Outprobe Advertising Policy
Effective Date: April 4, 2026 Last Updated: March 20, 2026 Version: 1.0
Our Advertising Philosophy
Outprobe believes advertising does not have to be invasive. We reject the surveillance-based advertising model used by most social media platforms. Instead, we use contextual advertising — ads are matched to community topics, never to individual users.
Our commitment:
- We never build advertising profiles about our users
- We never track users across the internet
- We never sell user data to advertisers
- We never allow personalized or behavioral targeting. All ads are simple as that targeted towards the community memberships not to the individual users.
1. How Advertising Works on Outprobe
1.1 Contextual Targeting Only
Ads on Outprobe are matched to community categories, not to individual users.
How it works:
- A community is categorized by its topic (e.g., Photography, Music, Fitness, Technology)
- Advertisers choose which community categories they want their ads to appear in
- Ads are shown in the feeds of communities matching those categories
- No user data is used in this process — at all
Example:
- A camera brand selects the "Photography" category
- Their promoted post appears in the feeds of Photography communities
- Every member of those communities sees the same ad
- No user is individually targeted
1.2 What Advertisers CAN Target
| Targeting Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Community category | Topic-based (Photography, Music, Tech, etc.) |
| Region | Country or region-level (for regional offers) |
| Language | Based on community language setting |
1.3 What Advertisers CANNOT Target
| Prohibited Targeting | Reason |
|---|---|
| Individual users | Privacy violation |
| Browsing history | We don't collect it |
| User demographics (age, gender) | We don't use this for ads |
| User interests/behavior | We don't track this |
| Device type | Not used for targeting |
| Purchase history | We don't have this data |
| Location (city/zip level) | Too granular, privacy risk |
| Retargeting / remarketing | Requires tracking, prohibited |
2. Ad Format and Placement
2.1 Ad Format: Promoted Posts
All ads on Outprobe are promoted posts — they look like regular community posts with a clear "Promoted" label.
Ad requirements:
- Must include a clear "Promoted" label visible at all times
- Must contain relevant, non-deceptive content
- May include text, images, or video,events,inititiatives,communities,groups (same format as regular posts)
- Must link to legitimate destinations (no malicious URLs)
- Must comply with all Outprobe content policies
Ads are NOT:
- Banner ads
- Pop-up or interstitial ads
- Auto-playing video ads with sound
- Floating or sticky ads
- Full-screen takeover ads
2.2 Where Ads Appear
| Location | Ads Shown? |
|---|---|
| Explore page | Yes (promoted posts in Explore feed) |
| Community main feed | Yes (between regular posts) |
| Community detail/about screen | No |
| User profile | No |
| Direct messages | No |
| Probes (group chats) | No |
| Circles feed | No |
| Notifications | No |
| Settings | No |
| Search results | No |
| Media viewer | No |
2.3 Ad Frequency
- Maximum 1 ad per 10 posts in a community feed
- No more than 3 ads visible at any time in a scrolling feed
- Ads are spaced evenly — users never see consecutive ads
- Communities with fewer than 50 members do not show ads
3. Who Sees Ads
3.1 Users Who See Ads
| User Type | Sees Ads? |
|---|---|
| Free user in a Base community | Yes |
| Free user in a Tier 1 community | Yes |
| Free user in a Tier 2+ community | No (community is ad-free) |
| Outprobe Premium subscriber | No (Premium removes all ads) |
| Premium community member (future) | No (paid community, no ads) |
3.2 Removing Ads
There are two ways to experience an ad-free Outprobe:
- Subscribe to Outprobe Premium — removes all ads for you personally, across all communities
- Community reaches Tier 2 (15 Explorer Stones) — the entire community becomes ad-free for all members
4. Data and Privacy
4.1 What We Share with Advertisers
Advertisers receive aggregate, anonymous performance metrics only:
| Metric | Shared? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Total impressions | Yes | "Your ad was shown 10,000 times" |
| Total clicks | Yes | "Your ad received 250 clicks" |
| Click-through rate | Yes | "2.5% CTR" |
| Community category | Yes | "Shown in Photography communities" |
| Individual user data | Never | N/A |
| User names or emails | Never | N/A |
| User profiles | Never | N/A |
| Conversion tracking | Never | N/A |
4.2 No Tracking Pixels or Cookies
- Outprobe does NOT embed tracking pixels in ads
- Outprobe does NOT set advertising cookies
- Outprobe does NOT allow third-party trackers in ad content
- Click-through URLs are opened in the user's browser with no Outprobe tracking parameters
4.3 No Data Enrichment
- Outprobe does NOT purchase external data to enhance ad targeting
- Outprobe does NOT use third-party data management platforms (DMPs)
- Outprobe does NOT participate in real-time bidding (RTB) ad exchanges
5. Advertiser Requirements
5.1 Who Can Advertise
Advertisers must:
- Have a legitimate business or organization
- Comply with all applicable advertising laws in their jurisdiction
- Provide accurate information about their business
- Create ads that are truthful and non-deceptive
5.2 Prohibited Advertisements
The following types of ads are NOT permitted on Outprobe:
Prohibited Products/Services:
- Tobacco and nicotine products
- Weapons and ammunition
- Illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia
- Adult/sexual content
- Gambling (unless legally licensed and age-gated)
- Cryptocurrency and NFT promotions (subject to review)
- Multi-level marketing (MLM) or pyramid schemes
- Counterfeit or knockoff products
- Surveillance or spyware tools
Prohibited Ad Content:
- Deceptive or misleading claims
- False urgency or scarcity ("Only 2 left!" when false)
- Before/after claims without evidence
- Political campaign ads
- Ads targeting or exploiting children
- Ads containing hate speech or discriminatory content
- Ads with malicious links or malware
- Ads impersonating other brands or individuals
- Clickbait or sensationalist content
5.3 Ad Review Process
- All ads are reviewed before going live
- Review typically takes 1-2 business days
- Ads that violate our policies are rejected with an explanation
- Repeat violators may have their advertiser account suspended
6. Community Owner Rights
6.1 Ads in Communities
- Community owners cannot toggle ads on or off in free communities
- Ads are part of the free platform infrastructure and fund its operation
- Ads shown are contextually relevant to the community's category
6.2 Future: Premium Communities
- Communities with paid member subscriptions do not show ads
- This is a future feature dependent on payment gateway integration
6.3 Reporting Inappropriate Ads
Community owners and members can report ads that:
- Are irrelevant to the community topic
- Contain inappropriate or offensive content
- Are deceptive or misleading
- Violate any Outprobe policy
Reported ads are reviewed within 24 hours.
7. Pricing
7.1 Ad Pricing Model
Ads are priced on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis. Pricing varies by:
- Community category (some categories are more competitive)
- Region (regional pricing applies)
- Campaign duration and budget
7.2 Minimum Budget
Minimum campaign budgets are set to ensure quality and prevent spam. Details are available in the advertiser dashboard.
7.3 Payment
- Payment is required before ads go live
- Accepted payment methods are listed in the advertiser dashboard
- Refunds for undelivered impressions are processed automatically
8. Transparency
8.1 Ad Labeling
Every ad on Outprobe is clearly labeled with:
- A visible "Promoted" tag
- The advertiser's name or brand
- The community category it is targeting
8.2 User Controls
Users can:
- Report individual ads as inappropriate
- See why an ad was shown ("This ad appears because you are in a Photography community")
- Subscribe to Premium to remove all ads
8.3 Annual Transparency Report
Outprobe will publish an annual transparency report including:
- Total number of ads served
- Number of ads rejected during review
- Number of ads removed after user reports
- Categories with the most advertising activity
- No individual user data will be included
9. Changes to This Policy
- Material changes communicated 30 days in advance
- Notification via email and in-app alerts
- Continued use constitutes acceptance
Contact
- Advertising inquiries: ads@outprobe.com
- Report an ad: Use the "Report" button on any promoted post, or email report@outprobe.com
- General: support@outprobe.com
Questions about this policy? legal@outprobe.com