1. When we act, and what we can do
We may act against content or an account when it breaks the law, or when it breaks the rules in our Terms of Service. We may learn of it because someone reported it (see Reporting Illegal Content), because an authority ordered us to act, or because our own child-safety systems detected it.
The actions available to us are:
- removing a piece of content, or hiding it from other people;
- reducing how widely an account’s content is shown;
- locking a conversation, which affects both people in it;
- restricting access to particular features;
- freezing an account, or ending it permanently;
- suspending payments connected to an account.
2. What we tell you
This differs depending on what we did, and we would rather set it out honestly than describe a single process that does not exist yet.
| If we… | you are told |
|---|---|
| freeze your account | The reason, the details of what we say happened, and the date by which you can appeal — shown to you when you open the app. |
| suspend a stay you have listed | A notification telling you the listing was removed by our Trust & Safety team, with the reason where one was recorded. |
| lock a conversation on safety grounds | A message in the conversation itself saying it has been locked for safety review, and that you can ask us to look at it. See section 3. |
| remove a post, comment or story, turn down an ad, or reduce how widely your content is shown | Nothing, at present. These decisions do not yet generate a message to you. We have identified this and intend to change it. |
Where we do tell you, we aim to give you the facts we relied on, whether we learned of the content from a report or from our own systems, whether the decision was made by a person or automatically, and the law or the specific rule we relied on.
If a report started it, we do not routinely tell you who reported you.
3. Automatic safety locks
One kind of restriction happens without a person reviewing it first, and you should know about it.
OnFire runs a child-safety model on your own device that looks for conversation patterns associated with grooming. If it assesses a conversation as carrying a critical risk, that conversation is locked automatically. The lock applies to both people in the conversation, which means it can affect someone who has done nothing wrong.
When this happens you see a message in the conversation telling you it has been locked for safety review, with a button to ask us to look at it. A person then reviews it, and lifts the lock if it was applied in error.
We treat this as proportionate because of what it is for. But it is an automated decision affecting you, so we say plainly that it is automated, and you are entitled to ask a person to reconsider it rather than being left with a machine’s answer.
4. When we cannot tell you
There are narrow cases where we do not explain a decision:
- Deceptive commercial content posted in bulk. Spam operations are not owed an explanation.
- Where an authority tells us not to. If we are acting on an order and have been asked not to inform you, we follow that for as long as it applies.
- Child sexual abuse reporting. We are prohibited by law from telling you when a report has been filed with the authorities about your account. This is also stated in section 10 of our Privacy Policy.
- Where we have no way to reach you.
5. Asking us to look again
These are the routes that exist today. All of them are free.
If your account has been frozen
You can appeal from inside the app. The screen that tells you the account is frozen also tells you the reason and the date by which you need to appeal. Tell us what you think we got wrong and give us anything that supports it. A person reviews it.
If a conversation has been locked, or you have been asked to verify your age
Use the button in the conversation, or write to [email protected]. A person reviews it and the restriction is lifted if it was applied in error.
If a decision was made about your business or the category it trades in
Write to [email protected]. These are reviewed within 10 business days, as set out on our Supported Business Types page.
If a post, comment or story of yours was removed and you think that was wrong, write to [email protected] and say so. There is no dedicated appeal process for those decisions yet — building one is work we have identified — but we would rather hear from you through the route that exists than have you assume nothing can be done.
6. Other routes open to you
Nothing on this page limits your rights. You do not have to use our process first, and using it does not stop you doing anything else.
You can complain about us to the Digital Services Coordinator in the country where you live — see DSA Contact Points and Regulator. If your concern is about how we handled your personal data, your national data protection authority is the right place; see our Privacy Policy.
You can also take a matter to court.
7. Contact
Safety decisions and content removals: [email protected]
Everything else: [email protected]