A beta puts something unreleased in the hands of people outside your company. A short non-disclosure agreement, often called a beta agreement, sets the rules before they start: what they can share, what happens to the device, and when it all ends.
This article covers when you need one, what it should say, and how testers accept it in Stomio before they see anything.
In this article
- Should beta testers sign an NDA?
- What should a beta tester NDA include?
- What happens if a tester breaks the NDA?
- How do you get testers to sign it?
- How do I add an NDA to my beta in Stomio?
- How do testers accept the NDA?
- How do I track who accepted the NDA?
- Free NDA template
Should beta testers sign an NDA?
Usually, yes. If the beta involves anything you haven't announced, such as a new device, new firmware, pricing or a launch date, ask testers to accept an NDA before they get access. Without one, a tester can post photos, benchmarks or a full review before launch, and you have nothing to point to when you ask them to take it down.
You may not need a full NDA when:
- The product is already public and the beta is a firmware or feature update you're happy for people to talk about.
- The beta is public on purpose, to build interest before launch. Publish clear sharing rules instead, so testers know what's fine to post.
- The tester is already covered. Employees have confidentiality terms in their employment agreement, and many business customers have signed an NDA with you already. For customers, a one-page beta addendum that points to the existing NDA is easier to get signed than a new agreement.
What should a beta tester NDA include?
This isn't legal advice. Have your counsel write or review the final agreement, and make sure it fits with any agreement you already have with each customer. As a starting point, a beta NDA for a hardware product usually covers:
- What's confidential. The device, its packaging, the firmware and app, the documentation, and anything you tell testers about pricing or timing. A specific list is easier for testers to follow than "everything about the product".
- What testers can't do. Post photos or video, stream, publish benchmarks or reviews, lend the device out, or open it up.
- What testers can do. Whether they may say they're in the beta, and whether people in the same home can see or use the device. Saying it outright avoids awkward questions later.
- How long it lasts. Usually the beta period plus the time until public launch, or a fixed period after the beta ends.
- The device itself. Who owns it, whether testers return it or keep it, who pays for shipping, and what happens if it's lost or damaged.
- Feedback and data. That you may use their feedback, what data the device and app collect during the beta, and how you'll handle it. Testers are far more willing to report honestly when they know their personal details won't end up in a launch deck.
- Incentives, if you offer any. What testers get and when they get it.
- Ending early. That you can remove a tester, that they can leave, and what happens to the device in either case.
- Who to contact with questions.
Keep it short and in plain language. A two-page agreement gets read. A twelve-page one gets scrolled to the bottom and accepted, which helps nobody when there's a dispute about what it said.
What happens if a tester breaks the NDA?
In practice, the company removes the tester from the beta, ends their access and asks for the device back. Legal action is rare, but an NDA is a contract, so it's possible, especially when a leak causes real damage. What the company can do depends on the agreement and on where the tester lives.
Two things make an NDA easier to rely on: clear wording about what's confidential, and a record that the tester accepted it, with the date and time. Stomio keeps that record for every tester, as described below.
How do you get testers to sign it?
Sending the agreement through an e-signature tool works, but it adds a separate step to chase, and someone has to match signatures to testers before shipping devices.
It's simpler when accepting the agreement is part of joining the beta. Testers see the agreement before anything else, can't reach any tasks until they accept, and each acceptance is recorded with a timestamp. That's how it works in Stomio.
How do I add an NDA to my beta in Stomio?
Add the agreement while the beta is a draft or scheduled. You can replace or remove it until then. Once the beta starts the agreement is locked, so every tester accepts the same version.
In your draft beta, open Onboarding in the left navigation.
The beta's Onboarding page, with the NDA Agreements block above the welcome email
Click the block to open the NDA screen, then click Add a PDF to upload your agreement. Agreements are uploaded as PDF files.
The Add a PDF link used to upload an agreement
Choose your file and confirm. You can open the attached file from the same screen to check it.
The NDA Agreements block after upload, with a link to view the attached file
That's it. When you launch the beta, testers are asked to accept the agreement before they can take part.
If a tester is already covered by another agreement, for example a colleague, you can exempt them so they go straight to the beta.
How do testers accept the NDA?
When the beta launches, testers get an email and see the beta in their list. If the beta has an agreement, the first thing they do is read and accept it.
A pending beta invitation in the tester's list, with Accept invitation and Reject
When a tester opens the beta, they're asked to accept the agreement. Once they accept, they can see their tasks. If they decline, they can't access the beta and stay inactive until they accept.
The agreement prompt a tester sees, with a link to open it and buttons to accept or decline
For more on the steps testers go through when they join, see Invite and onboard your testers.
How do I track who accepted the NDA?
Open the beta and go to Results. The Tester Funnel chart has an NDA accepted bar, so you can see at a glance how many invited testers have accepted and how many are still waiting.
The tester funnel, with an NDA Accepted bar between invited and finished one task
Open Tester Summary to see each tester, including the date and time they accepted the agreement. That's the record to check before you ship a device to someone.
Free NDA template
Want a starting point? Download our sample beta agreement and adapt it with your counsel.