third parties via the modules without authorization;
modify, sublicense, sell or otherwise market, reverse engineer, decrypt, decompile (unless legally permitted), the Modules in whole or in part, or use or develop applications that interact with the Module or Member Content or Information.

The use of some modules requires the installation of a corresponding application ("app") on the member's device. Other modules, however, can (also) be used via an Internet browser.

§ 3 Activation of modules

Registered members can activate the modules offered using their access data (e.g. in the respective app). Persons who are not yet registered must first create a member account before activating a module.

§ 4 Limitation of Liability

The provider shall be liable, regardless of the legal basis, within the framework of the statutory provisions only in accordance with the following provisions:
The provider shall be liable without limitation for damages resulting from injury to life, body or health, as well as for damages resulting from intent or gross negligence on the part of the provider or one of its legal representatives or vicarious agents, as well as for damages resulting from non-compliance with a guarantee or assured property given by the provider or in the event of fraudulent intent.
The provider is liable, limited to compensation for the foreseeable damage typical for the contract, for such damages that are based on a slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations by him or one of his legal representatives or vicarious agents. Essential contractual obligations are obligations whose fulfillment makes the proper execution of the contract possible in the first place and on whose compliance the contractual partner can regularly rely. The provider is not liable for other cases of slightly negligent behavior.
To the extent that liability is excluded or limited, this also applies to the provider's employees, representatives, bodies and vicarious agents. The provisions on product liability remain unaffected.

§ 5 Exemption from Liability

The member shall indemnify the provider, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, senior executives and employees from liability for and against all actions, claims, proceedings, demands, damages, responsibilities, costs or expenses, including reasonable legal costs based on the Lawyers’ Remuneration Act, arising from a culpable violation of the rights of third parties in connection with

his use of the websites and apps, including the data he provides, such as the photograph he has set as his profile picture;
his participation in modules, including all submitted content, including content submitted by third parties using his access data.

In the event of a claim by a third party, the member is obliged to provide promptly, truthfully and completely all information necessary for the examination of the claims and a defense by the provider.

§ 6 Intellectual Property

All pages and any content on the provider's pages or in the modules offered and related content, including but not limited to text, graphics, audio files, videos, photographs, surveys, logos or other materials are the intellectual property of the provider and its licensors, business partners and affiliates or are authorized to use them; this includes all trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets contained therein. The member may not modify, reproduce, recreate, create derivative works from, republish, display, upload, post, transmit or distribute the content available on the site in any way without the prior written consent of the provider.

§ 7 Final Provisions

For members from the UK and Australia, these Terms and Conditions are subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. For members outside Germany, these Terms and Conditions are also subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, unless mandatory consumer protection provisions or data privacy laws of the state in which the member has their habitual residence apply. Users are informed that, in addition to consumer protection rights, they are entitled to specific data privacy protections under local data privacy regulations such as the UK GDPR or Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
Should one or more clauses of these Terms and Conditions prove to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining clauses shall remain valid and the invalid or unenforceable clause shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable clause that comes as close as possible to the legal and economic intention of the clause to be replaced.
The provider is entitled to change or supplement these terms and conditions if changes in the legal, regulatory or technical framework have led to a more than insignificant disruption of the relationship between performance and consideration or to a contractual gap, or if a supplement is necessary due to the introduction of new functions of the modules offered or to ensure secure use and to prevent misuse of the modules and the change is reasonable taking into account the interests of the member. The provider will notify the member of changes at least six weeks before the planned entry into force, informing the member of the content of the amended regulations by email to the email address stored in the member account. The member's consent to the announced change is deemed to have been given if he or she does not object to the change in text form within four weeks of receiving the notification of the change. The provider will point this out again in the notification of the change. If the member objects to the change in due form and within the deadline, the contractual relationship will continue under the previously agreed conditions. In this case, the provider reserves the right to terminate the contractual relationship at the earliest possible date.
If the provider fails to exercise rights under these terms and conditions, this does not mean that he waives these rights for the future.
These Terms and Conditions represent the final agreement between the Provider and the Member with regard to the subject matter of the contract. Further documents are not part of the contract.
To the extent that there are any contradictions between the provisions of the first part of these General Terms and Conditions and the special provisions for the individual modules of the other parts of these General Terms and Conditions, the provisions of the special provisions of the other parts of the General Terms and Conditions shall prevail over the provisions of the first part.
Note for members from the UK: The dispute resolution platform of the European Commission is available at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/main/?event=main.home2.show. The provider is neither willing nor obliged to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.
Note for members from Australia: The provider is neither willing nor obliged to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board. If you are dissatisfied with our services or products, you may contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) or seek assistance from other relevant consumer protection bodies in Australia.

Part 2: Special provisions for the use of the "Earn Money" module

For the use of the "Earn Money" module, the following special provisions apply in addition to the provisions of the first part.

§ 1 Description of the module

The provider operates an order and market research platform on the teststar.com website and via the associated app. Members who have activated the module can participate in evaluations and surveys offered on services or other services provided by third parties ("customers") such as online surveys, product tests, app tests and website tests (hereinafter "orders").
The provider also offers the member the opportunity to provide further information. This includes in particular participation in surveys etc. in which the member provides further information about themselves, as well as the verification of the member's identity by uploading a scan, copy or photo of their ID card or other official identification document from which the member's identity can be clearly identified. The provider is entitled to offer orders only to certain members (e.g. premium testers, members who have provided further information about themselves in their member account that is relevant to the respective orders or who have verified their identity).
For this purpose, the provider sends invitations to the members registered with him to participate in evaluations and surveys. The details of the respective orders, in particular with regard to the requirements to be fulfilled and the remuneration, are set out in the respective description of the order provided by the provider (hereinafter "order description"). The member has no right to participate in orders or to receive invitations to do so.
The member provides the provider with his answers or evaluations (hereinafter "content"). The provider checks compliance with the specifications formulated in the order.
After the full execution of an order, the member receives a fee in EURO, the amount of which is determined from the respective order description. The provider is entitled to check that the order has been fully fulfilled and to request the necessary proof of performance from the member (e.g. screenshots). The provider is particularly entitled to subject the proof of performance sent to a technical check in order to prevent it from being used multiple times.

§ 2 Obligations of the member

During the course of their membership, the member receives short messages, emails and push notifications with orders from the provider. The provider provides the member with the apps "teststar" (iOS) and "teststar.com" (Android) for this purpose.
The member can add additional information about themselves to their member account. The member ensures that they have the necessary rights to provide all of this information, that it does not infringe the rights of third parties and that no other provisions of these Terms and Conditions are violated.
The member must be objective, moderate and fair in his or her evaluations and must avoid exaggerated statements. Participation in evaluations and surveys may only be carried out by the member himself or herself. Participation using bots or other spam software or using someone else's identity is expressly prohibited.
When carrying out orders, the member is not bound by any time or place, with the exception of the deadline specified in the order description. The member decides on the manner in which the order is carried out at his own discretion within the scope of the order description. In particular, the member is not subject to any instructions from the provider. Membership does not establish an employment relationship. Nor is a member obliged to carry out orders. Members are completely free to decide whether or not they want to write a review as part of an order. Members are also free to pursue any other self-employed or dependent activities as an employee.

§ 3 Remuneration

Members are remunerated for the fulfilment of orders in accordance with the order descriptions contained therein. A claim to remuneration only arises when the order described in the respective order description has been fully carried out by the member.
The remuneration earned for the completion of orders is credited to the member in their member account.

For UK:

The remuneration earned for the completion of orders is credited to the member's account. The account balance can be paid out from a balance of £20.00. The provider has the discretion to set a lower payout limit for credit (if necessary, limited to certain payment methods and promotional periods). In the event of regular termination of membership, a payout will be made in accordance with Section 5 (3), even if the account balance is lower. The payout will be made via bank transfer in GBP to an account that the member may set up and specify to the provider. Multiple payouts per day are possible.

For Australia:

The remuneration earned for the completion of orders is credited to the member's account. The account balance can be paid out from a balance of AUD 20.00. The provider has the discretion to set a lower payout limit for credit (if necessary, limited to certain payment methods and promotional periods). In the event of regular termination of membership, a payout will be made in accordance with Section 5 (3), even if the account balance is lower. The payout will be made via bank transfer in AUD to an account that the member may set up and specify to the provider. Multiple payouts per day are possible.

There is no entitlement to remuneration if the responses to an order contain invalid and/or untrue information and/or defamatory, insulting or other inadmissible/illegal statements. There is also no entitlement to remuneration if there is any other significant breach of these terms and conditions. This applies in particular to breaches that entitle the provider to extraordinary termination for good cause (§ 8). The provider expressly reserves the right to check compliance with the above conditions and to refuse remuneration in the event of an order not being properly fulfilled.
To prevent fraud (in particular to exclude bots and other spam software), the provider may require the member to provide proof of identity/existence using a procedure offered by the provider ("proof procedure") before making a payout. The proof procedure may include the collection and processing of biometric data. As long as the member has not successfully completed the proof procedure, the provider may refuse to pay out (other rights of the provider under these terms and conditions remain unaffected).
Payouts are made using the data stored by the member in the member account. The member is solely responsible for the accuracy of this information. If a member's data has changed but has not been updated in the member account, the provider is entitled, but not obliged, to use the previous data, including the member's account details, for all information and payouts.
It is the sole responsibility of the member to properly declare and tax the payments received.
Payments will not be made to accounts that have already been used by another member to pay out remuneration.
Any assignment of the member’s payment claims requires the prior consent of the provider to be effective.

§ 4 Grant of Rights

The member grants the provider an irrevocable right of use, unlimited in time and space, to use the content posted by him as part of the membership for the provision of his services associated with the provision of the module and grants the provider the necessary rights to the content for this purpose. This right of use includes in particular the right to make the content publicly accessible - in whole or in part - in particular via the provider's websites and other media, to reproduce and distribute it, unless otherwise stipulated in the agreements made between the provider and the member. The member also permits the provider to technically edit the posted content, in particular to adapt it to the format specifications of the platform required for use, to shorten it or to improve the quality of presentation, as well as to make minor corrections (e.g. spelling mistakes).
The member grants the provider an irrevocable, spatially and temporally unlimited, exclusive right of use to the content (e.g. texts, images, video recordings, screenshots) and other order results and proof of performance transmitted by the member to the provider in connection with the orders, to use this content for its own purposes and for the purposes of the client. This right of use includes in particular the right to make the content - in whole or in part - publicly accessible, to reproduce it, to exhibit it, to distribute it and to edit it, to grant sublicenses and to transfer the right of use to third parties.
The above granting of rights remains unaffected by any deletion of the contents from the platform and/or termination of membership.

§ 5 Duration, deactivation and termination of the module

The duration of the Earn Money module is unlimited. However, the member can deactivate the module in the member account at any time without giving reasons. The module profile remains and can be reactivated by the member at any time when the module is reactivated, unless the member decides to delete the module profile.
The provider has the right to terminate the module with six months' notice. The provider also reserves the right to terminate the module in the event of inactivity. A member is considered inactive if he or she has not logged into the module for a period of more than six months. Before deleting the module profile of an inactive member, the provider will attempt to write to the member via the email address provided with a reminder period of four weeks. If the member does not object to deletion within this period or perform any actions in the module, the module profile will be deleted.
If there is credit in the member's account at the time of deactivation or termination, this will be paid out to the member's account upon request by the member, regardless of the withdrawal limit. The member can do this via the Help Center contact the provider. The provider is entitled to refuse to pay out any credit balance if the member has not successfully completed the verification process in accordance with § 3 (4), the account specified by the member does not exist and/or it can be assigned to another account holder.
The right to extraordinary termination of the module for good cause remains unaffected for both parties. A good cause for extraordinary termination by the provider exists in particular if

the member violates applicable law or infringes the rights of third parties when using the module, whereby the attempt by the information provided is sufficient, e.g. by
- the posting, distribution, offering and advertising of pornographic, youth protection, data protection and/or other law-violating and/or fraudulent content, services and/or products,
- the publication or making available or expression of content that insults, defames or slanders other participants or third parties (natural or legal persons),
- the provision and distribution of content that is protected by law or encumbered with the rights of third parties (e.g. copyrights) without being expressly authorized to do so,
- making copyrighted works available to the public or other acts that violate copyright law;
the member registers multiple times using different names and/or email addresses;
the member disrupts the provider's module or uses or manipulates it improperly or fraudulently or harms the provider in any other way through use;
other obligations of these Terms and Conditions are continued and/or seriously violated and a continuation of the contract is therefore unreasonable for the provider.

If the provider terminates the contract for good cause, the member is not entitled to reactivate the module.
The provider is also entitled to temporarily block a member’s module if there are indications that the member is continually and/or seriously violating obligations arising from these Terms and Conditions.
The member’s registration according to Part 1 of these Terms and Conditions remains unaffected by the deactivation, termination or blocking of the Earn Money module.

Part 3: Special provisions for the use of the "only one" module

For the use of the "only one" module, the following special provisions apply in addition to the provisions of Part 1 of these General Terms and Conditions.

§ 1 Description of the module

The only one module is a dating platform with the aim of helping its members to find a long-term life partnership. It is available as a mobile app for iOS and Android devices. The provider is free to enable access to the module in the future via a different technical means (for example via a website). The basic offer is free of charge. However, the provider reserves the right to expand the module with additional paid functions that change the functionality of the module described below. These are marked separately and the member is informed that their use is subject to a fee and requires a separate contract. The provider can enable members to redeem credit acquired in the "Earn money" module for the paid functions in the "only one" module.
Members who wish to activate the only one module must provide some mandatory information. In addition, the member has the option of adding further voluntary information about themselves.
only one offers members the opportunity to find suitable contacts via the functions provided and provides members with communication functions for making contact.
The provider does not check its members. Therefore, the provider assumes no liability for the identity, information, past or intentions or behavior of a member. Each member decides for himself/herself whether he/she contacts another member, what information he/she discloses to the other member and with which members he/she arranges a personal meeting.
The module does not include any marriage brokering or marriage initiation services.

§ 2 Use of the module

The provider grants the member a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-transferable, simple (non-exclusive), revocable and non-sublicensable right to access the module and use it in accordance with these terms and conditions for the duration of the contract for the use of the module.
The publication of content via the functions provided by the provider is the sole responsibility of the member who publishes the respective content. The provider itself has no influence on the content posted by members and therefore cannot guarantee that all content complies with the following provisions on permissible content. The provider reserves the right to remove all content that contradicts these terms and conditions. Members have the option of reporting content that they believe violates the terms and conditions. A reporting function is available to them for this purpose.
When using the module, members undertake to treat each other respectfully and honestly. In particular, members are not permitted to

to distribute pornographic, obscene, immoral, politically radical, racist, violent, defamatory, offensive or other illegal content via the module;
stalking, threatening, harassing, coercing, attacking, intimidating, defrauding, insulting or defaming other members, including former members;
Distributing images of other members, including former members, without their consent or otherwise violating their personal rights;
to distribute content if this violates the rights (in particular copyright) of third parties;
to use the module to prepare, arrange or carry out illegal acts;
to use the module for network marketing, multi-level marketing (MLM), referral marketing, structural sales or other commercial purposes.

In the event of violations of the General Terms and Conditions, the provider may temporarily block the member or terminate the member's membership for good cause, depending on the severity of the violation. Any further claims the provider may have against the member remain unaffected by this.

§ 3 Grant of Rights

The member permits the provider to use the content posted by him for the provision of the services of the module and grants the provider a simple, spatially unlimited right of use to the content.
The contents include in particular the profile photos and other information of the member according to § 1 (2) of this part of the General Terms and Conditions.
The right of use includes in particular the spatially and temporally unlimited, exclusive, irrevocable right to make the contents - in whole or in part - publicly accessible via the provider's websites and other media, to reproduce them, to distribute them and to transfer them to third parties, unless otherwise stipulated in the agreements concluded between the provider and the member.
The member further authorizes the provider to technically edit the content posted, in particular to adapt it to the format specifications required for use, to shorten it or to improve the quality of presentation.

§ 4 Duration, deactivation and termination of the module

The contract for the use of the module is concluded for an indefinite period.
The member can deactivate the module in the settings at any time and without giving reasons with immediate effect. The module profile remains and can be reactivated by the member at any time when the module is reactivated, unless the member decides to delete the module profile.
The provider is also entitled to terminate the module at any time and without giving reasons with a notice period of 14 days to the member by informing the member via the email address stored in the member account. If the member still has paid functions active in the "only one" module at the time of termination, the provider will reimburse the member for the corresponding remaining value.
The provider reserves the right to terminate the module in the event of inactivity. A member is considered inactive if he or she has not carried out any actions in the module for a period of more than three months, in particular if he or she has not logged in. Deactivated modules can no longer be used by the member. Before terminating an inactive module, the provider will attempt to write to the member at the specified email address with a reminder period of four weeks. If the member does not object to the termination within this period or does not carry out any actions in the module, the module will be deleted.
The right of both parties to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected.
If the provider terminates the contract for good cause, the member is not entitled to reactivate the module. This also applies to terminations pursuant to Section 2 (4).
The member’s registration according to Part 1 of these Terms and Conditions remains unaffected by the deactivation, termination or blocking of the only one module.