Child Safety Standards Policy
Last Updated: October 17, 2026
This Child Safety Standards Policy applies to Shush: Married Dating App (Package Name: co.thepepperapp), published and operated by Pepper Studio. At Shush, safeguarding user safety and protecting minors is our paramount responsibility. As a dating application designed exclusively for adults, we enforce strict, zero-tolerance standards to ensure our platform remains safe, respectful, and fully compliant with global child safety laws and Google Play's Child Safety Standards policy.
1. Strict Age Requirement (18+ Only)
Shush is strictly intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account, access, or use any feature of the application. We do not knowingly permit minors to use our platform. If we identify or have reason to suspect that an account belongs to an individual under the age of 18, that account will be immediately and permanently terminated, and all associated profile data will be expunged in accordance with our Privacy Policy and relevant legal requirements.
2. Zero Tolerance for Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) and CSAM
Shush maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy against Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) and Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in all forms. We explicitly prohibit:
- Creating, uploading, possessing, distributing, soliciting, transmitting, or facilitating access to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
- Any form of child grooming, predatory communication, sexual solicitation of minors, or enticement.
- Sexualizing minors in any manner across text messages, photos, audio, videos, profile bios, or community interactions.
- Uploading any profile photos, media, or imagery depicting unaccompanied minors, regardless of context.
3. Incident Response and Mandatory Reporting
In accordance with applicable international, federal, and local child protection laws:
- Immediate Account Termination: Any user account found to engage in or attempt CSAE/CSAM-related violations will be permanently banned with immediate effect.
- NCMEC Reporting: We promptly report all confirmed or suspected instances of CSAM and child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) through the CyberTipline and cooperate fully with global law enforcement authorities.
- Data Preservation: Digital evidence, transaction records, and chat logs relating to child safety violations are preserved for lawful investigation and criminal prosecution.
4. In-App Reporting Mechanism
We provide accessible, intuitive in-app mechanisms that empower users to report any suspicious activity, underage profiles, or inappropriate content directly within the application:
- User Profiles: Open the suspected user's profile, tap the top-right menu (three dots), and select "Report". Choose "Underage User" or "Inappropriate Content".
- Chat Screens: While in a conversation, tap the top options menu (three dots) and select "Report & Block" to immediately cut off contact and escalate the user to our moderation queue.
- In-App Support: Go to Settings → Help & Support → Create Ticket and select category "Safety & Report".
All in-app child safety reports are prioritized with high urgency and reviewed within 24 hours by our trust and safety team.
5. Designated Child Safety Point of Contact
To ensure direct communication regarding child protection, our organization has established a designated Child Safety Point of Contact. This contact is actively monitored by authorized personnel prepared to discuss our organization's CSAE prevention practices, review procedures, and compliance with child safety policies:
- Designated Role: Child Safety & Content Compliance Lead
- Dedicated Contact Email: child-safety@shush.so
- Operating Entity: Pepper Studio
- Mailing Address: Bagmane Tech Park, Bangalore, Karnataka 560048, India