BranchBeat Child Safety Standards

These are the child safety standards of BranchBeat, the music recording, transcription and community app, published by its developer, BranchBeat LLC. They apply to everything people share on BranchBeat and to everyone who uses it.

What we prohibit

BranchBeat prohibits child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) of any kind. That includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM), grooming, sextortion, and any sexualisation of minors — in posts, comments, recordings, profile pictures, usernames and direct messages alike. Content that breaks this rule is taken down and the account that shared it is permanently terminated.

Who can use BranchBeat

BranchBeat is for people aged 13 and over, or older where the law of the place they live requires it. We ask for a date of birth and where someone lives when they sign up, and we do not open an account for anyone below the minimum age there. Where the law requires a parent’s approval, the account works with the practice tools only — no posting, following or messaging — until a parent or guardian approves it in the BranchBeat app, from their own adult BranchBeat account, after confirming that they are the teen’s parent or legal guardian (in Georgia, the parent also signs a consent form). A parent who approves can turn off direct messages, set a daily time limit and quiet hours, and withdraw their approval at any time.

We also look for signs that an account belongs to someone younger than they told us: the age range the app stores share where the age rules use it, reports, and what the account itself posts, such as a stated age. We do not read direct messages for this unless one is reported, and we never use faces, voices or recordings. Where we have reason to believe an account belongs to someone under 18, the teen protections below apply to it. Where we have reason to believe it belongs to a child under 13, we lock it to the practice tools and hide what it has posted at once, a person reviews it within 3 business days, and we delete the account and everything it holds if the review confirms it.

Protections for teens

Accounts of people under 18, and accounts we have reason to believe belong to someone under 18, are set up differently, and the account holder cannot switch these protections off before they turn 18:

• Their posts can be seen only by people they follow who also follow them.
• They do not appear in search results or suggestions.
• An adult can follow them only if they follow that adult first.
• An adult can start a conversation with them only if the two follow each other.
• They see no ads at all.

How to report

Anyone can report a post, comment, profile or direct message from inside the app. Report is in the ⋯ menu on every post and profile, and in the menu that opens when you press and hold a comment or a message. Choose “Child safety concern” as the reason. If you think an account belongs to a child under 13, or to a teen who said they were an adult, choose “May be too young to use BranchBeat”. You can also Block the account from its profile, so it can no longer message you.

You can also email support@branchbeat.com with a link to, or a description of, what you saw. You do not need an account to do this. Please do not send us copies of abusive images; tell us where they are.

How we respond

Reports are reviewed by BranchBeat staff in a moderation queue, and child-safety reports are put first: our team is alerted by email as soon as one is filed. Posting, commenting and messaging are open only to people who have turned on an automated safety check, which screens their text with a content-moderation service before it is published or sent.

When our team confirms that reported content is a child-safety concern, we hide it from everyone and preserve it. A post or comment is hidden and a message is cleared from the conversation. For a reported profile, the profile picture is removed; the name and bio are reviewed, and the account can be terminated. The preserved copy holds the content, who posted it, the reports about it including who made them, and copies of any reported images or audio. It is kept apart from the app, is never shown to anyone outside the review, is kept even if the account is deleted, and is kept for at least one year and then deleted, unless the law or a request from law enforcement requires us to keep it longer.

When our team confirms apparent child sexual abuse material, we preserve it and report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline as US law requires, and we terminate the account.

Complying with the law

BranchBeat LLC complies with child safety laws, including the duty of US online service providers under 18 U.S.C. §2258A to report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and to preserve what was reported. We cooperate with law enforcement and respond to valid legal requests. How we handle personal information, including preserved reports, is set out in our Privacy Policy, and the rules everyone agrees to are in our Terms of Service.

Child safety contact

Questions about these standards, or a child-safety concern about BranchBeat, can be sent to support@branchbeat.com. Put “Child safety” in the subject so it reaches the right person first. Law enforcement can use the same address, or write to us:

If a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police or emergency number first. In the United States you can also report directly to the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678. For general help with the app, see Support.