Child safety standards

PreviewPal, made by We Build Apps, has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation. These are the standards we hold every account to, how to tell us about a concern, and what we do about it.

Zero tolerance

Anything that sexualizes, grooms, exploits or endangers a child is banned on PreviewPal. That includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM), sextortion, asking a minor for sexual images, and trying to meet a minor.

Accounts that break this rule are banned for good, and the same email address or Google account can't be used to sign up again. Deleting an account after it's been reported doesn't get around this.

Who can use PreviewPal

PreviewPal is for people aged 16 and over. Everyone confirms they're 16 or older when they sign up.
Nobody can send you a letter until you accept their penpal request, and you choose in Settings who may send you one. (One exception: a round-robin you started comes home from whoever writes its last page, and that page can't carry photos, audio or photo stamps.) Anonymous messages in a bottle can be turned off in Settings too.
Meet introduces people only within their own age group: 16 and 17 year olds meet each other, never adults.
Photos have their hidden location data removed before they're stored, and nobody's exact location is ever shown.

How to report a concern

On a profile: open the menu and choose Report user.
On a letter: open the letter's menu and choose Report this letter. You can choose to share the letter's text with our safety team, which is the only way we can read it. Photos and audio in the letter aren't encrypted, so the team sees them with your report.
In Meet: open the person's menu and choose Report. A message in a bottle has its own Report button.
When you're asked why, choose "Appears to be underage" or "Sexual or inappropriate content", and add any details that help.
You can also email us at previewpal@webuildapps.tech. If a child is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.

What we do

Every report goes to our safety team, and real people review it.
We hide or ban accounts that break these standards. Accounts reported by several people are hidden automatically while we look.
We take down photos and audio that break them, from letters, profile pictures and photo stamps, and keep the files out of sight so they can be reported.
We report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to the authorities, and we cooperate with law enforcement.

Contact

Our child safety contact is previewpal@webuildapps.tech. We read every message, and child safety reports come first.