Trust & Safety
Indiegogo’s mission is to empower people to unite around ideas that matter to them and together make those ideas come to life. Providing a safe, secure, and trusted platform is an essential part of achieving that mission. We want to provide our backers with the information that they need in order to feel confident supporting innovative products as they make their way all the way from concept to market. It’s a global collaboration built on transparency, trust, and a passion for those “a-ha!” moments.
We have safeguards in place
Your trust in Indiegogo is important. We do our best to ensure you have a positive and safe experience with Indiegogo. Our experienced Trust & Safety team is as passionate about innovation as our community is, and we’re dedicated to making sure that we do everything we can to prevent fraud on the platform so that we can keep you safe. This includes both automated and manual reviews of campaigns, and working closely with payment leaders to ensure your funds are processed securely and efficiently. We also have round-the-clock monitoring to protect the information we collect online and prevent unauthorized access.
Our team also investigates real-time feedback and concerns from our community and partners. We hold our campaign owners accountable, from verifying the identity information they provide to making sure they communicate frequently with their backers. Indiegogo does not tolerate abuse of our system and takes appropriate action when necessary to maintain the integrity of our platform.
Your role in bringing new ideas to life
Indiegogo would not be where it is today without our incredible community of backers. You’re changing the world every time you contribute to a campaign, and we want to make sure that you feel confident and excited to be a part of the journey for these amazing projects. These journeys require trust and transparency at every step, and like every meaningful journey, they can have both risks and rewards.
We’re committed to ensuring every backer has the information and tools needed to decide whether or not to back a campaign. Campaigners are equipped with the tools not only to create and ultimately deliver a successful project, but also to keep their community of backers in the loop, including when things don’t go as planned. It’s with this transparency and support that great projects come to life.
Transparency and communication
Providing a trusted platform is a two-way street. We expect everyone to comply with our Terms of Use and keep the lines of communication open and honest. Not doing so may jeopardize the confidence and trust of the community who is excited to see entrepreneurial projects succeed.
For Backers
Do the research
Learn more about the project and the people behind it. Review the story (look for the “Risks and Challenges” section), team profiles, updates, and comments to get a good sense of what you’re backing and to feel confident in your decision. Find out what stage a product is in—from Concept to Shipping—to help assess risk for Tech & Innovation campaigns. Read our tips for how to evaluate a campaign.
Ask questions
Stay up-to-date with campaigns that you’ve backed by asking questions. You can contact the campaigner at any time through a direct message or comment on the campaign page. Comments are a great way to follow feedback and Q&As between the campaign owner and other backers throughout the campaign’s progress. Learn how to contact a campaigner.
Report concerns
If something looks wrong to you, tell us! We encourage our community to report suspicious activity and voice concerns via the Contact Us page or the “Let us know” link on every campaign. Our Trust & Safety team monitors feedback and takes action if needed to protect our community.
For Entrepreneurs
Paint the full picture
Give backers peace of mind and confidence in backing your project by including detailed information about your team, qualifications, and track record. Be open about the risks and challenges. The more information you provide upfront, the more potential backers will understand that you’re trustworthy and committed to seeing your project through. Fill out your profile.
Engage backers
Keep everyone informed of your progress or setbacks through commenting, direct communication and frequent updates. Substantive updates are required at least once per month by our Terms of Use. Engaging backers will help establish trust, while a lack of communication may result in backers losing faith, leaving bad feedback, requesting a refund, or even making a credit card chargeback. Learn best practices for customer support.
Prepare for launch
Did you know that most successful campaigners spend months preparing for their campaign launch? Building a community and a strong email list for your idea are two key factors in your campaign’s success. Get tips and best practices for running a crowdfunding campaign in the Indiegogo Entrepreneur Education Center.
We are here to support you
We are constantly listening to feedback and finding ways to improve our platform so that you feel confident in your decision to back campaigns on Indiegogo. Though sometimes projects encounter obstacles and unforeseen circumstances that could prevent entrepreneurs from being able to fulfill, we have policies and tools in place to help them communicate to their supporters in an effective and productive way. Failure to provide monthly updates and maintain open communication may result in restrictions to individual Indiegogo accounts or suspension of campaigns.
With crowdfunding, there are always risks, so Indiegogo does not guarantee that contributions will be used as promised, that campaign owners will deliver perks, or that campaigns will achieve their goals. However, if our Terms of Use are violated, we will take action on behalf of our backers to make things right.
Though we don’t review crowdfunding campaigns for feasibility, we do require Product Stages for all Tech & Innovation campaigns. Our Trust & Safety team reviews each individual campaign in this category before granting the Prototype Stage, Manufacturing Stage or Shipping Stage to any campaign – so you can be better informed about where these ideas are in the product lifecycle when you’re deciding whether you’d like to back them. If we receive any questions or concerns regarding a particular project, our Trust & Safety experts review and address these concerns with the campaign owners directly.
We’re constantly improving our platform and policies to create a better experience for backers and campaigners. However, we can’t make any promises on behalf of the entrepreneurs on our platform, and we can’t guarantee that every incredible idea will come to life. To that end, Indiegogo does not resolve disputes, nor do we offer refunds once funds have been disbursed.
We are here to support you. You can access our Help Center or contact us at any time. Our dedicated Customer Happiness agents will reply to any support query within 24 hours.
