The protection problem in app testing
Before TestHive, the typical "find testers" flow looked like this:
- You post on Telegram / Discord / Reddit looking for testers
- Tester says "pay me $X upfront"
- You pay
- Tester disappears, you can't get a refund
Or the inverse:
- Tester completes the work
- Developer says "thanks bye, no payment"
- Tester has no recourse
Escrow solves both directions.
How TestHive Escrow works
When you publish a paid Campaign:
You pay 1,000 T-Coin
↓
TestHive Escrow holds the funds
↓
─── 20% (200 T-Coin) → Platform (non-refundable, services + payment processing)
─── 80% (800 T-Coin) → Tester reward pool (held in escrow)
↓
Released as testers complete daily check-ins
├── Each approved day pays a per-tester base amount
└── Full-attendance bonus pool released at settlement
Testers can see their pending balance but can't withdraw it until the Campaign settles. This prevents both fraud directions.
Day-by-day settlement
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tester submits a day's screenshot | Pending balance grows for that tester |
| You approve the submission | T-Coin moves from pool → tester's "pending" balance |
| You reject the submission | T-Coin stays in pool, eligible for redistribution to full-attendance testers |
| Tester misses a day | That day's allotment stays in pool |
| Day 14 passes | Campaign enters awaiting_confirm |
| You confirm app launched | Settlement runs · pending balances move to withdrawable |
| You don't confirm within 3 days | Auto-confirm · settlement runs anyway |
What can't happen
- Platform can't keep your money without delivering testers — if no testers join, you get a refund (minus the 20% platform fee for the recruitment work)
- Tester can't claim payment for work they didn't do — daily payouts gate on your approval
- Tester can't run off with their balance — withdrawal requires settling the Campaign first
- You can't reverse paid days — once approved, that day's T-Coin is the tester's, full stop
Why 20% platform fee
The 20% covers:
- Tester recruitment and matching (4-gate fraud check)
- Payment processing (PayPal in, PayPal out, fraud monitoring)
- Dispute resolution and high-risk appeal review
- Server costs (testing reports, screenshots, audit logs retained for 12 months)
- Fraud insurance — if a tester later turns out to be fraudulent, TestHive eats the loss
It is not a per-transaction markup that compounds. You pay 20% once on Campaign publish, and that's it.