Child safety standards

Adults only

Everyone confirms they are 18 or older before their first chat, and the Android app will not start a chat without it. If someone gives a birth year that makes them under 18 and confirms it, the account signed in on that device is deleted and the device can't start chats for 7 days. If the account has a Premium subscription that can't be cancelled at that moment, the account is kept, its 18+ confirmation is removed and it can't chat until it confirms again.

How we find people under 18

Our software checks messages in one-to-one chats, direct messages and rooms for someone saying they are under 18. A line that looks like that is kept, with the chat lines around it from both people, for a person to review, for up to 12 months. A clear, present-tense statement is blocked, ends the chat and pauses chats on that account, session and device until a person has reviewed it. Nothing is banned automatically, and no warnings or strikes are given. A profile bio that says so can't be saved, and one saved earlier is hidden from other people. A moderator who finds that someone is under 18 bans them permanently, and under-18 bans can't be appealed.

What is never allowed

Any content that sexualises a minor, grooming, trying to contact or meet a minor, sharing or asking for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and sextortion. There is no video on HearMe Chat.

What our filters block

Messages that sexualise children are blocked before they are sent, in one-to-one chats, direct messages and rooms. Profile pictures and banners go through an automated nudity filter. Voice calls are not recorded; the only call audio we ever keep is the clip attached to a report on the website.

How to report

Tap Report in a text chat, a voice call, a room, your match history or a profile card, and choose "Under 18" for anything that involves a child. On the website, a report made during a voice call sends the last 60 seconds of the other person's audio for review; the Android app sends no audio. You can also email us at the address at the end of this page. Every one-to-one chat and call also has Block, and you won't be matched with that person again (for a guest, on that browser, for up to 30 days). Rooms have Report.

What we do with a report

Reports marked "Under 18" are shown to our moderators first, ahead of every other report, and an email alert goes out when new ones arrive. The report carries its context: the last messages of a text chat, the reported room message, or the clip from a call on the website. When a moderator confirms a child-safety violation, or that someone is under 18, the ban is permanent and can't be appealed. It covers the account, its verified email or Google sign-in, and its phone or browser, and any phone or browser the account is used from afterwards is blocked for up to 30 days. If the account used an internet connection (IP address) in the last 24 hours, that connection is blocked for 72 hours. Where the law requires it, we report child sexual abuse material to the authorities, including India's National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and the US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), and we respond to valid requests from law enforcement.

What we keep

When a moderator confirms a report as child safety or under 18, we keep that report, a copy of the messages shown with it, and its audio clip and any transcript if not already deleted, as evidence for one year from the confirmation, or longer if the law requires it. Deleting an account does not delete this evidence, and it is included in our encrypted backups. Other reports and the messages attached to them are kept for up to 12 months, and for as long as a ban based on them is in place or an appeal is waiting. Other audio clips from reports are deleted within 7 days. The last 30 messages of a one-to-one text chat are deleted 24 hours after the chat's first message, so a report made in that time has context.

Child safety contact

For anything about the safety of children on HearMe Chat, including reports from parents, schools and law enforcement:

Child Safety Officer, safety@hearme.chat