1. Sponsor
This giveaway (the "Giveaway") is sponsored and administered by Paden Shyu, the individual who operates Tide ("Sponsor"). Contact the Sponsor at [email protected]. A mailing address for this Giveaway is available on request at that email address.
2. No purchase necessary
No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win. Tide is free to download and use. A purchase will not improve your chances of winning.
3. Eligibility
- You must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
- You must be a currently enrolled student at the University of California, Davis with a valid active @ucdavis.edu email address.
- You must be a legal resident of the United States.
- The Sponsor, anyone who works on Tide, and their immediate family members and households, are not eligible to win. Tide ambassadors are eligible.
- Accounts on Tide's internal test or app-review campuses are not eligible, and accounts that are suspended at the time of the drawing are not eligible.
- Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
This Giveaway is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or administered by the University of California, Davis.
4. Entry period
The Giveaway begins July 21, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time and ends September 30, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time (the "Entry Period"). Sponsor's clock is the official timekeeper.
5. How to enter
There are two prize pools: a gift-card pool and an iPad pool. The four $25 gift cards are drawn from a single combined pool of entries. You collect entries by completing any of these actions in Tide during the Entry Period, and the more entries you hold, the better your odds:
| Action | How to complete it | Entries |
|---|---|---|
| Verification | Complete student verification on your Tide account. | 2 entries |
| Classes | Add at least one class to your Tide schedule. | 2 entries |
| Feed | Publish at least one post or one reply on your campus feed. | 2 entries |
| Daily Tide | Open Daily Tide. One entry for each separate day you open it. | 1 per day, up to 5 |
- Your entries from these actions add together into one pool, up to a maximum of eleven (11) entries. The four gift cards are drawn from this pool, so more entries improve your odds.
- Verification, Classes, and Feed each count once (2 entries each); repeating the action does not add more. Daily Tide adds one entry per separate day you open it, up to five.
- Qualifying actions completed before the Entry Period began also count, and are entered automatically.
- Entries are recorded automatically by Tide. There is nothing to submit and no confirmation step.
- Entries are personal to you. Entries generated by script, bot, or any automated means, or through multiple or fraudulent accounts, are void.
The iPad drawing works differently, and it is the one prize where doing more improves your odds. You earn tickets in the iPad pool by inviting friends to Tide:
- Each friend you refer who joins Tide and becomes student-verified is worth one ticket, up to a maximum of four (4) tickets from referrals.
- If you joined Tide using a friend's invite and you are student-verified yourself, you earn one additional ticket. The most any one person can hold is five (5) tickets.
- A referral counts only once the friend both joins and completes student verification. Sending an invite by itself does not earn a ticket.
- You cannot refer yourself, and each friend can be credited to only one referrer. More tickets means better odds, but everyone with at least one ticket has a chance to win.
6. Free alternate method of entry
To enter any drawing without using the Tide app, send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Tide Giveaway Entry" from your active @ucdavis.edu address, including:
- your full name;
- your @ucdavis.edu email address; and
- the name of the drawing or drawings you wish to enter (Verification, Classes, Feed, Daily Tide, and/or iPad).
For the gift-card pool, list which of the four actions you completed; each is worth the entries shown in Section 5 (Verification, Classes, and Feed are 2 each, Daily Tide is 1 per separate day up to 5), and they add into the same pool. For the iPad drawing, name each student-verified friend you referred; each verified-friend referral counts as one ticket, up to four (4). Emails must be received before the end of the Entry Period. Alternate-method entries have the same chance of winning as entries earned in the app.
7. Prizes
- Four (4) gift cards with an approximate retail value ("ARV") of $25 USD each, for a combined ARV of $100 USD.
- One (1) iPad (11th generation), ARV $399 USD.
- Total ARV of all prizes: $499 USD.
Prizes are awarded as-is, with no warranty from Sponsor, express or implied. Prizes are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash. Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the stated prize becomes unavailable. Winners are limited to one prize per person across all five drawings; if the same person is drawn for more than one prize, they receive the first prize drawn and a replacement winner is drawn for the others. Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state, and local taxes, and may be required to complete a Form W-9 before a prize is released.
8. Odds
Odds of winning a gift card depend on how many entries you hold relative to the total number of entries in the combined gift-card pool; holding more entries (up to eleven) improves your chance proportionally, but every entrant has a chance. For the iPad drawing, your odds depend on how many tickets you hold relative to the total number of tickets in the pool; holding more tickets (up to five) improves your chance proportionally, but every ticket holder can win.
9. Winner selection and notification
On or about September 30, 2026, Sponsor will select five (5) winners in total: four gift-card winners and one iPad winner. The four gift-card winners are drawn at random from the combined gift-card entry pool, where each entry is one chance; once a person wins a gift card they are removed before the next gift-card draw, so four different people win. The iPad winner is drawn at random from the weighted ticket pool, where each ticket is one chance. Each drawing records the random seed used, so a result can be independently verified after the fact.
Winners will be notified in the Tide app and by email at the address on their account within five (5) days of the drawing. A winner must respond within seven (7) days of notification. If a winner cannot be reached, does not respond in time, is found ineligible, or declines the prize, that prize is forfeited and an alternate winner may be drawn.
10. Publicity
Except where prohibited by law, accepting a prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to publish the winner's Tide handle and campus in connection with the Giveaway. Sponsor will not publish a winner's legal name, email address, or the content of anything they posted, and will not identify the author of any post made anonymously.
11. Privacy
Information collected in connection with this Giveaway is handled under Tide's Privacy Policy. Sponsor does not sell entrant information and does not share it for advertising.
12. General conditions
By entering, you agree to these Official Rules and to the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all matters relating to the Giveaway. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process, violates Tide's Terms, or acts in a disruptive or unsportsmanlike manner. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Giveaway if fraud, technical failure, or any other factor beyond its reasonable control impairs its integrity; in that case a winner may be drawn from eligible entries received up to the point of impairment.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, entrants release the Sponsor from any liability for loss or injury arising out of participation in the Giveaway or acceptance or use of a prize. This Giveaway is governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
13. Apple and Google
This Giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Apple Inc. or Google LLC. Neither Apple nor Google is a sponsor of, and neither is involved in, this Giveaway in any way. Any questions, comments, or complaints regarding the Giveaway must be directed to the Sponsor, not to Apple or Google.
14. Winners list
For the names of the winners after the drawing, email [email protected] with the subject line "Tide Giveaway Winners" within 60 days of the end of the Entry Period.