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Safety

igotchu.app/safety. Last updated [date].

igotchu is built for kindness. An automatic check stops messages whose words include slurs, threats, sexual content or encouragement of self-harm. It can miss things, so you can hide, block or report anything.

How igotchu keeps things kind

  • The norm. igotchu is for telling your people, in your own words, what they mean to you. Everyone agrees to the rules in our Terms (igotchu.app/terms) when they sign up.
  • People know who wrote to them. Everyone signs up with a phone number and their first and last name, and every message shows who wrote it. There’s nothing anonymous, nothing public, and no way to browse or find strangers.
  • A narrow automatic check. It stops clear harm and lets everything else through, including swearing, sarcasm, inside jokes, roasting and grief.
  • You decide the rest. Whoever receives a message is in control of what stays in their bank and on their phone.

What the check does, and what it doesn’t

It does:

  • check the words of every message and note when the writer taps Send, against a list of words and phrases, in English and Spanish;
  • stop messages whose words include slurs, threats, sexual content or encouragement of self-harm, and tell the writer which kind of rule it hit;
  • pause some stock insults and a few phrases that read like a joking threat, so the writer can think again or send anyway;
  • run the same way for everyone.

It doesn’t:

  • use AI, or have a person read along;
  • change anyone’s words. igotchu never writes, suggests or rewrites what people say;
  • understand context. It’s a word list, so it can miss something unkind written in ordinary words, and it can stop something harmless. If it stops yours by mistake, tap “This is a mistake” and we’ll use it to fix the list;
  • check photos for adult nudity. Sexual and nude images are against the rules anyway, and you can report one;
  • catch everything. That’s why the controls and reports below exist.

Your controls

On any message, note or person, at any time. The other person isn’t told.

  • Hide: moves a message off your bank and widget into Settings > Hidden. You can unhide it any time, or delete it there for good.
  • Block: their messages no longer reach you through igotchu. To stop their texts too, block their number in Messages.
  • Keep off my widget: for one message or one person. Anyone who can see your Home Screen can see what’s on your widget.
  • Remove from friends: ends the friendship on igotchu, both ways.
  • Report: tells us. See below.
  • On a message’s web page, without the app: Report, and “Don’t contact me again,” which stops that person’s messages reaching you through igotchu.

Messages can be taken back by whoever wrote them. Anything you saved to your phone stays yours.

How to report

  • In the app: open the message, note or person and choose Report.
  • On a message’s web page: tap Report at the bottom. No account needed.
  • By email: safety@igotchu.app. Include the link if you have it.

You can tell us it’s an intimate image shared without consent, an image of a minor, a fake sexual image, harassment or a threat, pressuring or controlling, selling or promoting, copyright, or something else.

What happens next. The person you report isn’t told who reported them. Someone at igotchu reads every report and looks into it within 24 hours. We keep a locked copy of what was reported while we do, even if it’s taken back. We may remove it, slow down or suspend the account, close it, or report it to NCMEC or the police where the law requires it. If we act on your account and you think we got it wrong, reply to our email or write to safety@igotchu.app.

Removing an intimate image

If an intimate image of you, real or fake, was shared on igotchu without your consent, ask us to remove it at igotchu.app/takedown. You don’t need an account. If you include the igotchu link, the image is hidden as soon as you send the request, and we confirm removal within 48 hours. You can also email safety@igotchu.app with your name, the link or where you saw it, a statement that it was shared without consent, and how to reach you.

Child safety

igotchu is for adults, and it has zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation. We report child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), keep what the law requires, and close the account. If you see an image of someone under 18, report it in the app or on the web page, and you can also report it to NCMEC at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.

Law enforcement

Requests from police and courts go to legal@igotchu.app. We share account details only with legal process, such as a subpoena or court order, and message content only with a search warrant, except in an emergency involving a risk of serious harm, which we check before acting. We tell the person unless the law or the emergency doesn’t allow it. [To add: the street address for legal service.]

To report something that infringes your copyright, write to our designated agent: [agent name and street address, to register with the US Copyright Office], legal@igotchu.app. The Terms (section 12) say what to include and how a counter-notice works.

In case it’s useful

igotchu isn’t a crisis service, and it doesn’t watch over anyone. If you’d like to talk with someone, these are free, any time:

If someone is in danger right now, call 911.

Contact

We look at safety reports within 24 hours, every day. Other email gets a reply as soon as we can, usually within [2 business days].