Child Safety Standards

Swahili World has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE), including child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This page sets out the standards we hold ourselves to, how users can report concerns, and how we respond. It is published in line with Google Play's Child Safety Standards policy.

Adults-only service

Swahili World is available only to people aged 18 or over. Our Terms of Service require every account holder to be at least 18, and the app is distributed on Google Play with an 18-and-over target audience. We remove accounts we find to belong to anyone under 18.

Prohibited conduct

The following are banned outright, and an account found engaging in any of them is removed:

• Child sexual abuse material, or any sexualised depiction or description of a minor, in posts, comments, messages, profiles, images, marketplace listings, or calls.
• Grooming, solicitation, sextortion, or any attempt to establish sexual contact with a minor.
• Trafficking, endangerment, or the sexual exploitation of a minor in any form.
• Creating an account while under 18, or facilitating an under-18 person's access to the service.

How to report a concern

Every user can report content and other users from inside the app:

• A user — open their profile and choose Report, or Block, which also files a safety report automatically.
• A post or comment — choose Report on the post or comment.
• A message — press and hold the message, then choose Report.

For anything involving a child, you can also report it directly to our named child safety contact, whether or not you have an account:

Child safety contact: swahiliworld2024@gmail.com

If a child is in immediate danger, contact your local law enforcement first.

How we prevent and detect abuse

• Text submitted to profiles, posts, comments, messages, marketplace listings, map submissions, and tutor applications is screened automatically at the point of submission, and content matching prohibited patterns — including child sexual exploitation terms — is rejected before it is stored.
• Marketplace listings and community map locations are reviewed and approved by an administrator before they become visible to other users.
• Users offering tutoring or other services must be approved by an administrator before they can be booked.

How we respond to reports

Safety reports go to a moderation queue reviewed by Swahili World administrators. We aim to review reports within 24 hours. Where a violation is confirmed, we remove the offending content, and suspend or permanently ban the responsible account. Every moderation decision is recorded in an audit log.

Where we identify apparent child sexual abuse material or conduct, we act on it as a priority above all other report types: we remove the content and terminate the account, preserve the associated records, and report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to the relevant law enforcement authorities. We cooperate with lawful requests from those authorities.

Compliance

These standards apply to all Swahili World features, including posts, comments, direct messages, audio and video calls, tutoring sessions, the marketplace, and community maps. We review these standards as the service changes and update them as needed.

Questions about this policy, or about a child safety concern, should go to swahiliworld2024@gmail.com.