Content Guidelines

Our Community Values

YourStream is a community-first video platform built on the principles of creative freedom, mutual respect, and fair treatment for every creator and viewer. We believe that the best content thrives in an environment where people feel safe, respected, and empowered to express themselves authentically.

These Content Guidelines exist to protect our community while preserving the creative freedom that makes YourStream unique. They apply to all content on the platform, including videos, thumbnails, titles, descriptions, comments, profile information, live streams, and direct messages.

Every person who uses YourStream -- whether as a creator, viewer, or commenter -- is expected to follow these guidelines. Violations may result in content removal, account restrictions, or permanent suspension depending on severity and frequency.

Prohibited Content

The following categories of content are not permitted on YourStream. This list is not exhaustive; we reserve the right to remove any content that we determine to be harmful to our community, even if it does not fall neatly into one of the categories below.

Violence and Graphic Content

Content that depicts, promotes, or glorifies real-world violence is prohibited. This includes footage of physical assaults, animal cruelty, graphic injuries, or content designed to shock or disturb viewers through extreme imagery. Documentaries, news coverage, and educational content that include violent imagery for legitimate informational purposes may be permitted with appropriate context and content warnings, but must not sensationalize the violence.

Hate Speech and Harassment

YourStream has zero tolerance for content that promotes hatred, discrimination, or violence against individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran status. This prohibition extends to slurs, dehumanizing language, calls for exclusion or segregation, and content that denies well-documented historical atrocities. Harassment -- including targeted abuse, doxxing, coordinated campaigns against individuals, threats, stalking behavior, and repeated unwanted contact -- is strictly forbidden.

Sexual Content and Nudity

Pornographic material, explicit sexual content, and gratuitous nudity are not permitted. Content that sexualizes minors in any way will be immediately removed, reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and relevant law enforcement agencies, and the uploading account will be permanently banned without appeal. Educational and artistic content that includes non-sexual nudity (such as medical instruction, fine art analysis, or breastfeeding guidance) may be permitted with appropriate context.

Dangerous and Harmful Activities

Content that instructs viewers on how to perform dangerous activities, encourages self-harm, promotes eating disorders, or demonstrates the manufacture of weapons or controlled substances is prohibited. This includes challenges and pranks that pose a genuine risk of physical harm, content promoting miracle cures or dangerous medical misinformation, and tutorials for bypassing safety mechanisms on products or infrastructure. Suicide prevention and mental health awareness content created by qualified organizations is permitted and encouraged.

Spam and Misleading Content

Content created primarily to deceive, manipulate, or defraud viewers is not allowed. This includes clickbait titles and thumbnails that fundamentally misrepresent the video content, artificially inflated engagement through bots or purchased views, scam promotions and fraudulent schemes, repetitive or mass-posted content designed to manipulate search results, and impersonation of other creators or public figures. Deepfakes and synthetic media that could reasonably be mistaken for authentic footage must be clearly labeled as such.

Copyright Infringement

Uploading content that you do not own or have proper authorization to distribute is prohibited. This includes full re-uploads of other creators' videos, pirated movies, television episodes, music recordings, and any other copyrighted material used without permission. Fair use and fair dealing provisions may apply in certain jurisdictions for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, education, and parody, but creators are responsible for understanding and correctly applying these legal doctrines. Repeated copyright violations will result in account termination in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Illegal Activities

Content that facilitates, promotes, or instructs viewers in illegal activities is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to the sale of controlled substances, human trafficking, money laundering, fraud, hacking tutorials targeting specific systems without authorization, and content that violates trade sanctions or export control regulations. We cooperate with law enforcement agencies and will report illegal content and associated account information when required by law or when we believe there is an imminent threat to safety.

Creator Responsibilities

As a creator on YourStream, you are the first line of defense for community safety. You are responsible for all content you upload, including the behavior in your comment sections and live streams. We expect creators to uphold the following standards:

• Accurate representation. Titles, thumbnails, and descriptions must accurately reflect the content of your videos. Do not use misleading metadata to attract views.
• Content warnings. If your content includes material that some viewers may find disturbing -- such as discussions of violence, trauma, or sensitive political topics -- include an appropriate content warning at the beginning of the video and in the description.
• Audience appropriateness. Mark content accurately for age-appropriateness. Content directed at children must comply with all applicable child safety regulations, including COPPA.
• Disclosure of sponsorships. All paid promotions, sponsorships, product placements, and affiliate links must be clearly disclosed in accordance with FTC guidelines and applicable local regulations.
• Comment moderation. Creators are encouraged to actively moderate their comment sections and use the available moderation tools to remove content that violates these guidelines.
• Respect for privacy. Do not share personal information about others without their explicit consent, including addresses, phone numbers, financial information, or private correspondence.

Comment and Community Guidelines

Comments are a vital part of the YourStream experience. They allow viewers to engage with creators and each other, share perspectives, and build community. To keep comment sections constructive and welcoming, the following rules apply to all comments, replies, and community posts:

• Be respectful. Disagree with ideas, not people. Personal attacks, name-calling, and insults are not acceptable regardless of the topic being discussed.
• Stay on topic. While casual conversation is welcome, spam comments, excessive self-promotion, and comments designed solely to provoke negative reactions (trolling) will be removed.
• Do not post harmful links. Comments containing phishing links, malware, or links to illegal content will result in immediate account action.
• Respect creator boundaries. If a creator asks you to stop a particular behavior in their comment section, comply with their request. Creators have the right to set the tone of their community spaces.
• No brigading. Coordinated efforts to flood a creator's comment section with negative comments, mass-report their content, or otherwise harass them through organized action are prohibited and will be treated as harassment.

Reporting Violations

If you encounter content that violates these guidelines, we encourage you to report it promptly. Your reports help us maintain a safe and welcoming platform for everyone. You can report content in the following ways:

• In-app reporting. Use the three-dot menu on any video, comment, or profile to select "Report." Choose the category that best describes the violation and provide additional context if possible.
• Email reports. For issues that require detailed explanation or supporting evidence, email us at support@yourstream.app with the subject line "Content Report" and include the URL of the content in question.
• Emergency reports. If you believe someone is in immediate physical danger, contact your local emergency services first. Then report the content to us so we can take platform action.

All reports are reviewed by our Trust & Safety team. We do not reveal the identity of reporters to the person being reported. Submitting false or malicious reports to harass other users is itself a violation of these guidelines and may result in action against your account.

Enforcement and Consequences

We take a graduated approach to enforcement, with consequences proportional to the severity and frequency of violations. Our goal is to educate and correct behavior whenever possible, while protecting the community from serious harm.

• Content removal. Individual pieces of content that violate these guidelines will be removed. The creator will receive a notification explaining which guideline was violated and why the content was removed.
• Formal warning. For first-time or minor violations, a formal warning will be issued to the account. Warnings remain on your account record permanently but do not directly restrict functionality.
• Temporary suspension. Repeated violations or a single serious violation may result in a temporary suspension of uploading, commenting, or live streaming privileges. Suspension durations range from 24 hours to 30 days depending on the circumstances.
• Feature restrictions. Accounts with a history of violations may have specific features restricted, such as the ability to monetize content, post comments, or appear in search results and recommendations.
• Permanent ban. Accounts that engage in severe violations (such as content that sexualizes minors, credible threats of violence, or terrorism-related content) or that accumulate a pattern of repeated violations will be permanently banned. Banned users may not create new accounts; circumventing a ban is itself grounds for immediate re-banning.

In all enforcement actions, we strive to be transparent about our reasoning. Enforcement decisions are made by trained members of our Trust & Safety team using standardized criteria, not by automated systems alone.

Appeals Process

We recognize that content moderation is not a perfect science, and we are committed to correcting our mistakes. If you believe your content was removed or your account was actioned in error, you have the right to appeal.

• Appeals must be submitted within 30 days of the enforcement action by replying to the notification email or by emailing support@yourstream.app with the subject line "Appeal."
• In your appeal, clearly explain why you believe the action was incorrect and provide any relevant context or evidence that the reviewing team may not have considered.
• Appeals are reviewed by a different member of the Trust & Safety team than the person who made the original decision, ensuring an independent second review.
• You will receive a response to your appeal within 10 business days. If the appeal is successful, your content will be restored and any associated strikes will be removed from your account.
• Each enforcement action may be appealed once. The decision on appeal is final.

AI Content Moderation

YourStream uses artificial intelligence systems to assist in content moderation at scale. When you upload a video, it is automatically scanned by our AI safety systems, which analyze visual content, audio, and metadata for potential guideline violations. This automated review helps us identify and address harmful content quickly, often before it reaches viewers.

Our AI moderation systems are designed to flag content for human review rather than to make final decisions autonomously. When AI detects a potential violation, the content is queued for review by a member of our Trust & Safety team, who makes the final determination. This human-in-the-loop approach ensures that context, nuance, and creative intent are considered in every moderation decision.

We continuously improve our AI systems to reduce false positives and ensure they do not disproportionately affect particular types of content or communities. If you believe your content was incorrectly flagged by our automated systems, you may appeal through the standard appeals process described above.

Updates to These Guidelines

We periodically update these Content Guidelines to address new challenges, reflect changes in law or industry standards, and respond to community feedback. When we make significant changes, we will notify users through a platform-wide announcement and provide a summary of the key changes. Minor clarifications and formatting updates may be made without advance notice.

We encourage all users to review these guidelines periodically. Your continued use of YourStream after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the updated guidelines. Previous versions of these guidelines are available upon request by contacting our support team.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Content Guidelines, need to report a violation, or want to provide feedback on our policies, please contact us at support@yourstream.app. Our Trust & Safety team reviews all inquiries and aims to respond within 48 hours during business days.