How can we help?
Read the most common questions below. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, email us — we read every message.
Frequently asked questions
What is Corkboard?
Corkboard is a local services marketplace — a way for people to hire and be hired in their own community. Post a gig, find a local provider, leave an honest review.
We never take a cut of any job. Subscription fees from Premium and Business members are how we keep the lights on.
Do I need to pay to use Corkboard?
No. Posting gigs, browsing providers, messaging and leaving reviews are all free. Hirers never pay Corkboard.
Workers can apply to jobs or send offers on gigs up to 2 times per day on the free tier. Premium ($15/month) unlocks unlimited applying and offers, public reviews on your profile and a set of business tools (My Books, quotes, calendar, time tracking).
What if I post a gig and no one responds?
Posts with a clear title, a realistic budget and a few details about the work see the most interest. When you’re writing your post, Corkboard shows a curated trade-rate range for the category — sourced from real local rates, not from platform numbers — so you can anchor a fair budget from the start. Workers may bid higher or lower from there. If you’d rather not anchor a number, leave the price blank and your gig posts as ‘Open to offers’ — workers bid first.
If a category is thin in your area, you’ll see that quickly. Broadening the area, extending the deadline or sharpening the title usually brings interest in. We’re local-first, so density builds neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
How does Corkboard rank providers?
Reviews are the only ranking signal. A free-tier worker with strong reviews always shows up ahead of a paid account with weaker reviews. Paying never buys position.
Distance from the gig and the quality of the match against category and skills shape results too — but subscription tier does not.
Does Corkboard process payments between users?
No. Payment is arranged directly between hirer and worker. Corkboard is the introduction and the review system — not a middleman.
This is an inviolable rule for us. We never want to be in a position where we’re adjudicating money disputes.
Do I have to share my address with workers?
No. When you post a gig, Corkboard shows providers an area — not your exact spot. The map pin is fuzzed within the privacy radius you choose, so workers see the neighbourhood rather than the front door.
Share an address (or any other contact information) in your messages, only with the person you’ve decided to hire and only when you’re ready.
How are reviews kept honest?
Reviews can only be left after a gig is marked complete by both parties. We screen all content with automated moderation. Fake reviews, review exchanges and retaliation are bannable.
Reviews are tied to a real account history — you can’t leave a review without a profile that exists.
How do I pick between several workers?
Every provider profile shows their reviews, completed jobs, response time and any badges they’ve earned. Tap a profile to see the full history before you message.
For a side-by-side look, save the providers you’re weighing and open Compare — up to five at once, with rating, distance, response time and recent reviews lined up. Free for every hirer.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Open the app, go to Settings, tap Cancel subscription, and confirm. That’s it — one tap, no retention flow, no phone calls.
Your profile and reviews are hidden immediately on cancellation. You have 90 days to resubscribe and have everything restored exactly where it was.
What happens to my reviews if I cancel?
They’re hidden from other users while you’re cancelled. They’re still visible to you on your own profile.
Resubscribe within 90 days and everything — profile, reviews, reputation — comes back exactly as it was. If you wait longer than 90 days, the public profile is permanently removed (we keep the underlying account row for abuse-prevention reasons).
How do I report a user or content?
Every gig, profile, message and review has a report option reachable from the “···” menu on that item. Pick a reason and submit — an admin reviews flagged content.
We never reveal who reported whom. Repeat false reporting is itself a violation of our terms.
Something went wrong with a job I hired for — what now?
Use the report option on the provider, the gig or the conversation — whichever fits. A human reviews every flag, and we act on safety, harassment or platform-rule violations.
Corkboard doesn’t adjudicate money disputes — the work and the payment are between you and the person you hired. You can always leave an honest review of your experience, and you can block someone so they can’t message you again.
How is my data protected?
Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and never stored in plain text. Connections use HTTPS. We collect the minimum data we need to run the platform — we don’t sell personal information.
Read the full Privacy Policy for the category-by-category breakdown of what we store, how long, and which third-party services we use.
How do I delete my account?
In the app, go to Settings › Privacy › Delete my account. Confirm. Your profile is tombstoned and personal information (email, phone, location, photos) is scrubbed within a reasonable window.
Reviews you’ve left remain on the platform as part of the public record, with your display name anonymized.