Member Guidelines

Motto Community Guidelines

We’ve heard you. We understand you want a better app that allows gay, bi and queer men, trans and non-binary people to make meaningful sexual and romantic connections. We’re committed to bringing you the best app experience you’ve ever had.

We believe that everyone deserves to experience sex, explore their curiosity and find fulfillment exactly as they desire to. While we’re not interested in policing you, the members of the Motto community, we need to set some expectations to ensure your experience is the best it can be, while allowing us to adhere to legal rules and regulations, and the policies of our advertising and app store partners.

Please read these Community Guidelines closely. Everyone on Motto must comply with these guidelines, which are governed by and are a part of the Terms of Use. Terms that are defined in the Terms of Use will have the same meaning in these Community Guidelines. That means we expect you to respect each other no matter where you are in the app. Please also review our Privacy Policy.

Content or conduct that violates these guidelines or the Terms of Use may result in the restriction or removal of content, or the temporary or permanent suspension of your Motto account.

Part of how we hold members accountable is our reporting system. In short, if you see something that could be a violation of our guidelines, please let us know by emailing our Community Support team at help@findmotto.com.

Motto Values Authenticity

Motto is real

Being yourself is key. Apps are a great way to meet new people without the pressures of in-person interactions, but we should treat others with the same level of kindness and respect we would when meeting someone face-to-face.

We want you to be yourself. Truly. Don’t impersonate others, provide a false identity, or submit any incorrect or misleading information about yourself when you apply for a Motto account. And, we know all the tricks — don’t try to get around enforcement by making an alternative account.

Guidance on how to create a great profile can be found in the Profile Guidelines.

Authentication and integrity of user profiles

All accounts are verified to help prevent fake accounts. Verification and profile images should match at all times.

Catfishing and misrepresentation

Be yourself and no one (or thing) else. On Motto, all forms of false representation of a person, brand or organization are equally prohibited. The prohibition, without limitation, includes behavior and content aimed at deceiving or confusing others, spreading misinformation or disinformation, defaming individuals or organizations and other malicious or fraudulent activities. In short, you should look like your photos. That means no old photos and no photoshop or filters! And, no, we don’t care if you feel the need to pretend to be someone else because you want the dirt on your ex... NO CATFISHING.

Fun is important, Respect is Mandatory

Support each other

At Motto we want to build a hate-free community with our members that lifts everyone up and creates a place of support.

Be considerate

With Motto’s desire to build a community where gay, bi and queer men, trans and non-binary people can make meaningful connections, we expect all members to be considerate.

Hey, it’s OK if you’re not interested in talking to someone, but Motto members treat others as they wish to be treated, regardless of race, economic situation, gender identity, social standing or physical or mental health.

Harassment, Abuse and Cyber-bullying

Motto believes creating a community without fear of harassment, abuse or cyber-bullying makes for the best experience. To achieve this, members must not engage in any activity that could cause another member to feel attacked or uncomfortable. A good rule here is that if you wouldn’t say or do it to someone in person, don’t do it on Motto.

Hate Speech and Discrimination

At Motto we believe focusing on what we are into, rather than what we are not into, creates a positive and welcoming community. Even though some corners of social media have allowed it, hate speech and any type of discrimination are prohibited.

This applies especially to member profiles. To check yourself, avoid profile text that might be perceived as discriminatory based on race, economic situation, gender identity, social standing or physical or mental health.

Suicide and Self Harm

At Motto, we value the safety and well-being of our members, and we include everyone! Any content aimed at mocking or degrading victims or survivors of suicide, self-harm or eating disorders is not allowed.

Simultaneously, we understand the potential harm and pain caused by exposure to content intentionally or unintentionally promoting or encouraging self-harm. As such, we prohibit content that promotes, encourages, celebrates or provides instructions for suicide, self- inflicted injuries and eating disorders.

Nudity & Explicit Content

Profile Photo Guidelines

Motto is body and sex-positive. We want our members to find what they are looking for, but we must adhere to the requirements of the platforms on which we advertise and the app stores, which have limitations on the level of nudity and suggestiveness we can allow. You can find the full photo guidelines here.

Consent is Sexy

Motto wants to build a community where everyone can have fun in a way that is right for them. Private chats are not subject to profile photo guidelines. If you are exchanging nude or explicit content in a private chat, we encourage you to ask for the recipient’s consent.

Promotion and Solicitation

Motto is not meant for you to promote your product or business. Sexual or financial solicitation is prohibited and unlawful.

Illegal goods and services

Motto can’t be used to further unlawful activities or facilitate the circulation of illegal goods, services and certain types of regulated goods or services, including but not limited to, drugs, weapons etc.

Talking or meeting offline

Motto is a place to find fun and connect with others. When it’s time to meet IRL, we encourage members to act responsibly in choosing their offline interactions and to be selective in their sharing of personal information. Motto does not police offline conduct.

Platform Abuse

Spam

You see how bad the spam on other apps has become. Sending messages with the purpose of encouraging Motto members to use another good or service is prohibited.

Promotion, solicitation and competition

Misuse of Motto by sending unauthorized advertising or commercial messages (including spam and sweepstakes or contests promotions), chain letters, surveys or any other unsolicited communication is prohibited. Again, love a side hustle, but promotion of escort services and sexual or financial solicitation is prohibited.

Use of Motto to obtain information in order to build a similar or competitive service, any attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software or other underlying computer code used by us to provide the Services is prohibited. Do not scrape or crawl any part of our Services, or engage in spidering or harvesting.

Disinformation and misinformation

To keep our community well-informed and require all content to represent real and reliable information members are not allowed to share or promote manipulated media or false information that may cause real physical violence and harm, undermines public safety or furthers hate speech, discrimination and harassment.

Intellectual property or privacy rights

Motto Terms of Service strictly prohibit posting or sharing any content subject to third-party copyright or trademark rights without their explicit permission or authorization.

By using Motto, you agree not to violate, infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property, privacy, publicity, moral or "droit moral" or other legal rights of any third party when you use Motto.

Do not disclose another person’s private information (for example, credit card number, social security number, password, phone number or address). For your own safety, we also encourage you to keep these kinds of details about yourself private too. Unwelcome solicitations of this kind of information are also prohibited.

Put another way, if it is not yours (e.g., not your photo, your face, your logo, your info), do not use it without permission.

Commitment to Safety

Minors

We believe in sex positivity and promoting healthy conversations about sex, but our app is only available to individuals over the age of 18. If you suspect a member is misrepresenting their age please report them using the “report” feature. Motto reserves the right to request age verification by means of a government-issued photo ID. The process and all information will be subject to the provisions for data protection covered under our Privacy Policy.

Child exploitation and abuse

Motto has a zero-tolerance policy toward any content featuring, glorifying, promoting or accommodating the sexual exploitation of children. Furthermore, Motto does not allow images of individuals under the age of 18, whether accompanied or not to prevent any potential abuse or appropriation by others.

Violence and violent extremism

Sharing intentions or expressing desire to inflict physical injury, assault, death or disease is strictly prohibited. We do not allow any violent threats towards any individual, group of people or property. All forms of extremist affiliation or promotion, glorification or incitement of violence are prohibited.

Privacy and Security

In order to be themselves, people need to know we’re looking out for them. To protect member privacy and safeguard personal identifiable information, we do not allow members to publicly share any sensitive or confidential identifiable information about themselves or others.

Do not undermine the security and reliability of Motto. Any hacking attempts, efforts to bypass our measures to restrict member access, or the use of automated scripts to collect information from Motto or our members is prohibited.

Do not distribute files or content that contain materials that are malicious. Do not attempt to circumvent any technological measure implemented by us, any of our providers or any other person, intended or designed to protect Motto, our members or anyone else. We use people and computers to constantly ensure our app is as secure as possible.

Reporting Community Violations

If you encounter someone violating our Community Guidelines, please report them using the “Report” icon in the app.

Chats are not monitored, but our reporting feature can be used to flag to Motto if a member is acting in a way that violates the guidelines within chats.

Enforcing community violations

Motto members respect the privacy of others and for this reason reports Community Guideline Violations in photos, profile text or private chats may result in warnings issued by the Motto team or immediate removal from the platform, temporarily or permanently.

Thanks for your participation in making the Motto experience the best you’ve ever had.



Profile Guidelines

Why are profiles so important?

Motto is built for you. We want to help you meet people you’re into in the most fun, effective, and safe way possible.

Your profile is your key to meeting other people in the Motto Community. It’s the first thing people will see. And, you only make one first impression ;)

This guide will help you create a great profile—one that gives you the best chance of meeting people, and that ensures you have a positive experience when you do.

What makes a great profile?

We asked thousands of people. The findings aren’t surprising.

Great profiles are:

  • Real. If you’re talking to someone on Motto, they’re real. Motto verifies every member with facial recognition technology.
  • Authentic. Confidence is sexy. Own who you are, and people will notice. Be your awesome self.
  • Accurate. Not all surprises are good. We ask all Motto members to represent themselves truthfully.
  • Informative. Flirting and foreplay are fun, but chemistry is key. Create a full profile so people get to know you better. You’ll spend less time talking and more time meeting.

Sound like a lot? Don’t worry, we’ll try to make it easy.

Profile Photos + Selfie Verification

Motto’s stance on face photos and anonymity

Every Motto profile has a face. Every profile and photo is reviewed and verified.

How many of your conversations on other apps start with, “face pic?” You can skip that step on Motto. Every profile has at least three face pictures.

We built Motto based on the world we want to see—one where everybody can be their authentic selves. But, we recognize not everyone is comfortable showing their face, and in many places, it’s not safe to do so. Until we live in a more tolerant world, we encourage people who aren’t comfortable showing their face to explore one of the many apps that are designed for anonymity.

Photo guidelines

You must upload at least three pictures, and can add up to five. Every photo must clearly show your face.

Additionally, each member must take a selfie (don’t worry, it won’t be public). We compare the selfie to your profile photos to ensure you are who you say you are.

There are two types of public profile photos on Motto:

  • Cover Photo. This is the first photo other people see. We recommend putting your face front and center, with only you in the photo. You can add one Cover Photo.
  • Profile Photos. This is your opportunity to stand out, express your individualism, and be sexy. You must include your face, but these photos can showcase more of who you are. You can add two to four Profile Photos.

Cover photos and profile photos should follow these guidelines:

  • Clearly show your face. Someone should be able to recognize you in-person based on any single photo. Avoid masks and sunglasses.
  • Add recent photos. Choose photos from the past year. Don’t have enough? Ask a friend for help, or follow these tips to take a great picture of yourself.
  • Keep other people to a minimum. If there are other people in your photo, it needs to be clear which one is you.
  • Pick high quality photos. Don’t zoom in or out too much. Avoid blurry, grainy, and distorted photos. Make sure the lighting is good.
  • Fill all photo slots. We recommend filling all 5 photo slots so people can learn more about you.
  • Avoid explicit content. You can be playful, sexy, and suggestive. But in order to comply with our partner platform policies, explicit content is not permitted.
  • No violent or underage content. This one’s obvious. See below for details.

Examples of Photos


Prohibited content in photos

Nudity and sexual content

Motto is a sex-positive and body-positive community. You can show some skin, but we must adhere to the policies of our partner platforms where we advertise and distribute our app.

  • No photos showing entirely or partially exposed genitals (this includes revealing garments/coverings, mesh, see-through, removing clothing, etc.)
  • No photos showing exposed anus or fully nude butts
  • No photos where anyone appears to be entirely without clothing
  • No photos showing exposed breasts on female presenting individuals
  • No photos showing exaggerated outlines of genitals
  • No photos showing genitals or breasts covered by hands or anything other than clothing
  • No photos that suggest or demonstrate sexual acts
  • No photos of explicit sexual posturing or facial expressions
  • No photos that show bodily fluids or anything that could reasonably be construed as such

Violent, offensive, or underage content

  • No photos of violence or even those that are suggestive of violence to anyone, including yourself, others, animals, etc.
  • No photos of blood or anything that might be mistaken for blood
  • No photos of weapons (real or fake guns, knives, etc.)
  • No photos depicting hate or discrimination of any kind (no racist, intolerant, or bigoted gestures or signs)
  • No photos of anyone under 18 years old
  • No photos of any obscene gestures or behavior

Other rules

  • No blurry, grainy or distorted photos​
  • No photos containing text overlays
  • No animations, emojis or illustrations
  • No masks or sunglasses
  • No photos of illegal activity
  • No photos of illegal drugs, drug use or drug paraphernalia
  • No photos of copyrighted or trademarked content owned by others
  • No photos impersonating any other living or deceased person
  • No photos intended to advertise any products, services, events, etc.
  • No photos promoting other social networks, goods, services or any solicitation

See the examples below for how your cover photo will appear throughout Motto.

How to take a great picture of yourself

If you don’t have enough recent photos of yourself, here are some tips for taking some:

  • Use your self-timer. Consider using your phone’s timer function to take a picture at home, and show off your best angle. This is a great alternative to a selfie.

    • Use the self-timer function, prop your phone up, and take a photo as if your friend were there to help you.
    • Find a pose and a room that suits you. Make it candid!
    • Play around. Take a few photos until you find one you like.

  • Take a selfie. Selfies can be sexy. Follow these tips to show your best self.

    • Look up toward the camera. The camera should be even with or above your face, and not too close.
    • Find the right light. Lighting that is too dim or too harsh could wash out your features!
    • Be mindful of your background. Keep it cute. Avoid messy rooms, toilets (unless that’s your thing!), trashcans, etc…

Profile Field Guidance

Photos are only one part of your profile. The rest of your profile helps people learn about you and can be used to start conversations. As you’re filling out your profile details, remember that great profiles are authentic, accurate, and informative. Keep in mind that any information on your profile is public to other Motto members, share what you are comfortable sharing.

The information you fill out in your profile fields will be visible for everyone to see. Here is some guidance for specific fields:

  • About Me. This is your space to tell people whatever you want them to know. Use it to express who you are, what you’re into, how you like to spend your time, what you’re looking for, what turns you on, any kinks you want to share… or anything else!
  • Gender. Your gender identity helps people understand how you like to identify. Don’t see an option that works for you? Use the write-in option to help people see you the way you want to be seen.
  • Pronouns. Add your pronouns so people know how to refer to you. You can select prefer not to say if you’d rather leave this blank.
  • Position. Sexual position helps people discover sexual compatibility more quickly. If you don’t identify with a single position, use options like vers, exploring, or prefer not to say.
  • STI Test Date. This field lets you communicate the last time you were tested for STIs. Using this field is always optional. If you’re interested in someone who didn’t fill out the field, you can always ask respectfully. Awareness is important.
  • HIV Status. This field lets you communicate your HIV status to other people. HIV status is often private and/or misunderstood, so not everyone is comfortable sharing. If someone does not have their HIV status listed on their profile, you can always ask them respectfully. Learn more about HIV Status, reducing stigma around HIV, and HIV related sexual health topics here.
  • HIV Test Date. This field lets you communicate the last time you were tested for HIV. For some people, this will be the same date as their last STI Test Date. Learn more about HIV status, reducing stigma around HIV, and HIV related sexual health topics here.
  • Covid Vaccination Status. We’re just as eager for a post-Covid world as you. Until then, let’s keep each other safe. Use this field to communicate your vaccination status to other members.

Prohibited text and content

Some fields allow you to write-in a freeform answer, giving you the flexibility to communicate exactly what you want. To ensure Motto is safe, respectful, and discrimination-free, keep the following rules and guidelines in mind.

We take discrimination, fetishization, derogatory language and violence very seriously, especially when it pertains to race, gender identity, and mental or physical ability. While we recognize that parts of our community have different perspectives on the use of certain words, we reserve the right to moderate and/or reject language that we deem offensive.

We also recognize that language evolves. What might not be offensive today could be in the future, and previously offensive terms sometimes get reclaimed. We reserve the right to evolve these guidelines at any time.

Our goal is to give members as much control—in terms of personal preferences and expression—as possible. Please share any thoughts on how to help us better understand our blind spots and create a safer, more inclusive community for everyone by emailing us at community@findmotto.com.

Inappropriate Content

  • No threatening, intimidating, harassing, defamatory, derogatory, bullying or otherwise offensive text.
  • No discriminatory, racist, hateful, bigoted or violent text.
  • No misuse of copyrighted or trademarked content owned by others.
  • No text insinuating exclusion based on race, economic situation, gender identity, social standing or physical or mental health.

Advertising / Solicitation

  • No advertising of products, services, events, etc.
  • No advertising or solicitation of massages, escorting or anything related.
  • No phone numbers, email addresses, web sites/URLs, social media handles or other sensitive personal
  • information (social media information should only be listed in the social media section of your profile).

Drugs

  • No mention of illegal drugs including text or special characters insinuating sex while on drugs.

If you have any questions about our policies, how to create a great profile, or have suggestions on how to make the app better, email us at community@findmotto.com. In the meantime, we're here to help you find the best you've ever had.


Xoxo,
The Motto Team

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