Terms of Service

Last Updated: July 29, 2026

Agreement to These Terms

These Terms of Service are a binding agreement between you and Senior Match Care. They apply to everyone who visits or uses our website — families, caregivers, and visitors browsing without an account. You accept these Terms by using the site, and again when you check the agreement box at signup. Every section applies to both families and caregivers unless it says otherwise. If you are arranging care for someone else, you represent that you have the authority to do so on their behalf.

Who Can Use Senior Match Care

You must be at least 18 years old, and legally able to enter into a contract, to create an account or book a call — whether you join as a family member or as a caregiver. We may close the account of anyone under 18.

About Our Service

Senior Match Care is a marketplace that connects families seeking senior care with independent caregivers through short video consultations. We charge families $20 per 10-minute call. Caregivers are paid $5 per call, as described in the Caregiver Pay section below. Our service is centered on San Mateo County, California, and nearby SF Bay Area communities.

The video call is where our role ends. If you decide to hire a caregiver after a call, you arrange that directly with the caregiver — hiring does not happen through our site, and we are not part of that arrangement.

Payments, Cancellations & Missed Calls

Here is exactly how money moves when a family books a call:

  • Booking places a hold, not a charge. When you book, we place a $20 hold on your card. No money is taken at booking.
  • You are charged after your call takes place. Once the call happens, the $20 is collected and your caregiver is paid.
  • If you book a call and do not join it, you are still charged. Your caregiver reserved that time and was there waiting, so the $20 is collected even though you missed the call. Booking a call is a commitment to attend it.
  • If the caregiver declines your request, never responds and the request expires, does not show up, or the call fails because of a technical problem with our platform or providers (as determined by us), the transaction is cancelled and no money is taken from your account. A problem with your own device or connection is not a technical failure of the platform.

Cancelling a booking:

  • If you booked more than 3 hours before the call time, you can cancel free of charge until 3 hours before the call.
  • If you booked less than 3 hours before the call time, you can cancel free of charge until 5 minutes before the call.
  • If a caregiver suggests a different time and you accept it, these windows restart from the moment you accept.
  • These windows are measured from the call time, and they apply even if the caregiver has not yet accepted your request when the window closes.
  • After the cancellation window closes, the booking can no longer be cancelled, and the missed-call rule above applies if you do not join.

If something goes wrong on a call, tell us — use the report option after the call or our contact page. If we agree the call should not have been charged, we may return the payment at our discretion.

Caregiver Pay

Caregivers earn $5 for each call that ends in a charge to the family — completed calls, and calls where the family booked but did not join. If a call is cancelled, expires, or fails for technical reasons, the family is not charged and there is no payout for that call.

Payouts are sent weekly to your connected payout account. You must connect a payout account before we can pay you; until you do, your earnings wait for you. We may withhold or reverse a payout if the family's underlying payment is disputed, charged back, or returned after an upheld problem report.

Privacy of Call Content & Health Information

Video calls on Senior Match Care are conducted over third-party infrastructure. We never record the video or audio of your calls. Audio and video are processed in real time by our video provider to run the call, and — when transcripts are enabled — audio may be processed by your browser's speech-recognition service; Senior Match Care itself never receives or stores audio or video recordings. By using the platform, you acknowledge and agree to the following:

  • We are not a HIPAA-covered entity. Senior Match Care is not a healthcare provider, health plan, or healthcare clearinghouse, and our platform is not a secure channel for protected health information (PHI). You should not rely on our service for confidential transmission of medical records, diagnoses, or other health data subject to federal or state privacy laws.
  • Caregivers are independent contractors. We do not employ caregivers and cannot guarantee that any information you share during a call will be kept confidential by them. Caregivers may discuss, remember, or repeat information shared during consultations.
  • Transcripts are optional, shared with both participants, and not always available. Before every call, we show a notice that the call may be transcribed. By joining a call after that notice, you agree that the conversation — including your side of it — may be transcribed and summarized in writing. Transcripts are available to both call participants, and our staff may review them, at our discretion, for safety, dispute resolution, policy enforcement, and quality improvement. Reviewing transcripts is not a promise to monitor, detect, or prevent any conduct. Many devices, including most phones, cannot capture a transcript — but the other participant's computer may still capture their side of the conversation.
  • You should exercise discretion. We recommend you limit the sensitive medical, financial, or personal information disclosed during introductory calls. Share only what is necessary to evaluate whether the caregiver is a good fit.
  • Third-party processors. We rely on external vendors (including our video, transcription, payment, messaging, and email providers) to operate the platform. These vendors may process your information under their own terms of service and privacy policies, and we do not maintain Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with them — in plain words, the special legal protections for health information do not follow your data to these vendors.

If your care situation involves highly sensitive medical information, you should consult directly with a licensed healthcare professional through a HIPAA-compliant channel rather than our platform.

For Families

By using our platform as a family member, you agree to:

  • Provide accurate and complete information about your care needs
  • Attend the calls you book — if you do not join, the call is still charged
  • Keep a valid payment card on file for the calls you book
  • Treat caregivers with respect during all interactions
  • Evaluate caregivers yourself before hiring, including any background checks you consider appropriate
  • Follow all laws that apply to any care arrangement you make with a caregiver, including tax and employment laws
  • Accept all risk of hiring a caregiver — every hire is a direct arrangement between you and the caregiver, not with us

For Caregivers

By using our platform as a caregiver, you agree to:

  • Be honest about your skills, your experience, and when you are available
  • Only list a license or certification on your profile (like CNA or CPR) if it is genuine and current
  • Join your scheduled calls on time and act professionally
  • Treat families and the people receiving care with respect during all interactions
  • Follow all laws that apply to your work, including licensing and tax laws
  • Report all income you earn from care arrangements
  • Accept all risk of working for a family — every job is a direct arrangement between you and the family, not with us

Independent Contractors — Hiring Happens Directly Between You

Caregivers on our platform are independent contractors, not employees of Senior Match Care. In plain words: caregivers do not work for us, and we do not supervise them. Families and caregivers negotiate all care arrangements — including rates, schedules, and scope of care — directly with each other. Every care arrangement between a family and a caregiver is a private agreement between those two people, whether or not they were introduced through our platform. We are not a party to it.

You Hire and Work at Your Own Risk

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you use Senior Match Care at your own risk. Our role is limited to introducing families and caregivers and providing the introductory video calls. If you choose to hire a caregiver, or to work for a family, you do so entirely at your own risk. Families accept all risk of hiring a caregiver. Caregivers accept all risk of working for a family. These risks include safety, quality of care, payment, injury, property damage, and legal or financial liability. This section also covers your use of the platform itself, including the video calls and your interactions with other users. You are solely responsible for evaluating the other person and for any agreement you make with them.

Following the Law & Taxes

You agree to follow all applicable laws — in your use of our platform, and in any care arrangement you enter into. That includes federal, state, and local employment, labor, tax, insurance, and licensing laws. In particular:

  • Families: if you hire a caregiver directly, the law may treat you as a "household employer." That can mean you must withhold and report payroll taxes (to the IRS and the California EDD), follow minimum wage and overtime rules, and carry workers' compensation insurance. You are solely responsible for understanding and meeting these obligations.
  • Caregivers: you are solely responsible for reporting all income you earn from any care arrangement and paying all taxes you owe on it.

Senior Match Care does not withhold, report, or pay taxes on behalf of any family or caregiver, and we do not monitor how families pay caregivers. Paying or accepting unreported ("under the table") pay violates these Terms and can lead to account termination. We take no responsibility, and accept no liability, if a family or caregiver pays or accepts unreported pay, fails to report payments or income, or breaks any other legal or tax obligation. That conduct is solely the responsibility and risk of the people involved.

Background Checks & Identity Badges

Caregivers create their own profiles, which become visible to families once complete. We do not run background checks on caregivers ourselves, and we do not verify the information caregivers put on their profiles. Descriptions of caregivers anywhere on our site are based on what caregivers tell us and do not change this.

If you want a background check on a caregiver, you are responsible for arranging one yourself through a third-party service before you hire. The hiring decision is always yours alone.

A caregiver profile may display an "identity verified" indicator, which means a government ID was matched to that account. It means only that. It is not a background check, a license check, or an endorsement of qualifications or character.

No Professional Advice

Nothing on Senior Match Care is medical, legal, financial, or tax advice. That includes the video consultations, anything a caregiver tells you, our blog posts, and our website chat assistant. For decisions about health, medications, legal matters, or taxes, consult a licensed professional.

Website Chat Assistant

Our website includes an automated chat assistant. Its answers are general help only — they can be wrong, and they do not modify these Terms or create any promise on our behalf. Chat conversations are stored and may be reviewed by our staff. Please do not share sensitive medical or financial details in the chat.

Your Account

Keep your account information accurate and current, and keep your password private. You are responsible for everything done through your account. Only provide a phone number you have the right to use. One account per person. If you think someone else has used your account, contact us right away.

Your Content

You own what you post — your profile, photos, videos, and messages. By posting it, you give Senior Match Care a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, display, and share that content as needed to operate and promote the service — for example, showing caregiver profiles to families and visitors. You promise you have the rights to anything you upload. We may remove content that violates these Terms.

Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

  • Provide false information, or create fake, duplicate, or impersonating accounts
  • Harass, threaten, exploit, or take advantage of anyone — on or off a call
  • Use a phone number or email address you do not have the right to use
  • Scrape, copy, or collect other users' information or the caregiver roster
  • Use the platform for anything unlawful, or to defraud or scam anyone
  • Interfere with the operation or security of the service
  • Sign up again after we suspend or terminate your account
  • Help anyone else do any of the above

Third-Party Services & Availability

Our service depends on third-party providers — for video, payments, text messages, and email. We do our best, but we cannot promise the service will always be available or error-free. If a call fails because of a technical problem with our platform or providers, the transaction is cancelled and no money is taken.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Our platform is provided "AS IS" without warranties of any kind. In plain words: we provide the website as it is, and we make no promises about any caregiver's skills, character, or quality of care, or about the outcome of any care arrangement. Descriptions of caregivers elsewhere on our site or in our messages do not change this disclaimer.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Senior Match Care is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of our platform, or from any care arrangement between a family and a caregiver — whether or not they were introduced through our platform.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability to a family is capped at the total amount that family has paid to Senior Match Care. Our total liability to a caregiver is capped at the total call payments we have paid or owe that caregiver. In plain words: this is a ceiling on what we could ever owe you, not a promise of repayment.

Indemnification

If someone brings a claim against Senior Match Care because of something you did — your care arrangement, your conduct, your content, or your breach of these Terms — you agree to defend us against that claim and cover our resulting costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees. This includes claims brought by or on behalf of the person receiving care. In plain words: if your actions get us sued, you are responsible for that, not us.

Suspension, Termination & Closing Your Account

We may suspend or terminate any account at any time, with or without cause — including for violations of these Terms or conduct harmful to our community. You may close your own account at any time through our contact page.

When an account ends: pending bookings that are still within their cancellation window are cancelled, holds are released, and no money is taken. Closing your account does not cancel a booking whose cancellation window has already closed — the rules in the Payments section, including the missed-call rule, still apply to that call. Payouts a caregiver has already earned are still paid, unless withheld under the Caregiver Pay section. The sections of these Terms about risk, taxes, warranties, liability, indemnification, and disputes continue to apply after your account ends.

Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by California law. Any dispute that ends up in court must be brought in the state courts located in San Mateo County, California, or the United States District Court for the Northern District of California — except that either of us may use small claims court instead. Before filing anything, contact us through our contact page and give us 30 days to try to resolve the issue informally — most problems can be fixed that way.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make a material change, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and let account holders know by email or an in-app notice. If you keep using the service after a change takes effect, the updated Terms apply to you.

Severability & Entire Agreement

If a court finds any part of these Terms unenforceable, the rest still stands. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Senior Match Care, and they override any other statement on our website or in our marketing.

SMS Communications

Senior Match Care sends SMS text messages to registered users who have opted in. These messages include call reminders, booking confirmations, and account notifications related to your use of the service.

  • SMS consent is optional — it is collected through a separate, unchecked checkbox on the signup form and is not a condition of using the service. By checking the box, you consent to receive these messages.
  • Message frequency varies based on your usage of the platform (e.g., booking calls, receiving reminders).
  • Message and data rates may apply.
  • Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
  • For help, reply HELP to any message or contact us through our contact page.
  • To stop receiving messages, reply STOP to any message. You will receive one final message confirming your opt-out. You may also opt out by contacting us through our contact page.
  • We do not send marketing or promotional messages. All SMS communications are transactional and related to your use of the platform.
  • See our Privacy Policy for how your information — including SMS opt-in data — is collected, used, and protected.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please reach out via our contact page.