GotNext, operated by Denis WebStudio, has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE). This page sets out what we do about it. It applies to the GotNext app on the App Store and Google Play and to this website.

Who can use GotNext

GotNext is for people aged 13 and over. Before you can create an account we ask for your date of birth and check it on our server, so a wound back phone clock does not get anybody past it. An under-13 date is refused and cannot be retried on that device.

We are honest about the limit of that: a date somebody types is a declaration, not proof, and no free app can verify age without demanding identity documents. So the gate is the front door, not the whole of it. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 13 we close it and delete their data.

What is not allowed

Any sexualisation of a minor is banned outright. That includes child sexual abuse material in any form, sexual or romantic approaches to a minor, grooming, sexual extortion, trafficking, and using GotNext to make contact with a child for any of those purposes. It also includes text, usernames, team names, court names, photos and profile images.

What we do to prevent it

Messaging exists, but a child cannot be cold contacted on it. Every account's direct messages default to friends only, and an account under 18 can never turn on the setting that lets anyone message them. A message from someone who is not yet a friend arrives as a request and does not notify anyone until it is accepted.
There is no group chat you can join without being part of the game it belongs to. A run's chat only ever contains people who are on that run, and it locks once the run is over.
Every message passes the same blocked term filter as everything else, can be reported on its own, and a block stops someone's messages reaching you at all.
Every name a user can type (display name, handle, team name, court name, run name, bio) passes a blocked term filter on the server before it is stored.
Location is shared as a court you have checked in to, not as a live position on a map. Checking in is always a deliberate act and it expires.
Any user can block another user, which cuts visibility in both directions.
Photos of courts and profile images are subject to report and removal.

How to report it

Every profile and every run in the app has a Report action, and Settings has a Contact us form, so you never have to leave the app to raise a concern. You can also email [email protected]. You do not need an account to email us.

If a child is in immediate danger, contact the police first. In the UK call 999. You can also report to the Internet Watch Foundation at report.iwf.org.uk or to CEOP at ceop.police.uk.

What we do when we find it

We act on reports of this kind ahead of everything else in the queue. We will:

remove the content;
suspend the account immediately and permanently, and preserve the evidence rather than delete it, so that it is available to law enforcement;
report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to the relevant police force, as the law requires;
and cooperate with any resulting investigation.

The law we work to

We comply with the child safety law of the places we operate in. For the United Kingdom that includes the Online Safety Act 2023 and the Information Commissioner's Age Appropriate Design Code (the Children's Code), and it is why we do not knowingly hold the data of anyone under 13 on a service that is for 13 and over. Where GotNext is available outside the UK we comply with the equivalent local law, including COPPA in the United States.

Who to contact

The point of contact for our CSAE prevention practices, and the person authorised to discuss them with platforms, regulators and law enforcement, is:

Denis Koumbou, Denis WebStudio
[email protected]

For questions about data and privacy generally, see our privacy policy. For the rules that apply to all conduct on GotNext, see the house rules.

Child safety standards