IOSAInstitute for Open Social Analytics

Terms of Service

Last updated: 19 September 2026

These terms govern the use of the IOSA website and the purchase of the optional commemorative items offered through it.

1. Who we are

IOSA, the Institute for Open Social Analytics, is an independent research project with no profit purpose.

Operated by IOSA — Institute for Open Social Analytics, an independent research project based in Italy, run by a private individual. The name and postal address of the person responsible are provided on request at iosa.research.lab@gmail.com.

2. What the VPI is, and what it is not

The Viral Performance Index (VPI) is our own measurement. It divides a video’s public view count by the median view count of that channel’s recent Shorts, so that a small channel and a large one can be compared on the same scale. It is a research output. It is not a certification, an accreditation, an award, an audit or an endorsement issued by any authority, and it carries no official status of any kind.

Figures come from public platform APIs and may be incomplete, delayed or revised. The service is provided “as is”, without warranty of accuracy or availability, and we accept no liability for decisions taken on the basis of these figures.

3. Free access

Browsing the index, downloading your digital plaque and exporting the public dataset are free, require no account and no payment, and will remain so.

4. Optional commemorative items

• Items are entirely optional. Nothing in the measurement, the index or the digital plaque depends on buying one.
• Prices are shown in US dollars. Shipping is shown separately before payment.
• Each item is made to order and personalised with the data of one specific video, so production starts only after payment.
• We currently ship to the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
• Estimated delivery is 3 to 7 business days after production, which typically takes 2 to 5 business days. These are estimates, not guaranteed dates.
• Items may be temporarily unavailable. When they are, no order can be placed and the free digital plaque is unaffected.
• Proceeds fund the project’s servers, API quota and development. They are not a donation and do not carry any tax benefit for the buyer.

5. Cancellation, returns and defects

Because each item is personalised with data specific to one video and one recipient, the statutory right of withdrawal for distance contracts does not apply to it, under Art. 16(c) of Directive 2011/83/EU and Art. 59(1)(c) of the Italian Consumer Code. Once production has started an order cannot be cancelled.

This does not affect your statutory rights. If an item arrives damaged, defective, or does not match what you ordered, write to iosa.research.lab@gmail.com within 14 days of delivery, attaching a photograph. We replace it or refund it in full, including shipping, at no cost to you. If an order cannot be produced or delivered at all, we refund it in full.

6. Intellectual property

The plaque layout, the VPI scale and this site are ours. Video titles, channel names and metrics belong to their respective owners and are shown for research and informational purposes. Commemorative items carry no platform logo, trademark or branding.

7. Acceptable use

Please do not attempt to disrupt the service or to access it through automated means that place an unreasonable load on it. The public dataset export exists precisely so that you do not have to.

8. Independence

IOSA is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or associated with YouTube, Google LLC, TikTok, ByteDance, Instagram, X or Meta. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by Italian law. If you are a consumer resident in the European Union, you keep the protection of the mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence, and you may bring proceedings before the courts of that country. The European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform is available at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

10. Changes

If these terms change we update the date at the top of this page. The terms in force at the time of your order are the ones that apply to it.