Community Guidelines

1.Share Kindness

The Tide is a community for sharing, discovering, and inspiring acts of kindness.

We encourage content about:

• helping another person
• helping a stranger
• volunteering
• supporting a friend or neighbor
• giving back to your community
• recognizing someone else's kindness
• helping animals
• improving your neighborhood
• supporting people experiencing difficult circumstances
• environmental stewardship
• generosity
• gratitude
• encouragement
• mentorship
• community service
• everyday moments when someone chose to make another person's day a little better

Kindness does not need to be extraordinary.

Sometimes the smallest acts create the biggest waves.

2.Kindness Should Be Authentic

Share real experiences.

Do not intentionally fabricate acts of kindness to deceive the community.

You may not knowingly:

• claim you performed an act you did not perform
• stage a fake act of kindness and present it as spontaneous
• falsely claim someone received assistance
• use unrelated photographs to represent an event
• falsely attribute an act to another person
• materially alter a story to deceive viewers
• falsely claim affiliation with a charity or organization
• manufacture stories of hardship for attention or financial gain

We understand that memories differ and stories may be told from different perspectives.

These rules address intentional deception — not honest mistakes, storytelling, humor, reenactments that are clearly identified as such, or differences of opinion.

3.Protect the Dignity of the Person You Are Helping

This is one of our most important rules.

Doing something kind does not give you the right to humiliate someone.

People receiving help may be experiencing:

• homelessness
• poverty
• hunger
• illness
• disability
• grief
• unemployment
• addiction
• family problems
• natural disasters
• emergencies
• other difficult circumstances

Treat them as people — not content.

Do not exploit someone’s hardship to generate attention, followers, reactions, recognition, or money.

Before posting, ask yourself:

Would I still consider this kind if I were the person in the photograph?

If the answer is no, don’t post it.

4.Respect People's Privacy

Respect the privacy of the people around you.

Before sharing a photograph or story involving another identifiable person, consider whether they would reasonably expect the information to be made public.

Where appropriate, ask permission.

Do not post another person’s:

• home address
• personal phone number
• private email address
• financial information
• passwords
• government identification
• private medical information
• precise location when disclosure could create a safety risk
• private communications
• other highly sensitive personal information

without appropriate authorization.

5.Respect the People in Your Photos

The Tide celebrates real people doing real things in the real world.

That means photographs may contain people other than the person uploading them.

When posting photographs involving others, you are responsible for having the rights, permissions, or other lawful basis reasonably necessary to share them.

Never use photographs to:

• harass someone
• humiliate someone
• threaten someone
• stalk someone
• exploit someone
• falsely portray someone
• invade someone's privacy
• reveal intimate information
• falsely imply endorsement
• place someone in danger

A person’s appearance in a photograph does not mean that person uses The Tide, approved the post, or endorsed The Tide.

6.Anyone Can Ask Us to Review a Photo of Them

You do not need a Tide account to report a photograph or post involving you.

If you appear in content and believe it violates your privacy, safety, dignity, or legal rights, contact privacy@thetide.xyz.

When possible, include enough information for us to find the content, such as:

• a link
• username
• screenshot
• description of the post
• other identifying information

We may ask for reasonable information to verify that you are the person depicted or are authorized to act for that person.

We will review the circumstances and take action where appropriate.

7.Be Kind in the Comments, Too

Kindness doesn’t stop when the photograph is posted.

Treat other members respectfully.

Healthy disagreement is allowed. Different perspectives are allowed. Criticism is allowed.

Cruelty is not.

Do not:

• bully
• threaten
• intimidate
• repeatedly harass
• sexually harass
• encourage others to target someone
• celebrate serious harm to another person
• deliberately use the Service to make another person's life miserable

You can disagree without dehumanizing another person.

8.No Hate or Dehumanization

The Tide does not permit content that attacks, threatens, or dehumanizes people based on protected characteristics. This may include characteristics such as:

• race
• ethnicity
• national origin
• religion
• sex
• sexual orientation
• gender identity
• disability
• other characteristics protected by applicable law

Discussions about difficult social, cultural, or political subjects may occur, but they must comply with these Guidelines.

9.Protect Children

The safety of children comes first.

Never post, request, distribute, promote, or facilitate:

• child sexual abuse material
• sexualized images of children
• grooming
• sexual exploitation of minors
• trafficking of minors
• instructions for exploiting children
• content that places a child at serious risk

We may remove content, terminate accounts, preserve relevant information, and make reports to appropriate authorities where required or permitted by law.

10.Think Before Posting Children

Acts of kindness often involve families, schools, sports teams, churches, charities, and community events where children may be present.

Take additional care before publicly identifying a child.

Consider whether a post reveals:

• where the child lives
• where the child attends school
• the child's daily routine
• medical information
• family difficulties
• financial hardship
• precise location
• other information that could compromise the child's privacy or safety

Parents and legal guardians may contact us about content involving their children at privacy@thetide.xyz.

11.No Sexual Exploitation or Non-Consensual Intimate Content

Do not post or distribute:

• non-consensual intimate imagery
• secretly recorded sexual content
• sexual extortion
• sexual exploitation
• intimate content shared without permission
• content designed to sexually humiliate another person

This prohibition applies regardless of whether the content was originally created consensually.

12.No Threats or Promotion of Violence

Do not use The Tide to:

• threaten serious physical harm
• encourage violence against another person
• coordinate violent activity
• celebrate or encourage acts of terrorism
• provide credible instructions intended to facilitate violent wrongdoing
• target someone with threats

Content discussing violence for legitimate educational, documentary, news, historical, or awareness purposes may be treated differently depending on context.

13.No Dangerous “Kindness” Challenges

Do not encourage people to perform dangerous acts for engagement, recognition, challenges, rewards, or social-media content.

An act is not made safe simply because it is described as kindness.

Do not encourage people to:

• enter dangerous locations
• interfere with emergency responders
• perform medical procedures they are not qualified to perform
• handle dangerous equipment without appropriate training
• trespass
• violate the law
• intentionally place themselves or others in serious danger

If someone is experiencing an emergency, contact appropriate emergency or professional services.

14.No Scams or Fake Hardship

The generosity of the Tide community must never become an opportunity to exploit people.

Do not:

• fabricate emergencies
• invent illnesses
• create fake hardship stories
• impersonate someone in need
• create fake charities
• misrepresent fundraising purposes
• solicit money through deception
• operate romance scams
• conduct investment scams
• engage in phishing
• steal identities
• manipulate people into giving you money or property through false pretenses

Fraudulent accounts may be permanently removed.

Serious suspected fraud may be reported to appropriate authorities where required or appropriate.

15.Fundraising Must Be Honest

If you ask people to contribute money, goods, services, or other assistance, be truthful about:

• who is requesting assistance
• who will receive it
• why assistance is being requested
• how contributions are intended to be used

Do not claim that a fundraiser benefits a charity, nonprofit, individual, family, or organization without authorization.

The Tide may request additional information regarding fundraising activity and may restrict or remove suspicious solicitations.

16.Don't Pressure People to Participate

Acts of kindness should be voluntary.

Do not pressure someone to:

• accept assistance
• appear in a photograph
• participate in a video
• tell their personal story
• create a Tide account
• publicly thank you
• promote your account
• participate in content because you helped them

A gift should not come with a demand for content.

17.Don't Turn Kindness Into Humiliation

Content may be removed when the primary effect appears to be humiliating or exploiting the person receiving assistance.

For example, consider carefully before posting content that unnecessarily emphasizes:

• how poor someone is
• how desperate someone is
• someone's homelessness
• someone's medical condition
• someone's disability
• someone's appearance
• someone's family circumstances
• another deeply personal vulnerability

You can tell a meaningful story without taking away someone’s dignity.

18.Be Yourself

Do not impersonate another real person.

Do not create accounts intended to deceive people about who is operating them.

Do not falsely claim to represent:

• another person
• a charity
• a nonprofit
• a company
• a school
• a church
• a government agency
• a public figure
• another organization

Nicknames, pseudonyms, creative usernames, and community identities may be permitted as long as they are not being used deceptively.

19.No Manipulation of The Tide

Do not artificially manipulate engagement or community participation.

Unless expressly authorized by The Tide, you may not use bots, scripts, automation, fake accounts, coordinated account networks, or other methods to artificially:

• generate reactions
• increase views
• create comments
• increase followers
• promote posts
• manipulate rankings
• generate fake activity
• create the appearance of community support

Authentic kindness deserves authentic recognition.

20.No Spam

Do not use The Tide primarily to distribute:

• repetitive promotional content
• unsolicited advertisements
• mass messages
• deceptive links
• irrelevant commercial solicitations
• affiliate spam
• repetitive comments
• other disruptive content

Businesses and organizations may participate where permitted, but participation should remain consistent with the purpose and rules of The Tide.

21.Respect Intellectual Property

Post content you created or have the right to use.

Do not knowingly upload photographs, videos, music, writing, artwork, trademarks, or other protected material in violation of another person’s intellectual property rights.

If you believe your intellectual property is being infringed on The Tide, contact privacy@thetide.xyz.

We may remove infringing content and take action against repeat infringers.

22.No Illegal Activity

Do not use The Tide to plan, promote, facilitate, solicit, or engage in unlawful activity.

This includes using the Service to facilitate fraud, exploitation, theft, trafficking, unlawful threats, or other criminal conduct.

The Tide may preserve and disclose information when required by valid legal process or where otherwise permitted by applicable law.

23.Graphic and Disturbing Content

Sometimes stories of kindness arise from difficult situations, including accidents, disasters, illness, animal rescue, or emergencies.

Context matters.

We may permit certain sensitive content when it has legitimate documentary, educational, awareness, or community value.

However, gratuitously graphic, shocking, or exploitative content may be removed or restricted.

When possible, tell the story without unnecessarily displaying another person’s suffering.

24.Self-Harm and Crisis Content

We want members experiencing difficult moments to be treated with compassion.

Content encouraging, glorifying, instructing, or pressuring another person to engage in suicide or serious self-harm is prohibited.

Content discussing recovery, seeking help, supporting another person, or raising awareness may be permitted.

If you believe someone is in immediate danger, contact appropriate local emergency services rather than relying solely on The Tide.

25.Commercial Content

Businesses, charities, nonprofits, creators, and organizations may participate in The Tide where permitted.

Commercial participation must be honest and transparent.

Do not disguise advertising, sponsorships, paid promotions, or commercial relationships in a way that violates applicable law.

Do not fabricate acts of kindness solely to create deceptive advertising.

A business genuinely helping its community is welcome to tell that story.

A staged advertisement falsely presented as an independent act of kindness may be removed or labeled appropriately.

26.Recognition Is Fine. Exploitation Isn't.

It is okay to feel good about doing something kind.

It is okay to recognize someone who did something good.

It is okay for the community to celebrate positive behavior.

The Tide is built in part to make kindness visible.

But recognition should never become more important than the person being helped.

The difference often comes down to respect, honesty, consent, context, and dignity.

27.Reporting Content

If you see something that violates these Guidelines, please report it using the reporting tools available through The Tide.

Reports may involve:

• individual posts
• photographs
• comments
• profiles
• accounts
• scams
• harassment
• impersonation
• child-safety concerns
• other prohibited conduct

Privacy concerns and reports involving photographs depicting you may also be submitted to privacy@thetide.xyz.

Please make reports in good faith.

Do not abuse our reporting systems to harass another person or attempt to remove content simply because you disagree with it.

28.How We Enforce These Guidelines

Not every violation requires the same response.

We may consider:

• the severity of the conduct
• the context
• whether someone was harmed
• whether the conduct was intentional
• whether the user has previous violations
• whether children or vulnerable people are involved
• whether the content presents an immediate safety risk
• whether the activity may be illegal
• other relevant circumstances

Depending on the situation, we may:

• take no action
• provide education or a warning
• remove content
• restrict the visibility of content
• disable certain features
• limit an account
• temporarily suspend an account
• permanently terminate an account
• prevent additional account creation
• preserve relevant information
• cooperate with lawful investigations
• report conduct to appropriate authorities where required or permitted by law

29.We May Act Even When Something Isn't Specifically Listed

No set of Community Guidelines can anticipate every situation.

The absence of a specific rule does not mean every type of conduct is permitted.

We may take reasonable action against content or behavior that clearly:

• threatens community safety
• seriously exploits another person
• undermines the integrity of the Service
• facilitates significant fraud
• violates applicable law
• fundamentally conflicts with the purpose of The Tide

We will seek to apply these Guidelines reasonably and consistently.

30.Context Matters

The same image or statement can mean different things in different contexts.

When reviewing content, we may consider:

• captions
• surrounding discussion
• apparent intent
• newsworthiness
• educational value
• documentary value
• public interest
• satire
• artistic context
• whether the person depicted is a public figure
• potential harm
• other relevant circumstances

Moderation decisions sometimes require judgment rather than simply matching words against a prohibited-content list.

31.Appeals

Where available, users may be given an opportunity to request review of certain moderation decisions.

An appeal does not guarantee that a decision will be reversed.

We may uphold, modify, or reverse an enforcement decision after additional review.

Certain decisions involving serious safety concerns, legal requirements, fraud, child exploitation, or other severe violations may not be eligible for ordinary appeal.

32.The Standard We Want to Build Together

The Tide isn’t meant to be another place where people compete for attention.

It’s meant to be a place where people remind each other that good things are happening — and that every one of us can create more of them.

Before you post, comment, photograph, give, help, or participate, remember four things:

That’s how a single act becomes a ripple.

That’s how ripples become waves.

And that’s how we build The Tide.

33.Contact The Tide

Questions, reports, or privacy concerns may be directed to:

Small Acts of Kindness. Endless Waves.