Safety

From xat wiki

xat was created to be a fun, social place for everyone. Unfortunately, there are some users who come online with bad intentions of inflicting some type of harm onto others. This guide is here in order to give tips and advice to help you be safe online.

Safety Tips

  • Never give out your personal information to anyone. (Including cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses, passwords, etc.)
  • Use an appropriate and creative nickname instead of your real name.
  • Never agree to meet someone from the internet. Remember that they are strangers, and always be careful of who you trust online.
  • You should not include any personal information on your xatspace profile.
  • If someone is making you feel uncomfortable, place them on Ignore or Block.
  • Do not click links from people you do not know; it could be an attempt to steal your information.
  • Most importantly overall, be careful who you trust; some people do not have good intentions.

Ignoring and Blocking

How to ignore or block a user.

If you stumble upon a user who's making you feel uncomfortable, you may click their name and click "Ignore", or if you are in a private chat with them, type /t and send it like a normal message. This prevents the user from sending messages to you, and unless you're a moderator or higher, you can't see any messages they send in chat.

You can also block someone by clicking the circle-backslash symbol at the top right and pressing "Block" if hiding the user's messages is insufficient. These two features have different functionalities. For a comparison list between Ignore and Block, read the User's Guide article.

In the last case, if the chat you are on has any rules against harassment, and you are at least a moderator or higher, you may ban the user according to the chat guidelines. If you are not a staff member, you may contact one and report their behavior.

If all else fails, you always have the ability to find another chat on xat.com/groups.

Hacking Threats

xat has implemented security measures in order to keep your personal information safe from malicious users. All of your personal information is stored securely on xat's servers and is not accessible by other users. It is important to take extreme caution before clicking on external links provided to you by other users. They could be trying to compromise your xat account via Phishing. We have confidence that you will be less vulnerable to these attacks by following this guide and using xat.com sensibly.

Inappropriate Language

Masked inappropriate language.

If somebody is using bad language, you may ignore them to stop receiving these messages. You can also enable the Bad Words filter on your Account Settings. This will automatically replace any bad word with symbols and a gray background, to show that a bad word was used. Clicking this symbol will show the bad word, so only click if you are comfortable with viewing inappropriate words!

Inappropriate Chats

If you find a chat that has inappropriate content in the background, description, or anywhere on the chat, please confirm that it is in violation of our Terms of Service, and if so, hover over "group" at the top right corner, click "Inappropriate" and fill out the information. This will send a report to xat and we will take appropriate action.

Inappropriate Profiles

If you find an inappropriate profile, click "Inappropriate" at the top right, and fill out the form. If they have an advanced profile (using ME power), then use the popup menu at the bottom left and, again, click the "Inappropriate" option.

This will send a report to xat where it will be dealt with accordingly, with no further contact with you.

Further Safety Information

You may also want to check out these sites which have info on general safety tips which can be applied to all sites, including xat: