Safety
Child safety
standards.
Emberknot is for adults. We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation, and this is what we do about it. If you are worried about the person you are paired with, see relationship safety.
Contents
Our standard
Child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) are prohibited on Emberknot, without exception. That includes sharing, requesting or linking to such material, sexualising a minor in any way, grooming, and sextortion. It applies to every tap, note, photo, voice note and profile, and to anything else a person can send.
Adults only
Emberknot is rated 18+ and is not directed to children. Everyone confirms they are 18 or over when they create an account, and an account cannot be created without that confirmation. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 18, we close it and delete its content.
Reporting in the app
Report and block are on the pairing screen, not buried in a menu, and you can also report a specific message, photo or voice note. You can report someone even after you have blocked or disconnected from them. The person you report is never told.
When you report something, a snapshot of it is saved with the report, and a reported photo or voice note is copied into an evidence store that only Emberknot can access — no app can read it. Deleting the content afterwards, or deleting the account that sent it, does not remove the evidence.
Blocking takes effect immediately and is enforced on our servers: once you block someone, nothing they send can reach you.
What we do with a report
Every report sends us an alert and is reviewed by a person, and we act on it within 24 hours. Depending on what we find, we remove content, suspend or permanently close the accounts involved, and preserve what is needed for investigators. Where content involves the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child, the accounts are closed permanently.
Working with authorities
We report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), as US law requires, and to the relevant authorities elsewhere where the law requires it. We respond to lawful requests from law enforcement and comply with the child safety laws that apply to us.
If a child is in danger
If you believe a child is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first. In the US you can also report to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.
Relationship safety
Emberknot is built for two people who want to be close. If that is not what it feels like any more — if you feel watched, pressured or afraid — this is what you can do, and what the other person can and cannot see.
If you are in danger now, call 911 (or your local emergency number). In the US, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7: call 1-800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org. If someone may be watching your phone or browser, consider using a device they cannot access.
Disconnecting
Disconnect is on the pairing screen, next to report and block. It takes effect immediately, and does not need the other person's agreement. It is quiet: we do not send them a notification saying you did it, though they will see the connection is gone when they next open the app. From that moment neither of you can open the shared thread, and they can no longer open your photos or voice notes. You can also block them, so nothing they send can reach you, and report them — neither tells them you did it.
What the other person can and cannot see
While you are connected, your person can see what you send them:
- your taps, notes, photos, voice notes, letters, answers and game moves;
- your mood, when you set one;
- your check-ins — the word you pressed and, if you chose one, the name of a saved place like “Home”;
- the Atlas pins and journeys either of you added.
They cannot see:
- where you are. Emberknot never reads your location — a check-in only says what you chose to send;
- your contacts, other apps, messages or photo library;
- whether you reported them, or which of you blocked the other;
- anything after you disconnect.
Check your phone for automations
Taps and check-ins can be sent from Siri, Shortcuts, widgets and buttons. Someone with access to your phone could set up an automation that sends a check-in for you — for example, every time you arrive somewhere. On iPhone, open the Shortcuts app, look at Automation, and delete any you did not make. On Android, check your launcher's widgets and any routines or automation apps.
Notification previews
Emberknot notifications, widgets and Live Activities can show what your person sent on your Lock Screen. If someone else may see your phone, turn previews off in your phone's notification settings for Emberknot (on iPhone, Settings → Notifications → Emberknot → Show Previews → Never), and remove Emberknot widgets from your Lock Screen and Home Screen.
Reports are read within 24 hours
Harassment, threats, coercion, stalking and intimate images shared without consent break our terms. Every report is reviewed by a person and acted on within 24 hours.
Contact
Our safety point of contact, for child safety and everything else on this page, can be reached at dantecorso@icloud.com. Use it to report a concern, to tell us an account may belong to a minor, or for law enforcement requests. More on how we handle reports is in the Privacy Policy and the Terms.
