Report a photo or other content

In short

We have zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive users: we remove such content, and our staff can suspend the account that posted it. A suspension is reversible; we do not delete accounts for violations.

Who this page is for

Mainly: people who appear in someone else's photo or video on Givibes and don't use Givibes themselves. Someone may have taken a picture at an event and posted it here; you may never have signed up, and you may have found out from a friend. You can still have it removed.

It's also the channel for anyone — user or not — who wants to notify us of content they consider illegal, under Article 16 of the EU Digital Services Act. We treat those notices as giving us actual knowledge of the content described, and act on them.

What to put in your message

We have no way to search photos by face, and we won't guess. The single thing that decides whether we can act is whether your message lets us identify the exact content. Please include:

• A link, if you have one. If someone sent you the page or the app screen, paste the web address — it's by far the fastest route.
• A screenshot of what you're reporting, if you can take or obtain one. Attach it to the email rather than describing it.
• Where it is — the venue or the event it belongs to, and roughly when it was posted or when the event took place.
• Who posted it, if you know: the username or the venue's name.
• Where you are in the photo — "second from the left", "in the background near the bar". You don't need to send us a photo of yourself to prove it, and we'd rather you didn't.
• Why you're reporting it — that you're in it and didn't agree to it, or what rule or law you believe it breaks. One line is enough.
• How to reach you — replying to your email is fine. You can use any address; it doesn't have to be linked to an account.
• A line confirming you mean it. Something as simple as "I believe this information is accurate and complete" is enough. Article 16 of the Digital Services Act asks notices to carry that statement, and it's also what lets us act on your word instead of asking you to prove things.

Please don't send identity documents, and don't send other people's personal details. We don't ask for them, and we'd only have to delete them. If we genuinely can't act without checking something, we'll ask you for that one specific thing and nothing more.

What happens next

A person reads every report you send by email, and no automated filter decides on it. In the app, a reported Vibe or venue photo is hidden at the first report, and a Story when it reaches the threshold described in section 12 of our Privacy Policy, pending review by a person. We look at the content, at our Terms of Service, and at the law that applies, and then we either remove or disable access to the content, or we explain why we didn't. Either way you get an answer with the reason for the decision.

If we take a photo or video down, the person who posted it is told that it was removed. We do not pass on your name or your email address to them.

In clear cases — a photo showing an identifiable person who says they didn't agree to it — the content normally comes down first, and any discussion happens afterwards.

How long it takes

We review every report within 24 hours of receiving it. Reviewing means a person reads it and acts: we remove or disable the content, or we tell you why we didn't. Where a report needs more checking — for example, because the content is hard to find — we say so within those 24 hours and keep you updated. In any case you'll have a final answer within one month, which is the limit the GDPR sets for requests about your personal data. Reports involving a risk to someone's safety jump the queue.

Reports are reviewed by Givibes staff with moderation responsibilities. Givibes is a small operation, not a 24/7 trust-and-safety desk, but the mailbox is monitored and every report is reviewed within the times above.

You don't need an account

We will never require you to sign up, install the app, or hand over more data about yourself in order to have content about you removed. Asking someone to join a service to get out of it would be absurd, and it isn't how this works.

The email address you write from is used to handle your report and nothing else: it isn't added to any mailing list and it doesn't create an account. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle it.

If you do have a Givibes account

Use the report button on the content itself — it's faster and it reaches the same team with the content already identified, so there's nothing for you to describe. You can also block or limit another user from their profile, which is immediate and doesn't involve us at all.

Other kinds of report

The same address works for copyright and trademark complaints, impersonation, and content you believe is illegal for any other reason. Tell us which right you hold and how the content infringes it.

If you're unhappy with what we decide, you can write back and ask us to look again. You can also complain to the Digital Services Coordinator of your EU country, and, where your personal data is involved, to your national data protection authority — for us that's the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens in the Netherlands.

If you disagree with our decision

Whenever we decide on a report — whether we remove the content or not — you are told what we decided. If you think we got it wrong, you have three options, and you can use more than one.

• Ask us to look at it again. If we removed something of yours, the notice in the app has a button to contest the decision (the same notice is emailed to you). Write why you think it is a mistake; a person on our team reads it and answers within 7 days. If your account was suspended you can't open the app, so reply to the suspension email instead (or write to [email protected]): the same person reads it and the same 7 days apply. If you reported something and disagree with how it ended, write back to the address you used and ask us to look again. This review is something we offer; you do not have to use it before anything else.
• Turn to an out-of-court dispute settlement body. Under the Digital Services Act, bodies certified in the EU can help settle disputes over the decisions of online platforms. The European Commission publishes the list of certified bodies: digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu. Whether Givibes takes part in a given procedure is something we assess case by case; we do not commit in advance to take part, or to follow what a body decides.
• Go to court. You can always bring the matter before the competent court. Asking us for a review, or contacting a dispute settlement body, does not take that away.

Contact

Reports about a photo, a video, or anything involving your personal data: [email protected]. Everything else: [email protected].

Givibes is operated by Andrea Battarelli Martini.