Community guidelines
PinMatches is used to organise sports matches between people who do not know each other. That calls for a minimum of restraint in the conversations, and for tools to react when someone has not shown any.
1. What is prohibited
In chat messages as well as in the matches you create:
- offensive content: insults, harassment, intimidation, threats;
- discriminatory or hateful content targeting a person or a group, in particular on the grounds of origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion or age;
- unlawful content: glorification of violence or terrorism, sexual content, content involving minors, incitement to hatred, sale of prohibited goods, counterfeiting;
- spam and canvassing: advertising, promotional links, repetitive messages, recruiting for another service;
- publishing personal data about a third party without their consent (address, phone number, photo);
- impersonation, fake accounts and fake matches.
Your username is subject to the same rules: it is visible to all users and must not be abusive or misleading, nor impersonate a third party.
2. Reporting a message
Reporting is contextual: it is done from the message concerned, so that we know exactly what it is about.
- in the conversation, tap the report icon shown next to the message;
- choose a reason — it is mandatory: Offensive content, Illegal content, Discriminatory content, Spam or Other;
- add a comment if you wish (optional);
- send: the app confirms that the report has been sent.
The report sends the reason, your comment, the message concerned, its author and the conversation it belongs to. Without that context, a report cannot be acted upon.
You can only report messages from other participants: not your own messages, and not the app's automatic messages. Reporting is anonymous towards the person reported, who is not told who you are.
3. Blocking a user
Blocking is immediate and requires no approval from us. Two entry points:
- from a conversation: block icon next to the message;
- from the participant list of a match: “Block” button next to the person.
After confirmation, that person's messages stop being displayed, in every conversation and immediately — including those already received. The block is kept on your device and survives closing the app.
To unblock someone: Profile → “Blocked users” → “Unblock”.
What blocking does, and what it does not do. It hides the blocked person's messages on your device: you no longer see them. It does not stop them writing in the conversation of a match you have both joined, and it does not follow you from one device to another. If someone is genuinely bothering you, report them as well: blocking protects you, reporting allows us to act. Server-side blocking is planned for a later version of the app.
4. How we handle reports
Every report is reviewed by a member of the PinMatches team, who also handles the deletion requests received at contact@pinmatches.com — there is no automated moderation on PinMatches: no content is removed, and no account is penalised, by an algorithm.
We undertake to review any report within seven days, and without delay where it concerns manifestly illegal content or a threat against a person.
Depending on the seriousness and the repetition of the facts, the response may be:
- removal of the content concerned;
- a warning sent to its author;
- suspension of the account;
- permanent deletion of the account, without notice;
- referral to the competent authorities where the facts warrant it.
A report that is manifestly unfounded, or repeated for the sole purpose of causing harm, may itself be penalised.
5. Reporting illegal content
Anyone — whether or not they use PinMatches — may report content to us that they consider illegal. Write to contact@pinmatches.com stating:
- why the content appears to you to be illegal;
- where it is: the author's username, the match concerned, the date and time of the message;
- your name and email address — unless the report concerns an offence relating to offences against minors;
- a statement confirming your good-faith belief that this information is accurate.
We acknowledge receipt of the report, review it in a non-arbitrary manner and inform you of the decision taken, with reasons. The author of any content removed is also informed and given the reasons, and may contest the decision at the same address. Full contact details and points of contact are set out in the legal notice.
Child pornography: in accordance with An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service (S.C. 2011, c. 4), any content of that nature reported to us is reported to Cybertip.ca and, where we have reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has been committed, to the police. The related data is preserved for 21 days for that purpose. You may also report such content directly to Cybertip.ca.
6. Safety when meeting up
These guidelines cover what happens inside the app. A match leads to a physical meeting with people you do not know: the corresponding precautions are set out in the terms of use, section 5. If you are in immediate danger, call the emergency services (911).
7. Message retention
Chat messages are kept for 12 months at most, except where they are the subject of a report or of a request from a competent authority. After that period, they are deleted or anonymised.
Version history
- Version 1.0 — — initial version, published with the first version of the app.
- Version 1.1 — — your username is visible to all users.