# Billion Dollar Grid — Full Context > A 40,000 × 25,000 pixel canvas — exactly one billion pixels — where anyone can permanently buy and display an ad block. Each 10×10 pixel block costs $100, making every individual pixel worth $1. This document is the extended-context version of [llms.txt](https://billiondollargrid.com/llms.txt). It includes the full text of the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, How It Works narrative, and Press Kit content. Intended for LLMs / generative-search engines that need comprehensive context to answer questions accurately about the platform. Last updated: August 2026. --- ## Overview Billion Dollar Grid is a permanent internet advertising canvas inspired by the original Million Dollar Homepage (2005, Alex Tew). Twenty years later, Alexander Helstad — a Computer Science student in Norway — built the billion-pixel successor. Companies, individuals, and brands can purchase pixel blocks and display their logo, artwork, or message forever. Blocks are permanent: no subscriptions, no renewals, no expiry. The canvas is navigable like Google Maps: pan with click-and-drag, zoom with scroll or pinch. Every pixel sold is visible to all visitors in real time. The site is built by a single founder; ad image moderation is handled within ~24 hours of upload. ## Key facts - Total pixels: 1,000,000,000 (one billion) - Price per pixel: $1 - Price per block: $100 (10×10 pixels = 100 pixels) - Canvas dimensions: 40,000 × 25,000 pixels - Permanence: blocks displayed indefinitely with no recurring fees - Payment: Stripe (credit/debit card, secure) - Image format: JPG or PNG, auto-resized to exact block dimensions - Founded: 2026 by Alexander Helstad, based in Norway - Contact: alex@billiondollargrid.com - Website: https://billiondollargrid.com ## Business category Billion Dollar Grid is an online display-advertising business: it sells fixed ad placements on a website it owns and operates. Customers pay once for a specific set of coordinates and supply an image that is manually reviewed before it is published. To state plainly what it is not, since the name and the "one billion pixels" framing invite the wrong assumptions: - It is not an investment, security, fund, or financial product. A block is a licence to display an image, and no claim is made — anywhere on the site or in any marketing — that a block appreciates in value or produces a return. The Terms explicitly disclaim any guarantee of traffic, advertising effectiveness, or commercial benefit. - It is not a cryptocurrency, token, NFT, virtual currency, or stored-value product. No blockchain, wallet, or digital-asset infrastructure is involved anywhere in the product. - It is not a lottery, sweepstakes, raffle, contest, game of chance, game of skill, or prize competition. No monetary or material prizes are awarded. Buying a block is not an entry or a chance to win anything. - It is not a get-rich-quick, income-opportunity, MLM, affiliate, or referral scheme. There is no downline, no commission structure, and no earnings claim. - It is not a resale marketplace. Blocks are not listed, brokered, priced, or promoted for resale, and no payment between buyers is facilitated or escrowed. Ads for businesses on Stripe's Restricted Businesses list are refused, and every image is reviewed manually before publication. The full category list is in the Terms of Service below. ## Founder Alexander Helstad — Computer Science student, US-born, based in Norway. The original Million Dollar Homepage was launched in 2005 by a then-21-year-old British student named Alex Tew and sold out in five months. Twenty years later, Alexander built the billion-pixel successor. Available for press interviews via alex@billiondollargrid.com — typical response time under 24 hours. --- # How It Works ## One billion pixels. The Grid is a 40,000 × 25,000 pixel canvas — exactly one billion pixels — divided into 10×10 pixel blocks. Each block costs $100, making every individual pixel worth exactly $1. You can purchase any block that hasn't already been claimed and place your brand, art, or message on it permanently. Navigate the grid exactly like Google Maps. Pan with click-and-drag. Zoom with your scroll wheel or the controls in the corner. ## Buying a block (step by step) 1. Open https://billiondollargrid.com on a desktop browser 2. Pan and zoom to find an unclaimed area you like 3. Click a single tile to claim one block, or Shift+drag to select a larger area 4. Click "Buy" in the popover that appears 5. Fill in: company / name, optional tagline (100 chars), optional website, email 6. Optionally upload a preview image (you'll re-upload the real one after payment) 7. Pay via Stripe Checkout (credit / debit card) 8. Receive a welcome email with a personal upload-portal link 9. Upload your ad image (any size — auto-resized to exact block dimensions) 10. Admin reviews within ~24 hours; once approved, your block goes live permanently ## Moderation flow Every customer-controllable field on a block — image, company name, tagline, website link — goes through admin review before becoming publicly visible. Buyers can edit these via their personal upload portal at any time; each edit creates a "pending" draft visible only to the buyer and admin until approved. This is to ensure no unmoderated content (phishing, hate speech, banned business categories) ever appears on the public grid. --- # Terms of Service Last updated: August 2026. ## Overview By purchasing a block on Billion Dollar Grid ("the Grid"), you agree to these terms. The Grid is operated by Alexander Helstad as an individual based in Norway. Purchases are fully refundable until the block is published on the Grid, and final after that — see the Refund Policy below. ## What you buy Purchasing a block grants you the right to display, on that block's coordinates on the Grid, a single approved image and an optional 100-character tagline that appears when visitors interact with your block. Your purchase is a display license tied to the coordinates you bought — you do not acquire ownership of any underlying code, infrastructure, or intellectual property of the Grid itself. ## Image and tagline requirements Uploaded images and taglines must not contain illegal content, explicit material, hate speech, deceptive or fraudulent claims, or material that infringes third-party intellectual property. We reserve the right to reject any image or tagline at our discretion. If your content is rejected, you may submit replacement content, or — since your block has not been published — request a full refund under the Refund Policy below. The choice is yours. ## Restricted business categories Because we use Stripe to process payments, we cannot accept ads for businesses Stripe prohibits. By purchasing, you confirm your ad does not promote any of the following: adult content of any kind; gambling, casinos, sports betting, sweepstakes with paid entry; cryptocurrency exchanges or trading platforms, ICOs, NFT marketplaces; "get rich quick" schemes, multi-level marketing (MLM), pyramid schemes; cannabis, CBD, vape products, tobacco, snus, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco; firearms, ammunition, weapons; counterfeit or unauthorised goods; unregulated health products or "miracle cures"; debt-collection or payday-loan services; and any other business categories restricted by Stripe (full list at https://stripe.com/legal/restricted-businesses). Additionally, because the Grid is operated from Norway, the following are prohibited under Norwegian law regardless of Stripe's policy, and apply to every block displayed on the Grid regardless of the buyer's jurisdiction: alcoholic beverages above 2.5% ABV (including indirect advertising and brand-stretching to non-alcoholic variants of an alcoholic brand) — Alkoholloven §9-2; tobacco, snus, e-cigarettes, vape and heated-tobacco products in all forms (reinforcing the Stripe ban) — Tobakksskadeloven §22; private gambling or lottery operators other than the Norwegian state monopolies Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto — Lotteriloven. It is your responsibility to verify your business is permitted BEFORE purchasing. If you purchase a block to advertise a restricted business we will reject your image; because your block will not have been published, you may request a full refund under the Refund Policy below. If a restricted-business use comes to light after your block has already been published, the block will be removed and no refund will be issued. If you are unsure whether your business is allowed, email alex@billiondollargrid.com before purchasing for confirmation. ## Permanence Your approved image and tagline will be displayed on the Grid for as long as the Grid is operational. We make reasonable efforts to keep the Grid online but make no guarantees of perpetual or uninterrupted uptime. If the Grid is ever shut down permanently, display rights will naturally lapse — no refund is issued in this case. ## Editing after approval You may update your image, company name, tagline, or website link at any time via your buyer portal. Each new submission goes through the same review process before going live; the previously-approved version remains visible until the new submission is approved. ## Reassigning your block to another advertiser You may request that the display licence for your block be reassigned to another advertiser. Reassignment is processed at the operator's sole discretion and may be declined or deferred for any reason. Where accepted, it is handled manually by the operator — email alex@billiondollargrid.com from the email address registered on the block, naming the intended recipient (full name and email). The new holder is bound by these Terms in their entirety from the moment of reassignment, including the Restricted business categories clause and Stripe-compliance requirements; it is your responsibility to make them aware of these rules beforehand. The operator will re-review the block's image, company name, tagline, and link under the new holder's intended use before completing the reassignment, and will refuse it if the new content or use would violate any clause of these Terms. We do not operate a resale marketplace: we do not list, broker, advertise, price, or promote blocks for resale, and we do not facilitate, escrow, or process any payment between you and the new holder. A block is a licence to display advertising, not a tradable asset, security, or investment — we make no representation that a block has, retains, or will acquire any resale or secondary-market value. ## Service availability and downtime The Grid is provided "as is" and "as available". We do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted, or error-free operation. The Grid may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, infrastructure issues, third-party provider outages (Supabase, Vercel, Stripe), or causes outside our reasonable control. Temporary downtime does not constitute a breach of these terms and does not entitle you to a refund, credit, or compensation. ## No warranties The Grid is provided without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including (without limitation) warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, traffic volume, advertising effectiveness, conversion rates, or commercial benefit. You acknowledge that you are buying a permanent display placement on a novelty website with no guaranteed business outcome. ## Limitation of liability To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, our total liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to your use of the Grid (whether in contract, tort, or otherwise) is limited to the amount you paid for the affected block. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including (without limitation) lost profits, lost business opportunities, lost goodwill, or lost data. Nothing in these terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under Norwegian consumer protection law. ## Force majeure We are not liable for failure or delay in performance caused by events outside our reasonable control, including but not limited to: third-party service outages (Supabase, Vercel, Stripe, Resend), internet or telecommunications failures, cyberattacks, government action, natural disasters, war, or pandemic. ## Security incidents and data loss You acknowledge that no internet service is immune to security incidents, hardware failure, or sub-processor data loss. In the event that buyer-uploaded or buyer-submitted content (images, taglines, company names, website links) is partially or permanently lost or corrupted due to (a) a cyber attack, ransomware, or other security incident affecting us or any of our sub-processors; (b) hardware or storage failure; (c) sub-processor service termination or data loss; or (d) any other cause outside our reasonable control, our sole obligation is to use commercially reasonable efforts to restore the affected content from available backups. We do not guarantee full or partial recovery and are not liable for loss of uploaded content, lost display time, lost traffic, lost commercial opportunity, or any indirect / incidental / consequential / punitive damages. We strongly recommend you retain your own copy of any image you upload. If your image is permanently lost and we cannot recover it, you may re-upload the same image (or a replacement meeting the same Terms requirements) free of charge — we will not require additional payment to restore your display. ## Prohibited use You may not use the Grid to display spam, phishing links, malware, content designed to deceive visitors, or links to such material. Violation of this clause may result in your block being removed without refund. ## External links Buyer blocks may link to external websites. We are not responsible for, do not endorse, and do not control the content of any external site linked from the Grid. Visiting an external site is at your own risk and subject to the policies of that site's operator. ## No contests, prizes, or competitions The Grid does not operate, host, or sponsor any lottery, sweepstakes, raffle, contest, game of chance, game of skill, or prize competition, and awards no monetary or material prizes. Purchasing a block is a purchase of advertising display space only: it is not an entry, ticket, stake, wager, or chance to win anything, and confers no eligibility for any award. Any third-party promotion advertised on a buyer's block is that buyer's sole responsibility and is neither operated nor endorsed by us. ## Intellectual property in uploaded content You retain all intellectual property rights in the images and taglines you upload. By submitting content to the Grid, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, display, and reproduce that content on the Grid and in related promotional materials (e.g. press screenshots) for the duration the content is displayed. You warrant that you own — or have permission to use — all rights necessary in any content you upload. ## Reproduction of the Grid as a work You grant us a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to reproduce, display, distribute, and adapt the Grid (in whole or in part, including the area containing your block) in any medium now known or later developed — physical, digital, broadcast, exhibition, print, or otherwise — for any purpose related to documenting, archiving, exhibiting, promoting, or commercialising the Grid as a single composite work. Examples include but are not limited to: physical prints, museum exhibitions, art books, posters, postcards, documentaries, time-lapse videos, editorial features, and merchandise depicting the canvas as a whole. This licence does NOT grant us the right to (a) use your block's content in isolation from the surrounding Grid — for example, to reproduce your logo or image on standalone merchandise unrelated to the canvas; (b) use your content in a way that reasonably implies your endorsement of any specific product, event, candidate, or position; or (c) sub-license your content to third parties for use independent of the Grid. The licence survives termination of these Terms and continues for as long as we (or our successors) wish to reproduce the Grid. ## Buyer warranties and representations By uploading any image, logo, tagline, link, or other content to the Grid, you represent and warrant that: (1) you own all rights in the content or have obtained all necessary licences, permissions, releases, and consents; (2) the content does not infringe any third party's intellectual property rights; (3) any logos, brand marks, or trademarks are owned by you or used with the rights holder's authorisation; (4) any photograph or likeness of an identifiable person is published with that person's prior written consent — including any right-of-publicity release required in jurisdictions that recognise such rights; (5) the content does not contain defamatory, libellous, obscene, or otherwise unlawful material; (6) any external website you link to is owned or controlled by you, or you have permission to link to it; (7) you are at least 18 years old or, if acting on behalf of an entity, authorised to bind that entity. ## Indemnification You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Alexander Helstad and Billion Dollar Grid from and against any third-party claims, demands, suits, losses, liabilities, damages, settlements, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) any content you submit through the Grid; (b) your breach of any representation, warranty, covenant, or obligation under these terms; (c) your violation of any applicable law or third-party right; (d) your use or misuse of the Grid. ## Copyright complaints If you believe content displayed on the Grid infringes your copyright, email alex@billiondollargrid.com with: (1) identification of the infringed work, (2) identification of the block in question (coordinates or block ID), (3) your contact details, and (4) a good-faith statement that you are the rights holder or authorised to act on their behalf. We will review and, if the claim is substantiated, remove the content promptly. US users: we comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Our designated DMCA agent is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office; notices that meet the requirements of 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) should be sent to alex@billiondollargrid.com. ## Dispute resolution and governing law These terms are governed by the laws of Norway, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Before filing any claim against us, you agree to attempt informal resolution by emailing alex@billiondollargrid.com with a detailed description of the dispute, with 30 days to resolve informally. If unresolved, any dispute shall be finally settled by binding arbitration in Oslo, Norway under the rules of the Oslo Chamber of Commerce. You and we each waive any right to a trial by jury and any right to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or any other representative or consolidated proceeding. If you are a consumer resident in the EU/EEA, nothing in these terms deprives you of any non-waivable rights or protections available to you under the mandatory consumer protection law of your country of residence. ## Modification of these Terms We may update these Terms from time to time. Minor or non-material changes (typos, clarifications, formatting) take effect immediately upon publication. Material changes — including any change that increases buyer obligations, reduces buyer rights, alters the Restricted business categories list, modifies the Dispute resolution clause, or changes the Refund Policy — will be announced to active buyers by email at least 30 days before taking effect. Material changes apply only to continued use after the effective date; if you do not agree, your remedy is to stop using the Grid and request permanent removal of your block (no refund if the block has already been published; the standard full refund applies if it has not). ## Assignment and business transfer You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms except as permitted by the Transfers between buyers clause. We may assign or transfer these Terms (and all rights and obligations) in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of substantially all assets, reorganisation, or similar transaction. Your block's display rights, your data, and your purchaser relationship transfer to the new operator on the same terms, with email notice of the change of operator within a reasonable period. ## Severability and entire agreement If any provision of these terms is found invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary, or removed entirely. The remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Billion Dollar Grid regarding your purchase. --- # Privacy Policy Last updated: August 2026. ## Summary We collect the minimum data needed to sell you a pixel block and display your ad. We use Stripe for payments, Supabase for our database and storage, Vercel for hosting, and Resend for transactional emails. We do not sell your data, run ads, or use tracking cookies. You can request deletion of your personal data at any time. ## What we collect When you purchase a block, we collect: your email address, your company or display name, an optional website URL, an optional tagline (100 characters max), and an optional ad image you upload. We also record the coordinates and size of your block, the timestamp of your purchase, and a Stripe session ID. To prevent abuse of our endpoints we briefly store the IP address of requests against a rate-limit table. ## What we do NOT collect We do not collect or store your credit card details — Stripe processes payments entirely on their servers under their own privacy policy. We do not use analytics, tracking pixels, advertising cookies, or third-party trackers. We do not collect your browser fingerprint, location, or any data beyond what is listed above. ## Legal basis (GDPR) We process your data on two legal bases: (1) Performance of contract — we need your email and block details to fulfil your purchase, send you the upload link, and display your ad. (2) Legitimate interest — we use IP addresses briefly to prevent abuse of our public endpoints. ## How we use it Your email is used to send transactional messages: a welcome email with your private upload link, content-review decisions, and occasional reminders if you have not yet uploaded an image. Your company name, website link, tagline, and image are displayed publicly on the Grid as your ad. We do not send marketing emails unless you have explicitly opted in. ## Sub-processors Stripe (payments) — receives your email and a description of your purchase. Supabase (database and image storage) — stores all your block data, hosted in West Europe (Ireland). Vercel (web hosting) — serves the website. Resend (transactional email). All four are GDPR-compliant. ## Your rights under GDPR You have the right to access, correct, delete, port, and object to our processing of your personal data, and to withdraw consent. To exercise any of these rights, email alex@billiondollargrid.com with subject "GDPR request" — we will respond within 30 days. If you are unsatisfied, you may lodge a complaint with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet). ## How long we keep it Approved blocks (your ad image, company name, tagline) are displayed indefinitely. Rejected or refunded blocks are typically deleted within 90 days. Stripe retains payment records for 7 years as required by Norwegian tax law. IP addresses in our rate-limit table are kept for 1 hour and then overwritten. ## Cookies We use only strictly necessary cookies (Supabase authentication session, Stripe checkout session). No analytics, advertising, or tracking cookies. ## Data breaches In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting your personal data, we will notify affected users and the Norwegian Data Protection Authority within 72 hours. ## Contact For any privacy concerns or data requests, email alex@billiondollargrid.com. --- # Refund Policy Last updated: August 2026. ## Refundable until your block goes live You may cancel for a full refund at any time before your block is published, for any reason and without having to justify it. Email alex@billiondollargrid.com from the address registered on the block (or quote your Stripe session ID) and we will refund the purchase in full and return the coordinates to the available pool. This applies however long it has been since you paid — the window is not time-limited, it closes when your block goes live. It also applies if we reject your image or tagline: you may either submit replacement content or take a full refund, whichever you prefer. ## Final once your block is live Once your image has been approved and published on the Grid, the placement has been delivered and the purchase is final and non-refundable. The coordinates are permanently allocated to you at that point and are removed from the available pool for every other buyer. This is standard for advertising placements: the display is the product, and it begins the moment your block goes live. Removal of a block for a breach of the Terms — restricted-business use, prohibited content, or a chargeback on a fulfilled order — does not entitle you to a refund. ## EU consumer right of withdrawal Consumers resident in the EU/EEA ordinarily have a 14-day right of withdrawal under EU Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU. In the period before a block is published, this refund policy is more generous than that statutory right: the buyer may cancel for a full refund with no 14-day limit at all. Publication is the point at which the service is fully performed — the image is live on the Grid and the coordinates are permanently allocated. By submitting an image for review and publication, the buyer expressly requests completion of performance and acknowledges that, under Articles 16(a) and 16(m) of the Directive and the Norwegian Angrerettloven §22, the right of withdrawal ends once the block is published. Nothing in this policy limits any non-waivable right under the mandatory consumer protection law of the buyer's country of residence. ## Exceptions If you were charged but no block was created due to a technical error on our side, contact us at alex@billiondollargrid.com with your Stripe session ID and we will investigate and issue a refund if confirmed. ## Chargebacks Please email us before opening a dispute with your bank — if your block is not yet live we will refund you in full straight away, so there is nothing a chargeback achieves that an email will not. Initiating a chargeback for a valid, published purchase will result in your block being removed from the Grid, and we will contest chargebacks for fulfilled orders. --- # Press Kit ## Live stats Live stats are available at https://billiondollargrid.com/press. Updated in real time, verified via Stripe records. ## Quick facts - Total pixels: 1,000,000,000 - Price per pixel: $1 - Block size: 10×10 px ($100) - Canvas dimensions: 40,000 × 25,000 px - Founded: 2026, Norway ## Brand assets Logos, icons, and the 1200×630 social preview image are available for download at https://billiondollargrid.com/press. Free to use in articles with credit to "Billion Dollar Grid" and a link to billiondollargrid.com. ## Press contact alex@billiondollargrid.com — typical response time under 24 hours. Available for interviews and quotes. --- # Common questions - **Is the block really permanent?** Yes. Once approved, your image is displayed indefinitely on the grid. No subscription fees, no renewal fees, no expiry. - **Can I buy a custom-sized area?** Yes. Shift+drag on the grid to select any rectangular area. Pricing is $1 per pixel. - **What if I don't have an image ready when I pay?** That's fine. After payment you'll receive an email with a personal upload link you can return to anytime. - **Are there content restrictions?** Yes — no explicit material, no illegal content, no third-party IP infringement, and no Stripe-restricted business categories (crypto, gambling, MLM, adult, firearms, etc.). See the Terms of Service section above for the full list. - **Can I get a refund?** Yes — a full refund is available for any reason at any time before your block is published, with no time limit. This includes the case where we reject your image: you can submit different content or take the refund. Once your block is live the purchase is final. - **Can I edit my block after it's live?** Yes — image, company name, tagline, and website link are all editable via your buyer portal. Each edit goes through the same admin review before becoming public. - **Can I reassign my block to someone else?** In principle yes — the display licence can be reassigned to another advertiser at the operator's sole discretion, subject to re-review of the content. We do not operate a resale marketplace and do not handle payment between the parties. Email alex@billiondollargrid.com to discuss. - **What payment methods are accepted?** Credit and debit cards via Stripe. No crypto, no PayPal. - **Is my email shared?** No. We never sell, share, or rent buyer emails. Your email is used only for transactional messages about your block. - **Who built this?** Alexander Helstad, a Computer Science student from the US living in Norway. The site is independent — no venture capital, no corporate backing. --- # All public pages - https://billiondollargrid.com/ — the interactive pixel canvas - https://billiondollargrid.com/how-it-works — full explanation of the concept, pricing, and founder bio - https://billiondollargrid.com/press — press kit with live stats, founder bio, and downloadable brand assets - https://billiondollargrid.com/leaderboard — top block owners ranked by spend - https://billiondollargrid.com/legal — terms of service, privacy policy, refund policy (full text reproduced above) ## Deep linking Each block has a deep link of the form `https://billiondollargrid.com/?block=` which flies the map to that block and opens its info panel automatically. Buyers can share this link to direct visitors to their specific block.