Community Guidelines

Last updated: [DATE]

SpotOn exists to make the gym a friendlier place — somewhere you can find a training partner, a class buddy, or a new friend without it being weird. These guidelines describe the kind of behaviour we expect, and the kind that gets you removed.

By using SpotOn, you agree to follow these guidelines. If you break them — even once, in some cases — your account may be suspended or permanently removed.

The short version

• Be kind. Talk to people the way you'd want to be talked to at the rack.
• Respect "no". "No thanks" means stop. Don't argue, plead, or try again.
• Don't send unsolicited sexual content. This is a gym app, not a dating app.
• Don't photograph anyone without their clear consent. Especially not in changing rooms.
• No bullying, harassment, hate, or threats. Zero tolerance.
• Be yourself. Real photos, real name, real gym.

What's allowed

• Introducing yourself with a short, polite message.
• Asking someone to train together, share a class, or grab a coffee.
• Suggesting you meet by the rack, the squat racks, the studio — somewhere public.
• Saying "no thanks" to anyone for any reason.
• Blocking or reporting anyone who makes you uncomfortable. We won't tell them you did it.

What's not allowed

Harassment

• Sending repeated messages after someone hasn't replied or has said no.
• Following someone around the gym after they've told you to stop.
• Comments about someone's body, appearance, or clothing that are unwelcome.
• Calling someone names, mocking them, or spreading rumours about them.

Sexual misconduct

• Sending sexual messages, images, or innuendo to anyone who hasn't explicitly invited that conversation.
• Pressuring anyone for sex, photos, dates, or contact details outside the app.
• Asking about someone's body, sex life, or relationship status when it isn't relevant.
• Photographing or filming anyone in a changing room, shower, or any private area. Ever.
• Photographing or filming anyone — anywhere — without their clear, contemporaneous consent.

Bullying, hate, and threats

• Mocking, demeaning, or attacking anyone for who they are or how they look.
• Hate speech or harassment based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, body size, or any other protected characteristic.
• Threats of violence, physical harm, or self-harm — to anyone, including yourself.
• "Doxxing" — sharing or threatening to share someone's personal information (home address, workplace, phone number, etc.) without consent.
• Encouraging others to harass someone.

Impersonation and deception

• Pretending to be someone you're not. Use your real first name and recent photos.
• Pretending to be at a gym you don't actually train at.
• Using someone else's photos as your profile picture.
• Lying about your age. You must be 18 or older to use SpotOn.
• Catfishing, romance scams, or any other deception.

Commercial misuse

• Promoting paid personal-training services or products without our agreement. We may add a verified-trainer programme later; until then, SpotOn isn't a marketplace.
• Recruiting people for MLM/network-marketing schemes.
• Spam — sending the same opening message to many people, or messages with links to external sites.

Illegal activity

• Anything illegal under UK law. We will cooperate with police where required.
• Sharing or requesting CSAM (child sexual abuse material) — instant removal and report to the relevant authorities.
• Drug dealing, weapon sales, doping/performance-enhancing-drug supply.

Off-platform behaviour

If you behave in a way that violates these guidelines towards another SpotOn user — even outside the app — we may still remove your account. Evidence from outside SpotOn (screenshots, police reports, witness statements) will be considered.

How we enforce

When we receive a report, we review it. We weigh the report against the conversation history, any prior reports against the same person, and the severity of what's alleged.

Outcomes range from:

1. A warning — for first, low-severity issues (e.g. a clumsy opening message that read as pushy).
2. A temporary suspension — typically 7 to 30 days, for repeated or moderate breaches.
3. A permanent ban — for severe or repeated breaches. The account is removed and the user's email/phone is blocked from re-registering.

Some breaches skip the ladder. Sexual harassment, threats of violence, hate speech, photographing someone in a changing room, and any contact involving a minor result in immediate permanent removal. No warnings, no second chances.

We can also remove your account at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you've broken these guidelines.

If you've been on the receiving end

You always have these options, in any order:

• Block. They can't see you, message you, or contact you again.
• Report. Tell us what happened. We review every report.
• Leave the chat. Delete the connection. They lose access to your messages.
• Pause your account. You disappear from Discover and from non-connection profile views, but your existing chats keep working.
• Talk to someone. See the Safety Policy for crisis resources.

You don't have to explain why. You don't have to give them a "fair chance." You don't owe them a reply.

If a crime has been committed — including sexual assault, stalking, or hate crime — we strongly encourage you to report it to the police. SpotOn will cooperate fully with any police investigation, including providing relevant account data when properly requested.

A note on women, LGBTQ+ users, and other groups who face disproportionate harassment

Gyms can be unwelcoming. SpotOn was built to make them friendlier — not to add a new vector for harassment. We take reports from users in these groups seriously and weight them carefully. We will not tolerate the "she's overreacting" framing, the "I was only joking" defence, or the "I didn't know it was offensive" excuse. If your behaviour made someone feel unsafe, that's enough.

Reporting concerns about these guidelines

If you think a guideline is unclear, unfair, or missing something important, tell us at safety@spoton.app. We'll read it.

These guidelines may evolve as the community grows. We'll notify users of meaningful changes via the app.