How it works

1. Who is who

Requester (also called the source): the person who wants something done and puts money behind it. A requester does not need an account. When a task is created, the requester receives a private key for it, a code starting with rk_. That key is the only proof that the task belongs to them. Keep it somewhere safe. We store only a one-way fingerprint of it, so we cannot show it to you again.

Doer: the person who claims a task, does the work and submits proof. A doer signs in (see section 7) and gets a doer ID such as NG-7KQ2MX.

Reviewer: a person on the Nothing.gripe side who reads proof, looks at the results of the automated checks and decides whether a payout is sent. Reviewers also decide disputes and crypto refunds.

Task code: every funded task has a public code such as NG-48291. Use it whenever you contact us about a task.

2. Making a request

You start by typing what you want, in plain words, into the request box on the home page, the bottom dock or the footer. There is no form to fill in first.

What happens next:

1. Safety check. The text is checked against the marketplace rules. Requests involving violence, weapons, illegal drugs, hacking, stalking or doxxing, theft, fraud, harassment or extortion are refused straight away. Borderline requests may be held for a person to look at.
2. Understanding it. The system works out what kind of work it is (research, writing, design, tech, data, testing, photography, errand, physical or other), whether it can be done remotely or needs someone on site, the skill level it needs and roughly how long it takes. Some of this is done by an AI model running on Cloudflare Workers AI.
3. Clarifying questions. If something important is missing, such as a city for a local task, how many items, or what counts as done, you may be asked a short question before a price is shown.
4. A task draft. You get a title, instructions, a proof requirement (what the doer must show) and a suggested amount. You can change the amount and the completion window before paying.

Pure wishes ("I wish I had a Ferrari", "peace on earth") are not tasks, because nobody can do them and prove it. Those stay as requests and are not turned into paid tasks.

Do not put anyone's private details (home address, phone number, ID documents) into a request. Task titles and descriptions are public.

3. How the price is suggested

The suggested amount comes from an estimate of the effort: the kind of work, the skill level, the estimated hours, and for local tasks the typical hourly rate in that country. It may add travel or access time for places that need tickets, queues or long trips, and it notes when the task will involve buying something.

The suggestion is a starting point, not a quote. You set the final amount. A lower amount is allowed, but it is less likely to be claimed quickly. The smallest possible task is worth 1 USDT.

If a task involves buying things (food, supplies, tickets, printing, fuel and similar), the amount must cover both the purchase and the work. Doers are not expected to spend their own money on your behalf beyond what the task pays.

4. Funding a task

Tasks are funded in crypto through NOWPayments. Card, UPI and bank payments are switched off at the moment.

1. Choose a coin and network at checkout (for example USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH or SOL, depending on what is offered at the time).
2. You get a one-time deposit address and an exact amount. Send exactly that amount, in that coin, on that network.
3. When NOWPayments confirms the payment, the task moves to OPEN and appears in the task list. Confirmation time depends on the blockchain; it is usually minutes but can be longer when a network is busy.

If a confirmation message from the payment processor is lost, a background job checks unconfirmed payments every 15 minutes, so a paid task is not left stuck.

Wrong coin or network. Funds sent in a different coin, on a different network, or to an old address may be lost for good. We cannot reverse blockchain transfers.

Changing the amount. You can change the amount only before the task is funded. Doing so cancels any deposit addresses already created for the old amount. A payment that still arrives at an old address is not lost; it goes to a person for review instead of funding the task automatically.

Funding with credit. If you have credit from a cancelled task (see section 18), you can fund a new task with it by pasting the cancelled task's private key. The credit must cover the whole amount and be in the same currency.

5. Where the money goes

Every task amount is split the same way. The deposit is not an extra charge; it is a separate amount the doer may have to put down (see section 10).

All amounts are tracked in whole minor units (cents) on an internal double-entry ledger. Every movement of money, from funding to payout, refund or credit, is a ledger entry that cannot be edited afterwards.

Network fees charged by blockchains and payment processors are separate from this split.

6. Rising bounty

A requester can add an optional bounty reserve on top of the task amount. While the task stays unclaimed, one step of that reserve is added to the doer payout at a fixed interval (between 1 hour and 7 days; 24 hours by default). Once someone claims the task, the bounty stops rising.

Any part of the reserve that was never added to the payout goes back to the requester as credit. It is recorded on the ledger either way.

7. Signing in as a doer

You need to sign in before you can claim a task, so we know who holds it and where to reach you. There are three ways:

• Telegram. Tap the link, open our bot @NothingGripeBot and press Start. Your Telegram account is linked to your doer ID.
• Wallet signature. Sign a short text message with an Ethereum-style wallet (an address starting with 0x). A signature costs nothing and cannot move your funds. Never approve a transaction or share a seed phrase to sign in; we will never ask for one.
• Email code. Enter your email and type the 6-digit code we send. Codes expire after 15 minutes.

A sign-in lasts 60 days on that browser. Signing in the same way again later brings you back to the same doer ID and history.

8. Doer levels and limits

Your level depends on how many tasks you have completed. It sets how many tasks you can hold at once and whether you pay a deposit on committed tasks.

"Tasks at once" counts tasks that are reserved for you, claimed or in progress. Tasks you have already submitted proof for do not count.

9. Claiming a task

Open tasks can be claimed first come, first served. There is no bidding and no proposal. When you press Claim, the server locks the task in one step, so only one person can ever get it. If two people press at the same moment, one succeeds and the other is told the task is taken.

By claiming, you accept the task's contract: the title, instructions, proof requirement, payout and completion window as they are at that moment. That version is saved and your proof is judged against it, even if the requester edits the listing later.

You can't claim while you are paused (see section 17) or if you already hold the maximum number of tasks for your level.

After a successful claim you get a private claim link. It is how you send the handshake, progress notes, proof and payout wallet. Don't share it: anyone with the link can act on the task as you.

10. The 10% commitment deposit

Most tasks are free to claim. A deposit is needed only on high-value tasks: those worth 500 USD or more (see verification levels). This is set automatically from the task's value; the requester doesn't choose it. The task card shows when a deposit is needed.

If you are a New or Verified doer (fewer than 3 completed tasks) and you claim a high-value task, the task is first reserved for you for 10 minutes. In that time you pay a deposit of 10% of the task amount, in crypto.

• If the deposit is confirmed within the 10 minutes, the task becomes yours and the timers below start.
• If it isn't, the reservation ends, the task goes back to the list, and a strike is recorded. A deposit that arrives after the reservation has ended is not applied to the task; write to support@nothing.gripe and a person will sort it out.
• When your proof is approved, the deposit is returned together with your payout.
• If you abandon the task (miss the handshake, a checkpoint or the deadline), the deposit is forfeited and added to the payout for the next doer.
• If the task is cancelled after a dispute decided in the requester's favour, the deposit goes to the requester as credit.

Trusted and Established doers never pay a deposit. Tasks under 500 USD never need one.

11. Handshake, checkpoint and deadline

Handshake: within 15 minutes

Right after the claim, you have 15 minutes to send a handshake: a link to a fresh photo or screenshot, or a one-line plan. It shows you are really there and ready. It is not part of the paid work. Miss it and the task is released.

Checkpoint: at a quarter of the window

On tasks with a completion window of 12 hours or more, a short progress note is due once a quarter of the window has passed (for example, 18 hours into a 72-hour task). Miss it and the task is released.

Deadline and grace period

The completion window is set by the requester (72 hours unless they chose otherwise) and starts when the task becomes yours. After the deadline there is a grace period of 10% of the window, and never less than 2 hours.

• Proof before the deadline: full payout.
• Proof during the grace period: accepted, but 10% of the payout is deducted and returned to the requester as credit.
• No proof by the end of the grace period: the task is released and a strike is recorded.

The requester can extend the deadline while you work, by 1 to 720 hours at a time.

12. Submitting proof

Proof must match what the task's proof requirement asks for. Depending on the task, that can be links, text, photos, videos, receipts, or a verification phrase shown in a photo or screenshot.

• Each submission is saved as a new version. Earlier versions are kept and cannot be changed.
• Photos and videos are stored privately. They are never shown in public listings.
• We read file metadata such as capture time, camera or editing software, and location if the file contains it, to check that the proof is genuine and was made for this task.
• Before submitting, set the wallet you want to be paid to. The wallet is locked once proof is in.

Submitting someone else's work, old photos, edited evidence or proof reused from another task is fraud. See the rules.

13. How proof is reviewed

When proof comes in, the task moves to under review. Two things happen:

1. Automated checks. Software looks for problems such as media used in another task, media captured before the task started or far from where it should be, signs of editing, missing capture times, shortened or unsafe links, and text that tries to instruct the checking software. Some checks use AI models. Their output is a recommendation only.
2. Payout rules. Fixed rules confirm that the task is in the right state, the proof matches the contract the doer accepted, the payout amount matches that contract, the ledger actually holds the money, a wallet is set, there is no open dispute, and payouts are not paused. A recent change of wallet, or a wallet different from the one the doer signed in with, holds the payout for a closer look.

The result is a recommendation to pay, hold or reject. A person always makes the final decision. Nothing is paid automatically. If the proof is not good enough, the reviewer can reject it or ask for more.

Verification levels

How much proof is needed depends on what the task is worth and whether it happens in person. The level is set automatically when the task is created and is part of the contract the doer accepts.

A live challenge is a one-time code you request once the handshake is done. It's valid for about 30 minutes and must appear in your proof (for example, written on paper in the photo). It shows the proof was made now, for this task.

14. Getting paid

After approval, the payout is prepared and sent in USDT to the wallet you gave, on the network you chose: Tron (addresses start with T), BNB Chain or Base (addresses start with 0x).

• The amount is the doer payout on the task, plus any rising bounty added while it was open, minus any late deduction, plus your deposit if you paid one.
• Payouts are sent by a person after approval. There is no guaranteed delivery time.
• Blockchain transfers cannot be reversed. Check your address and network carefully; we only check that the address has the right format, not that it is yours.
• If a transfer fails, the payout is marked failed and a person looks at it. A failed transfer does not cancel an approved payout.
• All payouts can be paused site-wide for safety, for example if something unusual is detected. Paused payouts are sent once the pause ends.

You are responsible for any taxes on what you earn, in the country where you live.

15. Thank-you tips

Once the proof is approved, the requester can send an optional tip and a rating ("very good", "exactly" or "exceptional"). A tip is its own crypto payment. It never touches the task's amount, split or payout.

100% of a tip goes to the doer. A tip can be up to twice the task amount, or 100 units of the task's currency, whichever is higher.

16. Backups and released tasks

While a task is held by someone, up to 5 other doers can join its backup queue. If the current doer's claim is released, the task goes to the first backup who is still eligible. If nobody in the queue is eligible, the task goes back to the open list.

A claim is released when the doer misses the deposit, the handshake, a checkpoint, or the end of the grace period.

17. Strikes and pauses

A strike is recorded each time a claim is released because the doer missed something. Strikes protect requesters from tasks being held and then dropped.

• 1 strike: a warning.
• 2 strikes within 24 hours: you can't claim for 24 hours.
• 3 strikes within 30 days: you can't claim for 7 days.

Tasks you already hold are not affected by a pause. Fraud or serious rule breaking can lead to a permanent ban regardless of strikes.

18. Requester controls

With the task's private key you can:

• Check status at any time.
• Edit the description, only while nobody holds the task. The edit becomes a new contract version for future claims.
• Extend the window by 1 to 720 hours, before or during the work.
• Repost a task that ended without a match or expired, so it opens again.
• Cancel a task while nobody holds it (open, no match or expired). The full amount you funded becomes credit, including the 30% platform share and any unused bounty reserve.
• Use credit to fund a new task in the same currency.
• Open a dispute once someone has claimed the task (see section 20).

Credit can also be turned into a crypto refund on request. A person reviews every such request. See the refunds page.

19. When nobody claims a task

If a task stays open for 7 days without being claimed, it moves to no match. It leaves the open list and stops raising its bounty. Nothing is lost: from there you can repost it, extend it, or cancel it to credit.

20. Disputes

Either side can open a dispute, from the moment a task is claimed until its payout is sent. The requester uses the private key; the doer uses the claim link. You must give a clear reason, and you can add evidence.

• Only one dispute can be open on a task at a time.
• A payout that was ready to send is held until the dispute is decided.
• A person reads both sides and decides. The reason for every decision is written down.
• If the doer is right, the held payout is released, or the proof goes back to review.
• If the requester is right, the task is cancelled and the requester gets credit as described in section 18, plus any deposit the doer paid.

Partial outcomes (paying part of the amount) are not available yet; a dispute ends in favour of one side.

21. Every task status, explained

22. A worked example

1. Asha asks for five photos of a café's menu board in Kochi. The suggested amount is 12 USDT with a 24-hour window. She accepts it. Because it's in person, it gets the enhanced verification level.
2. She pays 12 USDT in USDT on Tron. A few minutes later the task is open as NG-48291. She saves her private key.
3. Ravi, a New doer, claims it. It's under 500 USD, so no deposit is needed and the task is his straight away.
4. Within 15 minutes he sends a handshake photo of the street. The task is in progress. Six hours in (a quarter of 24), he posts a short checkpoint note.
5. He sets his Tron wallet and submits the five photos and a verification phrase before the deadline.
6. The automated checks find no problems; the payout rules pass; a reviewer approves.
7. Ravi receives 8.40 USDT. The 3.60 USDT platform share stays with the platform. (On a 600 USDT task he would also have paid a 60 USDT deposit when claiming and got it back here.)
8. Asha is happy and sends a 2 USDT tip. Ravi receives all of it.

Questions about any step? See the FAQ or contact us.