Updated: November 29th, 2022

At Bandto, we contribute to human progress by empowering people to connect and grow their professional network. We created these Community Guidelines to support our mission by encouraging the broadest range of self-expression, while making sure Bandto users can use our services safely every day. We intend for these Guidelines to be clear and understandable for all members of our community. 

These Guidelines apply to all content (which includes all forms of communication, like text, images, links or attachments, emojis and creative tools) on Bandto — and to all Bandto Users, equally. Advertisers and media partners agree to additional guidelines, including the requirement that their content is accurate and, where appropriate, fact-checked. In certain cases, we won’t take action against content when it is newsworthy, factual, and relates to a matter of political, social, or other general concern to our community.

We've outlined here and in our Terms of Service specific rules for content that is prohibited on Bandto. But it's hard to anticipate every situation that might come up. The key is the spirit of these rules: we want Bandto to be a safe and positive experience for everyone. We reserve the right to decide, in our sole discretion, what content violates that spirit and will not be permitted on the platform.

Sexually Explicit Content

• We prohibit accounts that promote or distribute pornographic content.

• We report all instances of child sexual exploitation to authorities. Never post, save, or send nude or sexually explicit content involving anyone under the age of 18 — even of yourself. Never ask a minor to send sexually explicit content.

• Breastfeeding and other depictions of nudity in certain non-sexual contexts may be permitted.

Harassment & Bullying

• We prohibit bullying or harassment of any kind. If someone blocks you, you may not contact them from another account.

• Sharing another person’s private information or media containing other people in private spaces — like a bathroom, bedroom, locker room or a medical facility — without their knowledge and consent is not allowed.

• If someone is depicted in your Bandto profile or signals and asks you to remove it, please do! Respect the privacy rights of others.

Threats, Violence & Harm

• Encouraging violence or dangerous behavior is prohibited — never intimidate or threaten to harm a person, a group of people, or someone’s property.

• Content (text, media, or other) of gratuitous or graphic violence, including animal abuse are not allowed.

• We don’t allow the glorification of self-harm, including the promotion of self-injury, suicide or eating disorders

Impersonation, Deceptive Practices & False Information

• We prohibit pretending to be someone (or something) that you’re not, or attempting to deceive people about who you are. This includes impersonating your friends, celebrities, brands, or other organizations.

• We prohibit spreading false information that causes harm or is malicious, such as denying the existence of tragic events, unsubstantiated medical claims, undermining the integrity of civic processes, or manipulating content for false or misleading purposes.

• We disallow spam and deceptive practices, including imitating Bandto or Bandto Inc.

Illegal Activity

• Don’t use Bandto for any illegal activity — including to promote criminal activity; facilitate or participate in cybercrime; or to buy, sell or facilitate sales of illegal or regulated drugs, contraband, weapons, and counterfeit goods or documents.

• We prohibit the promotion of regulated goods or industries, including illegal gambling, and tobacco products.

Terrorism, Hate Groups, and Hate Speech

• Terrorist, extremist and hate groups are prohibited from using our platform. We have no tolerance for content that advocates or advances violent extremism or terrorism.

• Hate speech or content that demeans, defames, or promotes discrimination or violence on the basis of race, color, caste, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status, immigration status, socio-economic status, age, weight or pregnancy status is prohibited.
  

Content, conduct, or behavior that is not tolerated:

Child endangerment

Don’t do anything to endanger children ever. We absolutely prohibit any sexualization of or solicitation of minors, and any content that may endanger their welfare. This includes the sharing of suggestive, sexual, mature, graphic, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate content with minors. Where appropriate, we report child endangerment to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Graphic violence

Don’t share media that includes excessive gore, themes of violence, harm to animals, or other forms of extreme violence that may shock or disgust people.

Harmful misinformation and disinformation

Don’t spread harmful health misinformation, spread misinformation for the purpose of making money, or for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes. The promotion of "synthetic" or manipulated media that is intended or likely to cause harm is also prohibited.

Illegal activities and the sale of regulated goods or services

Don’t share illegal content or use Bandto to conduct any unauthorized or illegal activities, promote illegal activities, or to sell or market highly regulated goods and services.

Intellectual property violations

Don’t engage in any conversations or upload any content that violates any intellectual property or other proprietary rights. If content violates your trademark or intellectual property, please notify us by emailing help@bandto.com. We will only investigate requests that are submitted by the rights-holder or their authorized representative.

Sexual exploitation

Don’t share non-consensual sexual images, content that depicts or promotes sexual assault, or content that sexualizes the unique attributes of young children in any way, even if that content features actual adults pretending to be children.

Suicide and Self-harm

Don’t encourage or promote acts of self-harm or suicide. If you need support, it’s available. Visit https://www.findahelpline.com and enter the country you’re in to find free, confidential help. In the U.S. you can call Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741.

Terrorism or violent extremism

Don’t do anything that praises or promotes terrorism, violence, or proscribed terror groups. These organizations are neither welcome nor allowed on Bandto, and the existence of accounts or use of accounts for the purpose of furthering violent or extremist ideologies or activities is prohibited.

Nudity

Just don’t. No shirt, no bra, no pants, no undies, no service. We don’t allow nudity or pornographic images on Bandto

Other things that are super lame and ruin this whole thing for everyone:

Artificial behavior

Don’t misrepresent or misuse your account in ways that could be confusing for other users. This includes adding fake "verified account" check marks (we don’t have verification right now), fake speaking indicators or fake moderators badges to your profile photo. We prohibit the artificial amplification or suppression of information, like bot audiences, and any attempts to manipulate the platform to enable this.

False reporting

Don’t abuse our reporting systems. Mass fake incident report submissions or otherwise intentionally false reports of Community Guidelines violations are not allowed, and we suspend accounts who abuse reports.

Selling Bandto features and growth

Don’t sell Bandto features. This includes but is not limited to the following: the sale or solicitation of Bandto access, reach, or engagement (e.g., accounts, signals, usernames, follows).

Threats to Bandto

Don’t threaten our team. We prohibit intentional threats to the Bandto app, the privacy or security of user accounts, or to Bandto employees, staff, or partners. This includes, but is not limited to, unwanted attempts to contact Bandto employees, staff, or partners via personal channels including personal email addresses, phone numbers, in person visits, or via other unauthorized or invasive methods. Attempts to do so will constitute a violation and may be escalated to law enforcement.

Spam or scams

Some people like canned meat, but no one likes spam content. We don’t allow irrelevant or unsolicited messages shared to other users, like sending unwanted or inappropriate app invites, DMs, repeated requests to join Signals, and adding users as Signal hosts or guests without their permission. We also prohibit the use of scam tactics to solicit money or private financial information, investment and financial schemes, or raiding funds directed towards individuals or organizations that may violate our guidelines

Our Commitment to Human Rights

People exist as the heart of our Bandto community. When we develop our policies (these Community Guidelines), we try hard to find a balance between keeping users safe and respecting fundamental human rights. Our voices are some of the most powerful, most creative tools we have and cultivating spaces that encourage freedom of expression is critical. The policy work in furtherance of this goal is highly collaborative: we work closely with outside NGOs and experts in freedom of expression, privacy, and human rights, and we reference international human rights laws and principles in our own development processes. As Bandto continues to grow, we’ll continue to advocate for users’ rights both on and off our app and find more ways to expand our transparency reporting work.

Contact:

Please remember that you can always file a report using our in-app reporting feature or by emailing us at help@bandto.com. We review these reports to determine violations of these Guidelines. 

If you violate these Community Guidelines, we may remove the offending content, terminate or limit the visibility of your account, and/or notify law enforcement. We engage with global law enforcement when activity poses a threat to human life.  If your account is terminated for violating our Terms of Service or these Guidelines, you are not allowed to use Bandto again.   

Bandto reserves the right to remove users whom we have reason to believe, in our sole discretion, pose a clear and present danger to others, on or off of Bandto. These include leaders of hate groups and terrorist organizations, and individuals with a reputation for inciting violence or behavior that we believe poses a threat to human life.

Please take these Guidelines seriously and honor them in the spirit in which they are intended.