Walksy is for walking together. People use it to find a trail, meet new people and come home safely, so it only works if everyone can trust what they read and the people they meet.
These guidelines say what is not allowed. They are part of our Terms of service. Each section has a number, from § 1 to § 8. When you report something, you choose one of them, and when a moderator decides, the decision names the section it is based on.
They apply to everything on Walksy: profiles, posts, photos, comments, trails, group hikes and chats. They also apply to how you treat people you met through Walksy, on the trail and off it.
§ 1 Harassment or bullying
Treat people the way you would on a narrow path: with room and respect.
Not allowed:
- insulting, mocking or belittling someone, again and again or in a way meant to hurt;
- contacting someone who has made clear they do not want it, including through new accounts;
- unwanted sexual comments or advances;
- organising others to pile on someone;
- shaming someone for their body, fitness, age or pace.
For example: messaging someone again after they blocked you, from a second account; commenting “you’ll slow everyone down” on someone’s request to join a hike; posting a photo of a hiker to laugh at them.
Disagreeing, or giving honest feedback on a route, is not harassment.
§ 2 Hate or discrimination
Everyone is welcome on the trail.
Not allowed:
- attacking or demeaning people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or a serious illness;
- slurs, hateful symbols, and stereotypes used to put people down;
- excluding people from a group hike because of who they are.
For example: a group hike that says “no foreigners”; a comment calling a group of people dirty or dangerous because of their origin.
Hikes for a specific group, such as women only or beginners only, are fine when the aim is to make people feel safe and welcome, not to put others down.
§ 3 Violence or threats
Not allowed:
- threatening to hurt someone, even as a “joke”;
- encouraging or celebrating violence;
- threatening to reveal where someone lives or walks;
- encouraging someone to hurt themselves.
For example: “I know which trail you take on Sundays”; “someone should push him off the ridge”.
If someone is in immediate danger, contact the local emergency services. When content suggests a threat to someone’s life or safety, we tell the authorities.
§ 4 Nudity or sexual content
Walksy is not the place for it.
Not allowed:
- nudity and sexual images, including in profile photos;
- sexual content in posts, comments or chats with people who did not ask for it;
- anything that sexualises children. We remove it, suspend the account and report it to the authorities.
For example: a nude photo at a summit, even when it is meant as fun; sending sexual messages to someone you met on a hike.
Swimwear at a lake is fine.
§ 5 Spam or scams
Not allowed:
- advertising and selling products or services, including paid tours, without our written permission;
- posting the same thing again and again, or flooding comments and chats;
- fake accounts, fake hikes and fake engagement;
- scams: asking for money, payment details or passwords, fake gear sales, phishing links;
- faking walks, locations or stats to climb the rankings or earn XP.
For example: a “group hike” that is really an ad for a shop; a message asking members to pay a “booking fee” for a hike.
Sharing costs among friends, such as fuel for a lift to the trailhead, is fine when everyone agrees in advance.
§ 6 Unsafe or false trail information
People make decisions on the mountain based on what they read on Walksy. Wrong information can get someone hurt.
Not allowed:
- inventing trails, or publishing a route you have not walked as if you had;
- hiding or playing down dangers: exposed sections, scrambling, river crossings, missing markings;
- marking a closed trail as open, or not saying that it is closed when you know;
- giving a misleading difficulty, distance or time;
- encouraging beginners to take a route that needs experience, gear or a guide;
- sending people into places they may not enter: closed areas, protected zones with access rules, private land without a right of way.
Please do:
- mark closures, damage and seasonal dangers honestly, and update your trails when things change;
- say what experience and gear a route needs;
- say when you have not checked a route recently;
- when you are unsure, say so.
For example: a trail drawn across a glacier and labelled “easy family walk”; a hike that leaves out that the bridge halfway is gone.
§ 7 Sharing someone’s private information
Where someone lives and where they are right now are some of the most sensitive things about them.
Not allowed:
- posting someone’s home address, phone number, email address, workplace or car number plate without their permission;
- sharing someone’s live position, live-share link or routine without their permission;
- posting photos or videos of someone in a private situation without their permission;
- publishing screenshots of private chats to expose or shame someone;
- revealing private facts about someone, such as their health or sexual orientation.
For example: posting “this is where she starts every walk” with a map; forwarding someone’s live-share link to a group chat.
If you post a group photo, ask the people in it first. Remove it if someone asks you to.
§ 8 Illegal content
Not allowed: anything that is illegal under EU law or the law of an EU country, including:
- child sexual abuse material;
- terrorist content;
- selling illegal goods, such as drugs or weapons;
- infringing other people’s rights, for example posting someone else’s photos or texts without permission;
- defamation;
- inciting crime or hatred.
For example: a post that uses a professional photographer’s picture without permission; an offer to sell protected plants or animals.
When you report something as illegal content, your report is a notice under Article 16 of the EU Digital Services Act. Explain why you think it is illegal and confirm that you are reporting in good faith. The app asks for both.
On the trail together
Most of Walksy happens outdoors. A few habits make every group hike better.
- Be on time. If you are running late or cannot come, tell the group as early as you can. Do not just disappear.
- Wait for the slowest. Agree on the pace and the route before you start. Nobody is left behind alone, least of all at a junction, in fog or as it gets dark.
- Tell someone your plans. Meet in a public place, at least the first time, and let someone you trust know where you are going and when you will be back.
- Leave no trace. Take your rubbish home, including food scraps. Stay on the path. Do not pick plants.
- Respect wildlife. Keep your distance, keep quiet, and keep dogs on a lead where the rules ask for it.
- Respect private land and local rules. Close gates behind you, keep away from livestock and follow the rules of parks and protected areas.
- Look out for each other. Share water, help with directions, and turn back together if the weather turns.
- Ask before you post. Not everyone wants to be in a group photo or tagged in a post.
Reporting and blocking
Reporting
You can report posts, comments, trails, accounts, group hikes and chat messages. Use the menu next to each, or, for a chat message, press and hold it. Choose the reason, which matches a section of these guidelines. “Something illegal” and “Something else” need a few words of explanation.
Reports are confidential. The person you report is not told who you are.
You can also report illegal content by email to [email protected]. The Terms of service list what the email should contain.
If someone is in immediate danger, contact the local emergency services first.
Blocking
You can block anyone. When you block someone:
- they can no longer see your profile or your posts;
- their comments and likes on your posts are deleted.
Blocking is private, and it does not replace a report. If someone breaks these guidelines, please report them too.
Checks before anything is shown
What you write and post is checked automatically against these guidelines before anyone else can see it:
- Text that breaks them, such as a slur, a threat or explicit sexual words, is not posted, and you are told which section it breaks so you can change it. Swearing is fine in a post, a comment or a chat, but not in a name, a username or a title.
- Photos in a new post are checked first, usually within a few seconds; until then only you can see the post. A post whose photo shows nudity or sexual content, or graphic violence, is removed, and you receive a statement of reasons with a way to ask for a review.
Automated checks can be wrong. Ask for a review, and a person will look at it.
What happens after a report
- We read it. Every report is read by a person.
- Something may be hidden while we look. A post, comment or trail reported by several different people is hidden until a moderator has looked at it. Reports from brand-new accounts do not count towards this. Something a moderator has already found to be within the rules is not hidden again by reports: a moderator looks at it again. Accounts and group hikes are never hidden by reports alone.
- A person decides. The moderator decides one of: no violation, remove, remove and warn, warn, or suspend the account. Removed content is no longer shown to anyone but its author. A removed trail becomes private and is held.
- Everyone involved is told. The author receives a statement of reasons: what we decided, which section of these guidelines or which law it is based on, and how to ask for a review. People who reported it are told the outcome.
What we decide depends on how serious the violation is, whether it was intentional and whether it has happened before. A suspended account cannot sign in. A single very serious violation can lead to immediate suspension.
Reviews and appeals
If you disagree with a decision, as its author or as someone who reported it, you can ask us to look again.
- In the app: tap the decision and ask for another look. You can do this up to twice for each decision, within 183 days (about six months).
- If your account is suspended: you cannot sign in, so write to [email protected]. Tell us your username and why you think the decision is wrong.
A person looks at every request and tells you the result.