Last updated April 21, 2024
Your safety matters to us here at Unaeon, we want our users to have a safe and supportive experience. That's why we're giving you this safety information to inform you about various types of safety concerns and how you can report them to us.
We're a supportive social network, but we can't do it without you; our users. Operating with compassion, empathy, and kindness is essential to creating an environment where everyone can feel safe, supported, and free to express themselves. Your words have astounding impact, and it's up to you whether you choose to use them in a positive or negative way. To do so requires a certain level of responsibility from each user, monitoring your own interactions as well as intervening in potentially harmful actions you see within your communities, which could be as simple as using the Flag It feature.
We've also developed various features in our app to help protect you such as you will not be able to direct message any user who isn't added as a friend. In order to keep people safe you can only direct message a user or group of users that you are friends with.
We will actively ban and report to the relevant authorities anyone who impacts the safety of our users and breaches our Terms & Conditions. Questions or concerns? Please use the in-app Flag It button or contact us at: support@unaeon.com.
If you notice any posts that break our Terms & Conditions you can report them by pressing the 3 dots menu button on the top right of any post and pressing the "Flag It" button.
We have a three strike flag system for violations of our Terms & Conditions. For minor violations of our Terms & Conditions you will receive one strike to your account. For major violations of our Terms & Conditions, or when you have received three strikes in concession, you will be permanently banned from our service. We are dedicated to keeping our community as safe as possible for you and will actively report to the relevant authorities anyone who does anything illegal on our app.
We use flags on everyone's user profile to display their account's standing and if they have had any strikes.
Our flag system should not be seen as an endorsement of the safety level of any user. Please remain vigilant for any user that may be breaking our Terms & Conditions.
Scams are elaborate frauds which aim to rob a victim of their time and money through a variety of means and operate by preying on the compassion of others and creating a sense of urgency to act on the victim's part. They ask for personal details; banking information, credit card numbers, and locations and promise a product, relationship, or service before attaching numerous stipulations before they can provide what was promised. After receiving the money or service from the victim, communication is often ceased, and proof of account deleted.
If you believe an individual or group are engaging in scamming activity, use the Flag It feature on posts, profiles, messages, or groups to alert Unaeon to the activity and our team will investigate. Refrain from posting or sharing personal information such as addresses and banking details, and always use discretion when sharing information that may enable someone to access these details.
See below to learn more about the types of scams users should be aware of:
Honey Traps: Most romance scams follow the format of a honeypot trap, in which an attractive man or woman's image is used to lure the victim into a false relationship in order to gain personal information and monetary goods. Scammers using this approach may directly ask for funds or may obtain the personal information of their victim to later access banking information, liquid assets, or crucial identity information to commit fraud.
Military Impersonation: In order to access funds from unsuspecting victims, scammers may use the real identity of a soldier serving abroad or create an entirely fake persona to prey on victims by claiming they are in need of funds to return to their home country or to access resources in their combat area. Scammers build rapport by engaging in extended conversation with the victim before requesting funds and will often close the associated account or ghost the victim.
Code Verification: Scammers engaging in a fake relationship with a victim may not request money directly from their victim, rather they will collect information about the likes, dislikes, and habits of their victim and exploit them through malware or scams associated with said interests. With knowledge of which services or apps the victim uses, the scammer will send a code verification email or text which will then prompt the victim to input personal information which can be used to exploit or access financial records.
Business Opportunity: Scammers will approach a victim promising a 'unique business opportunity' which involves the victim sending the scammer a sum of cryptocurrency with the promise of high returns, doubling, or tripling their investment. However, these scams end in the scammer keeping the money, cutting off contact, or continuing to request higher sums of cryptocurrency to further “endorse” their victim's business and promise even higher returns.
Blackmail: In order to extort money from the victim, scammers will claim to have embarrassing or humiliating information or photos of the victim that they will make public unless they are paid a specified amount in cryptocurrency. This comes with the promise that said information will not be shared if the victim complies with the demands of the scammer, and that the banking information will be secure.
Phishing: Phishing schemes are especially popular in the digital space, with scammers posing as a company or individual and promising discounts, promotions, or free items if the victim inputs their personal information through a link provided. Information popularly requested includes full names, addresses, and banking information.
Giveaway: Especially popular on social media sites, scammers will pose as influencers, pop culture icons, or companies claiming that the victim has won a giveaway and requires personal information in order to release the items or money the individual has won. Some accounts may ask for likes, follows, or shares to further spread the scheme as a separate 'entry' to said giveaway before requesting the information.
Fake Charities/Fundraising Pages: With the rise of popularity in online charity donations and fundraising pages, scammers have found a new form of exploitation which preys heavily on the kindness and compassion of strangers. Scammers will create a fake charity or pose as an existing charity before asking for donations through a link, where they then steal the financial information submitted through said link. Personal fundraising pages may detail the specifics of what the money donated will be sent to before withholding funds or faking illness to get donations. To avoid donating to fake charities, be sure to check your countries charity status resources, and exercise caution when donating to personal fundraiser pages.
Fake Donations: In order to obtain personal and banking information from victims, fake donation scams involve the victim receiving an email from a fake account with either a receipt or a thank you for a donation which was supposedly made by the victim. When the victim proceeds to dispute the donation through either a link in the email or a phone line provided by the scammer, they are asked for personal details to 'verify' their account information, which is then stolen and used to extract money from the victim's accounts.
Human trafficking is the exploitation of a person through abuse of power, the use of force, coercion, abduction, or deception for profit, monetary, material, or otherwise of the exploiter. There are a number of ways in which a perpetrator can engage in human trafficking; through threat, force, coercion, deception, abduction, fraud, or abuse - and in the form it takes such as transporting, holding, receiving, concealing, or harbouring an individual. Traffickers exploit individuals through preying on the vulnerabilities of an individual, and exercising force, threat, or control over the victim. They may offer a way out of a bad situation, promising if the victim performs certain acts they will provide food, shelter, or money, before further exploiting the victim. Traffickers gain insight into their victims through their social media activity and may approach their victims offline after gathering information. Trafficking laws differ by country, so it is important to familiarise yourself with your local legislation.
If you believe an individual or group are engaging in trafficking activity, use the Flag It feature on posts, profiles, messages, or groups to alert Unaeon to the activity and our team will investigate. Refrain from posting or sharing personal information such as locations and always use discretion when sharing information that may enable someone to access these details.
See below to learn more about the various types of human trafficking users should be aware of:
One of the most prominent forms of human trafficking is the sexual exploitation of victims. This involves, buying and selling sexual services from an exploited individual, and may happen even if the person does not know they are being exploited- such as through selling personal images or videos for profit. The online space has provided a new environment for traffickers to further exploit victims sexually by setting up websites where the victim sells their own sexual services while under force or coercion.
Labour exploitation is another one of the most prominent forms of human trafficking, and comes in a variety of environments; manufacturing, construction, hospitality, car washes, and nail salons, are common businesses which use forced labour. The work in these environments is done under the threat of force or violence, with little to no compensation given to the victims. Traffickers employ a variety of strategies to ensure forced labour including retaining the victim's identity documents, threatening to contact immigration authorities, threats of violence, and requiring a large percentage of earnings to provide a service in return for their work.
While trafficking often involves exploiting a victim physically, emotional exploitation has become a thriving industry, through the means of threat and coercion to commit criminal acts for the exploiter. This can be in the form of drug trafficking, pickpocketing, selling counterfeit items, or bag-snatching. Traffickers who operate through forced criminality often target young children who are vulnerable and unaware that many of the acts they will commit are criminal, which then grooms them for more exploitive actions later in life. However, it is important to note that anyone can become victim to forced criminality, but it is more likely for exploiters to look for more vulnerable individuals.
Discrimination is the prejudiced treatment of a group of people based on traits they share, such as but not limited to gender, race, or sexual orientation. Those who engage in discrimination aim to put down and harm the targets of their actions through actions that are hateful, demoralising, isolating, and often violent, with the belief that their group is superior to or above the targeted group.
If you are experiencing discrimination on Unaeon, use the Flag It feature on the post, profile, message, or group which is perpetuating the behaviour to alert our team to the activity. Be mindful of your own biases when interacting with others, and refrain from using harmful or derogatory language. Unaeon is a supportive social network, which requires its users to engage with compassion and empathy.
See below to learn more about the various types of discrimination users should be aware of:
Racism is the discrimination and prejudice towards a particular minority group based on their racial or ethnic membership. On social media, this may come in the form of derogatory comments on posts, messages between users, or hateful themes in groups. The goal of racism varies, but at its core it aims to demean and harm racialised groups, and to push the belief of otherness. Acts of racism may make the targets feel unwelcome, demoralised, anxious, and unsafe due to their race. While many forms of racism are overt in means such as racist speech or harassment, more covert forms such as censorship, prohibiting the spread of information from a group or person, and microaggressions, using outdated and offensive stereotypes, are just as impactful and harmful to those they are directed to.
Misogyny is the targeted discrimination and prejudice towards women. In online spaces, this primarily comes in the form of censoring women's opinions or through derogatory comments related to the target's femininity or perceived lack thereof. Perpetrators of misogyny have a hatred of women and often subjects which are closely related to women and engage in actions which aim to silence or exploit their targets. Misogyny on social media has a wide range of actions, coming in the forms of either hateful, discriminatory comments, or as extreme as revenge porn and cyber-stalking, all of which are incredibly detrimental to women and the specific targets.
This form of discrimination focuses on the negative attitudes and beliefs related to an individual's sexuality or gender identity. Perpetrators often comment threats, hate, or religious passages towards gay and transgender individuals to incite hate and violence on their profiles, along with spreading personal beliefs to those who do not align with their beliefs. Those who engage in homophobia often do so by using slurs, religious passages, and anecdotes to make the victim feel uncomfortable and unsafe in their online environment.
Bullying and harassment are both topics which have taken on a new meaning and form in the online space. The anonymity offered by the internet allows for perpetrators to target individuals without face-to-face confrontation, and in many cases without revealing their own identity at all, making it easier to share harmful material. The effects of bullying and harassment are profound, with the sense of safety, security, and community impacted severely by the actions. The freedom of expression of the individual is also threatened under the belief that what they say may make a situation worse.
If you believe an individual or group are engaging in cyberbullying or harassment, use the Flag It feature on posts, profiles, messages, or groups to alert Unaeon to the activity and our team will investigate. Ensure you are contributing positively to the community on Unaeon and treating users with the respect and compassion everyone deserves.
See below to learn more about the different forms cyberbullying users should be aware of:
Hate speech has no rigid definition, rather it adapts to the environment in which it is happening. In the online space, hate speech involves targeting a victim's identity, whether that be gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or ethnicity, to promote violence based on these attributes. Being on the receiving end of hate speech can be incredibly distressing and is often precursor to more emotionally violent actions such as threats and doxing.
Threats are a particularly distressing kind of harassment and bullying frequently experienced online. Types of threats can include threats of exposure, doxing, physical and sexual violence, or death threats, all of which pose a significant potential of harm to the individual who is being targeted. An individual who is on the receiving end of threats will often feel unsafe, harassed, or isolated due to the attack.
Doxing is the act of publishing private personal information about an individual online, including names, addresses, and birthdates. This is done maliciously by the perpetrator without the consent of the victim and poses serious safety threats to the victim both online and in-person. Doxing can enable larger audiences to engage in harmful behaviour such as harassment and threats, amplifying the harm done to the victim and potentially misusing local authorities' resources in extreme cases such as swatting.
While many forms of cyberbullying and harassment are directed from individuals using their own platforms to target others, online impersonation involves the perpetrator creating an account using the likeness of the victim and posting disparaging, hateful, and threatening content. These comments, photos, and opinions are wrongfully attributed to the victim, and have far-reaching consequences both in the online space and in everyday life.
Many forms of cyberbullying are perpetrated by an individual, however dogpiling is perpetrated by a group. Dogpiling involves targeting a specific individual and utilizing any type of harassment (hate speech, threats, doxing) repeatedly to overwhelm the victim. A single person may employ a group of individuals to commit the act, or a group may be wholly responsible.
There are several types of misinformation which each operate in distinct and unique ways to reach a specific goal, however the overall intent remains the same; to spread false, harmful information with the intent of making it seem legitimate. The critical aspect of misinformation is how easily it can be shared, and further misconstrued to larger audiences, creating a well of information that is not rooted in fact.
If you believe an individual or group are spreading or promoting misinformation, use the Flag It feature on posts, profiles, messages, or groups to alert Unaeon to the activity and our team will investigate. Ensure you are using discretion while consuming content and fact-check any information you feel may not be accurate or true.
See below to learn more about the different forms of misinformation users should be aware of:
Fabricated content is misinformation at its purest form: completely made up content with the goal of spreading false information. This is often formed through popular topics, presented as a recent or breaking update, and uses emotionally provocative terminology to draw audiences into the media.
This form of misinformation is often the most difficult to spot, wherein verifiably true and accurate information is taken from authentic sources, and the context is changed to skew the understanding and comprehension of an image, situation, or person. To mitigate these effects, it is important to consult the primary sources of information to verify the context has not been altered.
Imposter content works on the belief that the information being presented is from a trusted, reliable source such as a news organization, company, or public figure. This mainly comes in the form of creating accounts using the names and monikers of the trusted figure and spreading disinformation maliciously. The goal is primarily to present disinformation as authentic through trusted channels.
While most forms of misinformation are performed with the motivation to cause harm to audiences, satire and parody operate under the belief that an audience understands the content is not true and is not made to misinform. However, if the audience is not educated or familiar with the content, there is opportunity for misunderstanding and therefore the spread of misinformation.
While not a specific type of misinformation, propaganda often relies heavily on the spread of misinformation to push certain values and attitudes to an audience. Ensuring you consume information from sources you trust, can verify, and have a history of prosocial posting behaviours can help shield yourself from propaganda.
If you are concerned about the safety of yourself or any of our users please use the in-app Flag It feature or contact us at: support@unaeon.com.