Frequently Asked Questions

Cloook is a platform where you can either offer your skills or find the help you need. As a Skilled Individual, you can create a profile highlighting your expertise and availability so others can book video calls or messaging sessions with you.

If you're looking for support instead, you can sign up as a Client and connect with the right professionals for your needs.

Cloook is currently available in the United States only.

We are actively working on expanding our services to additional countries in the near future.

Pick whether you want to sign up as a Client (to book sessions) or a Skilled Individual (to offer them), then enter your email, password, and full name on the registration page.

We'll send a verification email immediately. The link is valid for 1 hour. Click it to activate your account before you can sign in.

Once verified, complete your profile (date of birth, country, city, ZIP). You're ready to use the platform from there.

Verification links expire 1 hour after they're sent. Just request a new one from the sign-in screen and we'll email you a fresh link.

Yes. In compliance with our Terms and Conditions and privacy regulations, individuals under the age of 13 must have their parent or legal guardian complete this process on their behalf. Parents are responsible for creating, managing, and supervising the account in accordance with our platform policies.

COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) Consent

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a U.S. federal law designed to protect the privacy of children under 13. It requires online services and websites to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children. The law is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and establishes strict requirements for privacy, transparency, and data security.

Key Aspects of COPPA:

• Age Limit: Applies to children under 13 years old.
• Parental Consent: Required before collecting any personal information.
• Data Collection: Regulates how a child's personal data is collected, used, or shared.
• Privacy Policies: Requires clear communication of data practices to parents.
• Security Measures: Obligates platforms to safeguard children's data.
• Parental Rights: Parents can review, delete, or restrict the collection of their child's information.

Why It Matters:

COPPA ensures that websites and digital platforms act responsibly when handling the personal data of minors, providing parents with full control and transparency over their child's online activity.

To comply with U.S. tax regulations, our platform follows IRS Form 1099-K reporting requirements and automated W-9/W-8 collection processes.

• 1099-K thresholds:
  • $5,000 for tax year 2024
  • $2,500 for tax year 2025
  • $600 starting in 2026, per current IRS guidance.

  These thresholds determine when payment transactions must be reported to the IRS.

• Automated W-9/W-8 collection: Our system automatically collects the required W-9 (U.S. persons) or W-8 (non-U.S. persons) forms to ensure accurate taxpayer identification and compliance with federal reporting obligations.

Start by entering your personal information and uploading a brief video presentation showcasing your skills, experience, and qualifications. The video helps build trust with potential clients.

Then write a clear professional description, select the languages you speak, and pick the skills that best represent your expertise.

Education and past work experience are optional but highly recommended. Add relevant project images, and set your rate per session — both for video calls and messaging.

Ready to get started? Sign up to begin connecting with clients looking for your expertise.

Yes. As a Client you can convert to a Skilled Individual at any time from your account settings — you'll keep your booking history and don't lose anything from your Client side.

If you change your mind before you've completed the Skilled steps (professional profile, Stripe Connect onboarding, and your first paid session), you can revert to Client.

Once you've completed Stripe Connect and received payments as a Skilled Individual, the switch is permanent — for tax and accounting reasons we can't fully roll it back.

Stripe handles all payment processing on Cloook. To receive earnings as a Skilled Individual, you complete a one-time onboarding directly with Stripe.

Stripe will ask for: legal identity verification (ID document), bank account details for payouts, a short description of the service you offer, and acceptance of Stripe's terms.

Until Stripe marks your account as fully verified (charges and payouts enabled), you won't be able to accept paid bookings. You'll see your onboarding status in your account settings.

Browse Skilled Individuals, open a profile, and pick an available time slot from their calendar. Sessions are paid up front via Stripe Checkout.

Your booking is confirmed the moment Stripe confirms the charge. You'll receive an email and an in-app notification.

Go to your call lobby a few minutes before the session. The "Join Now" button activates at the scheduled start time. Before that, the lobby shows a countdown so you can test camera and microphone.

Make sure your browser has camera and microphone permissions granted for cloook.com.

We open the lobby a few minutes before the scheduled start so both parties can test their setup and join exactly on time. You won't be billed for early-join time — sessions are billed by their scheduled duration.

Two separate fees apply to every paid session — one from Cloook and one from Stripe (our payment processor). There are no other hidden charges, monthly subscriptions, or signup fees.

Cloook's commission

Cloook charges a flat 15% platform commission on every completed session. This is what keeps the platform running — matching, video infrastructure, dispute resolution, payouts, and support.

Stripe's processing fee

Stripe charges its standard online card processing fee on each payment:

• 2.9% + $0.30 USD for U.S. cards.
• International cards or special payment methods (e.g. cross-border, currency conversion) may incur additional Stripe fees — see Stripe's Payment Terms.

Worked example (U.S. card, $100.00 session)

• Client pays: $100.00
• Stripe processing fee: $3.20 (2.9% + $0.30)
• Cloook commission (15%): $15.00
• Skilled Individual receives: $81.80

All amounts are deducted automatically before the funds reach the Skilled Individual's payout. The cancellation, refund, and dispute policies described elsewhere in this FAQ may further adjust who ultimately bears the Stripe processing fee — Cloook's 15% commission and the Stripe fee are never refunded by Stripe once a charge has been processed.

After a completed session, funds move into your Cloook balance once a 24-hour dispute window has passed. If a dispute is opened during that window, the funds stay on hold until it's resolved.

Payouts to your bank account run twice a month: on the 15th and on the last day of each month, automatically. You don't need to take any action.

Early payouts may be available in certain cases, subject to eligibility and processing rules defined by Stripe, our payment and payout provider.

If eligible, you may request a withdrawal before the standard payout schedule. The availability and timing depend on Stripe's processing timelines and your bank's policies. An early payout request does not guarantee same-day or instant availability of funds.

All payments and withdrawals are securely processed by Stripe, our trusted payment processing and payout provider.

Stripe is responsible for handling:

• Card payments (U.S. and international)
• Bank transfers (such as ACH, where available)
• Currency conversion when transactions involve different currencies

Cloook does not add fees on top of Stripe's. Stripe applies industry-standard security measures and compliance requirements to ensure all transactions are processed safely.

Withdrawal and international processing fees are determined and applied by Stripe, not Cloook.

These can include:

• Stripe fees on ACH bank transfers, depending on amount, account configuration, and destination.
• Additional charges on international card transactions, depending on the issuer and country of origin.
• Currency conversion fees when a transaction crosses currencies.

For exact figures see Stripe's Services Agreement and Payment Terms. Applicable fees are deducted automatically before funds reach your bank account.

Yes — both Client and Skilled Individual can cancel a session up until it starts. Once the call is in progress, cancellation is no longer available.

Refunds and any applicable charges depend on who cancels and how close to the start time. The cancellation modal always shows the exact amounts before you confirm.

24 hours or more before the session: the Client receives a refund of the full session price minus the Stripe processing fee. The processing fee isn't refundable — Stripe keeps it whether or not the session takes place.

Less than 24 hours before: a late-cancellation fee applies (15% of the session price). The Client receives the remaining 85%, and Cloook retains the fee to cover the time the Skilled Individual reserved.

In every case the Client receives a full refund. The Skilled Individual is charged based on how close to the session they cancel:

• 24 hours or more before: a charge equal to the Stripe processing fee is deducted from the Skilled Individual's next payout.
• Less than 24 hours before: a charge equal to Cloook's 15% commission plus the Stripe processing fee is deducted from the Skilled Individual's next payout.

The Skilled Individual receives an in-app notification when this charge is created.

If the Skilled Individual never joins the call, the system automatically refunds the full session price to the Client.

The Skilled Individual is charged Cloook's 15% commission plus the Stripe processing fee, deducted from their next payout. Repeated no-shows may affect their account standing.

Only the Client can open a dispute, and only after the session is marked as completed.

You have 24 hours from the moment the session ends to open the dispute. After that window, refunds are no longer handled through the dispute system — you can still report the issue via Incidents & Support.

You can request a partial refund (25%, 50%, or 75%) or a full refund (100%). Pick the percentage that reflects what actually happened in the session.

You can attach evidence (screenshots, files) to support your claim.

The Skilled Individual has 48 hours to either accept the requested refund or send a counter-offer with a different percentage.

If they don't respond within 48 hours, the dispute auto-resolves in the Client's favor at the requested amount.

If you (the Client) receive a counter-offer, you have 48 hours to accept it or escalate the dispute to Cloook's support team.

If you don't respond within 48 hours, the dispute auto-resolves in the Skilled Individual's favor at their proposed amount.

A dispute is between the Client and the Skilled Individual about a specific completed session — it's about a refund (partial or full) for service received.

An incident is reported to Cloook directly when the issue is operational, technical, or doesn't fit the dispute flow (payout problems, technical errors, unauthorized activity, complaints about a clawback).

From your account menu, open the support section and choose the incident type that fits your situation. Incident types include: dispute claim, payout for service, unauthorized process, technical error, bad experience, and clawback dispute.

You can describe what happened, link the relevant session or payment, and attach files (up to 10 MB each) as evidence.

Cloook's support team responds within 48 hours of an incident being created. Incidents reported more than 24 hours after the related session enter a separate triage queue but still receive a response within the same SLA.

For general questions, partnership inquiries, or feedback, use our contact form. We'll reply by email.

For issues tied to a specific session or payment, use the dispute flow (during the 24-hour window) or open an incident — those are routed to the right queue and have faster response times than the general contact form.

No. Only the participants (Client or Skilled Individual) can manually cancel a session.

The only automated cancellation Cloook performs is when the Client's bank opens a chargeback before the session takes place — in that case, the system cancels the booking automatically since the disputed funds are out of our control.