Documentation
Referral Program Rules
Effective from ·Version 1.0
Preamble
These Referral Program Rules (the "Rules") govern the relationship between a User of the UnderVPN Service (the "Service") who participates in the Referral Program and the Service with respect to the crediting of bonus days of Subscription for attracting new Users.
The Rules constitute a public offer. Obtaining a Referral Link in the Dashboard and/or activation of a Referral Link by an invited person constitutes the User's unconditional acceptance of these Rules.
These Rules apply in addition to the Terms of Service. In the event of a conflict between the documents on matters governing the Referral Program, these Rules take precedence.
1. Definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Referrer | A User of the Service who distributes their Referral Link in order to attract new Users |
| Referee | A new User of the Service who first activated their access to the Service through a Referrer's Referral Link |
| Referral Link | A unique link generated by the Service for each User in their Dashboard |
| Bonus days | Additional days of access to the User's Subscription credited under the Referral Program |
| Base bonus | Bonus days credited as a one-off after the Referee's first successful Subscription payment |
| Recurring bonus | The Referrer's bonus days credited from each subsequent payment for the Referee's Subscription |
2. Conditions of participation
2.1. Who may participate as a Referrer
Any User of the Service with a registered account may become a Referrer. No additional Subscription status requirements apply — the Referral Link is also available to Users without an active Subscription.
2.2. Who may become a Referee
Any User registering an account with the Service for the first time may become a Referee. An already-registered User cannot become a Referee of another User — attribution is fixed at the moment of the User's first appearance with the Service and is not changed thereafter.
2.3. Incompatibility with the Partner Program
A single User may not simultaneously be a Referee under these Rules and a Referred Client under the Service's Partner Program. Where a User is currently attributed to a Service Partner under the Partner Program, no Referral relationship is formed.
A User holding the status of a Service Partner may not simultaneously be a Referee or a Referrer under these Rules — for a Partner, all relations are governed exclusively by the Partner Agreement.
3. Referral Link
3.1. Obtaining
The Service generates a unique Referral Link for each registered User. The link is displayed in the User's Dashboard and in the Telegram bot @gutvpn_bot.
3.2. Distribution
The Referrer may distribute their Referral Link through any channels that do not violate these Rules, the AUP or applicable law.
Distribution of the Referral Link by means of spam mailings, unsolicited commercial correspondence, fake accounts on social networks or other methods that violate applicable law or the rules of third-party services is prohibited.
3.3. Attribution
Attribution of a Referee to a Referrer is carried out on a first-touch basis: the Referee is attributed to the Referrer through whose Referral Link the Referee first activated their access to the Service.
Attribution is fixed at the moment of the Referee's first registration with the Service and is not changed thereafter. Subsequent clicks by the Referee on other Referral Links do not affect attribution.
3.4. Duration of attribution
Attribution of a Referee to a Referrer is perpetual — for the entire period of existence of the Referee's account with the Service. Recurring bonuses are credited to the Referrer for each successful payment by the Referee during that period, unless otherwise provided by Section 7 of these Rules.
4. Crediting of the Base bonus
4.1. Crediting condition
The Base bonus is credited to the Referrer and the Referee only after the Referee's first successful payment for a Subscription with the Service. Registration of the Referee with the Service without a subsequent payment does not result in the crediting of the Base bonus.
4.2. Amount of the Base bonus
Amount of the Base bonus:
- For the Referee: 7 (seven) bonus days
- For the Referrer: 7 (seven) bonus days, with a possible increase in accordance with the tier system (see Section 6)
The specific amounts of the Base bonus are displayed in the Dashboard and may be changed by the Service in the manner provided by Section 8 of these Rules.
4.3. Crediting the Base bonus
Credited bonus days are added to the term of the relevant User's active Subscription. In the absence of an active Subscription, bonus days are retained on the User's account and are activated automatically upon the next Subscription purchase.
5. Crediting of the Recurring bonus
5.1. Crediting condition
The Recurring bonus is credited to the Referrer (not the Referee) from each successful Subscription payment by the Referee following the first payment (including auto-renewal).
5.2. Amount of the Recurring bonus
Amount of the Recurring bonus — 10% of the term of the Referee's paid Subscription in days. The resulting value is rounded down to a whole day.
Example: if the Referee pays for a 30-day Subscription, the Referrer receives 3 days. For a 365-day payment — 36 days.
5.3. Crediting the Recurring bonus
Recurring bonuses are credited to the Referrer in the manner provided by Section 4.3 of these Rules.
6. Tier system
6.1. Principle
The more Referees a Referrer has accumulated who have made a first payment, the higher the amount of the Referrer's Base bonus for each new Referee.
6.2. Levels
| Level | Condition | Referrer's Base bonus per new Referee |
|---|---|---|
| Base | < 5 Referees with a first payment | 7 days |
| Level 1 | from 5 Referees with a first payment | 10 days |
| Level 2 | from 15 Referees with a first payment | 12 days |
| Level 3 | from 30 Referees with a first payment | 14 days |
The Referee's Base bonus does not depend on the Referrer's level and amounts to 7 days regardless of how many Referees the Referrer has already brought in.
The Referrer's Recurring bonus (see Section 5) does not depend on the tier level and amounts to 10% of the term of the Referee's paid Subscription.
6.3. Revision of levels
The count of Referees with a first payment is maintained continuously by the Service. The specific parameters of the tier system (thresholds and bonus amounts) may be changed by the Service in the manner provided by Section 8 of these Rules.
When the parameters of the tier system change, the new parameters apply to bonuses credited after the changes take effect. Previously credited bonus days are not subject to recalculation.
7. Refund of funds to a Referee
7.1. Refund within the 30-day window
If the Referee has received a full refund of the cost of the first Subscription within the 30-day window provided by the Refund Policy Section 1, the Base bonus of the Referrer and the Referee is cancelled:
- If the credited bonus days have not been used (the Subscription has not yet ended, the days have not been counted) — the bonus days are debited from the accounts of the relevant Users
- If the bonus days have already actually been used — no debit is made; re-crediting of a similar bonus for the same Referee is not permitted
The count of Referees with a first payment for the purposes of the tier system (Section 6) is reduced by one upon such refund.
7.2. Refund after the 30-day window
If the refund was made after the expiry of the 30-day window in the cases provided by the Refund Policy (compensation for service failures, prolonged force majeure, discontinuation of the Service, material changes to the Terms, other grounds), previously credited bonus days of the Referrer and the Referee are retained. The count of Referees for the tier system is also not revised.
7.3. Refund of a subsequent payment
If the refund was made for a subsequent (not the first) payment by the Referee, for which the Referrer was credited a Recurring bonus, the corresponding previously credited Recurring bonus is debited from the Referrer's account in a manner similar to that provided by Section 7.1, if the refund was made within the 30-day period from the date of the relevant payment.
For a refund of a subsequent payment after the 30-day period, the Recurring bonus is retained.
8. Prohibited actions and anti-fraud
8.1. Prohibited
In connection with participation in the Referral Program, the User is prohibited from:
- Creating fake or additional accounts with the Service for the purpose of obtaining bonus days (self-referral), including by using technical anonymisation tools, virtual numbers and other means of concealing that accounts belong to the same person
- Distributing the Referral Link by means of spam mailings, unsolicited commercial correspondence, automated mailings and other methods that violate applicable advertising or telecommunications law
- Using misleading texts, promises and conditions that do not match the actual terms of the Service
- Posting the Referral Link on resources whose subject matter is contrary to the AUP or applicable law
- Using the trademarks, trade names and other means of individualisation of the Service for purposes other than attracting Referees in accordance with these Rules, without separate written agreement with the Service
- Conducting contextual advertising on the Service's branded queries (including "UnderVPN", derivatives, translations and common spelling variants) without separate written agreement with the Service
8.2. Consequences of violation
Upon detection of a violation by the User of this Section or other provisions of these Rules, the Service has the right to:
- Cancel credited but not yet used bonus days of the User
- Reset the count of the User's Referees for the purposes of the tier system
- Block the User's account in the manner provided by the AUP
- Terminate the User's participation in the Referral Program while keeping any blocking measures in force
The above measures are applied at the Service's sole discretion.
9. Changes to the terms
9.1. Technical edits
Edits that do not affect the principles of crediting bonus days (typo corrections, clarification of wording, link updates) may be made without separate notice.
9.2. Changes to program parameters
Material changes to the parameters of the Referral Program (amounts of the Base bonus, the Recurring bonus, the thresholds and bonus amounts of the tier system, the addition of new restrictions) take effect no earlier than 30 (thirty) calendar days from the publication of the new version of these Rules.
Notification of material changes is published on the page of these Rules and is also sent through the Telegram bot @gutvpn_bot and (where available) to the User's confirmed email address.
Previously credited bonus days are not subject to recalculation.
9.3. Termination of the Referral Program
The Service has the right to terminate or suspend the Referral Program unilaterally upon notice to Users no less than 30 (thirty) calendar days in advance. Previously credited bonus days are retained and may be used by the User after termination of the program.
10. Contacts
Communication on Referral Program matters is conducted via support@undervpn.org or via the Telegram bot @gutvpn_bot.