Content Policy

Introduction

HelloTalk is on a mission to connect the world through language, culture, and community! We are building a global community where people can find friends from other countries who share common interests. As we grow, we are committed to maintaining a safe, supportive, and educational environment for our community. Our Content Policy outlines a code of conduct for all HelloTalk members. The policy provides guidance on what is and is not allowed to maintain a welcoming space for everyone.

At HelloTalk, we prioritize safety, diversity, and authenticity. We encourage people to celebrate what makes them unique and viewers to engage in what inspires them. We believe that a safe environment helps everyone express themselves openly. We deeply value the global nature of our community, and we strive to foster an inclusive space for all community members. We also aim to cultivate an environment for genuine interactions by only allowing authentic content on HelloTalk.

Our Content Policy applies to everyone and to everything on HelloTalk. We proactively enforce them using a mix of technology and human moderation before content gets reported to us. We also encourage our community members to report any content they believe violates our Content Policy.

We will remove any content – including livestreams, Voicerooms, videos, audios, images, Moments, comments, and text – that violates our Content Policy. Individuals can appeal if they believe no violation has occurred. We will suspend or ban accounts and/or devices that are involved in severe or repeated offences; we will consider information available on other platforms and offline in these decisions. When warranted, we will report the accounts to the relevant legal authorities.

Our algorithms are designed with trust and safety in mind. For some content – such as but not limited to spam or members engaging in illegal activity – we may reduce discoverability by redirecting search results or limiting distribution of Moments or results in the Search (Find Partners) Tab.

We recognize there may be edge cases where some content that would normally be removed per our Content Policy could be in the public interest. Therefore, we may allow exceptions under certain circumstances, such as educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic content, satirical content, content in fictional settings, counterspeech, and content in the public interest that is newsworthy or otherwise enables individual expression on topics of social importance.

In consultation with relevant stakeholders, we update our Content Policy from time to time to evolve alongside new behaviors and risks, as part of our commitment to keeping HelloTalk a safe place for language learning and communication.

Violent extremism

We take a firm stance against enabling violence on or off HelloTalk. We do not allow people to use our platform to threaten or incite violence, or to promote dangerous individuals or organizations. When there is a threat to public safety or an account is used to promote or glorify off-platform violence, we may suspend or ban the account. When warranted, we will report threats to the relevant legal authorities. To effectively protect our community, we may consider information available on other platforms and offline to identify violent and extremist individuals and organizations on our platform. If we find such individuals or organizations on HelloTalk, we will close their accounts.

Threats and incitement to violence

We consider incitement to violence as advocating for, directing, or encouraging other people to commit violence. We do not allow threats of violence or incitement to violence on our platform that may result in serious physical harm.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Statements of intent to inflict physical injuries on an individual or a group
Statements or imagery that encourage others to commit or that advocate for physical violence
Conditional or aspirational statements that encourage other people to commit violence
Calls to bring weapons to a location with the intent to intimidate or threaten an individual or group with violence
Instructions on how to make or use weapons with an intent to incite violence

Dangerous individuals and organizations

We do not allow individuals or organizations on our platform who promote or are engaged in violence. We remove such individuals and organizations, including mass murderers, serial killers and rapists, hate groups, criminal organizations, terrorist organizations, and other non-state armed groups that target civilians.

Terrorist organizations

Terrorists and terrorist organizations are non-state actors that threaten violence, use violence, and/or commit serious crimes (such as crimes against humanity) against civilian populations in pursuit of political, religious, ethnic, or ideological objectives.

Organized hate

Organized hate refers to those individuals and organizations who attack people based on protected characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, or immigration status. We consider attacks to include actions that incite violence or hatred, dehumanize individuals or groups, or embrace a hateful ideology.

Criminal organizations

Criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groups that have engaged in serious crimes, including violent crimes (e.g., homicide, rape, robbery, assault), trafficking (e.g., human, organ, drug, weapons), kidnapping, financial crimes (e.g., extortion, blackmail, fraud, money laundering), or cybercrime.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that praises, promotes, glorifies, or supports dangerous individuals and/or organizations
Content that encourages participation in, or intends to recruit individuals to, dangerous organizations
Content with names, symbols, logos, flags, slogans, uniforms, gestures, salutes, illustrations, portraits, songs, music, lyrics, or other objects meant to represent dangerous individuals and/or organizations

Hateful behavior

HelloTalk is a diverse and inclusive community that has no tolerance for discrimination. We do not permit content that contains hate speech or involves hateful behavior. Any content containing hateful behavior will be removed from the platform. We reserve the right to suspend or ban accounts that engage in hate speech violations.

Attacks on the basis of protected attributes

We define hate speech or behavior as content that attacks, threatens, incites violence against, or otherwise dehumanizes an individual or a group on the basis of the following protected attributes:

Race
Ethnicity
National origin
Religion
Caste
Sexual orientation
Sex
Gender
Gender identity
Serious disease
Disability
Immigration status

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Hateful content related to an individual or group, including:
- claiming that they are physically, mentally, or morally inferior
- calling for or justifying violence against them
- claiming that they are criminals
- referring to them as animals, inanimate objects, or other non-human entities
- promoting or justifying exclusion, segregation, or discrimination against them
Content that depicts harm inflicted upon an individual or a group on the basis of a protected attribute

Slurs

Slurs are defined as derogatory terms that are intended to disparage an ethnicity, race, or any other protected attributes listed above. To minimize the spread of egregiously offensive terms, we remove all slurs from our platform, unless the terms are reappropriated, used self-referentially (e.g., in a song), or do not disparage.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that uses or includes slurs

Hateful ideology

Hateful ideologies are those that demonstrate clear hostility toward people because of their protected attributes. Hateful ideologies are incompatible with the inclusive and supportive community that our platform provides and we remove content that promotes them.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that praises, promotes, glorifies, or supports any hateful ideology
Content that contains names, symbols, logos, flags, slogans, uniforms, gestures, salutes, illustrations, portraits, songs, music, lyrics, or other objects related to a hateful ideology
Content that denies well-documented and violent events have taken place affecting groups with protected attributes
Claims of supremacy over a group of people with reference to other protected attributes
Conspiracy theories used to justify hateful ideologies

Illegal activities and regulated goods

We work to ensure HelloTalk does not enable activities that violate laws or regulations. We prohibit the trade, sale, promotion, and use of certain regulated goods, as well as the depiction, promotion, or facilitation of criminal activities, including human exploitation. Content may be removed if it relates to activities or goods that are regulated or illegal in the majority of the region or world, even if the activities or goods in question are legal in the jurisdiction of posting.

Criminal activities

Criminal activities cover a wide spectrum of acts punishable by law, including theft, assault, human exploitation, counterfeiting, and other harmful behavior. To prevent such behavior from being normalized, imitated, or facilitated, we remove content that promotes or enables criminal activities.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that depicts or promotes acts of physical harm, such as assault or kidnapping
Content that risks the safety of others, including swatting
Content that depicts or promotes human exploitation, including human smuggling, bonded labor, domestic servitude, sex trafficking, or prostitution
Content that depicts or promotes the poaching or illegal trade of wildlife
Content that offers the purchase, sale, trade, or solicitation of unlawfully acquired or counterfeit goods
Content that provides instructions on how to conduct criminal activities

Weapons

We do not allow the depiction, promotion, or trade of firearms, ammunition, firearm accessories, or explosive weapons. We also prohibit instructions on how to manufacture those weapons. Content as part of a museum's collection, carried by a police officer, in a military parade, or used in a safe and controlled environment such as a shooting range may be permitted.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that displays firearms, firearm accessories, ammunition, or explosive weapons
Content that offers the purchase, sale, trade, or solicitation of firearms, accessories, ammunition, explosive weapons, or instructions on how to manufacture them

Drugs, controlled substances, alcohol, and tobacco

We do not allow the depiction, promotion, or trade of drugs or other controlled substances. The trade of tobacco and alcohol products is also prohibited on the platform.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that depicts or promotes drugs, drug consumption, or encourages others to make, use, or trade drugs or other controlled substances
Content that offers the purchase, sale, trade, or solicitation of drugs or other controlled substances, alcohol or tobacco products (including vaping products)
Content that provides information on how to buy illegal or controlled substances
Content that depicts or promotes the making of illicit alcohol products
Content that depicts or promotes the misuse of legal substances, or instruction on how to make homemade substances, in an effort to become intoxicated

Frauds and scams

We do not permit anyone to exploit our platform to take advantage of the trust of members and bring about financial or personal harm. We remove content that deceives people in order to gain an unlawful financial or personal advantage, including schemes to defraud individuals or steal assets.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that depicts or promotes phishing
Content that depicts or promotes Ponzi, multi-level marketing, or pyramid schemes
Content that depicts or promotes investment schemes with promise of high returns, fixed betting, or any other types of scams

Gambling

We do not allow content promoting gambling services, or that could be perceived as advertising for casinos, sports betting, or any other commercial gambling activity.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that promotes casinos, sports betting, poker, lotteries, gambling-related software and apps, or other gambling services

Privacy, personal data, and personally identifiable information (PII)

We do not allow content that violates the confidentiality of personal data or personally identifiable information (e.g., social security information). We remove content that depicts personal data or personally identifiable information (PII) from the platform.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that contains personal data or personally identifiable information (PII)

Violent and graphic content

We do not allow content that is gratuitously shocking, graphic, sadistic, or gruesome or that promotes, normalizes, or glorifies extreme violence or suffering on our platform. When there is a threat to public safety, we suspend or ban the account and, when warranted, we will report it to the relevant legal authorities.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content of humans that depicts:
- violent or graphic deaths or accidents
- dismembered, mutilated, charred, or burned human remains
- gore in which an open wound or injury is the core focus
- real-world physical violence, fighting, or torture
Content of animals that depicts:
- the slaughter or other non-natural death of animals
- dismembered, mutilated, charred, or burned animal remains
- animal cruelty and gore

Suicide, self-harm, and dangerous acts

We care deeply about the health and well-being of our community members. We do not allow content depicting, promoting, normalizing, or glorifying activities that could lead to suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders. We also do not permit users to share content depicting them partaking in, or encouraging others to partake in, dangerous activities that may lead to serious injury or death.

However, we do support members of our community sharing their personal experiences with these issues in a safe way to raise awareness and find community support. We also encourage individuals who are struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, or who know someone is seriously considering suicide, to immediately contact local emergency services. In the event that our intervention could help a community member who may be at risk of harming themselves, the HelloTalk team may also alert local emergency services.

Suicide

We remove content that displays suicide, suicidal ideation, or content that might encourage participation in other self-injurious behavior. We also remove content that depicts attempted suicide or content featuring a person engaging in behavior or intending to engage in behavior that is likely to lead to self-inflicted death. We prohibit any form of content that promotes, normalizes, or glorifies suicide, provides instructions for suicide, or posts that portray a suicide as heroic or honorable.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that provides instructions for suicide
Content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies suicide
Suicide games, dares, pacts, or hoaxes

Self-harm and eating disorders

To avoid normalizing, encouraging, or triggering self-harm behavior, we do not allow imagery that depicts such behavior, regardless of the user's intention of posting it. We remove content that may encourage or normalize acts that are likely to lead to physical self-inflicted injury. Content that promotes eating habits that are likely to cause adverse health outcomes is also not allowed on the platform.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies self-harm or eating disorders
Content that provides instructions on how to engage in self-harm or eating disorders
Self-harm or eating disorder games, dares, pacts, or hoaxes
Content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies eating disorders or other dangerous weight loss behaviors associated with eating disorders

Dangerous acts

We define risky activities or other dangerous behavior as acts conducted in a non-professional context or without the necessary skills and safety precautions that may lead to serious injury or death for the user or the public. We do not allow content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies such behavior, including amateur stunts or dangerous challenges.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that shows the potentially inappropriate use of dangerous tools, vehicles, or objects
Content that depicts or promotes ingesting substances that are not meant for consumption or could lead to severe harm
Dangerous games, dares, or stunts that might lead to injury

Harassment and bullying

We believe in an inclusive community and individualized expression without fear of abuse. We do not tolerate members of our community being shamed, bullied, or harassed. Abusive content or behavior can cause severe psychological distress and will be removed from our platform.

Abusive behavior

We remove all expressions of abuse, including threats or degrading statements intended to mock, humiliate, embarrass, intimidate, or hurt an individual. This prohibition extends to the use of HelloTalk features. To enable expression about matters of public interest, critical comments of public figures may be allowed; however, serious abusive behavior against public figures is prohibited.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that insults another individual, or disparages an individual on the basis of attributes such as intellect, appearance, personality traits, or hygiene
Content that encourages coordinated harassment
Content that disparages victims of violent tragedies
Content that uses HelloTalk interactive features (e.g., livestreams, Moments and comments) to degrade others
Content that depicts willful harm or intimidation, such as cyberstalking or trolling
Content that wishes death, serious disease, or other serious harm on an individual or public figure

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment involves unwanted or inappropriate sexual behavior directed at another individual. We do not allow content, including comments or advances, that sexually harasses others, regardless of user's intent, as such actions can cause great distress to targeted individuals.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that attempts to make unwanted sexual contact
Content that simulates sexual activity with another user, either verbally, in text (including emojis), or through the use of any in-app features
Content that disparages another person's sexual activity
Content that alters or morphs an image of another individual to portray or imply sexual suggestiveness or engagement in sexual activity
Content that reveals, or threatens to reveal a person's private sexual life, including threats to publicize digital content, sexual history, and names of previous sexual partners
Content that exposes, or threatens to expose, a person's sexual orientation without their consent or knowledge

Threats of hacking, doxxing, and blackmail

Threatening to hack or dox with an intent to harass or blackmail another individual can cause serious emotional distress and other offline harm. We define doxxing as the act of collecting and publishing personal data or personally identifiable information (PII) for malicious purposes. We consider these online behaviors as forms of abuse and do not allow them on our platform.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that threatens to reveal personal data or personally identifiable information (PII), including residential address, private email address, private phone number, bank statement, social security number, or passport number
Threats of blackmail or hacking another individual's account
Content that incites or encourages others to hack or reveal another person's account, personal data, or personally identifiable information (PII)
An individual's account, personal data, or personally identifiable information for others to abuse, troll, or harass

Adult nudity and sexual activities

We strive to create a platform that feels welcoming and safe. We do not allow nudity, pornography, or sexually explicit content on our platform. We also prohibit content depicting or supporting non-consensual sexual acts, the sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery, and adult sexual solicitation.

Sexual exploitation

Sexual exploitation is defined as any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, power, or trust for sexual purposes, including profiting monetarily, socially, or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. We do not permit sexually exploitative content.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that depicts, solicits, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies non-consensual sexual acts or non-consensual touching, including rape and sexual assault
Content that depicts, solicits, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies the sharing of non-consensual intimate imagery, including sexual images that are taken, created, or shared without consent
Content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies sexual violence
Content that depicts, promotes, or glorifies sexual solicitation, including offering or asking for sexual partners, sexual chats or imagery, sexual services, premium sexual content, or sexcamming

Nudity and sexual activity involving adults

Nudity and sexual activity include content that is overtly revealing of breasts, genitals, anus, or buttocks, or behaviors that mimic, imply, or display sex acts. We do not allow depictions, including digitally created or manipulated content, of nudity or sexual activity. We are mindful of content that may be offensive or culturally inappropriate in certain regions or may not be suitable for users of all ages.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that explicitly or implicitly depicts sexual activities including penetrative and non-penetrative sex, oral sex, or erotic kissing
Content that depicts sexual arousal or sexual stimulation
Content that depicts a sexual fetish
Content that depicts exposed human genitalia, female nipples or areola, pubic regions, or buttocks
Content that contains sexually explicit language for sexual gratification

Minor safety

We are deeply committed to ensuring the safety of minors on our platform. We do not tolerate activities that perpetuate the abuse, harm, endangerment, or exploitation of minors on HelloTalk. Any content, including animation or digitally created or manipulated media, that depicts abuse, exploitation, or nudity of minors is a violation on our platform and will be removed when detected. When warranted, we report violative content to the relevant legal authorities. HelloTalk considers a minor as any person under the age of 18.

Users must meet the minimum age requirements to use HelloTalk, as stipulated in our Terms of Services. Our platform is designed with the safety of minors in mind and some of our features are age restricted.

Sexual exploitation of minors

Sexual exploitation of minors is defined as any abuse of a position of power or trust for sexual purposes, including profiting financially, socially, sexually, or politically from the exploitation of a minor. Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) is defined as any visual depiction of sexually explicit nudity or conduct, whether captured by predatory adults, peers, or self-generated by minors. HelloTalk will take action on any content or accounts involving sexual interactions and advances between an adult and a minor, or between minors with a significant age difference.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that shares, reshares, offers to trade or sell, or directs users off platform to obtain or distribute CSAM
Content that engages with minors in a sexualized way, or otherwise sexualizes a minor (e.g., via product features like moments)
Content that depicts, solicits, glorifies, or encourages child abuse imagery including nudity, sexualized minors, or sexual activity with minors
Content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies pedophilia or the sexual assault of a minor
Content that revictimizes or capitalizes on minor victims of abuse by third party reshares or reenactments of assault or confessions

Grooming behavior

Grooming behaviors are those in which an adult builds an emotional relationship with a minor in order to gain the minor's trust for the purposes of future or ongoing sexual contact, sexual abuse, trafficking, or other exploitation. These behaviors include: flattery, requests for contact on or off platform, requests for personal information, solicitation of minor sexual abuse material, sexual solicitations or comments, and gift-giving.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Grooming advances
Content that depicts, promotes, normalizes, or glorifies grooming behaviors
Content that solicits real-world sexual contact between a minor and an adult or between minors with a significant age difference
Content that displays or offers nudity to minors
Any solicitation of nude imagery or sexual contact, through blackmail or other means of coercion

Nudity and sexual activity involving minors

Nudity and sexual activity involving minors include content that is overtly revealing of breasts, genitals, anus, or buttocks, or behaviors that mimic, imply, or display sex acts involving minors. We do not allow the depiction, including digitally created or manipulated content, of nudity or sexual activity.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that depicts or implies minor sexual activities including penetrative and non-penetrative sex, oral sex, or intimate kissing
Content that depicts sexual arousal or sexual stimulation involving a minor
Content that depicts a sexual fetish involving a minor
Content that depicts exposed human genitalia, female nipples or areola, pubic regions, or buttocks of a minor
Content that contains sexually explicit language depicting or describing a minor
Content depicting a minor that contains sexually explicit song lyrics
Content with sexually explicit dancing of a minor, including twerking, breast shaking, pelvic thrusting, or fondling the groin or breasts of oneself or another
Content depicting a minor undressing
Content depicting a minor in minimal clothing that is not situationally relevant to the location
Sexualized comments, emojis, text, or other graphics used to veil or imply nudity or sexual activity of a minor

Harmful activities by minors

Harmful minor activities include the possession or consumption of substances prohibited for minors, the misuse of legal substances, engagement in illegal activities, participation in activities, physical challenges, or dares that may threaten the well-being of minors. We remove any such content from our platform.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that suggests, depicts, imitates, or promotes the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or drugs by a minor
Content that offers instruction targeting minors on how to buy, sell, or trade alcohol, tobacco, or controlled substances
Content that depicts or promotes activities that may jeopardize youth well-being, including physical challenges, dares, or stunts

Physical and psychological harm of minors

Behaviors that place minors at risk of physical or psychological harm include physical abuse, neglect, endangerment, and psychological disparagement. We will remove any such content from our platform.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that depicts or promotes physical abuse, neglect, endangerment, or psychological disparagement of minors
Content that depicts or promotes survivalist techniques without a warning asserting the hazards of replication

Crimes against children

We do not allow users who have been convicted of crimes against children to have an account on our platform. These crimes include: sexual assault, molestation, murder, physical abuse or neglect, abduction, international parental kidnapping, trafficking, exploitation of minors for prostitution, live online sexual abuse of a minor, sexual exploitation of minors in the context of travel and tourism, attempts to obtain or distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and the production, possession, or distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). If we discover any such users, we ban the account. Any self-disclosed user information that states the account holder is a pedophile or minor sex offender will be taken at face value and the account may be deleted.

Integrity and authenticity

We believe that trust forms the foundation of our community. We do not allow activities that may undermine the integrity of our platform or the authenticity of our users. We remove content or accounts that involve spam or fake engagement, impersonation, misleading information that causes harm, or that violate any intellectual property rights.

Spam and fake engagement

Fake engagement includes any content or activity that seeks to artificially inflate popularity on the platform. We prohibit any attempts to manipulate the platform to increase interaction metrics.

Do not:

Conceal a Page’s purpose by misleading users about the ownership or control of that Page
Share instructions on how to artificially increase likes, shares, followers, or comments
Attempt to or engage in selling or buying likes, shares, followers, or comments
Encourage likes, shares, follows, clicks or the use of apps or websites under false pretenses, such as:
- Offering false or non-existent services or functionality
- Directing users off of HelloTalk through the deceptive or misleading use of URLs
Operate multiple HelloTalk accounts under false or fraudulent pretenses to distribute commercial spam
Post, share, engage with content or create accounts, Groups, Profile Pages, Events or other assets, either manually or automatically, at very high frequencies

Impersonation

We do not allow accounts that pose as another person or entity in a deceptive manner. When we confirm a report of impersonation, we will ask the user to revise the profile or suspend or ban the account. We do allow parody, commentary, or fan accounts, as long as the user indicates in the introduction and username that it is fan, commentary, or parody and not affiliated with the subject of the account.

Do not:

Pose as another person or entity by using someone else's name, biographical details, or profile picture in a misleading manner

Misinformation

Misinformation is defined as content that is inaccurate or false. While we encourage our community to have respectful conversations about subjects that matter to them, we do not permit misinformation that causes harm to individuals, our community, or the larger public regardless of intent.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Misinformation that incites hate or prejudice
Misinformation related to emergencies that induces panic
Medical misinformation that can cause harm to an individual's physical health
Content that misleads community members about elections or other civic processes
Conspiratorial content that attacks a specific protected group or includes a violent call to action, or denies a violent or tragic event occurred

Do not:

Engage in coordinated inauthentic behaviors (such as the creation of accounts) to exert influence and sway public opinion while misleading individuals and our community about the account's identity, location, or purpose

Intellectual property violations

Copyright is a legal right that protects original works of authorship (e.g., texts, images) and original expression of an idea (e.g., the specific way a Moment is expressed or created), does not protect underlying ideas or facts. A trademark is a word, symbol, slogan, design that identifies and distinguishes the source of a product or service. We encourage everyone to create and share original content. Content that infringes on someone else's intellectual property rights is prohibited on our platform and will be removed. The use of copyrighted work under certain circumstances, such as the fair use doctrine or other applicable laws, or the use of a trademark to reference, lawfully comment, criticize, parody, make a fan page, or review a product or service may not be considered a violation of our policies.

Do not post, upload, stream, or share:

Content that violates or infringes someone else's copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights

Account integrity and authentic identity

Authenticity is a cornerstone of our community. We want to allow for the range of diverse ways that identity is expressed across our global community, while also preventing impersonation and identity misrepresentation. Our authenticity policies are intended to create a safe environment where people can trust and hold one another accountable. We have built a combination of automated and manual systems to block and remove accounts that are used to persistently or egregiously abuse our Content Policy. Penalties, including disabling accounts, are designed to be proportionate to the severity of the violation and the risk of harm posed to the community. Continued violations, despite repeated warnings and restrictions, or violations that pose severe safety risks will lead to an account being disabled.

We do not allow the use of our services and will suspend or ban accounts if you:

Severely violate our Content Policy.
Persistently violate our Content Policy.
Represent dangerous individuals or organizations.
Create or use an account that demonstrates an intent to violate our Content Policy.
Create an account to evade our enforcement actions, including creating an account to bypass a restriction or after we have disabled your previous account.
Provide any false personal information or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
Use a name, user ID, nickname, or self-introduction that does not abide by our name policies.
Use a profile picture that does not abide by our picture policies, including, but not limited to, company logos, political figures, or other celebrities' photos.
Provide a false date of birth, incorrect nationality, or native language.
Create a single account that represents or is used by more than one person.
Maintain multiple accounts as a single user.
Being compromised.
Use multiple HelloTalk accounts.
Misuse HelloTalk's reporting systems to harass others.
Are a convicted sex offender.
Are prohibited from receiving our products, services or software under applicable laws.

Platform security

Our policies prohibit any activities that undermine the security and reliability of the HelloTalk service:

Do not attempt to hack the HelloTalk website, app, or associated networks, or bypass its measures to restrict user access
Do not distribute files that contain viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other materials that are malicious or harmful
Do not modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, or create any derivative products based on HelloTalk, including any files, tables or documentation, nor attempt to regenerate any source code, algorithms, methods, or techniques embodied in HelloTalk
Do not use automated scripts to collect information from HelloTalk

Thank you for being a part of our vibrant global community and working with us to maintain a welcoming space for all users. If you come across content or accounts that you believe may violate our Content Policy, please let us know so we can review and take appropriate action.