community guidelines

Effective Date: April 12, 2026

Online Penpal is a space for genuine connection across distance and difference — built on the tradition of letter-writing and the joy of discovering a kindred spirit on the other side of the world. These guidelines exist to keep that space safe, respectful, and worth writing home about.

By using the Platform you agree to follow these guidelines at all times. They apply to every interaction on Online Penpal: letters, replies, messages in a bottle, profiles, friend requests, and reports. For the full legal framework, please also read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

1. The Spirit of Online Penpal

Online Penpal is a correspondence community — not a social network, a dating platform, or a marketplace. It exists to connect people through letters, shared interests, and cultural exchange.

Every member brings their own background, language, and perspective. Treat that diversity as a gift. The best exchanges here happen when people show up with curiosity, patience, and genuine warmth. When in doubt about whether something is appropriate, ask yourself: would I be comfortable if a moderator read this? If the answer is no, don’t send it.

2. Be Respectful to Everyone

Respectful communication is the foundation of this community. You are expected to be kind and considerate in all interactions, even when you disagree or feel frustrated.

You should:

Be patient with language and cultural differences — not everyone writes in their first language.
Offer encouragement when someone is learning your language.
Disagree politely, and move on if values or interests do not align.
Respect that different cultures have different norms around topics like religion, politics, gender, and family.
Give people the benefit of the doubt when a message seems odd — it may simply be a translation issue.

You must not:

Insult, mock, belittle, or demean any user.
Use hateful, discriminatory, or derogatory language based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, nationality, age, or any other characteristic.
Dismiss or ridicule another person’s culture, beliefs, or way of life with contempt.
Send passive-aggressive, sarcastic, or deliberately unkind messages.

3. No Harassment or Bullying

Harassment in any form is not tolerated on Online Penpal. This includes repeated unwanted contact, threats, intimidation, and targeted mockery — whether directed at one person or coordinated against them.

If someone does not reply to your letter, do not send repeated follow-up messages demanding a response. People are under no obligation to write back.
Do not send aggressive, threatening, or abusive letters to any user.
Do not attempt to pressure, coerce, or manipulate another user through their letters or profile.
Do not encourage other users to target, pile on, or collectively exclude a specific person.
Harassment that continues across multiple accounts or after a ban will result in a permanent ban of all associated accounts.

If you receive a harassing letter, use the Report button inside the letter view. You do not need to respond. All reports are confidential.

4. Keep Content Appropriate

Online Penpal is open to users aged 13 and over. All content — including letters, profile information, About Me sections, and messages in a bottle — must be appropriate for this mixed-age community.

You must not post or send:

Sexually explicit, sexually suggestive, or pornographic content of any kind.
Graphic violence, gore, or content designed to disturb, shock, or distress.
Content that promotes, glorifies, or provides instructions for self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, or substance abuse.
Content that promotes or incites violence against any person or group.
Extremist, terrorist, or radicalising content.
Content deliberately designed to frighten or intimidate a specific person.

Messages in a bottle are visible to many users at once. Apply the same standard to them as you would to your public profile.

5. Minor Safety

The safety of our younger members is our highest priority. Online Penpal has a zero-tolerance policy toward any behaviour that puts minors at risk.

Absolute prohibitions — any of the following will result in an immediate permanent ban and referral to law enforcement:

Grooming behaviour of any kind toward a user under the age of 18.
Soliciting personal contact details (phone numbers, home address, social media handles, location) from a minor.
Sending age-inappropriate, sexually suggestive, or explicit content to a minor.
Attempting to move a conversation with a minor off-platform.
Any form of exploitation, manipulation, or abuse targeting a minor.

For minor users:

You do not have to share any personal information you are not comfortable sharing.
If any message makes you uncomfortable, use the Report button and tell a trusted adult.
You are encouraged to have a parent or guardian review your profile and correspondence.

If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please report it immediately at coscasts04@gmail.com.

6. Protect Privacy — Yours and Others’

Think carefully about what personal information you share on the Platform, and never share another person’s private information without their explicit consent.

You should:

Use a display name rather than your real full name if you prefer.
Only share contact details with penpals you know and trust, and only when you are ready.
Report any letter that contains another person’s private information shared without their consent.

You must not:

Share, post, or forward another user’s private details without their consent (“doxxing”).
Share screenshots of private letters to humiliate or harm another person.
Pressure or manipulate others into sharing their phone number, home address, or social media handles.
Attempt to identify or locate another user without their knowledge or consent.

7. No Spam, Scams, or Impersonation

The Platform is for genuine, personal correspondence. Misuse of the letter system undermines the experience for everyone.

Do not send identical or near-identical letters to large numbers of users (mass messaging or spam).
Do not use the Platform to advertise products, services, external websites, or commercial opportunities.
Do not solicit money, gifts, loans, cryptocurrency, or financial information from other users under any circumstances.
Do not share links to malicious websites, phishing pages, or content designed to steal another person’s information.
Do not impersonate another user, a public figure, a celebrity, or a member of the Online Penpal moderation team.
Do not create multiple accounts to evade a warning, suspension, or ban. All associated accounts will be banned.
Do not use automated bots, scripts, or scrapers to interact with the Platform.

8. Authentic Profiles

Your profile is how other members discover and get to know you. It should represent you honestly.

Provide accurate information for your display name, age, country, languages, and interests.
Do not use someone else’s photo as your profile picture without their permission.
Do not create a fake persona intended to deceive other users about who you are.
Do not use your profile or “About Me” section to advertise, recruit, or solicit.
Profiles that appear to be entirely fictitious or designed to mislead may be removed without notice.

9. Language & the Word Filter

Online Penpal uses an automated word filter to catch prohibited language before it reaches other users. The filter is a first line of defence, not a substitute for good judgement.

Do not attempt to bypass the word filter through deliberate misspellings, character substitutions, spaces between letters, or coded language.
Circumventing the filter — even if the underlying content would otherwise be allowed — is itself a violation of these guidelines.
You may write letters in any language. The Platform includes a built-in translation feature to support multi-language correspondence.
If the word filter incorrectly blocks content you believe is legitimate, contact us at coscasts04@gmail.com.

10. Sensitive Topics

Penpals often discuss meaningful and personal subjects — religion, politics, mental health, relationships, and more. These conversations can be enriching, but they require extra care.

You may discuss sensitive topics in letters, but do so respectfully and without attempting to convert, radicalise, or coerce the other person.
Do not use letters to push unsolicited political, religious, or ideological views on someone who has not expressed an interest.
Do not share content that promotes conspiracy theories designed to cause fear or distrust of public health, government, or safety services.
If a penpal asks you to change the subject or stop discussing a particular topic, respect that request immediately.
If a penpal discloses that they are in crisis or expresses thoughts of self-harm, encourage them to seek help from a trusted person or professional, and report the conversation to us if you are concerned for their safety.

11. Intellectual Property

You are responsible for the content you submit. Do not share material that infringes on someone else’s intellectual property rights.

Do not reproduce large portions of copyrighted text, song lyrics, books, or articles in your letters without appropriate credit.
Do not share images, artwork, or creative work that belongs to someone else without their permission.
Do not use the Platform to distribute pirated content or links to pirated material.

12. Reporting a Problem

If you see something that breaks these guidelines, please report it. Your report is confidential — the person you report will not be told who filed it.

Use the Report button inside any letter, profile, or message in a bottle.
For urgent concerns — especially anything involving minors or credible threats of harm — email us directly at coscasts04@gmail.com.
Include as much detail as possible: the username involved, what happened, and approximately when.
Do not file false or malicious reports. Doing so is itself a guideline violation and may result in action against your account.
If a report does not result in the action you expected, you may follow up by email.

13. Enforcement & Consequences

We enforce these guidelines consistently and in good faith. The response to a violation depends on its severity and whether it is a first or repeated offence.

13.1 Warnings

For minor or first-time violations, we will typically issue a formal warning visible in your account. If you receive a warning you believe was issued in error, you may submit an appeal through the in-app appeal system. Appeals are reviewed within 7 days. Submitting false or bad-faith appeals may result in further action.

13.2 Enforcement Table

Violation Type	Typical Response
Minor or first-time offence (e.g. mild rudeness, accidental filter trigger)	Formal warning
Repeated minor offences or moderate violation	Warning + feature restriction
Serious violation (harassment, explicit content, spam campaign)	Suspension or permanent ban
Severe violation (grooming, exploitation of minors, hate speech, credible threats)	Immediate permanent ban + referral to authorities

13.3 Referrals to Authorities

Where we believe illegal activity has taken place — particularly involving child exploitation, credible threats of violence, or fraud — we will report the matter to the relevant authorities and cooperate fully with any investigation. We will not warn the user before doing so.

14. Changes to These Guidelines

We may update these Community Guidelines as the Platform grows and evolves. When we make changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Platform after any update constitutes your acceptance of the revised guidelines.

We encourage you to review these guidelines periodically, alongside our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.