At Snap, we contribute to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world and have fun together. We created these Community Guidelines to support our mission by encouraging the broadest range of self-expression, while striving to make sure Snapchatters can use our services safely every day. We want these Guidelines to be clear and understandable for all members of our community. Please note that in order to join our community, you must be at least 13 years old.
Community Guidelines
Note About Severe Harm
We are particularly sensitive to content or behaviour that poses a risk of severe harm to Snapchatters, and reserve the right to take immediate, permanent action against users engaging in such behaviour. Additional guidance about what we consider to be severe harm and how we take action against it is available.
Community Guidelines apply to all users and all content
These Guidelines apply to all content (which includes your username and display name, all forms of communication, like text, images, generative AI, links or attachments, emojis, Lenses and other creative tools) or behaviour on Snapchat – and to all Snapchatters. We are particularly sensitive to content or behaviour that poses a risk of severe harm to Snapchatters, and reserve the right to take immediate, permanent action against users engaging in such behaviour. Additional guidance about what we consider to be severe harm and how we take action against it is available here.
Snap offers generative AI features through our services. We implement safeguards designed to help keep generative AI content in line with our Community Guidelines, and we expect Snapchatters to use AI responsibly. We reserve the right to take appropriate enforcement action against accounts that use AI to violate our Community Guidelines, up to and including the possible termination of an account.
Advertisers and media partners in Discover agree to additional guidelines, including the requirement that their content is accurate, and where appropriate, fact-checked. Developers are also subject to additional rules.
We've outlined here and in our Terms of Service specific rules for content that is prohibited on Snapchat, and we work to ensure these rules are applied consistently. When applying these rules, we take into account the nature of the content, including whether it is newsworthy, factual and relates to a matter of political, social or other general concern to our community. Additional context about how we moderate content and enforce our policies is available here. We also provide links to more detailed information about our Community Guidelines throughout each of the sections below.
We want Snapchat to be a safe and positive experience for everyone. We reserve the right to decide, at our sole discretion, what content or behaviour violates the spirit of our rules.
Community Guidelines
apply to all content and behaviour on Snapchat's platform and products, and cover the following topics:
Sexual Content
We prohibit any activity that involves sexual exploitation or abuse of a minor, including sharing child sexual exploitation or abuse imagery, grooming or sexual extortion (sextortion), or the sexualisation of children. We report all identified instances of child sexual exploitation to authorities, including attempts to engage in such conduct. Never post, save, send, forward, distribute or ask for nude or sexually explicit content involving anyone under the age of 18 (this includes sending or saving such images of yourself).
We prohibit promoting, distributing or sharing pornographic content, as well as commercial activities that relate to pornography or sexual interactions (whether online or offline).
Breastfeeding and other depictions of nudity in non-sexual contexts are generally permitted.
Harassment and Bullying
We prohibit bullying or harassment of any kind. This extends to all forms of sexual harassment, including sending unwanted sexually explicit, suggestive or nude images to other users. If someone blocks you, you may not contact them from another Snapchat account.
Sharing images of a person in a private space – like a bathroom, bedroom, locker room or medical facility – without their knowledge and consent is prohibited, as is sharing another person’s private information without their knowledge and consent or for the purpose of harassment (i.e. “doxxing”).
If someone is depicted in your Snap and asks you to remove it, please do! Respect the privacy rights of others.
Please also do not harass another Snapchatter by abusing our reporting mechanisms, such as intentionally reporting content that is permissible.
Threats, Violence & Harm
Encouraging or engaging in violent or dangerous behaviour is prohibited. Never intimidate or threaten to harm a person, a group of people or someone’s property.
Snaps 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.
Harmful False or Deceptive Information
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 (whether through generative AI or through deceptive editing).
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, public figures, brands or other people or organisations for harmful, non-satirical purposes.
We prohibit spam, including undisclosed paid or sponsored content, pay-for-follower promotions or other follower-growth schemes, the promotion of spam applications, or the promotion of multilevel marketing or pyramid schemes.
We prohibit fraud and other deceptive practices, including the promotion of fraudulent goods or services or get-rich-quick schemes, or imitating Snapchat or Snap Inc.
Illegal or Regulated Activities
Don’t use Snapchat to send or post content that’s illegal in your jurisdiction, or for any illegal activity. This includes promoting, facilitating or participating in criminal activity, such as buying, selling, exchanging or facilitating sales of illegal or regulated drugs, contraband (such as child sexual exploitation or abuse imagery), weapons or counterfeit goods or documents. It also includes promoting or facilitating any form of exploitation, including sex trafficking, labour trafficking or other human trafficking.
We prohibit the illegal promotion of regulated goods or industries, including unauthorised promotion of gambling, tobacco or vape products and alcohol.
Hateful Content, Terrorism and Violent Extremism
Terrorist organisations, violent extremists and hate groups are prohibited from using our platform. We have no tolerance for content that advocates or advances terrorism or violent extremism.
Hate speech or content that demeans, defames or promotes discrimination or violence on the basis of race, colour, caste, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disability or veteran status, immigration status, socio-economic status, age, weight or pregnancy status is prohibited.
Information and Q&A
How can I report something?
You can always submit a report to our Trust & Safety team using our in-app reporting features or by completing this form (which allows you to report a concern whether you have a Snapchat account or not). We review these reports to determine violations of these Guidelines.
What happens if I violate the Community 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 also refer information to law enforcement when activity poses an imminent threat to human life. If your account is terminated for violating these Guidelines, you are not allowed to use Snapchat again or circumvent this termination in any way.
Do you consider off-platform behaviour?
Snap reserves the right to remove or restrict account access for users whom we have reason to believe, in our sole discretion, pose a danger to others, on or off of Snapchat. These include leaders of hate groups and terrorist organisations, individuals with a reputation for inciting violence or perpetrating severe harms against others, or behaviour that we believe poses a threat to human life. In evaluating such behaviour, we may consider guidance from other sources, such as subject-matter experts or law enforcement, in determining whether to remove or restrict account access.
Where can I find more information?
Please visit our Safety Centre for more information about safety at Snapchat. There, you'll find detailed instructions on managing your Snapchat experience, including taking actions like updating your privacy settings, choosing who can see your content and blocking other users.
Sexual Content