TrialGuard

A self-adjusting gate for AI free credits so abusers can't drain them

Problem

Teams running AI image or API services hand out $1 in free credits to attract signups, only to have them harvested by bulk account creators, with the loss showing up directly on the bill. CAPTCHAs and IP blocking help but don't stop everyone, and the team spends hours manually banning accounts. Cutting the trial to $0.1 risks hurting legitimate first-time users.

Solution

A middle layer that manages free credits dynamically: assign initial credit based on signup signals (email domain, device fingerprint, behavior sequence) instead of a flat amount; start risky accounts with tiny credits and auto-raise them once behavior looks normal; provide a one-click switch to lower credits during campaigns without banning anyone.

Users

Indie developers and small teams running AI image generation, inference APIs, or web tools that rely on free credits for growth but have no dedicated risk team.

MVP

SDK/webhook for signup and billing events; lightweight risk score from email/device/IP; configurable tiered initial credits with auto top-up rules; campaign-mode switch to temporarily reduce credits; dashboard of risky accounts with manual whitelist.

Revenue

Monthly subscription by number of registered users touched ($9/$29/$99 tiers); usage-based API pricing; one-time self-hosted license for indie devs.

Why now

AI inference has real marginal cost, so free credits are always a target. Enterprise risk tools are heavy and overpriced; indie devs need something they can wire up in minutes without blocking real users.