Proof Requirements for Every Task Type

What proof should you ask for in a task campaign?

Ask for the smallest piece of evidence that lets you confirm the task was really done, and that you can check against your own records. For a sign-up, that is usually a screenshot of the confirmation screen plus the email or username used. For an app or game, a screenshot of the goal screen with the player name. For a purchase, the order number. The right proof requirement is specific enough that two different users would send the same kind of proof.

This guide goes task type by task type. If you are writing your first campaign, read Write instructions that pass review first; it covers the instructions themselves and the basic choice between the three proof types. Here we go further: copy-ready wording, what each type of proof can and cannot show, and the technical limits that shape what you can ask for.

The three proof types and their limits

Every Sharklio task campaign uses one of three proof types. Click campaigns have no proof at all, because a visit is credited once the view timer ends.

Three details matter more than they first appear:

• One screenshot per completion. Users upload a single image. If you need to see two screens, ask for the one that proves the finish line and move the other detail into the text field.
• Your proof requirement can be up to 1,000 characters, and it is shown to users on the offer before they start. It is a promise as much as an instruction: users read it to decide whether the task is worth their time.
• A required starting link must be opened first. If you turn on Require that users click on a starting link first, the offerwall will not accept proof from anyone who has not opened that link. Whatever the settings, users have 24 hours from starting a task to send their proof.

Proof requirements by task type

The campaign builder asks what you are promoting. Here is what works for each category, and what to watch out for.

Sign-ups and leads

A sign-up is easy to fake with a screenshot of a form, so ask for the screen that only appears after the account exists. If your product sends a confirmation email, put the confirmation step in the instructions and ask for the page that loads after the link is clicked.

The email lets you search your own user list, which is faster and more reliable than judging an image. Only use it to check the completion: the Terms of Service do not allow using completion details to contact users outside the offer or to build profiles of them. What is CPL? covers how to price this kind of result.

App installs

An install alone is hard to prove from a screenshot, and it is not what you want anyway. Ask for a screen the user can only reach by opening and using the app, such as the home screen after onboarding with their user name. If your app shows a user ID in its settings, ask for it as text, so you can match it against your analytics. Sharklio does not connect to an MMP, so this proof is your evidence; How to get app installs covers how to measure the users you get.

Games

Games have natural finish lines: a level, a tutorial reward, a building upgrade. Pick one that takes a real player a reasonable time, name it exactly in the instructions, and ask for the screen that shows it together with the player name. Text proof of the player ID makes lookups quick. How to promote a mobile game on a small budget helps you choose a goal that fits your bid.

Online services and SaaS

For software, a sign-up is only the first step. Ask for proof of one meaningful action, such as creating a first project, connecting a calendar or sending a first invoice, and ask for the account email or workspace name so you can check the action on your side.

Purchases in an online store

An order number is the best proof for a purchase: it is short, it is unique, and you can look it up in seconds. You do not need a screenshot of the receipt, and asking for one invites images that show a home address or card details.

Websites and landing pages

If you only need people to visit a page, a click campaign is usually the better tool: you choose a view time from 5 to 60 seconds and pay only for credited visits, with nothing to review. If you need proof that someone read the page, place a short code word or the answer to a simple question in the content, and ask for it as text. A code shown at the end of any flow, such as after a completed form, works for other task types too.

Social media pages, communities and servers

Be careful here. Meta’s Spam policy for Facebook and Instagram prohibits offering “anything of monetary value in exchange for engagement” such as likes, shares, views and follows. Discord’s Platform Manipulation Policy prohibits “purchasing or inducing server joins”. Tasks that break the rules of the platform they send users to are not allowed under the campaign rules and are sent back at review, however good the proof requirement is. Reward an action on your own site or app instead. Why was my campaign rejected? lists this and the other common reasons.

What a proof requirement must never ask for

A useful test is to ask yourself what you would do with each piece of proof. If you cannot name the check it makes possible, remove it.

What else you see next to the proof

The proof is not the only evidence. Each completion in your dashboard also shows an anonymous user ID that stays the same for the same user, the site the user came from, their country, city, device, operating system and browser, when they submitted, how long the task took from start to submission, how many tasks that user sent on that publisher in the previous 24 hours, and whether they clicked your starting link. A sign-up proved in 40 seconds by someone who sent 30 tasks that day deserves a closer look than the same proof after 12 minutes. Our automated fraud checks run before anything reaches you, and Ad fraud and bot traffic lists the warning signs worth knowing.

Proof, rejections and disputes

You judge each completion against the proof requirement that was in place when the user submitted it. Reject only when the proof clearly fails that requirement, and give a specific reason. The user can dispute within 72 hours and may attach a new screenshot, which often settles the question. How to handle completion disputes explains each step and what it costs.

Fair reviewing also pays off in the offerwall. Once a task has at least 10 decided completions, users see the share that was approved on the offer itself, so a task with clear proof and fair reviews looks more attractive to the careful users you want.

If you change the proof type or the proof requirement of a live campaign, it goes back to staff review before it runs again, and the new wording applies only to future completions. When several users make the same mistake, that is the signal to clarify the requirement, not to reject them all.

Frequently asked questions