Community Guidelines

Effective Date: July 18, 2026

01

Introduction

These Community Guidelines explain what is and is not allowed on Risus. They apply to profiles, posts, pings, captions, comments, reposts, messages, chat rooms, media, AI-generated content, usernames, bios, and any other user activity on the Service. Violating these Guidelines may result in enforcement action up to and including permanent account termination.

Risus should be a safe place for users to communicate, create, and share content. We allow disagreement and creativity, but we do not allow content or conduct that harms people, exploits users, violates the law, or damages the integrity of the platform.

Safety First

The physical and psychological safety of our community takes priority over all other considerations.

Dignity and Respect

Every person deserves to be treated with basic dignity regardless of who they are.

Authenticity

Honest interactions that build genuine trust — not manipulation or deception.

Platform Integrity

A fair, functioning platform free from abuse, spam, and gaming.

02

Prohibited Content & Conduct

The rules below are not exhaustive. Content or conduct that violates the spirit of these Guidelines — even if not explicitly listed — may be subject to enforcement action.

🔞

Child Safety Violations (CSAE)

Zero tolerance

Risus has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE), child sexual abuse material (CSAM), grooming, sextortion, trafficking, or any conduct that endangers children.

  • Never create, upload, share, request, trade, describe, link to, or attempt to access CSAM in any form — including photos, videos, computer-generated, edited, AI-generated, cartoon, or synthetic media.
  • Never engage in grooming, sexual conversations or solicitation of minors, or attempts to obtain intimate images from minors.
  • Never sexualize minors, including fictional, edited, AI-generated, cartoon-like, or synthetic depictions.
  • Never engage in sextortion, trafficking, advertising, or commercial sexual exploitation of a minor, or normalize child abuse.

Enforcement: Immediate content removal, permanent account termination, restriction of related communities, preservation and review of evidence where permitted, and reporting of confirmed CSAM or child exploitation to NCMEC or the relevant regional authority as required or permitted by law.

🚨

Harassment, Bullying & Threats

Strict enforcement

Everyone has the right to use Risus without fear of harassment, intimidation, or threats. Healthy disagreement is welcome; targeted abuse is not.

  • Do not harass, bully, personally attack, humiliate, or target others with abuse.
  • Do not threaten, intimidate, blackmail, extort, or coerce others.
  • Do not engage in repeated unwanted contact after a user asks you to stop.
  • Do not coordinate dogpiling, brigading, or encourage others to target a person or group.
  • Do not misuse mentions, replies, reactions, or reports to harass or overwhelm another user.

Enforcement: Content removal, temporary suspension, or permanent termination depending on severity and pattern of behaviour.

🚫

Hate & Dehumanizing Content

Strict enforcement

Do not attack, dehumanize, exclude, threaten, incite hatred against, or promote violence or discrimination against people based on protected characteristics.

  • Do not attack people based on race, ethnicity, caste, nationality, immigration status, or veteran status.
  • Do not attack people based on religion or belief.
  • Do not attack people based on sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
  • Do not attack people based on disability, age, or serious medical condition.
  • Do not use hateful slurs, stereotypes, symbols, or coded language to degrade or threaten protected groups, or recruit for hate groups.

Enforcement: Content removal; repeated or severe violations result in account suspension or termination.

💥

Violence, Dangerous Organizations & Extremism

Zero tolerance

Risus prohibits content that promotes, threatens, glorifies, or organizes violence, serious harm, terrorism, or dangerous activity.

  • Do not threaten individuals, groups, communities, public places, schools, workplaces, or events.
  • Do not praise, support, recruit for, fundraise for, or coordinate violent extremist, terrorist, or criminal organizations.
  • Do not post credible threats, instructions for violence, or operational support for attacks or serious physical harm.
  • Do not post graphic violence, gore, or torture, or encourage dangerous acts and challenges likely to cause serious harm.

Enforcement: Immediate content removal; accounts may be permanently terminated and reported to relevant authorities where required or permitted by law.

🔒

Sexual Content & Non-Consensual Intimate Content

Strict enforcement

Risus is not an adult content platform. Sexually explicit content is not permitted, and intimate content must never be shared without consent.

  • Do not post pornography, sexually explicit content, or content intended to be sexually gratifying.
  • Do not send unwanted sexual content, sexual harassment, sexual threats, or degrading sexual comments.
  • Do not engage in sexual solicitation, escort services, or compensated sexual arrangements.
  • Do not share non-consensual intimate images or videos (including edited, AI-generated, or synthetic content), revenge pornography, creepshots, or hidden-camera content.

Enforcement: Content removal; depending on severity, temporary suspension or permanent account termination.

💔

Self-Harm & Suicide

Strict enforcement

Risus cares about the wellbeing of its users. Content that promotes, glorifies, or instructs self-harm is not permitted, but supportive and recovery-focused discussion is welcome.

  • Do not promote, glorify, encourage, instruct, or celebrate self-harm, suicide, or serious self-injury.
  • Do not promote or glorify eating disorders or harmful body-image behaviour.
  • Do not promote dangerous challenges or stunts likely to result in physical harm.
  • Supportive discussion of mental health, recovery, or personal struggles is allowed when it does not encourage or instruct harmful behaviour.

Enforcement: Content removal and, where appropriate, connection to crisis resources. Content indicating imminent risk may be escalated for additional review and appropriate action.

🎭

Scams, Fraud, Phishing & Spam

Strict enforcement

Authentic interactions are fundamental to Risus. Deceptive, manipulative, or disruptive behaviour undermines trust in the platform.

  • Do not engage in phishing, credential theft, fake login pages, or requests for passwords or authentication codes.
  • Do not run investment, crypto, giveaway, job, or romance scams, or other financial fraud and identity theft.
  • Do not artificially inflate engagement, run fake or duplicate accounts, or coordinate inauthentic behaviour.
  • Do not flood chats with repetitive, irrelevant, or spam content, mass mentions, or raiding, or distribute malware and malicious links.

Enforcement: Content removal, account restrictions, or permanent termination.

⚖️

Illegal & Restricted Goods and Services

Strict enforcement

Risus must not be used to facilitate, organize, promote, or trade in illegal activities or prohibited regulated goods and services.

  • Do not sell, buy, trade, or promote illegal drugs, controlled substances, or drug paraphernalia.
  • Do not sell, buy, trade, or promote illegal weapons, explosives, ammunition, or instructions to manufacture or modify weapons.
  • Do not engage in human trafficking, criminal recruitment, money laundering, hacking services, or unauthorized access.
  • Do not trade in stolen goods or data, counterfeit documents, real-money gambling, or age-restricted goods to minors.

Enforcement: Content removal and account termination; may be reported to relevant authorities where required or permitted by law.

🔐

Privacy & Personal Information

Strict enforcement

Respect the privacy, personal information, and safety of others. Do not share private information without consent.

  • Do not share or threaten to share someone's phone number, home or work address, email, government ID, or financial information.
  • Do not share another person's passwords, authentication codes, private photos, videos, screenshots, or conversations.
  • Do not dox, stalk, track, or encourage others to contact, harass, or harm someone on or off Risus.
  • Do not use personal information to shame, intimidate, extort, exploit, or silence another user.

Enforcement: Content removal and account action up to permanent termination.

👤

Intellectual Property & Impersonation

Enforcement applies

Only share content you have the right to use, and do not pretend to be someone you are not in a way that misleads others.

  • Do not upload or distribute content that infringes copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights.
  • Do not distribute pirated content, cracked software, or unauthorized access links.
  • Do not impersonate another person, moderator, brand, public figure, organization, or Risus staff in a misleading way.
  • Fan and parody accounts are allowed but must be clearly and prominently labelled as such.

Enforcement: Content removal and account suspension; persistent infringement or impersonation leads to termination.

📢

Misinformation & Harmful Deception

Enforcement applies

Do not share content that intentionally misleads others in ways that could cause significant harm.

  • Do not share false medical or health information that may endanger people.
  • Do not post false emergency information, public safety alerts, or misleading crisis information.
  • Do not run coordinated misinformation campaigns or organized deceptive behaviour.
  • Do not share manipulated media, fake screenshots, or fake evidence intended to deceive users about important facts.

Enforcement: Content removal, visibility restrictions, or account action depending on severity and intent.

🛠️

Platform Abuse & Ban Evasion

Enforcement applies

Actions that undermine the technical integrity of the platform, or that bypass moderation and safety systems, are prohibited.

  • Do not reverse engineer, exploit bugs, overload systems, scrape data without authorisation, or upload malware.
  • Do not bypass restrictions, sell accounts, or interfere with the Service.
  • Do not create or use new accounts after suspension, removal, restriction, or ban, or help others evade enforcement.
  • Do not change identity information to evade moderation, detection, safety protections, or age or identity controls.
  • Do not use deceptive anonymity, including display names or profiles intended to conceal identity in order to evade enforcement or safety controls.

Enforcement: Account restrictions, permanent account or community removal, and potential legal action.

03

AI-Generated Content

AI-powered features (caption generation, image features, repost assistance, similar-post and content suggestions) are subject to these Guidelines just like any other content. AI-generated content shared on Risus is treated as user-generated content, and you are responsible for what you create or share with AI tools.

  • AI outputs must comply with these Guidelines, the Terms and Conditions, the Child Safety Standards, and applicable law.
  • Do not use AI features to generate or spread abusive, deceptive, sexual, exploitative, hateful, illegal, infringing, dangerous, or child-safety-violating content.
  • Do not create non-consensual intimate images, sexual deepfakes, or AI-generated or synthetic CSAM or sexualization of minors.
  • Do not use AI to impersonate, defame, scam, or manipulate others, or to produce deepfakes of a person's image, voice, or likeness without consent.
  • Review AI outputs before posting or sending them, and do not present synthetic media as authentic evidence or another person's genuine statements. Do not use AI to evade moderation or safety protections.

Enforcement: AI-generated content may be reviewed, blocked, removed, restricted, or escalated if it appears to violate our policies or the law. Accounts that misuse AI features may be suspended or terminated.

04

Reporting & Blocking

Risus provides in-app controls to report content, profiles, messages, chat rooms, users, and AI-generated content, and to block or mute users where interaction occurs. You can also contact the safety team directly at safety@risus.io. Reports concerning AI output are used to improve filtering and moderation.

Where to report in the app:

  • Post or ping menu → Report
  • Profile menu → Report user
  • Profile or chat menu → Block user
  • Message long press → Report message
  • Chat room information → Report room
  • AI output → Report or Flag
  • Settings or Help → Safety report

What to include in a report:

  • Links and screenshots of the violating content
  • The username(s), room name(s), or message details involved
  • A brief explanation of why you believe this violates our Guidelines

User Controls

You can block or mute other users to reduce unwanted profile access, messages, mentions, and interactions. These controls are available from any profile or chat screen. Blocking does not replace reporting serious, dangerous, illegal, or child-safety-related behaviour.

Emergency Situations

Reports involving immediate danger — credible threats of violence, active self-harm, trafficking, terrorism, or child safety emergencies — should also be reported to local law enforcement or emergency services. We treat these with the highest priority.

Note: Reports should be submitted in good faith. Knowingly false, malicious, repetitive, or retaliatory reporting may result in restrictions on your reporting ability or other enforcement action.

05

Enforcement

Enforcement depends on the severity, frequency, context, intent, and risk of harm of a violation, as well as user history and platform impact. Moderation may be performed by automated systems, human reviewers, or both, and Risus may take more than one action at the same time.

Warning

Issued for first or minor violations. Content may remain visible.

Content Removal & Feature Limits

The post, message, or profile element is taken down, and posting, messaging, or AI features may be limited.

Temporary Suspension

Account or community access restricted for a defined period.

Permanent Termination

Account or community permanently removed for serious or repeat violations.

Severe violations — especially child safety, credible threats, exploitation, terrorism, imminent harm, or illegal activity — may result in immediate account termination. Where appropriate, we may preserve information and cooperate with law enforcement or authorised safety organisations.

06

Appeals

If you believe an enforcement action was taken in error, contact help@risus.io with your account information, the action you are appealing, and a brief explanation of why you believe it was incorrect.

Submitting an appeal does not guarantee reversal. Risus may not be able to reverse actions involving serious safety or legal concerns, including child safety violations and credible threats.

07

Changes to These Guidelines

We may update these Guidelines as the Service evolves and as new risks, technologies, legal requirements, and platform features emerge. We will update the effective date and provide notice when required. Continued use of the Service after updates take effect means you agree to follow the updated Guidelines.

Questions or Concerns?

Our safety and privacy teams are here to help. Reach out any time.

© 2026 Risus. All rights reserved.

Your safety is our priority.