Welcome to the world of Grass Points, the fuel that powers your journey in the Grass ecosystem. As a Grass user, you're not just sharing your unused bandwidth with us. You're also accumulating valuable points that track your contributions and put you on the path to future Grass rewards.
Think of these points as your digital footprint in our ecosystem. The more active you are and the more people you bring into the Grass network, the larger your stake becomes.
What Are Grass Points?
Grass Points are the measurement system we use to track your contributions to the Grass Network for the purpose of calculating and distributing rewards. These points represent your participation in building a more equitable internet where both companies and users benefit from the extra bandwidth you aren't using.
Grass Points break down into two types: Uptime Points and Network Points, which give a clearer picture of both the availability and usage of the bandwidth that you contribute.
- Uptime Points are earned based on the amount of time your device is connected to the Grass Network in a manner that makes your bandwidth available for use. Uptime Points are also awarded when you refer new users who meet the requirements to be considered an active referral, or when you reach certain milestones and are eligible for bonuses.
- Network Points are earned when your bandwidth is actively used by the Grass Network to power web data requests.
In summary, Uptime Points are earned for establishing and maintaining a consistent connection to the Grass Network, and Network Points are earned when the bandwidth you make available is actually used by the Grass Network.
You can grow your Grass Points in three different ways:
- When you download and use Grass
- When you successfully refer someone
- When your referred person(s) extend their invites to others
Let's look at each of these in more detail.
Uptime Points: The Foundation of Your Earnings
Grass Usage Points
The simplest way to begin collecting Grass Points is to download the Grass app and connect to the network. While you go about your day, Grass utilizes your unused bandwidth. (Need a refresher on techie terms we use? Check out our Grass Glossary.)
Uptime Points are automatically awarded to you for keeping your device online and connected to the Grass Network in a manner that makes your bandwidth available for use. You're already paying for this bandwidth - Grass just puts what you're not using to work and rewards you for it.
This is an excellent way to start collecting points, but if you want to supercharge your accumulation, it's time to start referring.
Earning Through Referrals
If you know anyone who'd like to earn rewards from their unused bandwidth too, you can share your Grass referral code with them. When they sign up and start using Grass, you'll earn bonus points based on their activity - and they keep every point they earn. Here's how it breaks down:
Direct referrals earn you a 20% point bonus based on their activity. So if a friend earns 100 points, you'll receive 20 bonus points on top of whatever you're already earning. There's no cap on how many people you can refer, and the bonus continues for as long as they use Grass. As an added milestone, when a referral hits 100 hours of uptime, they receive a 5,000-point bonus and you receive 2,500.
Second-degree connections are people referred by someone you referred. You earn you a bonus 10% of the points those secondary connections generate.
Third-degree connections earn you a bonus 5% of those tertiary users' points.
The Power of Compounding Referrals
To put some numbers on it: if you refer five friends, and each of them shares Grass with five people, and each of those users does the same, you'd be earning a 20% bonus from 5 users, a 10% bonus from 25 users, and a 5% bonus from 125 users—all from your original five invites. Each active user in that network generates a small, ongoing bonus for you - all while keeping 100% of their own points.
The more people using Grass, the stronger the network becomes for everyone. Referring others is a great way to boost your rewards while helping the community grow.
Network Points: Earning from Active Bandwidth Usage
Network Points are programmatically awarded when your bandwidth is actively used by the Grass Network to power web data requests. Here's how Network Points work:
A fixed pool of 1,000,000 Network Points is created and awarded to users each day. Network Points are split across users based on the pro rata amount of a user's bandwidth actually used by the Grass Network. If your bandwidth is not actually used by the Grass Network on a particular day, then you will not receive Network Points on that day.
The bandwidth used by the Grass Network is selected based on technical specifications and market factors that include:
Market Forces that Create Demand for User Bandwidth
More public web data requests will be routed through users located in certain regions based on the region which the public web data requests relate. For example, if there is demand for public web data in the United States on a given day, then users located in the United States on that day are likely to see increased usage of their bandwidth relative to users in other jurisdictions. As a result, those United States-based users are more likely to receive Network Points in connection with those public web data requests.
The Stability of Your Connection to the Grass Network
The strength, consistency, and availability of your connection to the Grass Network also plays a role in determining whether your bandwidth will be used to fulfill public web data requests. The Grass Network is designed to select the bandwidth of users that have reliable connections to ensure that public web requests made using their bandwidth are successful. The stability of your internet connection itself is also a factor.
The way in which you connect to the Grass Network—whether through a Grasshopper, the Android application, the desktop application, or extension—may assist in establishing a more stable connection. Based on the technical design and operation of the Grass Network, the Grasshopper and Android application are generally able to provide a stronger and more stable connection.
The Way Your Connection Has Been Used in Prior Days and/or in Related Tasks
If your connection has been used recently in connection with public web data requests, the use of other users' bandwidth will support the operational reliability of the Grass Network (as well as your and other users' connections). The Grass Network functions most efficiently when multiple different connections are used to route public web data requests, which also facilitates longer-term recurring use of users' connections.
You don't need to take any extra steps. Keep your device running and connected to the Grass Network to be eligible to receive Network Points.
Network Points Example
Let's say the Grass Network routes a total of 100,000 GB of web traffic in a single day across 500,000 active users. If your device contributed 10 GB of that total—meaning the network used 10 GB of your connection to power live web requests—you provided 0.01% of the day's bandwidth. You'd then earn around 100 Network Points (0.01% of the 1,000,000 daily Network Points).
Rewards Dashboard
The Rewards Dashboard is the hub for tracking your contributions. It brings everything into one place:
- Tiers and milestones showing your progress.
- Referral activity and bonuses from your referral network.
- Earning breakdowns across Uptime Points and Network Points.
- Epoch history showing how your points accrue over time.
With both Uptime Points and Network Points tracked, the dashboard provides a clearer view of how your device supports the Grass Network.
Maximize Your Rewards with Grass Points
The best way to maximize your Grass rewards is to focus on quality over quantity as you build your referral network. Invite friends who will actively use the app and who are motivated to build their own network. As you saw from the example above, just a few good referrals can explode your points accumulation.
Of course, the path to your Grass Points empire begins with an important first step. Download the Grass app and connect it to your network. Once the app is up and running, you can begin identifying referral targets and sending them your Grass referral code. (It might help to also send a link to our Grass 101 article so they know what they're signing up for.)
Ready to start building your Grass Points empire? Download the Grass app today.
- Let’s say the Grass Network routes a total of 100,000 GB of web traffic in a single day across 500,000 active users. If your device contributed 10 GB of that total, meaning the network used 10 GB of your connection to power live web requests, you provided 0.01% of the day’s bandwidth. You’d then earn around 100 Network Points (0.01% of the 1,000,000 daily Network Points).
Legal Disclaimer
The purchase or installation of a Grasshopper, a Grass application (Android or desktop), or Grass extension is not a guarantee that you will earn Network Points or any associated rewards. Network Points are awarded based on the usage of the bandwidth contributed through your device to the Grass Network. Usage is determined programmatically based on factors that include the quality, stability, and availability of your bandwidth as well as the operational needs of the Grass Network, which are driven by network participation, use, and market forces.
