Child safety standards

Vessa is for adults

Vessa is for people aged 18 and over. It is not directed at children, and every account must belong to an adult. An account found to belong to someone under 18 is closed.

What is prohibited

Vessa prohibits child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) in any form. That includes:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM): any image, video, text or other content that shows or describes the sexual abuse or exploitation of a person under 18.
• Sexualising a minor in any way, including in writing.
• Grooming: contacting a minor, or building trust with them or with the people around them, in order to sexually abuse or exploit them.
• Sextortion: threatening or pressuring a minor over sexual images or content.
• Trafficking a minor, or offering or advertising a minor, for sexual purposes.
• Using Vessa to arrange, encourage, share or ask for any of the above.

This applies to everything in Vessa: what a person writes, what they share with their partner, invitations, and anything sent through Vessa’s feedback.

How to report it

If a child is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number first.

• In the app: tap Share feedback (the speech-bubble button at the top of the screen), describe what you saw, and send it.
• By email: write to farhan861@gmail.com with “Child safety” in the subject.

A person reads every report, and child safety reports are handled before anything else, within 24 hours. Please don’t copy or send the material itself: say where you saw it and when.

You can also report directly to the authorities. In the United States, use the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline or call 1-800-843-5678. In other countries, contact your local police or a hotline listed by INHOPE.

What happens when something is reported

• The report is reviewed straight away.
• Content that breaks these standards is removed.
• The account responsible is closed.
• Child sexual abuse material is reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), as US law requires, and information is preserved and shared with law enforcement as the law requires.
• The person reported is not told about the report where that could put a child at risk or get in the way of an investigation.

The law

Vessa complies with the child safety laws that apply to it, including the requirement in United States law (18 U.S.C. § 2258A) to report child sexual abuse material to NCMEC, and the laws of the countries where Vessa is available.

Child safety contact

Farhan Khera, the developer of Vessa: farhan861@gmail.com.