Child Safety
The rule Pawtalk was built around, and how it is enforced.
Last updated 2 September 2026
Pawtalk was built around this and not the other way round. The filtering, the reporting and the enforcement described below existed before the platform had users, because a safety system added later is a safety system fitted around whatever already grew.
The rule
Any sexual content involving a minor, any attempt to contact a minor for sexual purposes, and any material that advertises, seeks or trades in either. There is no warning step and no strike ladder. The account is removed.
Drawn, animated and generated material is included. So is coded language - the vocabulary these communities use precisely because it looks harmless to somebody who does not know it.
What we filter
Text is checked automatically before it is created - not only in messages, but in the names people choose, which is where this material is usually advertised. Spacing, punctuation, accents and letter-for-number swaps are folded before the check, so the obvious ways around it are not ways around it.
We do not publish the list of terms. Publishing it would hand the people we are filtering an exact guide to what to avoid typing. What we can tell you is what it covers:
Child sexual exploitation
Terms used to advertise, seek or trade in the abuse of children, including the coded vocabulary these communities use to avoid detection.
Coded and community terms
Language used to signal an interest in children without stating it. Held for staff review rather than blocked outright, because some of these words have ordinary meanings.
Some terms are refused outright. Others are allowed through and sent to staff, because a few of these words have ordinary meanings and a human should decide. Being flagged is not an accusation.
What happens next
Accounts removed for child safety are reported to the relevant authorities where the law requires it, and the material is preserved for them rather than simply deleted.
If you see something
Report it in the app rather than replying to it, and do not share it onward even to warn people - that spreads it. If a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police first. We are not a substitute for them.