Community Guidelines

HeyU is a place to find new friends, community and support. It only works if everyone feels safe and respected.

These guidelines explain what we expect, what isn't allowed, and what happens when someone crosses the line. They apply to everything you share on HeyU: your profile, photos, prompts, messages, and how you treat the people you meet through HeyU, in the app and outside it. They're part of our Terms of Service.

Zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive behaviour. There is no place on HeyU for harassment, hate, threats, sexual exploitation or abuse of any kind. We review reports, remove content and accounts that break these rules, and we don't allow people who behave abusively to stay on HeyU.

Who HeyU is for

• You must be 18 or older. If you think someone on HeyU is under 18, please report them.
• HeyU is for friendship, community and support. It is not a dating app. Don't use it to look for dates, hookups or sexual encounters.
• One person, one account. Don't create extra accounts, and don't come back with a new account after being banned.

Be yourself

• Use real, recent photos of yourself. Every profile photo must clearly show you.
• Give accurate information about yourself, including your age.
• Don't pretend to be someone else, a public figure, or a company.
• Don't post photos of other people without their permission, and never photos of a child on their own.

Treat people with respect

Everyone deserves to be treated decently, whether or not they Like you back.

• No harassment, bullying, stalking or repeated unwanted contact.
• No hate speech, and no attacks on people based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, age, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.
• No threats of violence, and no wishing harm on anyone.
• "No" is a complete answer. Pressuring, guilt-tripping or coercing others isn't allowed.
• If someone doesn't reply, or removes a Connection, let it go.

What isn't allowed

• Nudity and sexual content. Don't post it, don't send it, and don't ask others for it. This includes unsolicited sexual messages.
• Anything that sexualises or exploits children. We report it to the authorities, and it leads to an immediate, permanent ban.
• Violence and gore, and content that promotes, encourages or gives instructions for self-harm or suicide.
• Illegal activity, including selling or buying drugs, weapons or other regulated goods.
• Scams and fraud. Never ask other users for money, gifts, bank details or passwords. No investment, crypto or "business opportunity" pitches.
• Commercial use. No advertising, selling, recruiting, fundraising, or promoting other platforms or paid content. You may add your social profiles, but not to sell things.
• Spam and fake engagement. No bots, automated messages or mass copy-paste messaging.
• Malicious links. Don't share links to malware, phishing or sites meant to deceive.
• Sharing private information about anyone, such as their address, phone number or workplace, or screenshots meant to shame or expose them.

Photos, prompts and profiles

Every profile photo is automatically checked before anyone other than you can see it. Photos must show your face and must not contain explicit, violent or otherwise objectionable content.

Your bio, prompt answers, links and other profile details must follow these guidelines too. Profiles that exist to spam, scam, impersonate or harass are removed.

In chat

• Only send photos the other person would be comfortable receiving. When in doubt, ask first.
• Only share your location when you want to, and never share someone else's.
• What's shared in a chat stays in that chat. Don't repost someone's messages or photos elsewhere.

Looking for support

Support is part of what HeyU is for. Talking about your own experiences and what you're going through is welcome.

But people on HeyU aren't trained counsellors, and HeyU isn't a crisis service. If you or someone you're talking to is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services (112 in Sweden and across the EU).

Staying safe when you meet

Meeting someone new should be fun. A few habits help keep it that way:

• Take your time. Get to know someone in chat before you meet.
• Meet in a public place, and tell a friend where you're going and who you're meeting.
• Arrange your own way there and back.
• Never send money to someone you've met on HeyU.
• Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, leave, and report the person.

The Verified badge means someone's selfie matched their profile photos when we reviewed it. It's a helpful signal, not a guarantee of who they are or how they'll behave.

Respect privacy

• Don't share another person's location, contact details or private messages.
• HeyU only ever shows others your approximate distance or a rough area, never your exact position. Think carefully before sharing more precise details in chat.

Reporting and blocking

You're never stuck with someone who makes you uncomfortable.

• Report someone from the menu on their profile card in your feed, from their card in your Social lists (Connections, Saved Profiles, Profile Likes and Feed History), or from the menu in a chat. Reporting someone also blocks them immediately, so contact stops right away.
• Block works both ways. You and the person you block won't see each other in the feed, can't message or connect with each other, and any Connection between you, including its messages, is removed.
• Hide your profile at any time under More, Privacy & Security, to step back from the feed.

Reports are confidential. We never tell the person you report who reported them.

You don't need a HeyU account to report illegal content. Email support@shadowparticle.com with details of what you found and where. If someone is in danger, contact the police first.

How we enforce these rules

We review reports and act on them. Depending on how serious the behaviour is, and whether it has happened before, we may:

• Remove content, such as a photo.
• Hide a profile from feeds.
• Warn, suspend or permanently ban an account.
• Report illegal activity to the police or other authorities.

Serious violations, such as any sexual content involving minors, sexual exploitation or credible threats of violence, lead to an immediate, permanent ban without warning.

We may also act on behaviour outside HeyU, for example if someone harms a person they met through HeyU.

When we act on your account, we'll tell you what we did and why. If you think we got it wrong, email support@shadowparticle.com within six months, and a person will review the decision. Our Terms of Service explain the process in full.

Questions or concerns

If something doesn't feel right, report it in the app or email us at support@shadowparticle.com. For how we handle your data, see our Privacy Policy.