Child Safety Standards

01 Our commitment

Scout has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation. We do not permit it on our platform in any form, and we will act on every report we receive.

We are a small team, and we would rather be direct about what that means than imply a scale of operation we do not have: every report reaches a human on the Scout team, and we treat child safety reports as the highest priority we handle, ahead of all other moderation work.

02 What is prohibited

The following are banned on Scout and will result in immediate removal of the content and permanent termination of the account:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in any form — images, video, audio, text, or links to it.
• Sexualisation of minors, including content that presents a minor in a sexualised manner, whether real, animated or computer-generated.
• Grooming — any attempt by an adult to build a relationship with a minor for sexual purposes, including through comments or off-platform contact arranged on Scout.
• Sextortion — threatening to share intimate imagery of a minor.
• Trafficking or solicitation of a minor for any exploitative purpose.
• Endangerment — encouraging a minor to take part in dangerous acts, or content that puts a minor at risk of harm.

These rules apply regardless of intent, framing, or whether the content is presented as humour, fiction or performance.

03 How to report a concern

In the app

Any video or account on Scout can be reported without leaving the app:

1. Open the video or the profile you want to report.
2. Tap the … menu.
3. Tap Report and choose a reason.

Reports are anonymous to the person being reported. You do not need to have been directly affected to report something.

By email

You can report a child safety concern directly, whether or not you have a Scout account, at hello@scout.frl. Please include a link to the content or the username if you can. Do not attach or forward suspected CSAM — a link or username is enough, and sharing the material further may itself be unlawful.

To the authorities directly

You may always report to law enforcement or a hotline without contacting us first, and we encourage it:

• United Kingdom — Internet Watch Foundation, or the police on 999 in an emergency and 101 otherwise.
• United States — NCMEC CyberTipline.
• Elsewhere — INHOPE lists national reporting hotlines.

04 How we respond

When we receive a report of suspected child sexual abuse or exploitation:

• We review it as our highest priority, ahead of all other reports.
• We remove content that breaches these standards and permanently terminate the accounts responsible.
• We preserve the relevant records where we are required or permitted to do so, so that they are available to law enforcement.
• We do not reinstate accounts terminated for CSAE.

We aim to action reports of illegal content within 24 hours of receipt, as stated in our Terms of Service.

05 Legal compliance and reporting

We comply with the child safety laws that apply to us, including the UK Online Safety Act 2023, and we cooperate with valid requests from law enforcement.

Where we identify apparent child sexual abuse material, we report it to the appropriate authority in the relevant jurisdiction — in the United Kingdom the National Crime Agency or the Internet Watch Foundation, and to the NCMEC CyberTipline where the applicable law requires it.

06 Age requirements

Scout is rated for users aged 13 and over, and our Terms of Service require users to meet that minimum age. Accounts we identify as belonging to someone under 13 are removed.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. See our Privacy Policy for what we collect and why.

07 Contact

Our designated point of contact for child safety, including questions from regulators, law enforcement and platform partners: