Privacy and Safety Hub
Community Guidelines
Updated: August 2023

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 intend for 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. 
These Guidelines apply to all content (which includes all forms of communication, like text, images, generative AI, links or attachments, emojis, Lenses and other creative tools) or behavior on Snapchat — and to all Snapchatters. We are particularly sensitive to content or behavior that poses a risk of severe harm to Snapchatters, and reserve the right to take immediate, permanent action against users engaging in such behavior. Additional guidance about what we consider to be severe harm and how we take action against it is available here. 
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 also implement safeguards to help keep generative AI content in line with our Community Guidelines. 
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 behavior violates the spirit of our rules.

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 sexualization 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.
  • Additional guidance on sexual conduct and content that violates our Community Guidelines is available here

Harassment & 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. 
  • Additional guidance on how bullying and harassment violate our Community Guidelines is available here.

Threats, Violence & Harm
  • Encouraging or engaging in violent or dangerous behavior 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.
  • Additional guidance on threats, violence, and harm that violate our Community Guidelines is available here.

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 organizations for harmful, non-satirical purposes.
  • We prohibit spam, including 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.
  • Additional guidance on harmful false or deceptive content that violates our Community Guidelines is available here.

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, labor trafficking, or other human trafficking.
  • We prohibit the illegal promotion of regulated goods or industries, including unauthorized promotion of gambling, tobacco or vape products, and alcohol.
  • Additional guidance on prohibited illegal or regulated activities that violate our Community Guidelines is available here.

Hateful Content, Terrorism, and Violent Extremism
  • Terrorist organizations, 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, color, 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.
  • Additional guidance on hateful content, terrorism, and violent extremism that violates our Community Guidelines is available here.

Please remember that 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. 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.   
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 organizations, individuals with a reputation for inciting violence or perpetrating severe harms against others, or behavior that we believe poses a threat to human life. In evaluating such  behavior, we may consider guidance from other sources, such as subject matter experts or law enforcement, in determining whether to remove or restrict account access. 
Please visit our Safety Center 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.