Terms of Service

Last updated: June 12, 2026

Kickbacks shows a small sponsored line in the Claude Code and Codex spinners, sells that placement to advertisers, and pays a revenue share to the developer whose editor displayed it. These terms cover both sides of that marketplace. The short version: real impressions get paid, fake ones get nothing, and we can pull anything that abuses the system.

The service

Kickbacks is the VS Code extension, the kickbacks.dev site, and the APIs behind them. We can change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the service. We may update these terms; continuing to use the service after an update is acceptance. Material changes will be flagged in the extension or by email where we have one.

For developers

• Earnings. You accrue 70% of net ad revenue for ads genuinely rendered in your editor, credited per measured impression window and per click. Accruals are denominated in USD.
• Cashoutsgo through Stripe to your connected account, with a $10.00 minimum balance. Self-serve payouts are limited to the payout countries currently enabled on Kickbacks’ Connect path. You must complete Stripe’s onboarding (including identity verification) before money moves. Taxes on your earnings are your responsibility.
• No synthetic engagement. Scripted editors, replayed events, click farms, view-event forgery, or anything else that simulates attention forfeits the associated earnings and may terminate the account. The metering is server-side and cross-checked; do not bother.
• One account per person. Sign-in is via Google, GitHub, or Apple OAuth; you are responsible for activity under your account.

Net ad revenue

Net ad revenuemeans advertiser payments actually received for eligible delivered impressions and clicks, minus payment processing fees, refunds, chargebacks, credits, taxes, fraud adjustments, and invalid traffic. Today, credits are computed as 70% of the campaign’s gross bid price per credited impression — which meets or exceeds the net-revenue share defined here. We may adjust or reverse credits where the underlying advertiser payment is refunded, charged back, or determined fraudulent.

For advertisers

• Inventory. A block is 1,000 credited five-second impressions. Your price per block is your auction bid; higher bids serve first. A click is billed as 50 impressions against your balance.
• Payment. Blocks are prepaid by card via Stripe Checkout. Campaigns activate when payment clears and serve until the purchased impressions are consumed. Delivery pace depends on real usage of the extension — we do not guarantee a delivery schedule.
• Creative standards. One line of text, a destination URL, and an optional icon. No malware, phishing, or deceptive destinations; no illegal products; nothing the destination page does not plausibly deliver. We review creatives and can reject or pull any campaign that violates these standards without refund of consumed impressions; unconsumed impressions on pulled campaigns are refunded at our discretion.
• Refunds. Unserved blocks on a campaign you pause or cancel are refundable on request within 90 days of purchase. Served impressions are final.

Fraud and enforcement

We may withhold payouts, reverse credits, pause campaigns, or terminate accounts where we have a good-faith belief of fraud, abuse, or violation of these terms. Where withheld funds are later determined legitimate, they are released.

Third-party tools

Kickbacks modifies the visual presentation of third-party developer tools on your machine, at your direction, by installing the extension. Kickbacks is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic, OpenAI, or Microsoft. Those tools’ own terms govern your use of them; you are responsible for ensuring the extension is permitted in your environment (for example, your employer’s policies).

Disclaimers and liability

The service is provided as is, without warranties of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim arising out of the service is limited to the greater of $100 or the amounts you paid to us (for advertisers) or we owed you in accrued earnings (for developers) in the twelve months before the claim. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, or for the conduct of advertisers or the content of their destinations.

Termination

You can stop using Kickbacks at any time; uninstalling the extension stops all ad serving. Developers with a balance above the cashout minimum can cash out before deleting their account. We may terminate accounts that violate these terms as described above.

Contact

Questions, takedowns, or disputes: legal@kickbacks.dev. Advertiser support: ads@kickbacks.dev. See also the privacy policy.