Community guidelines
Last updated: July 6, 2026
Eatcircle works because Buyers and Cooks treat each other like neighbors. These guidelines are the floor — the minimum we expect from everyone using the app, regardless of role. Repeated or severe violations end with account suspension; we explain the strike system at the bottom.
For everyone
- Be honest. Misrepresenting yourself, your kitchen, your dishes, or your reviews is never okay.
- Respect 18+ buyer minimum. No selling alcohol or restricted goods through Eatcircle.
- Don't harass anyone — Cook, Buyer, Eatcircle moderation, or anyone else.
- Photos must be your own work. No stock images, no scraped content, no using someone else's dish photo.
- Resolve disputes through Report (in-app), not by bombing the other party with messages or reviews.
For Cooks
- Disclose allergens accurately on every dish. Hidden allergens cause real harm and we treat them as the most serious violation we have.
- Honor your stated pickup hours. If you can't, mark sold-out; if you cancel an active order, do it through the app so the buyer auto-refunds.
- Follow your local public health rules (Region of Peel for Ontario v1).
- Don't pressure Buyers to leave reviews, raise their tip, or move off-platform.
- Photos of dishes must reflect what you actually serve. Stylized is fine; misleading is not.
For Buyers
- Show up at your pickup window. Repeated no-shows hurt the Cook and lead to account restrictions.
- Reviews should reflect actual orders. Don't review kitchens you haven't bought from.
- Be respectful in chat. Cooks are real people running a kitchen — they're not your delivery driver.
- Report safety issues fairly. Auto-pause on safety flags is real; don't wield it casually.
Strike system
Violations stack. Strikes go against the account, are timestamped, and visible to the user in their account settings. Most issues resolve at strike 1 with a warning + correction. Serious or repeated violations escalate to account suspension. Food-safety incidents (mislabelled allergens, kitchen unsafe condition) skip the early strikes and go straight to immediate listing pause pending human review.
How to report
In-app: open the order or profile, tap Report. By email: info@eatcircle.com. Include the order number or username if applicable. We aim to respond within 24 hours on weekdays.