Community Guidelines

Last Updated on 5 March 2024

Overview

Millions of people around the world use Yubo every day to socialize online and build authentic friendships. In line with our company values of openness, safety and privacy, we work hard to provide a safe space where our users can be themselves, without the pressure of followers and ‘likes’. 

Because many Yubo users are teenagers and young people, we have a special responsibility for their safety on the app and we take this very seriously. We educate, support and protect members of the Yubo community through innovative technology, a 24/7 team of safety experts, and Community Guidelines. We also have an independent Safety Board made of industry experts and work with NGOs, charities, law enforcement authorities and other organisations on digital safety issues.

The Yubo community plays a vital role in making our app a friendly and inclusive environment and we believe this starts with being welcoming and respectful. Our Community Guidelines set the standards and expectations necessary to protect the community and promote an atmosphere of inclusion, sharing and connecting; they outline what is allowed and what is not allowed on Yubo. Every new user must accept these guidelines when they sign up to the app. 

As you will see below, our Community Guidelines include rules about nudity, violence, drugs, hate speech, fake profiles and bullying. When someone violates these guidelines, we investigate and take the appropriate action – this might include sending a warning, filtering and removing content or suspending a user. We encourage our users to report any concerns to us and our own algorithms also generate reports when they detect a possible breach of our guidelines, so we can take action.

Our Community Guidelines apply to all our users, wherever they are in the world and whether they are posting content (including text, images, video live streaming and audio) on their profile, live-streaming or chatting on Yubo. Because things change so fast in the digital world, these guidelines are a living document that we update regularly.

If you would like to find out more about our commitment to user safety and the tools we provide, please visit our Safety Hub. You can also find details of the actions taken by our Safety team in our Transparency Report. 

Our Community Guidelines

Age and identity

To keep the Yubo community authentic and reduce the risk of online abuse, it is vital that our users are who they say they are. We expect everyone to provide real information about themselves at sign-up and we carry out checks on these personal details to verify their age and identity.

When you set up your Yubo profile, you must provide the following information:

• Your date of birth (you must be at least 13 years old to use Yubo)
• Your name
• The gender you identify with (we offer 35+ gender identities and 50 pronouns)
• A photo that shows your face clearly

Your Yubo account should be yours only (not a joint account that you share with someone else) and should not be used to impersonate someone else.

We verify your age and identity in a number of ways, including:

• Using age estimation tool
• Offering you the opportunity to have your ID checked (e.g. passport, driving license) to get a yellow ‘verified’ badge for your profile

If you provide incorrect personal details (i.e. lie about your age) or pretend to be someone you are not, we may ban you from Yubo.

You can find further details about our age and identity verification processes in our Safety Hub. If you are concerned that someone on Yubo is not who they say they are, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Nudity and sexual content and behaviours

Certain types of content and behaviours may be inappropriate for our community and put the users that partake in it at risk - especially when this involves minors. As a result, we do not allow content involving nudity, including partial nudity (e.g. images of topless users, users wearing very revealing clothing, underwear, or swimwear out of context). Pornographic, sexual and suggestive content as well as very sexual comments and discussions in lives are also prohibited.  

Our Safety Hub contains advice about sexual content and sexual exploitation and details of how we monitor and moderate Yubo. If you are concerned about any content or behavior on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Bullying, harassment and other abusive behaviors

We expect everyone in the Yubo community to interact with other users in a respectful manner. Bullying, harassment or any behaviors that could cause harm or make other users feel uncomfortable or unsafe are not tolerated. This includes mockery, name-calling, spreading rumours, sharing personal information or private content, and all other behaviours that could cause intentional harm to others.

Additionally, we do not tolerate sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advances towards other Yubo users. This includes any behaviours targeting other users with unwanted sexual behaviours, content, comments and requests, as well as the sharing or threatening to share another user’s private information or intimate images without the consent of this user.

If you need advice about bullying or inappropriate sexual behaviour or if you want to know how we monitor and moderate Yubo, visit our Safety Hub. If you are concerned about any content or behaviour on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Discrimination, hate and extremism

Everybody should be able to feel safe and comfortable to be themselves on Yubo. We do not tolerate violent, hateful, discriminatory or abusive behaviors targeted towards another person or group of people on the basis of their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or a disability or health condition. 

We also do not allow the glorification of ideologies or groups that promote hateful and violent ideas - this includes sharing terrorist or extremist propaganda or expression of support for these ideologies, groups and people that represent them, as well as posting symbols and slogans associated with these ideologies. 

Our Safety Hub contains advice about hate speech and how we monitor and moderate Yubo. If you are concerned about any content or behavior on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Violence and graphic content

Violence has no place within the Yubo community. We prohibit behaviours that could result in real life violence, such as threats, incitement to violence or glorification of violence. We will also report to Law Enforcement situations involving an imminent or realistic risk of real life violence. Additionally, we do not allow content that depicts violent acts, weapons or content that is graphic or gory in nature. 

If you want to find out more about how we monitor and moderate Yubo, visit our Safety Hub. If you are concerned about any content or behavior on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Child sexual exploitation and abuse

In order to keep our young users safe, we take a zero tolerance approach towards child sexual abuse and exploitation and have developed a set of policies and guidelines to proactively identify and respond to these risks. Any behavior that involves or could lead to the sexual abuse and exploitation of minors, whether online or in real life, is prohibited; this includes child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and trafficking, grooming, the sharing of unsolicited obscene material with minors, as well as child sexual abuse material. Users engaging in these behaviours will be banned from Yubo, and the violation they committed may be reported to the appropriate authorities. 

For more information about grooming and sexual exploitation or if you want to know how we monitor and moderate Yubo, visit our Safety Hub. If you are concerned about any content or behaviour on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Privacy Violations

Every Yubo user has the right to privacy; we do not allow members of our community to share or access other people’s personal information, such as their full name, home address, phone number, email or social media details, or personal photos and videos without prior permission.

Read our Privacy Policy or visit our Safety Hub to learn how we monitor and moderate Yubo.

If you are concerned about any content or behavior on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Platform misuse and fraudulent activity

Yubo is a platform to socialize and make new friends – it is not a marketplace, nor a dating app. We do not allow users to advertise, offer and promote services and goods in exchange for money or other goods, or collecting funds from other users - especially when it comes to illegal or regulated products and services. 

Impersonation, scamming, blackmail, sexual extortion (or “sextortion”), hacking and any attempt to wrongfully access information or money from other users or Yubo itself are prohibited. If you engage in illegal behaviors, we may permanently suspend your account and depending on the severity, escalate to Law Enforcement.

Visit our Safety Hub to find out how we monitor and moderate Yubo. If you are concerned about any content or behavior on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Harmful behaviours

We care deeply about the safety of our users. We take action if members of our community encourage others, especially younger users, to engage in harmful behaviors during Lives or elsewhere on the platform, and if harmful content is shared. We therefore do not allow the consumption of drugs and alcohol during a live, as well as content depicting these behaviours. Challenges, games and behaviours that could result in a user getting injured or putting themselves at risk are also prohibited.

Visit our Safety Hub to find out how we monitor and moderate Yubo. If you are concerned about any content or behavior on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Self harm

Young people may use Yubo to seek out friendship and find support when they navigate a difficult time; being able to provide this space is very important to us, but in order to keep our community a safe space for everyone, we may have to take action in situations involving risk of self harm or suicide. Should we believe that a user intends to harm themselves, we may reach out to provide resources and report the situation to Law Enforcement so they can receive adequate support.  Additionally, we do not allow content that depicts, encourages or promotes self-harm, eating disorders, and suicide to other Yubo users. 

If you need advice about self harm and suicide or if you want to know how we monitor and moderate Yubo, visit our Safety Hub. If you are concerned about any content or behavior on Yubo, please report it to us – tap the shield icon in the app and select ‘Report’.

Enforcement Approach

As a member of the Yubo community, you must agree to adhere to our Community Guidelines. If we receive a report of a violation of these guidelines (either from another user or generated by our own algorithms), we investigate and take appropriate action on the basis of our guidelines. Our response will depend on how severe the violation is and the level of risk it poses for other Yubo users. 

User reports are reviewed by safety specialists. We use automated tools to execute certain moderation actions (e.g. to take immediate action before any harm is done). More serious actions, such as a ban, are decided by safety specialists.

We take the following enforcement approach:

• In most minor cases, we focus on educating the user about how they have crossed the line, how to change their behavior and warn them of the additional actions we may take on their accounts if they do not comply.
• Some violations require us to remove content (e.g. from a user's profile), close a video stream, or temporarily restrict access to a feature in our app.
• In more severe cases and where someone is repeatedly violating our Community Guidelines, we may temporarily suspend their Yubo account or permanently ban them from our platform. 
• Attempting to get around a suspension (e.g. by creating a new account) is not allowed and may result in further action, including longer suspensions or even a permanent ban. 
• In instances involving a reporting obligation, potential illegal behaviour on Yubo or an emergency situation, we may work with law enforcement and other relevant entities to take additional action. 

Our Transparency Report provides details of the actions we took when our Community Guidelines were violated.

Our Commitment to Human Rights

At Yubo, we seek to provide a space for young people to express themselves freely, while still prioritising their safety and privacy. We are committed to protecting human rights and to following the principles set up in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and we have made Safety and Privacy our core values. 

Our commitment to human rights is a key consideration during the development and drafting of our Community Guidelines, as well as in their day-to-day application, whether in the context of content moderation or proactive detection. These guidelines and processes are informed by academic research, industry and institutional best practices, as well as the expertise of our Safety board; this ensures that specific attention is paid to the impact of these guidelines on more vulnerable or marginalised members of our community. 

Our consideration to Human Rights and our values is further reflected in additional ways:

• Our commitment to Safety and Privacy extends to our internal ways of working, through our Privacy Policy, Child Protection Policy and Whistleblowing Policy.
• Our bi-annual Transparency Reports provide visibility on how our community guidelines are applied in practice, as well as data on our collaboration with Law Enforcement in the context of data requests or proactive reporting;
• Our Privacy policy