Terms of Service
The rules for using Probatus as a journal, editor or reviewer.
Last updated: 2026-08-22
1. What Probatus is
Probatus is a neutral marketplace that connects journals and editors with independent expert reviewers. Probatus does not publish research, does not make editorial decisions, and does not guarantee any particular editorial outcome.
2. Accounts
You must provide accurate information, keep your credentials secure, and use a single account. Accounts may be suspended for confidentiality breaches, undeclared conflicts of interest, fraud, or misuse of manuscripts.
3. Reviewer obligations
Reviewers deliver original, human-written assessments, respect declared deadlines, keep every manuscript strictly confidential, and never use manuscripts to train models or for personal advantage. Undisclosed use of generative AI to produce a review is a breach of these terms.
4. Editor and journal obligations
Editors upload only anonymized manuscripts they are entitled to share, declare the authors' names and institutions so conflicts can be screened, fund each request before reviews are released, and assess delivered reviews in good faith.
5. Payment, fees and refunds
Funds for a request are held until a review is approved by the editor. Probatus retains a platform fee disclosed at checkout. Approved reviews are paid to the reviewer's connected payout account. If a review is rejected in quality control, the held amount is returned to the funding party.
6. Anonymity
Reviewers never see author or journal identity. Editors see only a pseudonymous alias and aggregated reputation signals. Attempting to unmask a counterpart is a breach of these terms.
7. Intellectual property
Manuscripts remain the property of their authors. Review text is licensed to the requesting journal for its editorial process. Probatus may publish anonymized, aggregated statistics.
8. Liability
Probatus provides the platform on an as-is basis and is not liable for editorial decisions, indirect damages, or losses arising from the content of a review.
9. Changes and termination
We may update these terms; material changes are announced in-app and require renewed acceptance. You may close your account at any time, subject to settlement of pending payments.
10. Contact
Questions about these terms can be sent through the contact page.