Terms of Service

Last updated: November 14, 2026

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

SwingSitters is operated by [LEGAL ENTITY NAME] ("SwingSitters", "we", "us"). These Terms of Service are an agreement between you and us. They apply whenever you use swingsitters.com, the SwingSitters web app or the SwingSitters mobile app (shown on Android as "Sitters") (together, the "Service").

These documents are part of the agreement: the Privacy Policy, the Cancellation Policy and the Community Standards. If you are a sitter, the Sitter Agreement also applies to you. By creating an account or using the Service you accept them. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. What SwingSitters is, and what it is not

The Service is an online marketplace. Parents and legal guardians ("parents") use it to find, book and pay independent babysitters ("sitters") for childcare in the family's own home, or in a hotel room registered to the parent.

• We are not a childcare provider. Sitters, not SwingSitters, provide care. We do not supervise, direct or control how a sitter does the work, and we are not present.
• We are not an employer or an employment agency. Sitters are independent. They set their own rates and availability and choose which requests to accept. Nothing in these terms creates an employment, agency, partnership or joint-venture relationship between SwingSitters and any user.
• The childcare arrangement is between the parent and the sitter. When a booking is confirmed, the parent and the sitter enter into an agreement directly with each other for that sit. We are not a party to it.
• Parents may be household employers. Depending on how much a parent pays a particular sitter and on federal and state law, a parent may be that sitter's employer for tax and other purposes. That is a matter between the parent, the sitter and the tax authorities. We do not withhold or pay employment taxes for anyone and do not give tax advice.
• We are not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 911.
• We do not provide insurance. SwingSitters does not provide liability, accident, property or workers' compensation coverage for parents or sitters. Check your own homeowner's, renter's and motor policies.

3. Eligibility and accounts

• You must be at least 18 years old and in the United States to use the Service. Sitters must be at least 21 to accept overnight bookings. The Service is for adults and is not directed to children.
• If you register as a parent, you confirm that you are a parent or legal guardian of the children you list, or otherwise have legal authority to arrange their care.
• Each account has one role, parent or sitter, chosen at sign-up. Give accurate information and keep it up to date. One person, one account.
• You are responsible for activity on your account. Keep your password private and tell us promptly at support@swingsitters.com if you think someone else has used it.
• We may decline or close an account where we reasonably believe these terms or the Community Standards have been broken, or where the law requires it.

4. Sitter screening and its limits

Before a sitter appears in search, we record the following steps as passed: (a) identity verification; (b) a criminal background check carried out by a third-party screening provider, including a search of county criminal court records and a sex-offender registry search; (c) two childcare references, each contacted by a person on our team; (d) a current CPR and first-aid certificate on file; (e) a video interview; and (f) the signed Sitter Agreement. A sitter's profile displays a badge only for steps that sitter has passed.

Screening has limits, and you should understand them. A background check reports what was found on record, in the sources searched, on the date it was run. Records can be incomplete, inaccurate or out of date, and no check can predict what a person will do. References and interviews reflect what we were told. We do not re-run every check before every booking. We do not routinely run background checks on parents or on other people in a parent's home.

For those reasons we make no promise or warranty about the identity, background, conduct, skill or suitability of any user. The decision to book a sitter, and the decision to accept a booking, is yours. Read profiles and reviews, use the message thread, and use your own judgment.

5. If you are a parent

You agree to:

• give a complete and truthful pre-job brief on every booking, including a firm return time, a phone number you will answer, an emergency contact who is not one of the parents out that night, the children's ages, routines, allergies and medical needs, pets, any cameras in the home, and any other adults who will be present;
• keep pools, firearms, medication and similar hazards locked or secured, and say so truthfully when asked;
• tell the sitter about any camera or recording device, and never place one in a bathroom or in the room where an overnight sitter sleeps;
• book care only at your home or at a hotel room registered to you, never at a venue, club or event, and stay within the limit of four children per sitter (two if any child is under 12 months);
• return at the agreed time, and accept that care is handed back only to an authorised adult who is able to care for the children. If no such adult is present, the sitter will stay at the overtime rate and call your emergency contact;
• treat sitters with respect and follow the zero-tolerance conduct rule in the Community Standards; and
• meet any obligations you have as a household employer.

We never ask where you are going or why you are booking, and you do not need to tell a sitter.

6. If you are a sitter

You agree to the Sitter Agreement, which contains the code of conduct, the confidentiality terms and the child-safety exception to them. You confirm that you are legally permitted to work in the United States, that everything in your application is true, and that you will tell us promptly about anything that would change the outcome of your screening. You are responsible for your own taxes and for any licences or permits that apply to you.

7. Bookings

• A parent sends a request to a sitter with times, children and a brief. The quote shown at that point sets the price of the booking.
• The sitter may accept or decline. A request that has not been answered within 24 hours, or by the start time if sooner, expires.
• An accepted request becomes a confirmed booking when the parent pays. An accepted request that is not paid within 12 hours, or by the start time if sooner, expires.
• The parent's street address, phone number, emergency contact and brief are released to the sitter only when the booking is confirmed.
• The sitter records check-in on arrival and check-out at handover. Those times are used to work out any overtime.
• We do not promise that any sitter will be available, that a request will be accepted, or that a replacement can be found if a sitter cancels.

8. Prices, fees and payment

• Sitter charges. Each sitter sets an hourly rate and, where offered, a flat overnight fee, within ranges we publish. Bookings have a three-hour minimum. Add-ons for extra children, the after-midnight premium and the ride-home stipend are set out on the Pricing page and itemised in each quote.
• Service fee. Parents pay SwingSitters a service fee on top of the sitter's charges: 15% of the sitter subtotal, or 10% for a shared sit, less any partner-code discount. The fee is shown in the quote before you pay. There is no membership fee.
• How payment works. Payments are processed by our third-party payment processor. By paying for a booking you authorise us to charge your payment method for the quoted total and to save that payment method for later charges that arise from the same booking: overtime under the late-return rule, amounts due under the Cancellation Policy, and any tip you choose to add. We do not store full card numbers.
• Limited payment agent. Each sitter appoints SwingSitters as the sitter's limited agent solely to accept payment from parents on the sitter's behalf. A parent's payment to us for the sitter's charges discharges the parent's obligation to pay the sitter that amount.
• Payouts. We pay the sitter's share to the sitter's connected payout account, normally 24 hours after check-out, unless an incident is open on the booking. Tips are passed on when paid. Sitters receive 100% of their rate, premiums, overnight fee, ride-home stipend, overtime and tips.
• Late returns. After a 15-minute grace period, overtime is charged in 15-minute blocks at 1.5 times the booking's hourly rate, including any extra-child add-on.
• Statement wording. The descriptor on a card statement is abbreviated and is set partly by card networks and banks, so its exact wording can vary.
• Chargebacks. If you believe a charge is wrong, contact us first so that we can look into it. We may suspend an account while a chargeback is open.
• Taxes. You are responsible for any taxes that apply to you.

9. Cancellations and refunds

The Cancellation Policy sets out what is refunded and what a sitter is paid when a booking is cancelled, and it forms part of these terms.

10. Conduct

You agree to follow the Community Standards. In particular:

• Childcare only. Sitters provide childcare and nothing else. Any sexual advance, invitation or exposure toward a sitter, by a parent or by anyone in the home, is prohibited and will end that family's access to the Service.
• No misuse of the Service. Do not use it for anything unlawful; do not harass, threaten or discriminate against anyone; do not post false or misleading information; do not attempt to access other people's accounts or data; do not scrape, overload or interfere with the Service.
• Keep bookings on the Service. Bookings arranged through SwingSitters must be booked and paid through SwingSitters. The brief, the check-in record, the incident process and the payment protections only exist for bookings made here.

11. Confidentiality and child safety

Sitters agree to keep what they learn about a family private. That duty never limits anyone's right or obligation to call 911, to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the authorities, to cooperate with law enforcement or a court, or to report a concern to us. Nothing in these terms or in any other SwingSitters document should be read as discouraging such a report. Details are in the Sitter Agreement.

12. Reviews, messages and other content

You are responsible for what you write in profiles, messages and reviews. Reviews must be honest, based on a real booking, and must not disclose private information about another person. You keep ownership of your content and give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display and use it as needed to operate the Service. Reviews are revealed when both sides have submitted one, or 14 days after the booking is completed. We may remove content that breaks these terms. Messages may be reviewed by our team when they are reported or when we are investigating an incident.

13. Incidents, holds, suspension and termination

• Either party may file an incident on a booking. An open incident pauses the sitter's payout for that booking while a person on our team reviews it. A report of sexual conduct or of a concern about a child's safety also pauses the account of the person reported until the review is complete.
• After hearing from both sides we may release the payout, refund all or part of a payment, or take action on an account. We act reasonably and in good faith, but we are not a court or an arbitrator and our decision does not prevent either party from pursuing other remedies.
• We may suspend or close an account, remove a profile from search, or cancel a booking where we reasonably believe that these terms, the Community Standards or the Sitter Agreement have been broken, that someone's safety is at risk, or that the law requires it. When an account is suspended or closed, its upcoming bookings are cancelled as set out in the Cancellation Policy. We keep a minimal record of an account closed for a serious breach so that the same person cannot register again.
• Either party may block the other from future bookings. Blocking is private: the other person is not told.
• A parent with an overtime balance that has been unpaid for more than 72 hours cannot make new bookings until it is paid.
• You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time, except while a booking is active. See Delete your account.
• Sections that by their nature should survive the end of this agreement do survive, including sections 11 and 15 to 19.

14. Privacy

The Privacy Policy explains what we collect and what we deliberately do not. You agree not to use information you receive about another user through the Service for any purpose other than the booking it relates to.

15. Our Service and intellectual property

The Service, including its software, text, design, illustrations and the SwingSitters name and marks, belongs to us or our licensors. We give you a personal, non-transferable, revocable permission to use the Service for its intended purpose. If you send us feedback, we may use it without obligation to you.

16. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent the law allows, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free, that information supplied by users is accurate, or that any screening step will reveal all relevant information about a person. Some states do not allow certain disclaimers, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

17. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows:

• SwingSitters is not liable for the acts or omissions of any user, on or off the Service, including the conduct of a sitter, a parent, or anyone in a parent's home;
• SwingSitters is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, data or goodwill; and
• our total liability to you for all claims relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the service fees you paid to us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim, and (b) one hundred US dollars ($100).

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including liability for our own gross negligence, fraud or wilful misconduct. Some states do not allow some of these limits, so they may not apply to you.

18. Release and indemnity

Because the childcare arrangement is between the parent and the sitter, you release SwingSitters from claims arising from a dispute between you and another user, to the extent the law allows. You agree to indemnify SwingSitters and its officers, employees and agents against third-party claims, losses and reasonable legal costs arising from your breach of these terms, your violation of law, or your own conduct in connection with a booking. This does not apply to the extent a claim is caused by our own negligence or misconduct.

19. Disputes with SwingSitters

Talk to us first. If you have a dispute with SwingSitters, email support@swingsitters.com with a description of the problem and what you would like us to do. Both of us agree to try in good faith to resolve it informally for 30 days before starting any formal proceeding.

20. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. If a change is material, we will tell you by email or in the app before it takes effect, and the "Last updated" date above will change. If you keep using the Service after a change takes effect, you accept the updated terms. A change will not apply retroactively to a booking already confirmed.

21. General

• These terms and the documents they refer to are the whole agreement between you and us about the Service.
• If a court finds part of these terms unenforceable, the rest stays in effect.
• If we do not enforce a term, that is not a waiver of it.
• You may not transfer your rights under these terms. We may transfer ours to a successor of the business, and will tell you if we do.
• We may send you notices by email to the address on your account or within the app.

22. Contact

[LEGAL ENTITY NAME]
[MAILING ADDRESS]
support@swingsitters.com