Community Guidelines
We want to make your search for a partner on eharmony as pleasant and safe as possible. These Community Guidelines describe what content you are not allowed to share or distribute on eharmony and how we ensure compliance with these rules. Please also see our safety tips for important information about safe online dating.
Each individual is free to present themselves in a way that showcases their own personality. This is part of a general freedom of opinion/ expression which is valued at eharmony. However, even this freedom has its limits, namely, in the protection and rights of other members. Content that diminishes the dating experience for other users, encroaches on their rights, and/or is otherwise inappropriate will not be tolerated. Together, we should strive to act in the spirit of our commitment to healthy dating.
Our Community Guidelines provide an orientation for your conduct on eharmony towards other members. They apply equally to everyone, regardless of the topic or views expressed by a user.
These Community Guidelines are also an important part of our Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”). In the event of a conflict between the Terms and these Guidelines, the Terms shall control to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency.
- Inappropriate content and behavior when searching for a partner online
1.1 Minors
You may only use eharmony if you are over the age of 18.
1.2 Appropriate profile photos
Profile photos may not contain any content that is inappropriate in the sense of these Community Guidelines. Additionally, your photos should give your potential matches a realistic impression of you. This includes:
- Not using filters (e.g., mosaic or blur filters) that significantly alter your natural look.
- Ensuring that your face is recognizable in the photos on your profile (no obscuring of large areas with hair, sunglasses, hats, cell phone, etc.)
- Not showing other people’s faces in your profile photos (including friends or family)
- Wearing appropriate attire (e.g., no nudity).
1.3 Appropriate chat and video behavior and prevention of harassment
Behavior during chats must also comply with these Community Guidelines. This includes:
- Not sending emails/ messages (including video chat messages) to other users at an inappropriately high or harassing frequency
- Not sending first messages to an unreasonably high number of customers at short intervals. We reserve the right to set certain limits in this regard where necessary to ensure the security and integrity of the platform.
- Not copying/pasting your first message texts or sending chain letters
- Ensuring that your initial messages or contact requests are not unreasonably short or long, and that they meet the technical limitations within the product.
1.4 Bullying, harassment, belittlement, insults
We do not tolerate content on the platform that contains or encourages threats, harassment or bullying. This includes but is not limited to:
- Exploitative content of any kind, e.g., extortion, blackmail, marriage fraud, etc.
- Derision of anyone based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity etc.
- Disseminating content with the aim of humiliating others
- Continuing to send unwanted messages to or continuously calling another member who has expressed a desire to end contact.
- Harassment of victims of tragedies or their friends or relatives
- Using abusive or offensive language regarding the death of a person or group of people.
- Gender-hostile behavior
- Targeted insults to individuals regarding their appearance or lifestyle.
- Any other community guidelines included in eharmony’s Terms and Conditions.
1.5 Fraudulent behavior/ Abusive use
Providing false information in order to gain an advantage is not permitted on eharmony. This includes but is not limited to:
- Assuming another identity (including, but not limited to, creating multiple profiles)
- Feigning financial need for the purpose of convincing other users to send you money or other valuables (so-called romance scamming).
- Subscribing to multiple accounts, and subsequently cancelling such subscriptions in short order. Except as otherwise provided under applicable law, cancelling subscriptions (not including disabling of the auto-renewal feature) more than twice within a 3-month period is a violation of these Community Guidelines.
- Creating free memberships fraudulently, e.g., by constantly creating new profiles.
- Using the services for any purpose other than to connect with other users for dating and romance. For clarity, using the Services for unrelated purposes is strictly forbidden.
1.6 Pornographic content and vulgar language
Pornographic content or vulgar language will also not be tolerated. In addition, we do not allow content that simulates sexual acts or offers same in exchange for payment. Such prohibited content includes but is not limited to:
- Depictions of nudity of a sexual nature or sexually suggestive poses in which a person is completely unclothed, blurred, or minimally clothed and/or the type of clothing would be inappropriate in a public setting
- Depictions, descriptions or illustrations of sexual acts or sexually suggestive poses, or the sexual depiction of body parts, and/or sending unsolicited nude or sexually explicit photos to another member.
- Offensive or vulgar content, including but not limited to obscenity, profanity, offensive language or material.
- Content that depicts, describes or encourages bestiality or necrophilia
- Content that advertises sexual entertainment, escort services, or other services that may be considered sexual acts in exchange for payment, where one party is expected to provide money, gifts, or financial support to the other party (so-called “sugar dating”)
1.7 Hate speech and incitement of hate
Content that incites violence or hatred against individuals or groups on the basis of ethnicity, religion, disability, age, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, class, immigration status, or other characteristics associated with systematic discrimination or exclusion violates our Community Guidelines. This includes but is not limited to:
- Content or statements that suggest a protected group is inhumane, inferior, or hateful
- Content that contains hateful slurs, stereotypes, or theories that a protected group has negative characteristics (e.g., vile, corrupt, evil, etc.) or that directly or indirectly claims that the protected group is a threat
- Content or statements intended to persuade others that certain people should be hated or discriminated against
- Content that promotes materials, conduct or symbols (e.g., flags and insignia) that are associated with hate groups
- Extremist content
1.8 Violence
Content that describes or incites random violence or other dangerous activities is not permitted. This includes:
- Graphic depictions or descriptions of realistic violence or threats of violence against people or animals
- Content that encourages self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, or other activities that may have health consequences, including death
- Content related to terrorism. This includes content that calls for acts of terrorism or violence or glorifies terrorist attacks.
1.9 Hidden information, advertising, spam
Content and behavior that serve a purpose other than communication in the search for a partner on eharmony or are inconsistent with a partner search violate these Community Guidelines. This includes but is not limited to:
- Advertising or offering goods or services to other members
- Profile entries, initial messages and contact requests that include contact information such as full name details, addresses, phone numbers or social media data, email addresses, membership status, etc.
- Uploading data that contains viruses (infected software)
- Uploading data that contains software or other material that is copyrighted (unless the customer has the rights to it or the required consents) or otherwise infringes upon a third party’s intellectual property rights
- Adversely affecting the availability of offers for other customers
- Soliciting users to other platforms
- Sending messages, pictures or profile entries that serve a commercial purpose
1.10 Dangerous products/activity
eharmony does not tolerate content that glorifies, recommends or trivializes dangerous and/or illegal products or activity. Dangerous products or activity include, but are not limited to:
- Explosives, firearms, ammunition or certain weapons accessories (including knives)
- Illegal drug abuse, alcohol abuse, other mind-altering and/or illicit substances, drug abuse
- Enforcing and monitoring compliance with these guidelines
In enforcing these Community Guidelines, we rely on a combination of manual and automated review.
We also rely on the help of users. Content or users flagged via the reporting feature are reviewed with high priority.
In the event of a violation of these Community Guidelines, depending on the severity, we will either issue warnings, suspend violators (short-term and/or permanently), or suspend the corresponding profile.
The examination of such a violation is always guided by the principle of proportionality and, in ambiguous cases, the four-eyes principle. Our response to violations depends on the quantity and severity of such violations. For example, one severe violation may lead to a permanent suspension of a user, whereas one minor violation may result in a warning.
Our goal in these Community Guidelines is to make sure that finding a partner on eharmony is as safe as possible for each of our users, without unnecessarily limiting user communication and interaction.