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by mgkimsal 3996 days ago
... wanted to clarify further:

"The API is made available by Yelp Inc. ("Yelp") to enable you to access valuable local information and present Yelp Deals or Yelp Certificates on your website or mobile properties, including mobile apps ("Your Site") that encourages the visitors to Your Site (the "Users") to purchase certain Yelp Deals or Yelp Certificates (collectively "Yelp Voucher(s)") by directing them to Yelp's website or mobile properties, including mobile apps ("Yelp site")."

The entire purpose of the Yelp API is explicitly to get you to direct people to their site and/or to sell Yelp Deals.

Do people really not read these TOS before launching services, or do they think they can skate around the edges until they're big enough to get noticed/acquired before the API police cut off access?

1 comments

who says they even use their API? They could just crawl it. Besides I'm willing to bet Yelp could care less.
They almost certainly do not use the API given its limitations, and unfortunately the Yelp folks do have a history of suing crawlers:

https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/califo...

> Besides I'm willing to bet Yelp could care less.

Would you bet your own startup on it? I wouldn't.

If OP believes in the idea, has domain expertise in it, and has some validation, why not pursue it? Everything comes with risk.

The alternative is waiting years, potentially NEVER to find a perfect, 100% risk-less (which doesn't exist, btw) startup idea that will help him become very rich.