| What's a Bavvel proxy, and how can I earn money if I become one? |
| A Bavvel proxy is someone who wears a camera that sends a live video stream to another person called a controller, whose orders the proxy has agreed to obey in real time in exchange for money (or controller privileges). For example, suppose that the controller, Connie, is in Philadelphia, and she wants to shop in her favorite boutique in Los Angeles. But she doesn't want to travel to Los Angeles. She uses Bavvel.com or the Bavvel app to find a female proxy, Penny, in Los Angeles. Penny's mission is to help the Connie find a suitable dress at the boutique. By sending Connie a live video stream and following her orders, sent via the Bavvel app, Penny becomes Connie's eyes, ears, hands, and feet. This allows Connie to shop for a dress in Los Angeles almost as if she was there, even though she remains in Philadelphia. Because, in selecting Penny, Connie ensured that she and Penny share the same dress size, Connie can see what she would look like in various dresses by having Penny try them on. Once Connie has in this way found the perfect dress, Penny's mission has been accomplished. Funds are transferred from Connie's account into Penny's. |
| How much would I be paid as a proxy? |
| There are three types of missions: on-demand missions — missions that begin immediately after you accept the controller's invitation. planned missions — missions that begin at some date in the future. standby missions — missions that automatically begin whenever you enter designated zones during specified hours of the day, where and when the demand for proxies is expected to be high. For on-demand missions that begin outside of the United States, select your country below to see your current rate of payment and vehicle usage compensation. Country
Hourly Pay
Vehicle Usage Pay
For planned missions, you set your own rate and vehicle usage fee. For standby missions, you will be paid an hourly rate that is one third that of an on-demand mission. You will not be paid a vehicle usage fee. |
| Do I have to undergo some sort of training before I can get paid? |
| Technically, no. You are eligible to be paid for your services on planned missions the moment that you sign up. However, in order to be paid for an on-demand mission, you must complete a brief training period, during which you provide your services as a proxy free of charge on missions that are restricted by the system to last no longer than 5 minutes each. Your training ends when 1) you've spent at least 15 minutes serving as proxy for on-demand missions, 2) you've been the proxy for at least 3 on-demand missions, and 3) you've received an average rating from your controllers of at least 3.0. The moment these conditions are met, the system automatically makes you eligible to receive payments for on-demand missions. However, the training requirement has been temporarily waived. For a limited time only, newly registered proxies will be paid immediately, starting with their very first on-demand mission! |
| Exactly when and how would I be paid? |
| Your payout is processed immediately after the completion of your mission session, which will ultimately result in a deposit to your PayPal account. You must sign up for a PayPal account, before you sign up to become a Bavvel proxy eligible to be paid. Currently, it takes about 5 business days after the completion of your mission session for your payout to appear in your PayPal account. Your payout for standby missions are submitted for processing every 24 hours and take the same amount of time to appear in your account. |
| What equipment do I need to be a proxy? |
For the latter, we recommend a means of wearing you phone horizontally, such as a waist pack (~$10). |
 Wearing your phone vertically is also acceptable. We suggest a lanyard with a document holder, passport holder, or badge holder attached (~$10). |
   Once you insert your phone into the holder, it can be stabilized with ordinary binder clips. [When live-streaming, Bluetooth-capable head-mounted and body-mounted cameras become widely available, they will become the preferred method of wearing your camera.] If you choose not to wear your phone, you will simply hold it in your hands.  |
| I'm confused about standby missions. Who would be my controller? |
| No one. As long as you've set yourself as "available" in the Bavvel app, and are in the right places at the right times, you will start earning money at one third of the on-demand mission rate. You wouldn't have to follow anyone's orders yet, because you are being paid to stand by for an on-demand mission. For example, suppose that Bavvel expects a high demand for proxies near a particular tourist attraction between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm. If you sit in a coffee shop near this attraction between these hours, your app will detect this. If you were to sit in the coffee shop from 11 am until 1 pm, you would be paid for 2 hours. If you were to sit in the coffee shop from 10 am until 11 am, leave the proximity of the tourist attraction, return, and sit from 2 pm until 4 pm, you would be paid for a total of 3 hours. For every hour you remain near the tourist attraction after 4 pm or before 10 am, you would be paid nothing. For every hour you leave the proximity of the tourist attraction during the hours of 10 am to 4 pm, you would be paid nothing. You would only be paid for the time that you spend near the tourist attraction (within about 0.5 miles) during the specified hours (10 am to 4 pm). |
| How would I tell if I'm close enough to a standby mission's designated zone to start being paid automatically? |
| The background color of the 'Welcome Screen' of your Bavvel app turns bright green. It's only green while you're in a zone during its specified time intervals. |
| Can I loiter in a standby mission's designated zone, decline any on-demand mission requests, and still get paid? |
| No. In order be paid for your time in the zone for a particular day, you must accept all on-demand mission requests that you received during that day from any controller whose rating is 3.0 or higher or who is unrated. |
| Can I be paid for a standby mission at the same time that I'm on an on-demand or planned mission? |
| No. The app suspends your standby mission, while your on-demand or planned mission is in progress. |
| How old do I have to be to become a proxy? |
| 18 years old. |
| What would be my expenses as a proxy? |
| If you intend to be an active proxy, and your phone's current data plan limit is less than 4 Gigabytes per month, you will probably need to upgrade your plan. A data plan with a monthly limit of 10 GB costs about $80 per month. Overage costs are typically about $10 per GB. 1 GB is the equivalent of at least 2 hours of video streaming. This means that if you incur data overage charges, your expenses might include about $10/2 = $5 per mission hour. You might also need to purchase a lanyard with an attached holder. This will cost less than $20. |
| How would I communicate with my controller during a mission? |
| By speaking. Once your video stream begins, your proxy can hear everything that you say. You may also communicate silently by writing notes within your camera's field of view. |
| Can people around me hear my controller's commands? |
| No. You will normally be wearing earbuds, so that only you can hear your controller's commands. |
| What information do I have to provide in order to become a proxy? |
| At a minimum you would need to provide your name, email address, contact information, and physical characteristics, such as sex, height, and age. The more information you add to your profile, the more likely it is that you'll be properly matched to the requirements of your mission. Additional information that you could provide includes your photograph, skills, knowledge, interests, and work experience. Certain mission might also require you to have undergone a background check. To be available for an on-demand mission, you must allow the Bavvel app to publish your current GPS coordinates. |
| Will my controller know my full name or my address? |
| No. Your controller will only know you by your first name and the initial of your last name, e.g. "Joanna M". However, for certain sensitive missions, such those involving the care or transportation of children, your controller will likely require you to disclose your full identity. |
| Will my controller need to know my phone number or email address? |
| No. All necessary communication is routed anonymously through our system. This information remains completely private. |
| How do I find out the locations of the current standby mission attraction zones? |
| Log into bavvel.com. Check your home page or your internal mail messages. |
| How do I get chosen for missions? |
| To be chosen for an on-demand mission, you must use the Bavvel app to set your availability. For example, if you use the app to set your on-demand mission availability to "until 5:00 pm", your location will appear as a marker on a geographical map of available proxies until about 5 pm. Controllers use these maps to select proxies for on-demand missions. You may be selected for a planned mission in two ways. 1) A controller does a search of proxy profiles, selects yours, and invites you to join her mission. 2) You do a search of available missions, select one, offer your services to that mission's controller, and that mission's controller accepts. To be selected for a standby mission, simply enter a designated attraction zone during its specified time intervals. |
| Can I ever disobey my controller and still get paid? |
| Yes. Both you and your controller have the option to terminate the mission at the time at which you refused the controller's order. Were that to occur, you would be paid for the consequentially shortened duration of the mission. As a general rule, you should refuse any order that makes you uncomfortable — especially those that are immoral, illegal, or dangerous. However, after receiving such an order, you may still choose to give your controller the option to continue with the mission. Your controller would then be aware that the mission would be constrained by your expected refusal of certain types of orders. Your controller might find this acceptable. Be especially sure to rate and review a controller whose commands are questionable. |