Threats, Violence, & Harm

The safety and well-being of our community is a top priority at Snapchat, and we take all instances of threats, violence, and harm seriously. We do not allow content that encourages, promotes, threatens, provides instructions for, or graphically depicts violent or dangerous behavior. We also prohibit content that promotes, glorifies, or encourages self-harm or suicide. Imminent threats to human life and safety may be referred to law enforcement.

While our policies and moderation practices enhance safety for all users, we also proactively invest in features and resources to help support the well-being of our community. We encourage Snapchatters to report content that indicates self-harm or emotional distress so that our teams can send resources and potentially alert emergency health responders.

We prohibit the following: 

• Encouraging, promoting, glorifying, resharing, providing instructions for, or detailing methods of self-harm, including self-injury, self-mutilation, suicide, or eating disorders (including extreme dieting).

• Encouraging or engaging in violent or threatening behavior, including any content expressing an intention to cause serious physical or emotional harm to a person, a group of people, or damage to property. Where content indicates a credible and imminent threat to human life or safety, our teams may alert law enforcement agencies who may be positioned to intervene. 

• Vigilante activity. This includes coordinated efforts to intimidate or take physical action against individuals or communities outside proper legal process. 

• Encouraging, promoting, providing instructions for, or engaging in dangerous behavior. This includes engaging in activities likely to be imitated that could lead to serious harm or injury, such as high-risk challenges, stunts, reckless driving, as well as encouraging the ingestion, injection, inhalation, or other self-administering of physically harmful substances or of substances in sufficient quantities as to be physically harmful.

• Encouraging the ingesting, injection, inhalation, or other self-administering of physically harmful substances or of substances in sufficient quantities as to be physically harmful. 

• Abuse of minors, such as emotional abuse, physical violence, or putting a child in danger of grave physical harm. (Note: sexual abuse and exploitation of minors is covered under Sexual Content and Conduct)

• Gratuitous or graphic depictions of violence, including animal abuse, bestiality, resharing of gore, or content that risks inciting violence or harmful behavior toward people or animals.

Please do not joke about engaging in life-threatening harm. Because it can be difficult to determine a user's true intent online, threats framed as a “joke” may be treated as credible and may be escalated by Snap to law enforcement.