Content Rules and Acceptable Use

Every listing on StartupThrone is an advertisement by the startup that paid for it. Everything it says must be true, and it must be lawful in India. The startup is responsible for its listing and for the website it links to.

The website must belong to the startup listed. The lists below explain the rules; they do not limit them.

• Anything unlawful in India.
• Sexual content, and adult services however described.
• Scams, phishing, pyramid or multi-level marketing schemes, fake returns, and financial claims such as guaranteed returns.
• Real-money gaming, betting, gambling, lotteries, or anything that promotes them, as India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits.
• Sales of crypto tokens, and investment offers that are not registered as the law requires.
• Hate and harassment.
• Illegal goods: drugs, weapons, counterfeit goods, wildlife products, and prescription drugs sold without a licence.
• Impersonation of a brand, company or person, and use of trademarks you do not own.
• False or misleading claims.
• Malware, and links that deceive visitors about where they go or what they do.
• Political advertising.
• Content about children or aimed at children.
• A website that does not belong to the startup listed.

Before payment. Automated checks look at the listing's text, its website address (including a Google Safe Browsing lookup) and signs that it impersonates a brand. A listing they refuse is never charged.

After payment. The name and pitch show as soon as the payment is confirmed. A moderator checks the website link and the logo before they show, usually within a few hours. If they are not approved, they stay hidden while the paid name, pitch and place remain. That is not a reason for a refund.

At any time. A listing on the board can be looked at again, for example after a report.

Anyone can report a listing, without an account, choosing a reason such as spam, scam, sexual content, illegal, impersonation or misleading, and adding detail if they wish. Reports go to our moderators.

To stop duplicate reports we keep a keyed hash of your network address that changes every day. Nothing in it identifies you.

Legal complaints, including about trademarks and other intellectual property, and court or government orders, go to the Grievance Officer.

A moderator removes a listing that breaks these rules. When a listing is removed, every payment made for it is refunded in full to the original payment method, as the Refund and Cancellation Policy explains. We may report illegal activity to the authorities.

We act on valid complaints and legal orders as the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 require: we acknowledge complaints within 24 hours, resolve them within 15 days, and act on court or government orders as the law requires.

If you think a decision about your listing is wrong, write to the Grievance Officer.