Community Guidelines

The rules

1. Adults only. You must be at least 18 years old to use Nearby Chat. Accounts and sessions that appear to belong to minors are removed.
2. Respect people. No harassment, bullying, threats, or hate directed at anyone, in city rooms or in private chats.
3. No explicit or illegal content. Do not share sexual, violent, or otherwise explicit material, and do not use Nearby Chat for anything illegal.
4. Protect privacy. Never post someone else's personal information — names, photos, phone numbers, addresses, or workplaces — without their consent. Be careful about how much of your own you share.
5. Be yourself, honestly. Nicknames are anonymous, but impersonating another person or deliberately misleading people is not allowed.
6. No spam or advertising. No unsolicited promotion, repeated messages, links to scams, or bots posting on your behalf.
7. Do not attack the service. No attempts to hack, overload, scrape, or otherwise disrupt Nearby Chat or other users' sessions.

Reporting a problem

If someone breaks these rules, use the Report option on their message or profile, and block them if you do not want to hear from them again. Reports go to our moderation team.

If you believe someone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first. For anything else, see Contact.

How moderation works

• Messages may be monitored and filtered for content that breaks these rules.
• Content that breaks the rules is removed.
• People who repeatedly break the rules are banned.
• Illegal activity is reported to the relevant authorities.

Staying safe

• Your exact location is never shown — other people see only an approximate distance.
• Keep your full name, address, and financial details to yourself.
• If you decide to meet someone in person, choose a public place and tell a friend where you are going.

More advice: how to talk to strangers safely.