The essentials
- vChat is for people aged 18 and over only.
- Zero tolerance: any sexual exploitation or abuse of a minor leads to the immediate removal of the account.
- Report a minor or suspicious behaviour with one tap: “Report this profile”, reason “This person seems to be a minor”.
- We report cases to the competent authorities and cooperate with them.
These standards describe how vChat prevents, detects and handles child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE, and CSAM for content). They complement our terms of use.
1. Our commitment
vChat is a dating service through voice and video calls, for adults only. La Pieuvre Technologique applies a zero-tolerance policy towards child sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms, in the app and outside it when a vChat user is involved.
2. What is prohibited
- Creating an account or using vChat when under 18, or letting a minor use one’s account.
- Posting, sharing, requesting or offering any sexual content involving a minor (photos, videos, voice recordings, descriptions), including drawn or generated content.
- Approaching a minor for sexual purposes (grooming), soliciting them, or trying to meet them.
- Sexualising minors in a description, username, photo or conversation.
- Using vChat to organise the trafficking or exploitation of minors.
3. Our prevention measures
- Minimum age of 18, confirmed at sign-up; the date of birth is checked during identity verification, and identity verification requires a national ID card or a passport, and a selfie.
- Review before publication: every photo, description and voice intro is checked by our team before other users can see it.
- No exchange of photos or videos between users in the app: people talk live, by voice or video.
- Each account requires a phone number verified by code, and we detect accounts created on the same device to prevent a banned person from coming back.
4. Reporting a problem
Anyone can report a minor or suspicious behaviour:
- In the app: on the profile, “Report this profile” button, reason “This person seems to be a minor”. Reports are anonymous: the person is not told.
- By e-mail: vchat@lapieuvre.tech.
- On the website: Contact us page, subject “Child safety”.
Reports involving a minor are handled as a priority by our moderation team.
5. What we do
- Immediate suspension of the account and removal of content as soon as a risk to a minor is established.
- Preservation of information useful to an investigation (account, login logs, devices), in line with our privacy policy.
- Reporting to the competent authorities of the country concerned: in Côte d’Ivoire, where our registered office is located, the Cybercrime Platform (PLCC); in Benin and Togo, the police and cybercrime units. We respond to requests from authorities as provided by law.
- Permanent ban from vChat for the person concerned.
6. Contact
The person in charge of child safety at vChat can be reached at vchat@lapieuvre.tech. They answer users, organisations and authorities about our prevention and reporting practices.
If a child is in immediate danger, contact the police in your country first.