Community Guidelines

What belongs on Surf, and what does not.

Room to express yourself

Surf is a place for open, honest expression. Share your ideas, your work, your humor, and your point of view, including perspectives that others may not share. The best conversations leave room for disagreement.

We keep a light touch. These rules are not about policing opinions or taste. They exist for the point where expression starts causing real harm to other people.

Respect others

Disagree with ideas, not people. A conversation can be passionate without being cruel.

Targeted harassment, bullying, and hate speech have no place on Surf. This includes content that attacks individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

No targeted harassment, bullying, or coordinated abuse campaigns
No hate speech, slurs, or discrimination of any kind
No threats of violence, physical harm, or intimidation
No doxxing, swatting, or sharing private information without consent
No encouraging or inciting others to engage in any of the above

Be authentic

Be yourself. The rules below cover what happens when someone is not.

Do not impersonate others, operate bot networks, use automated tools to inflate engagement, or engage in coordinated inauthentic behavior. Parody and fan accounts must be clearly and prominently labeled as such.

No impersonation of real people, organizations, or government entities
No bot networks, automated manipulation, or fake engagement
No coordinated inauthentic behavior or astroturfing
No government-backed or state-affiliated influence operations or coordinated manipulation
No artificially inflating followers, likes, replies, or other metrics
Parody and fan accounts must be clearly labeled in display name and bio

Keep it safe

Do not post content that puts other people in danger, physically, emotionally, or financially.

Do not share content that promotes self-harm, glorifies violence, facilitates illegal activity, or exploits vulnerable individuals. If you or someone you know is in danger, contact local emergency services immediately. In the U.S., you can reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

No content promoting, glorifying, or providing instructions for self-harm or suicide
No content glorifying, inciting, or threatening violence against any individual or group
No content facilitating or promoting illegal activity, including drug trafficking, weapons sales, or human trafficking
No sexual exploitation of minors, zero tolerance, immediate permanent ban, and referral to NCMEC and law enforcement
No scams, fraud, phishing, pyramid schemes, or deceptive financial schemes
No sale of regulated goods or services without proper authorization

Respect intellectual property

Share what you have the right to share, and credit the people you borrow from.

Do not post content that infringes copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights. Surf operates a notice-and-takedown process under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and terminates repeat infringers. Send notices to the designated agent named in our Terms.

Only share content you own or have explicit permission to share
Credit original creators and sources
Respond to DMCA and copyright takedown notices
Do not circumvent technological protection measures or digital rights management
Repeat copyright infringers will have their accounts permanently terminated

Content standards

Surf supports free expression within the bounds of the law. If something is sensitive, add a content warning so other people can choose.

Certain types of content are always prohibited, regardless of context, intent, or artistic merit.

Use content warnings for sensitive, graphic, or potentially distressing material
No non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), zero tolerance
No content sexualizing minors in any form, including illustrations or generated content, zero tolerance
No spam, excessive self-promotion, or engagement manipulation
Disclose paid partnerships in the post itself. If you were paid, gifted, or comped for it, say so clearly. Surf does not add a label for you
No misleading health claims, dangerous medical misinformation, or promotion of unproven treatments
No intentional distribution of false information designed to cause public harm
No content designed to deceive through deepfakes or synthetic media without clear labeling

Reporting and non-consensual content

If you see something that breaks these Guidelines or the law, report it. In-product reporting routes it to our moderation team, and you can also use the report form on this site. Reporting is confidential: the account you report is never told who reported it.

We act fastest on the most serious harms. Consistent with the TAKE IT DOWN Act, if you are depicted in an intimate image shared without your consent, including AI-generated imagery, you can request removal and we will remove valid reports within 48 hours.

Report content in-app, or use the report form on this site for safety, copyright, privacy, and appeals
Non-consensual intimate imagery: valid reports are removed within 48 hours
Child sexual abuse or exploitation (CSAE): report through the report form, preserved and referred to NCMEC and law enforcement
Credible threats or imminent danger: contact local emergency services first, then report to us
We may preserve content and account data when required by law or to assist a lawful investigation

Platform integrity

Do not attempt to compromise the security, integrity, or availability of the Platform. This includes technical attacks, exploitation of vulnerabilities, and abuse of Platform features.

No unauthorized access to accounts, systems, or non-public data
No exploitation of bugs or vulnerabilities (report them to contact@surfplatforms.com)
No distribution of malware, viruses, or other harmful software through the Platform
No scraping, crawling, or automated data collection without express written permission
No circumvention of rate limits, access controls, or other security measures

Enforcement

These Guidelines describe the kinds of behavior that are and aren't allowed, but the examples here are not exhaustive. Violations are assessed on a case-by-case basis and handled proportionally. Surf Platforms Inc. interprets and enforces these Guidelines and decides what constitutes a violation and the appropriate action, consistent with applicable law.

In serious cases, conduct that happens off Surf, such as credible real-world threats, coordinated abuse organized elsewhere, or membership in a violent organization, can affect your standing on Surf. Attempting to evade enforcement (for example, by creating new accounts after a ban) is itself a violation.

When we take action on your content or account, you get a notification naming the rule it broke, and, where appropriate and lawful, a way to appeal.

First offense: a warning or content removal, depending on severity
Repeat violations: a temporary suspension that gets longer each time
Severe violations: a permanent ban, with no prior warning
Zero tolerance for CSAM, non-consensual intimate imagery and credible threats: permanent ban, content preserved, and referral to the authorities
Ban evasion: the new accounts go too, and the original penalty gets longer
Every action names the specific rule it broke
Appeal from the notification about the action, or from the screen you see if your account is locked
Surf cooperates with valid legal process and may report illegal activity to the appropriate authorities

We enforce these Guidelines. Space owners and moderators additionally set and enforce rules inside their own Spaces. Violations may result in content removal, account suspension, or a permanent ban depending on severity and history, and we cooperate with valid legal process.

By using Surf, you agree to abide by these Community Guidelines in their entirety. They supplement, and do not replace, the Terms of Service and End User License Agreement.

Last updated July 2026.