Our Commitment to Safety
The Meet Group is committed to leading in mobile and online safety. Nothing is more important to us than protecting the safety of our members. We have committed ourselves to high standards, adopted industry-leading practices, and vowed to constantly improve with the best-in-class safety updates for the app.
The Meet Group has implemented industry-first safety practices and product enhancements:
- Launched the most prominent Report Abuse button seen in any major livestreaming app
- Shared full-screen reminders of content standards to streamers before they go live
- Increased moderation staffing to 52% of global workforce
- Joined the board of the Online Dating Association to support industry safety and best practices
- Participated in an Online Safety panel with top social app companies and industry experts in safety and online standards
- Announced and enforced a transparent Content and Conduct Policy
Safety News and Updates
2021 Live Streaming Transparency Report
The Meet Group releases its first livestreaming transparency report covering January – December 2021.
Moderating Livestreaming Video in a Privacy-Friendly Way
The Meet Group CEO writes about three innovations to improve livestreaming video moderation.
Groundbreaking Actions at Improving Livestreaming Moderation
The Meet Group and Spectrum Labs Announce Groundbreaking Safety Actions Aimed at Improving Livestreaming Moderation.
Project Artemis: Fighting Child Predators
Project Artemis uses a database of common textual patterns, an age detection engine and custom detection methods to help identify child predators and prevent exploitation.
Advice for Safe Online Dating
Catherine Connelly discusses advice for safe online dating with ConnectSafely for Safer Internet Day.
Making Dating Safer with iOS DeviceCheck
The Meet Group implemented iOS DeviceCheck primarily to prevent bad actors from returning to our mobile applications after our moderation team removes their accounts due to spam, scam, or other abuse signals in their behavior.
Collaborating Our Way to Safer Dating
The Meet Group collaborates actively with industry partners, peers, NGOs, and law enforcement. The company takes a hands-on approach to user safety and speaks on the topic all over the world.
A Commitment to Safer Dating
The Meet Group CEO Geoff Cook shares steps we’ve taken to improve safety in 2019 and our roadmap for 2020.
The Meet Group CEO Joins Safety Panel
Listen to our CEO, Geoff Cook participate in a safety panel alongside Sr. Counsel at The Match Group (Tinder, Match.com, etc.) and the CEO of Spark Networks (Zoosk, Jdate, etc.). Hear The Match Group and other leaders in safety like the Family Online Safety Institute and ConnectSafely.org comment on The Meet Group’s practices.
The Meet Group’s Safer Dating Advisory Board Webinar
The Meet Group’s newly-founded Safer Dating Advisory Board and CEO, Geoff Cook, takes part in the Dare to Date: Dating in a Time of Pandemic Webinar, focused on safe dating in the age of COVID-19. Listen below or watch the webinar.
The Meet Group’s Safety Tools
Highest Content Moderation Standards
We maintain the highest content moderation standards, proactively removing bad actors and content. Read more about our Content and Conduct Policy.
Safety Education Pledge Requirement
Our 3-step Safety Pledge process prohibits app usage until members agree to our safety guidelines. The pledge is prominently displayed on all of our apps.
All Live Broadcasts Monitored Proactively
We use human and algorithmic tools to monitor all live broadcasts proactively for content that goes against our high content moderation standards.
Majority of Workforce Dedicated to User Safety
Our safety and moderation team comprises over 350 people — more than half of our total workforce.
Prominent Abuse Reporting and Escalating Strikes System
We launched the most prominent Report Abuse buttons seen in any major livestreaming app, along with an escalating strikes system.
Machine Learning Algorithms Detect Abusive Videos, Photos, and Text
We use industry-leading technology to remove bad content and actors through collaboration with partners like Spectrum Labs and Microsoft and our own internal tools.
The Meet Group’s Safety Policies
We are committed to free expression, and we believe everyone is best served when everyone has a voice. We believe a rich diversity of viewpoints and experiences enriches our entire community. In order to protect the experience and safety of our users, however, there are some limitations on the type of content and behavior that we allow.
In particular, we recognize that abuse can happen, and it can happen to some groups disproportionately, especially when based on sex, sexuality, color, or targeted at marginalized or historically underrepresented groups. We are committed to combating abusive conduct, particularly when motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance and abuse that seeks to silence the voices of those who have been historically marginalized.
350 people — more than half our workforce — are dedicated to user safety & moderation
80 million images are reviewed per day through a combination of machine learning algorithms and human review
About 1% of daily active users violate the Code of Conduct, resulting in thousands of profiles taken down each day
Thousands of comments are declined in real-time before any one sees the comment
Most Common Ban / Content Removal Reasons
- Driving
- Sexual Content
- Hate Speech, Harassment, or Violence
- Alcohol / Drugs
- Minors
- Spam
To learn more, please view our full Content and Conduct Policy.
Safer Dating Advisory Board
The Meet Group is committed to providing products and platforms that help daters safely spark conversation and form connections, while creating a dialogue around the most practical and safe ways to date in these uncertain times. The Safer Dating Advisory Board was founded with the goal to offer scientifically grounded tips to help those looking to form relationships.
Dr. Tali Elfassy, Ph.D.
Dr. Tali Elfassy is an epidemiologist and public health expert. She currently holds an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Her program of research is focused on cardiovascular disease, social determinants of health, and more specifically, minority health disparities.
Dr. Melissa Sharp, Ph.D.
Dr. Melissa Sharp is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Her work focuses on clinical guidelines and “research on research” which aims to reduce wasteful research. She has worked across a wide variety of clinical areas including sexual health, mental health, cardiovascular disease, aging research, and meta-research.
Dr. Anu Hazra, M.D.
Dr. Aniruddha (Anu) Hazra is an Assistant Professor in the Section of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at the University of Chicago and the Director of STI Services at the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination. His research and clinical interests center around sexually transmitted infections and their impact on gender and sexual minorities.
Tips for Dating Safely
COVID-19 Update: It has NEVER been more important that you follow all government warnings/protocols. If you are under an order to stop all non-essential movement outside the home, please do so. Dating is not essential. There are many ways to date virtually and safely on our apps through Live, NextDate, or 1:1 video.
One meeting per second1 happens on The Meet Group’s apps. Here is what we ask app members to pledge to help keep users safe.
Virus Safety
Our Safer Dating Advisory board of epidemiologists and infectious disease experts has provided these important tips to reduce the risk of contagion while dating.
Don’t Share Personal Info
Never share personal information, such as your social security number, home address, or details about your daily routine.
Don’t Send Money
Never send money, even if the person claims to be in an emergency. If another member asks you for money, report it to us immediately.
1Meeting per second based on user survey data.
Partners
The Meet Group recognizes that to achieve our vision of meeting the universal need for human connection, we must collaborate on safety practices, moderation, and education across our apps. To further our commitment to continuous improvement, we are willing to work with competitors and other industry members in an effort to develop new safety tools and technologies designed to protect and safeguard our communities.
The Meet Group collaborates with industry leaders to stay one step ahead of bad actors and to address common challenges such as user verification, age estimation, and textual analysis. The Meet Group also shares best practices and collaborates actively with other safety-focused organizations.
“We are proud of the leadership demonstrated by The Meet Group in contributing to the development of common standards for safer, more inclusive online environments, and for pledging to uphold these best practices as a force multiplier for growth and good.”
Erica DeLorenzo, Managing Director of Oasis Consortium
“The Meet Group has integrated safety into the design of their operations, making their platforms and applications safer for children. Because of that, we are thrilled to have The Meet Group join our network of 400 partners across the world.”
Dr. Howard Taylor, Executive Director of The UN Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children
“We view The Meet Group as one of the leaders in the space, investing millions of dollars annually to keep its users safe.”
George Kidd, CEO of the Online Dating Association
“We commend The Meet Group’s proactive approach to sharing best practices with other leaders in the space, and focusing on the wellbeing of users.”
Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute
“We recognize The Meet Group for their continued commitment to improving user safety on their apps and for providing industry leading safety practices.”
Mark Brooks, President of the Internet Dating Excellence Association
“The Meet Group … take[s] the task of identifying registered sexual offenders to keep them off their platforms very seriously.”
Glenn Frankel, President of Family Watchdog
“The Meet Group’s innovative contributions with the recently announced Project Artemis with Microsoft demonstrate its firm commitment to enhancing online safety. We are excited to welcome The Meet Group as the newest member of the WeProtect Global Alliance.”
Ernie Allen, Chairman of WePROTECT
“We’re excited and honored to work with The Meet Group to help keep its users safe in this time of increased online connection, and beyond.”
Justin Davis, Co-Founder and CEO of Spectrum Labs