Guide Standards & Verification Policy

Effective date: August 20, 2026
Last updated: August 21, 2026
Version: 1.0

This Guide Standards & Verification Policy (the “Policy”) explains the professional standards expected of Guides and the meaning, limits and administration of profile approval, verification and other trust or visibility signals on GuideMeet.com and its related websites, applications and dashboards (collectively, the “Platform”).

The Platform is operated by Guidemeet Private limited, a company registered in Nepal (“GuideMeet,” “we,” “us” or “our”).

This Policy forms part of the GuideMeet Terms of Use and should be read together with the Community & Messaging Guidelines and Privacy Policy. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in the Terms of Use.

1. Purpose

GuideMeet helps Travelers discover and communicate with independent local Guides through professional profiles, local Guide Insights, direct Inquiries and other eligible features.

The purposes of this Policy are to:

• establish minimum standards for Guide participation;
• explain what GuideMeet reviews before approving a profile;
• explain the difference between profile approval, verification and visibility signals;
• prevent misleading use of trust labels;
• describe Guide obligations concerning licences, credentials, insurance and professional claims;
• establish standards for public Guide image uploads and image protection;
• explain re-verification, expiry, suspension and appeals; and
• help Travelers understand the limits of GuideMeet’s checks and technical protections.

GuideMeet’s review and image-protection processes are intended to improve Platform trust, information quality and protection against unauthorized reuse. They do not eliminate risk, prevent all copying or downloading, or replace a Traveler’s own assessment.

2. Guide Eligibility

To create or manage a Guide Profile, a Guide must:

• be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into a binding agreement;
• provide an authentic identity and accurate account information;
• have the legal right to work or operate in each jurisdiction where services are offered;
• hold and maintain every licence, permit, registration, qualification, authorization or insurance required for the stated guiding activities;
• work only within the Guide’s lawful qualifications, experience and competence;
• comply with applicable tax, employment, immigration, protected-area, wildlife, cultural-property, consumer and safety requirements;
• provide truthful, current and non-misleading profile information;
• comply with the Terms of Use, Community & Messaging Guidelines and this Policy;
• upload only images that the Guide owns or has permission and all required consents to upload and publicly display; and
• cooperate reasonably with verification, safety, fraud, image-rights and compliance reviews.

Where a Guide Profile is managed for a guide team, company or other organization, the person operating the account must have authority to represent that organization. GuideMeet may require information about the organization, responsible person and individual Guides providing the represented services.

GuideMeet may refuse or restrict an application where identity, authority, legal eligibility, professional claims, image rights or safety cannot be reasonably established.

3. Minimum Professional Standards

Every Guide, whether using a Free or paid plan, must:

• communicate honestly and professionally;
• describe destinations, categories, specialties, languages and experience accurately;
• disclose material limitations, risks, inclusions, exclusions and commercial relationships;
• maintain legally required permits, licences and insurance;
• respect local communities, cultures, protected areas and the environment;
• avoid unlawful discrimination, harassment, exploitation and unsafe conduct;
• protect Traveler information and use it only for an authorized purpose;
• avoid fabricated credentials, manipulated reviews and copied content;
• avoid guarantees concerning weather, permits, route access, safety or travel outcomes;
• keep time-sensitive information reasonably current;
• report a material change affecting identity, licensing, insurance, professional status or safety eligibility; and
• respond appropriately to rights complaints concerning images or other uploaded content.

Guides must not accept or promote work beyond their lawful authorization or demonstrated competence. A Guide qualified for one activity, altitude, region or category must not imply qualification for another merely because the profile permits multiple categories or destinations.

Guides must collect and use Traveler information only for legitimate GuideMeet communications or agreed travel arrangements. Guides must not publish Traveler identification, health information, private messages, contact information, photographs, itineraries or emergency details without lawful authority and any required consent.

4. Profile Approval

All public Guide Profiles are subject to an approval process. Profile approval is the minimum Platform-level review required before a profile becomes publicly available.

Profile approval may include checking whether:

• required profile fields are complete;
• the profile appears to represent a real person or authorized guide organization;
• submitted information is internally consistent;
• photographs and content appear suitable and lawful;
• stated categories and destinations are reasonably described;
• obvious prohibited, deceptive or unsafe claims are absent;
• uploaded public images comply with the image requirements in this Policy; and
• the profile complies with applicable Platform rules.

The Free Guide Profile includes basic profile approval only. Basic approval does not mean that GuideMeet verified every identity document, licence, credential, destination claim, qualification, insurance policy, review, professional statement or image-rights claim.

Profile approval is not a government licence, professional certification, recommendation, endorsement or guarantee. GuideMeet may approve, reject, request corrections to, delay, restrict or remove a profile based on the information and risk indicators available at the time.

5. Verification Is Separate from Subscription

A paid Guide subscription does not purchase or guarantee verification.

The Professional, Growth and Elite plans may provide eligibility to apply for or display an available Verified Guide signal, subject to completion of the applicable verification process and continuing satisfaction of its criteria.

Payment alone must never be treated as evidence of identity, licensing, competence, experience, safety or professional standing. GuideMeet may deny, delay, suspend, expire or remove verification even when a Guide has an active paid subscription.

Where public display of a verification signal is a plan feature, changing or downgrading the plan may affect whether the signal remains publicly displayed. Any underlying verification record may be retained in accordance with the Privacy Policy and may require renewed review before future display.

The Plans and Pricing page controls current subscription features and limits. This Policy controls the meaning and standards of verification and trust signals.

6. Guide Plans and Trust-Signal Eligibility

GuideMeet’s current Guide plan structure is summarized below. Current prices, promotions and complete feature limits are published on the Plans and Pricing page.

Plan limits—including categories, destinations, travel styles, specialties, route/place tags, photographs, Guide Insights, Services and other profile features—control how much information may be actively displayed. A higher limit does not prove broader expertise or authorize a Guide to claim destinations, categories or activities that cannot be supported.

Higher visibility is applied only among similarly relevant Guides and does not guarantee a search position, profile view, Inquiry, booking, revenue or income. Relevance, destination match, category match, profile quality, trust signals, reviews, Guide Insights, Services and response behavior may affect visibility.

7. Launch Anchor Offer

The Launch Anchor Offer is a limited commercial pricing offer for eligible early Guides during the GuideMeet launch period.

Anchor pricing:

• provides a reduced monthly or annual price for the same applicable plan features;
• does not create a separate public verification badge;
• does not replace or automatically grant Verified Guide, Featured Guide or Destination Expert status;
• does not guarantee approval, verification, ranking, Inquiries, bookings or income; and
• remains subject to its published eligibility, duration, renewal and cancellation terms.

GuideMeet must not represent an Anchor Guide as verified merely because the Guide received launch pricing, early onboarding or profile-setup assistance.

8. Verification Components

Depending on the Guide’s country, category, claims, risk level and available records, GuideMeet’s verification process may include one or more of the following components.

8.1 Identity review

GuideMeet may request a valid government-issued identification document, live photograph, video check, address or contact confirmation, or another appropriate method to assess whether the account corresponds to the represented person.

An identity review does not establish professional qualifications, licensing, character, financial standing or suitability for a particular Traveler.

8.2 Professional licence or registration review

Where guiding activities are licensed or registered, GuideMeet may request a licence, registration card, permit number, issuing authority, category, issue date and expiry date.

GuideMeet may compare the document with available issuing-authority records or seek reasonable confirmation from the Guide or authority. Where reliable official records are unavailable, GuideMeet may be unable to independently authenticate a document.

8.3 Qualification and training review

For relevant categories, GuideMeet may request training certificates, professional qualifications, first-aid credentials, rescue training, language qualifications or other evidence supporting a profile claim.

Review of a document means only that GuideMeet assessed the document under its process. It does not make GuideMeet the issuing body or guarantee that the holder can perform every activity safely.

8.4 Experience review

GuideMeet may assess experience using information such as professional history, references, prior guiding records, route logs, employer or association confirmation, portfolio materials, public professional records or other appropriate evidence.

Years of experience, destination coverage and activity history must be stated accurately. Intermittent, seasonal, assistant or non-guiding experience must not be presented as full-time lead-guide experience without appropriate context.

8.5 Insurance review

Where insurance is legally required or material to an offered activity, GuideMeet may request the insurer, policy type, insured name, coverage period and relevant coverage information.

Review does not guarantee that a policy will respond to a particular incident, claim, destination, activity or Traveler. Guides and Travelers remain responsible for confirming current coverage directly where appropriate.

8.6 Contact and account-security review

GuideMeet may verify an email address, telephone number, account control or other contact method. Contact verification confirms access to that method at the time of review; it does not verify all identity or professional claims.

8.7 Additional risk-based review

GuideMeet may request additional information where a Guide offers high-risk activities, works across several jurisdictions, represents a team, receives a serious report, presents inconsistent information or triggers a fraud, safety or compliance indicator.

9. Verified Guide Signal

A Verified Guide signal may be displayed only when:

• the Guide has an eligible plan where plan eligibility applies;
• the public profile has been approved;
• the required identity and professional checks for that Guide’s category and country have been completed;
• material profile claims reviewed by GuideMeet are reasonably supported;
• required documents are current at the time of assessment;
• there is no unresolved issue that makes display inappropriate; and
• the Guide continues to comply with Platform rules.

The exact checks completed may vary because licensing systems and reliable records differ between countries and guide categories. GuideMeet should provide a badge explanation or verification detail panel identifying the general type and date of checks performed, without exposing sensitive documents or personal information.

The Verified Guide signal means only that the applicable GuideMeet criteria were met when assessed. It does not guarantee:

• present identity or account control after the assessment date;
• that every credential or profile statement was independently authenticated;
• current licensing after a document expires or a regulator changes its records;
• competence for every destination, route, activity or Traveler;
• insurance coverage for a particular event;
• availability, conduct, service quality, safety or successful performance; or
• endorsement by GuideMeet or a government authority.

Travelers should independently confirm material qualifications, licences, permits, insurance, experience, prices and safety arrangements before proceeding.

10. Featured Guide Signal

Featured Guide is a visibility or editorial signal, not a professional licence or independent verification guarantee.

Eligibility may depend on the current Guide plan. Selection may consider factors such as:

• relevance to the destination or category;
• profile completeness and quality;
• current verification standing where required;
• useful and compliant Guide Insights;
• response behavior;
• genuine reviews and Platform history;
• community and safety standing;
• geographic or category diversity; and
• an eligible promotional or paid-visibility feature.

Featured placement does not guarantee a particular ranking, duration, number of views, Inquiry, booking or income. GuideMeet may rotate, limit, label, suspend or remove featured placement.

Where a specific placement is sponsored, purchased or materially influenced by payment, GuideMeet should label it clearly so Travelers can distinguish advertising or paid placement from organic relevance or editorial selection.

11. Destination Expert Signal

Destination Expert is a GuideMeet professional knowledge signal for an eligible Guide who demonstrates substantial, relevant familiarity with a specified destination. It is not a government designation and does not authorize work where a local licence, permit or other legal approval is required.

Eligibility may depend on the Growth or Elite plan and may consider:

• verified or reasonably supported guiding experience in the destination;
• depth and recency of local knowledge;
• appropriate licences or permits where applicable;
• quality and accuracy of destination-specific Guide Insights;
• route/place knowledge;
• Traveler feedback from eligible interactions;
• language, cultural or specialist competence relevant to the destination;
• profile quality and current information;
• community, safety and response record; and
• absence of unresolved material complaints.

Destination Expert status applies only to the displayed destination and does not imply expertise in every activity, route, season or risk condition within it. GuideMeet may limit the number of active Destination Expert signals and may require periodic evidence of continued local activity and knowledge.

12. Verification Application and Review Process

Where verification is available, the process may include:

1. Eligibility check: confirming the Guide’s account, plan, country and category eligibility;
2. Application: collecting the required information, declarations and permissions;
3. Document submission: receiving information through an approved secure channel;
4. Review: assessing authenticity, consistency, validity and relevance using available methods;
5. Clarification: requesting additional evidence or correcting inconsistencies;
6. Decision: approving, conditionally approving, declining or placing the application on hold;
7. Display: showing the applicable signal and general verification date or scope where enabled; and
8. Ongoing monitoring: reviewing expiry, material changes, reports and continued eligibility.

GuideMeet may use trained personnel, approved verification providers and AI-assisted fraud or document-review tools. AI-assisted indicators do not by themselves guarantee authenticity and should not be the sole basis for a significant adverse decision without appropriate review where reasonably practicable or legally required.

GuideMeet may be unable to complete verification where documents are unreadable, inconsistent, expired, unsupported, unavailable from an authoritative source or prohibited from being processed.

13. Documents and Evidence

GuideMeet may accept or request, as appropriate:

• government-issued identity documents;
• professional Guide licences or registration cards;
• trekking, climbing, wildlife, cultural, city, language or other category credentials;
• first-aid, rescue or safety certificates;
• insurance evidence;
• association membership or employer confirmation;
• business registration and authorized-representative information;
• references or evidence of professional experience;
• proof of destination or route experience; and
• other information reasonably required for a specific claim.

Submitting a document does not guarantee acceptance. GuideMeet may reject evidence that appears altered, incomplete, expired, irrelevant, unverifiable or inconsistent.

Identity documents, licences and verification materials must be handled through approved GuideMeet submission methods. Guides must not publish identity-document numbers or other sensitive verification information in public profiles, Guide Insights, Services or messages unless reasonably necessary and lawfully permitted.

Ordinary GuideMeet Messages are not an approved channel for submitting verification materials unless GuideMeet specifically authorizes a secure submission method within the messaging flow.

GuideMeet will not intentionally publish identification numbers, document images, private addresses, dates of birth or other sensitive verification information merely because a verification signal is displayed.

14. Country and Category Differences

Verification requirements may vary because Guide licensing, professional categories, document formats, public registers and legal requirements differ between jurisdictions.

GuideMeet’s intended country coverage may include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, the United States, Malaysia, Thailand, Bhutan, Japan, India and Tibet/China. Listing a destination does not mean that verification, payment or every Platform feature is available there.

GuideMeet may:

• require different evidence for different countries or categories;
• verify only selected Guide categories in a particular market;
• accept alternative evidence where no formal guide-licensing system exists;
• require translation or certified copies where reasonably necessary;
• use an approved local verification provider;
• suspend a verification program where reliable checks are unavailable; or
• apply supplemental rules before activating a regulated feature.

Guides remain responsible for satisfying local law. GuideMeet verification does not replace immigration permission, work authorization, national or local licensing, protected-area permits, association requirements or activity-specific approvals.

For legal and operational purposes, Tibet is addressed under the applicable requirements of China rather than treated as a separate legal jurisdiction.

15. Accuracy and Continuing Disclosure

Verification is based on information available at a point in time. A Guide must promptly notify GuideMeet and update the profile if:

• a licence, permit, qualification or insurance policy expires, is suspended, restricted or revoked;
• the Guide changes identity, legal name, business affiliation or account control;
• a material profile claim becomes inaccurate;
• the Guide stops operating in a displayed destination or category;
• a regulator, association or court imposes a relevant restriction;
• an incident or complaint materially affects professional or safety eligibility; or
• verification evidence is lost, compromised or discovered to be inaccurate.

Guides must not continue displaying or promoting an expired, suspended or removed GuideMeet signal. GuideMeet may add an expiry date, review date, scope label or explanatory notice to a signal.

16. Public Image Standards and Coverage

The image-protection requirements in this section apply to public copies of:

• Guide Profile gallery images;
• Guide Profile cover images;
• Guide Service or package images;
• Guide Insight images; and
• other future public Guide content designated by GuideMeet.

For profile avatars, GuideMeet may use no visible watermark or a very small watermark because avatars are frequently displayed at small sizes.

GuideMeet must never publicly watermark or expose:

• identity documents;
• licences and certificates;
• verification photographs;
• report evidence;
• private-message attachments;
• consultation documents;
• payment documents; or
• images marked private.

Sensitive images must remain subject to access controls appropriate to their purpose. A watermark is not a substitute for access control.

17. Guide Image Rights and Upload Requirements

A Guide may upload an image for public display only if the Guide:

• owns the image or has the necessary licence or permission;
• has obtained required consent from identifiable people shown in the image;
• has permission to use trademarks, artwork, property or other protected material where required;
• is not uploading another person’s private or confidential material;
• is not uploading identity or verification materials through a public-content uploader; and
• provides accurate rights-holder and creator information where requested.

GuideMeet may request evidence of ownership, permission or consent. A Guide must not falsely identify GuideMeet as the copyright owner.

GuideMeet’s image-processing measures identify GuideMeet as the hosting platform and help investigate unauthorized reuse. They do not transfer image ownership to GuideMeet, establish copyright ownership, constitute verification or endorsement, or guarantee that downloading, screenshots or copying can be prevented.

Required upload notice

The following notice must appear directly below an uploader for a public image:

Public images may be resized, optimized and displayed with visible or invisible GuideMeet platform identifiers and standardized rights metadata. These measures identify GuideMeet as the hosting platform and help investigate unauthorized reuse. They do not transfer ownership of the image to GuideMeet or constitute verification or endorsement.

The uploader must also require the following confirmation:

I confirm that I own this image or have the permissions and consents necessary to upload and publicly display it.

GuideMeet may reject, restrict, remove or keep private an image that appears unlawful, misleading, unsafe, infringing, sensitive, unauthorized or inconsistent with this Policy.

18. Image-Processing and Protection Standards

GuideMeet will use layered protection for public image derivatives without intentionally reducing search visibility or accessibility.

The controls are:

These controls are practical measures. No technical control completely prevents copying, downloading, screenshots, browser inspection or unauthorized reuse.

18.1 Upload-processing pipeline

For public image uploads, GuideMeet should use the following processing sequence:

1. Guide uploads image
2. Validate format, MIME type, dimensions and file size
3. Malware and malformed-file checks
4. Apply EXIF orientation
5. Store encrypted original in private storage
6. Strip metadata from processing copy
7. Generate public image sizes
8. Add visible GuideMeet watermark
9. Add signed invisible asset identifier
10. Compress into JPEG/WebP/AVIF
11. Add approved IPTC/XMP rights metadata
12. Store public derivatives in CDN

The original must never use a publicly accessible URL.

GuideMeet must not process an untrusted file in a way that exposes the original before validation, sanitization and access controls are applied.

18.2 Visible watermark

For public image derivatives, the default visible watermark should use:

• the GuideMeet logo;
• bottom-right placement;
• an adaptive white or dark version;
• approximately 8–12% of image width;
• approximately 40–60% opacity;
• safe margins from the image edge; and
• sufficient visibility without covering faces or important information.

For very small images, GuideMeet may automatically omit the visible watermark if it would become unreadable or interfere with accessibility or meaningful use.

Profile avatars may use no visible watermark or a smaller watermark.

The logo must not say:

• “Verified by GuideMeet”;
• “GuideMeet Approved”;
• “GuideMeet Certified”; or
• “© GuideMeet”.

The watermark identifies the hosting platform. It must not imply that GuideMeet owns the image, verified the image, certified the depicted person or endorsed the content.

18.3 Invisible signed asset identifier

GuideMeet may embed a signed, opaque asset token in public image derivatives only after resilience testing. The token must not contain personal information.

The identifier format should be:

GM1:{public_asset_token}:{signature}

Example:

GM1:7F82A91C:4D29

The token should resolve internally to the asset record. GuideMeet should use an HMAC-generated signature so that third parties cannot generate valid GuideMeet identifiers:

signature = HMAC_SHA256(asset_token, server_secret)

Testing should assess recovery after:

• 50–90% JPEG compression;
• WebP and AVIF conversion;
• 25–75% resizing;
• moderate cropping;
• screenshots;
• brightness and contrast changes;
• minor filters; and
• social-media recompression.

If the identifier cannot survive agreed test thresholds, GuideMeet must not describe it publicly as a reliable ownership-protection mechanism. It may still be used internally for limited forensic or asset-management purposes if its limitations are documented.

18.4 Metadata handling

GuideMeet must strip all original public-copy metadata before publishing a derivative, including:

• GPS coordinates;
• camera serial number;
• device-owner information;
• private filenames;
• contact details;
• embedded thumbnails; and
• editing history.

After sanitization, GuideMeet may inject controlled IPTC/XMP rights fields such as:

• Creator: [Photographer, if supplied and verified]
• Copyright Notice: [Actual rights holder, if known]
• Credit Line: Displayed via GuideMeet
• Source: GuideMeet
• Image Unique ID: [Opaque public asset token]
• Usage Terms: Reuse may require permission from the applicable rights holder.

GuideMeet must not identify itself as the copyright owner unless it actually owns the image or the applicable rights.

Metadata is not a security control and may be removed by later processing. It must not include personal information that was stripped from the original.

19. Image Storage and Delivery

GuideMeet must maintain two storage classes:

private-originals/

Original upload

Encrypted

No public access

Authorized backend access only

public-renditions/

Resized and sanitized

Visible/invisible watermark where applicable

CDN-delivered

No sensitive metadata

Public image derivatives should use fixed sizes appropriate to the display context, for example:

• Thumbnail: 320px;
• Card: 640px;
• Profile: 1280px; and
• Large view: 1920px maximum.

GuideMeet must not provide a “view original” endpoint or expose an original-storage key in a public URL.

Public URLs must not expose sequential database IDs. Access to private originals must be technically enforced through storage permissions, application authorization and appropriate backend controls.

20. Search Visibility, Crawlers and Accessibility

GuideMeet must use crawler directives for crawler management, not as image security.

If image search visibility is part of GuideMeet’s acquisition strategy, GuideMeet should not globally block Google Images or other legitimate search crawlers from public image paths.

An example robots.txt configuration is:

User-agent: Googlebot-Image
Allow: /media/public/
User-agent: *
Disallow: /media/private/
Disallow: /media/originals/
Disallow: /verification/
Disallow: /reports/

Private directories must also be technically inaccessible. robots.txt alone is not protection.

Public images must retain meaningful alternative text. Watermarks must not be the only way to identify image content. Guides and Platform systems should provide accurate alt text, such as:

<img
src="/media/public/example.webp"
alt="Guide in Kathmandu"
draggable="false"
/>

GuideMeet must not disable normal browser features in a way that materially interferes with keyboard navigation, screen readers, copying of accessible text, mobile use or other ordinary accessibility functions.

21. Right-Click and Image Dragging

GuideMeet must not disable right-click globally. It is easily bypassed and may interfere with accessibility and normal browser functionality.

GuideMeet may optionally disable image dragging as a casual deterrent, provided that this does not interfere with accessibility or essential user interactions:

<img
src="/media/public/example.webp"
alt="Guide in Kathmandu"
draggable="false"
/>

The watermark, protected originals, derivative sizing, hashing and CDN/WAF controls provide more meaningful protection than global right-click blocking.

22. Image Asset Records, Hashing and Audit Data

GuideMeet should maintain an image-asset record similar to:

ImageAsset
id
public_token
uploader_user_id
guide_profile_id optional
content_type
original_storage_key
rights_holder_name optional
creator_name optional
rights_status
original_sha256
perceptual_hash
watermark_version
invisible_signature
metadata_sanitized_at
processed_at
published_at optional
deleted_at optional
created_at
updated_at

The public_token must be opaque and must not contain personal information. Sequential database IDs must not be exposed in public image URLs.

GuideMeet should calculate:

• a cryptographic hash, such as SHA-256, for the original or controlled source asset; and
• a perceptual hash for detecting visually similar or substantially reused copies.

Hashes do not prove ownership by themselves. They may assist with duplicate detection, rights investigations, abuse prevention, takedown handling and asset lifecycle management.

GuideMeet should maintain appropriate processing, publication, deletion, access and investigation records in its audit logs.

23. CDN and WAF Scraping Protection

GuideMeet must configure CDN and WAF controls appropriate to public image delivery. Controls may include:

• rate-limiting excessive image downloads;
• detecting sequential profile harvesting;
• blocking abusive user agents and IP addresses;
• challenging suspicious automated requests;
• preventing access to private storage;
• restricting excessive hotlinking;
• logging downloads and suspicious patterns; and
• temporarily blocking repeated violations.

These controls must be proportionate and should avoid unnecessarily blocking ordinary Travelers, accessibility tools, legitimate search crawlers or other lawful users.

GuideMeet should not globally block Google Images where search visibility is part of its acquisition strategy. Search crawling is not the same as permission to access private originals or restricted content.

24. Image Deletion and Lifecycle

When a public image is deleted:

1. GuideMeet must immediately remove it from the Guide Profile, Service, Guide Insight or other public location.
2. GuideMeet must invalidate or purge public CDN copies.
3. GuideMeet must mark the asset as deleted.
4. GuideMeet must remove the private original according to the applicable retention schedule.
5. GuideMeet may preserve the image only where required for an active report, dispute, legal hold or security investigation.
6. GuideMeet must record the deletion in the audit log.

Account closure should trigger the same process for the account’s public images, subject to legal, dispute, safety, security and retention requirements.

A deletion request may not immediately remove copies independently reproduced by third parties, search engines or external services, although GuideMeet may take reasonable steps within its control.

25. Services, Consultations and Safety-Sensitive Activities

Where Consultations or Services are enabled, Guides remain responsible for accurately describing scope, price, availability, qualifications, inclusions, exclusions, cancellation rules and material risks.

Guides offering trekking, climbing, expedition, wildlife, water, cycling, motor, aviation, remote-area or other safety-sensitive activities may be required to provide enhanced evidence appropriate to the activity and location.

A Guide must not:

• offer an activity without required legal authority;
• imply that GuideMeet verification guarantees safety;
• conceal a known material risk;
• claim access to a restricted route or permit without support;
• provide medical, rescue or technical advice beyond lawful competence; or
• subcontract or refer the activity without appropriate disclosure, Traveler consent where required and a lawful arrangement.

GuideMeet may restrict a Service, category or destination even where the Guide’s general profile remains active.

26. Prohibited Verification and Image Conduct

A Guide must not:

• submit forged, altered, stolen or misleading documents;
• use another person’s identity, licence, qualification or insurance;
• conceal an expiry, suspension, restriction or revocation;
• manipulate photographs, video or biometric checks to deceive the review;
• upload an image without the required rights or consents;
• upload private, confidential or sensitive material through a public image uploader;
• remove or obscure a GuideMeet watermark from a public derivative;
• falsely identify GuideMeet as the copyright owner;
• pay, threaten or pressure another person to provide false verification;
• misrepresent basic profile approval as full verification;
• claim that subscription or Anchor status proves verification;
• create, copy or display an unauthorized GuideMeet badge;
• modify a badge or remove its explanatory link;
• falsely claim Featured Guide or Destination Expert status;
• evade re-verification through another account;
• interfere with a reviewer or verification provider;
• retaliate against a person who raises a good-faith concern; or
• attempt to access private originals, verification materials or restricted media.

Suspected document fraud, identity misuse, unlawful professional activity or image-rights abuse may result in immediate restriction and may be referred to an issuing authority, payment provider, professional body, rights holder or competent authority where permitted or required by law.

27. Complaints and Verification or Image Challenges

A Traveler, Guide, authority, association or rights holder may report a concern about a Guide’s identity, professional claim, licence, badge, image, Service, safety conduct or destination expertise through the available Report function at legal@guidemeet.com.

A report should include specific information and lawful supporting material where available. GuideMeet may request clarification, contact the affected Guide, review relevant Platform records, consult an issuing source, assess image hashes or place a signal or image on hold during review.

GuideMeet will not remove a signal or image merely because a user disagrees with a Guide or submits an unsupported allegation. GuideMeet may act promptly where there is credible evidence of fraud, expiry, impersonation, serious unsafe conduct, unauthorized use, privacy risk or another material concern.

Privacy, safety and legal obligations may prevent GuideMeet from disclosing documents, reporter identity, investigative methods, internal asset tokens or detailed outcomes.

28. Suspension, Removal and Account Action

GuideMeet may suspend, expire or remove a verification or trust signal where:

• a required document expires;
• information is materially false, misleading or unsupported;
• a licence, permit or professional status is suspended or revoked;
• the Guide no longer meets the published criteria;
• the Guide fails to complete required re-verification;
• the applicable plan no longer supports public display;
• the account appears compromised or controlled by another person;
• a serious or repeated Platform violation occurs;
• a credible safety, fraud, privacy or image-rights concern requires restriction; or
• continued display would materially mislead users.

GuideMeet may also request profile corrections, limit categories or destinations, restrict Services or messaging, remove an image or image derivative, suspend the account or permanently terminate access in accordance with the Terms of Use.

Urgent action may occur without advance notice where delay could increase safety, fraud, security, privacy, image-rights or legal risk. Removal of a signal or image does not necessarily entitle a Guide to a subscription refund unless required by law or the applicable subscription terms.

29. Appeals

A Guide may appeal an eligible verification, badge, profile or image decision through an available account tool or by contacting legal@guidemeet.com within 7 business days after notice of the decision.

The appeal should identify the decision, explain why it should be reconsidered and provide any corrected or additional evidence. Repetitive appeals without material new information may be declined.

Where reasonably practicable, an appeal will be reviewed by a person who was not solely responsible for the original decision. GuideMeet may keep a signal, image or feature restricted while the appeal is pending.

Approval of an appeal may result in restoration, conditional restoration, reprocessing of an image, a request for re-verification or another appropriate outcome. An appeal does not prevent GuideMeet from acting on a new safety, legal, privacy, fraud or image-rights concern.

30. Verification Information, Image Data and Privacy

Verification and image processing may involve personal and potentially sensitive information. GuideMeet will process that information as described in the Privacy Policy and applicable feature notice.

GuideMeet will seek to:

• collect only information reasonably necessary for the applicable check or image service;
• use approved secure submission and storage channels;
• restrict access to authorized personnel and providers;
• apply appropriate storage and security controls;
• avoid publishing sensitive document details or original-image metadata;
• sanitize public image derivatives before publication;
• retain records only for an approved period appropriate to verification, fraud prevention, disputes, rights investigations and legal obligations; and
• provide applicable privacy rights and request procedures.

Verification providers may process information under their own legally required notices and GuideMeet’s contractual arrangements. GuideMeet should identify material provider categories and international processing in the Privacy Policy.

Where biometric or facial-comparison technology is proposed, GuideMeet must complete a separate legal, necessity, provider, consent and retention review before activation. GuideMeet must not assume that general acceptance of this Policy is sufficient consent for biometric processing.

GuideMeet must not expose GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers, device-owner information, private filenames, contact details, embedded thumbnails or editing history in public image derivatives.

31. No Guarantee or Endorsement

Profile approval, verification, Featured Guide placement, Destination Expert status, reviews, subscription level, image watermarking, image hashing and other Platform signals or protections are information or risk-management tools. They are not guarantees or warranties.

GuideMeet does not guarantee:

• a Guide’s identity after the verification date;
• current licensing or insurance;
• competence for a specific activity;
• honesty, conduct or availability;
• service quality or outcome;
• compatibility with a Traveler;
• compliance outside the Platform;
• that an image is owned by the uploader;
• that an image’s watermark or metadata will survive third-party processing;
• that copying, downloading, screenshots or scraping can be completely prevented; or
• that an image-rights investigation will identify every unauthorized copy.

Guides are independent professionals or businesses and are not employees, agents, partners or representatives of GuideMeet. Travelers remain responsible for evaluating a Guide and confirming material requirements before entering into an arrangement.

32. Implementation and Rollout

GuideMeet should implement the public image-protection system in the following order:

1. Update the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
2. Add the upload notice and rights confirmation.
3. Build private-original and public-rendition storage.
4. Implement metadata sanitization.
5. Add visible watermarking.
6. Add controlled IPTC/XMP metadata.
7. Add cryptographic and perceptual hashes and image-asset records.
8. Test invisible watermark technology.
9. Enable the invisible watermark after passing resilience testing.
10. Configure CDN/WAF controls.
11. Process new uploads.
12. Notify existing Guides and regenerate existing public images after the updated Terms take effect.

GuideMeet should document technical test thresholds, watermark versions, processing failures, exceptions and review ownership before describing any control to users as active.

33. Changes to This Policy

GuideMeet may update this Policy to reflect changes in verification methods, Guide plans, image processing, Platform features, professional requirements, risk or law.

We will publish the updated version and revise the Last updated date. Where a change materially affects an active verification signal, public image processing or paid-plan feature, GuideMeet will provide additional notice where reasonably appropriate or legally required.

Where new evidence, fresh acceptance or consent is required, GuideMeet will request it before continuing the affected verification process, image publication or signal display.

34. Contact GuideMeet

For Guide profile, standards, verification or image-rights questions, contact:

Guidemeet Private limited

Company registration number: 39018/82/83
PAN/VAT number: 623613331
Registered address: KOTESHWAR, KATHMANDU 44600, NEPAL
Email: info@guidemeet.com
Website: https://guidemeet.com

For privacy questions or requests, contact legal@guidemeet.com.