Community Guidelines

Last updated: 12 December 2023

Here’s the deal. We have one goal, and one goal only, and that’s to create a space for 100 per cent off-the-cuff, spontaneous conversations. Because social media platforms aren’t actually social at all—and we’re not okay with that.

On Stereo, we want you to be your real selves, not your highlight reel selves. To talk about the weird and wonderful. The irreverent and irrelevant. The mundane to the mind-blowing.

We dream of the day when every convo can take place without interruption, but there will always be folks who bring negativity to the party. And while we’ve dedicated a team of real people who work hard to stop bad behavior, we could always use your help. Reporting bad behavior helps everyone on the app have a better time. So if you hear something, say something by reporting it to us. Based on what we find, we may take a number of actions at any time, from ending or removing a talk, to temporarily disabling an account, removing a post, resetting a username, display name, link or bio — to even banning an account entirely.

And that’s just one of many reasons why we have to lay down some basic rules that all of our community is held to. We know that conversations can be messy, humans are dynamic and we’re pioneering a new type of social experience—so things are bound to change over time. And if they do, we’ll be sure to fill you in along the way.

Now without further ado, let’s talk guidelines.

Let’s talk about you:

• 13+: Like many movies and your other favorite social apps, Stereo is 13+. If you are under the age of 18 on Stereo, we recommend checking out our Teen Resources page here.
• Keep it real: There’s no spam allowed on Stereo, and that includes fake or bot accounts created for the purposes of offering promotions or unsolicited content. And because we want you to come as you are, that means impersonation and using someone else’s account are also off-limits. Third-party tools or software for voice distortion or text-to-speech functionality are also prohibited. If tools like these are important to help you get the most out of Stereo, we’d love to hear from you so we can work with our team on potential solutions.
• You’re here to talk: Stereo is about connecting through conversation, not selling your NFTs or other products. We also want to note that if your Talk isn’t an active conversation, it could be ended or disabled. Multiple violations of this policy may result in removal from the app.

Let’s talk about keeping things civil:

• Respect each other: We expect everyone on Stereo to respect each other, full stop. We do not tolerate Talks, messages or other content that encourages violence, bullying, hatred or harm against an individual or a group of individuals on the basis of age, body type, disability, ethnicity, gender, intellect, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. Any content deliberately degrading or humiliating other people or encouraging those actions will be removed. There are a few other behaviors we want to call out, too:

  • Don’t doxx: Content or Talks that reveal or threaten to reveal personally identifiable information of someone else without their explicit permission or participation is off-limits.
  • Don’t ruin the vibe: Our comment feature is intended to help more people contribute to Talks and posts, not to purposefully disrupt them. Trolling isn’t a good look (ever!) and isn’t allowed on Stereo. This includes creating another account for the purposes of trolling or bullying others.
• Respect our team, too: Respect is also expected when communicating with our Stereo Support Team, whether that’s via email, in-app support or elsewhere. Threatening, harassing or engaging in otherwise disrespectful behavior toward our team may result in a permanent ban.
• No fake or mass reports: Submitting purposely false incident reports to our team, or re-submitting substantially the same report multiple times, makes it harder for us to focus on real reports and is also considered a form of bullying or harassment.
• No hate or celebration of violence: We hope we don’t have to explain this, but hateful content or promoting violence or organized crime, including terrorism and extremism, is not okay. This includes content that speaks positively of hate groups, individuals associated with those groups or the use of related slogans, symbols, anthems or salutes. We also do not permit content that praises violent tragedies and/or disparages their victims.

Let’s talk about sensitive subject matters:

• Self-injury or harm: We care about our members, and prohibit content or interactions that support, encourage or promote acts of physical or mental harm — for example, cutting, eating disorders, or suicide. We understand the importance of mental health and how open conversation can help in removing the stigma associated with these topics. With this in mind, we do allow members to talk about suicide and self-injury in a way that helps raise awareness about these issues.

  • If you need support for any of these issues, it’s available. We encourage individuals who are struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, or who know someone is seriously considering self-harm/suicide, to immediately contact local emergency services or a suicide prevention hotline like Befrienders Worldwide or Findahelpline.com which are global resources for free, confidential help.

• Sexual content and exploitation: We don’t allow explicit sexual content that is not for the purpose of education or discussion. Breaking these guidelines may go beyond Stereo — sexualized content can risk your safety and violate local laws, triggering legal penalties in some locations. To break this down a bit more:

  • Harmful content: You may not share or promote information that is intended or likely to cause harm to any person or groups of people. That can mean non-consensual content, such as private messages, recordings or imagery of sexual or intimate nature shared without the subject’s permission or content promoting or portraying sexual assault.
  • Solicitation: Solicitation of sex or any sexual content at the exchange of financial (or any other form of) benefit is not permitted on Stereo. Plain and simple.
  • Nudity: Nudity, pornography or sexually explicit content are not allowed on Stereo.
  • Minors: Any form of grooming or sexual interaction with minors is strictly prohibited and will be enforced with zero tolerance.
• False or misleading information: Using the app to spread or attempt to spread false or misleading information or news surrounding major world events, natural disasters, politics, and medical advice is against our rules.
• One more thing: Stereo members are prohibited from posting content that is violently graphic/obscene or likely to traumatize, shock, or grossly offend others.

Let’s talk about fostering creativity:

• Intellectual property: We value and respect creativity and so should you. Using or sharing materials (including music) that violate or infringe someone else's ownership, copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights is not allowed. All original content shared on Stereo must be owned by that person alone.

Let’s talk about (not) breaking the law

• Last but certainly not least, all Stereo members are required to follow local, national and international laws specific to their area. Below are some specific examples for reference:

  • Drugs and Controlled Substances: Stereo does not allow content that attempts to buy, sell, donate or encourage illegal drug use, including prescription medication not approved for use by a medical professional. Information that could be perceived as being helpful in evading law enforcement or for the purposes of committing any criminal offense (or aiding/encouraging anyone to do so) is strictly prohibited. Content depicting dangerous use or possession of regulated goods by minors is also against our rules.
  • Investment and financial schemes: Scams, pyramid or Ponzi schemes and schemes associated with content or services that are adult in nature are prohibited.
  • Other illegal, restricted or regulated goods: Attempting to buy, sell, solicit or donate tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, weight loss products, blood, hazardous materials, live animals, firearms or bladed weapons is not permitted. We also do not allow content that depicts the use or possession of regulated weapons in an uncontrolled environment.
  • Threats: Threats are considered criminal activity and can result in an account being disabled or banned.

Let’s talk about what’s next

If you have any questions, please submit them via the “Help” section to chat in-app or send a message through our contact form here. You can also email support@stereo.com to reach our team.

For any reminders, these guidelines are also available in-app by visiting Settings → Help.

We hope you’re excited to be a part of the Stereo community. If you experience anything that goes against our guidelines, just let us know and we’ll do our part. Now go forth, and talk like you’ve never talked before.