Legal
Terms of Service
Last updated: August 2026.
These terms govern your use of BugRater, an independent directory where security researchers rate and review bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure programs. By creating an account, posting a review, or otherwise using the site, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please don't use BugRater.
Who may use BugRater
You must be at least 16 years old and able to form a binding agreement. You are responsible for the activity under your account and for keeping your credentials secure. Provide accurate account information, don't impersonate anyone, and don't share or sell your account. One person, one account — sockpuppet accounts created to sway ratings are prohibited.
Your reviews and content
Reviews on BugRater are the opinions of individual researchers about their own experiences with a program — triage speed, payout fairness, communication, scope honesty, and the like. You may only post experiences you had first-hand, and you must post them honestly. Do not post experiences that aren't yours, invent details, or submit content you were paid or asked by a program to write.
What's prohibited
You agree not to post or do any of the following:
- Defamatory statements or claims you know to be false.
- Disclosing confidential or embargoed vulnerability details, unpatched issues, or the contents of a private report.
- Violating a non-disclosure agreement, program terms, or a coordinated-disclosure agreement you are bound by.
- Doxxing — publishing private information about individuals — or naming and targeting individual employees.
- Vendor astroturfing, fake reviews, incentivized reviews, or otherwise manipulating a program's rating.
- Harassment, threats, hate speech, or spam.
- Scraping, crawling, or bulk-harvesting the site or its data by automated means without our written permission.
Moderation
Every submission is reviewed by BugRater before it is published. We may edit for clarity or policy, decline to publish, remove content, or suspend or terminate accounts at our discretion — for example when content appears to breach these terms. Moderation is a best-effort process and is not a guarantee that published content is accurate or complete.
Ratings disclaimer
Grades and ratings are aggregated summaries of experiences reported by users. They are provided "as is", reflect opinions rather than statements of fact, and are not endorsements of any program or company. They are not professional, legal, or financial advice, and you should not rely on them as your sole basis for any decision about where to spend your time.
Company responses and claimed profiles
A company may claim its profile to respond to reviews on the record. Claiming a profile does not let a company remove honest reviews, edit researcher content, or rate its own programs. Responses are subject to the same prohibitions and moderation as any other content.
BugBadge and researcher credentials
A BugBadge is a portable credential that attests a researcher's track record on BugRater at a point in time — drawn from verified platform accounts and public review history. It is not identity verification, and it must not be relied on as such: a badge says nothing about who a person is offline, and no one should treat it as proof of legal identity. Programs make their own triage and engagement decisions; a badge is context to weigh, never a guarantee about a researcher's conduct or a substitute for a program's own process.
Credentials are personal and non-transferable. Sharing, selling, or transferring a badge or account is prohibited. We may suspend or revoke a badge for abuse — including fabricated or incentivized reviews, credential sharing, impersonation, or harassment — and revocation does not entitle you to any refund or compensation, since we charge nothing for a badge.
Payments and our role
Bounty payment is solely between the researcher and the program. BugRater is not a party to any bounty, disclosure, or settlement, and is not an escrow agent, payment processor, or broker. We take no fee or cut from any bounty, we hold no funds, and we have no liability for non-payment, delayed payment, or any dispute over a bounty amount.
Disputes about payment or the handling of a report should be raised directly with the program. Our involvement is limited to the review side: where a review is disputed, our role is bounded by the moderation process described in these terms and our review guidelines, and does not extend to mediating or resolving payment disputes between you and a program.
Intellectual property
You retain ownership of the content you submit. By posting, you grant BugRater a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, display, reproduce, and distribute that content in connection with operating and promoting the service. You represent that you have the right to grant this license and that your content doesn't infringe anyone else's rights.
No warranty; limitation of liability
BugRater is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. We don't warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any content or rating is accurate. To the fullest extent permitted by law, BugRater and its operators are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or any loss of data, reputation, or opportunity, arising from your use of the service or from content posted by users.
Flagging content and takedowns
If you're a company or an individual who believes a review is false, breaches confidentiality or an NDA, discloses sensitive vulnerability details, or otherwise violates these terms, email us at hello@bugrater.com with a link to the content and a description of the problem. We review every flag and act where warranted.
Changes and governing law
We may update these terms from time to time; material changes will be reflected in the "last updated" date above, and continued use after a change means you accept it. These terms are governed by the laws of [Ontario, Canada], without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, and you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located there.
This document is a plain-language template for a review platform and is not a substitute for legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer before relying on it.