Community Guidelines

This is a translation for convenience only. The German version of these guidelines is the legally binding one.

Last updated: 4 August 2026

These guidelines apply to all content on shiver: videos, titles, descriptions, hashtags, comments, profile names, profile pictures, biographies and direct messages. They form part of the Terms of Use and describe in generally understandable language what is allowed on shiver, how we identify violations and what happens when we find one.

One principle up front: you are responsible for what you publish. You may only upload content to which you hold the necessary rights, and only content that does not infringe third-party rights or any laws. The minimum age for using shiver is 18 years.

What is not allowed on shiver

1. Sexualised depictions of minors

Absolutely and without exception prohibited are depictions of the sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, their promotion, their distribution, links to them, as well as any contact with minors for sexual purposes (grooming) and any form of sextortion. Such content is removed, the account is permanently blocked and the incident is reported to the law enforcement authorities. Details are set out on the Child Safety page.

2. Pornography and sexually explicit content

shiver is not a platform for pornography. Not allowed are explicit depictions of sexual acts, depictions of genitals for sexual purposes, and sexualised content created or distributed without the consent of the person depicted (such as covert recordings or so-called revenge porn). Nudity in an artistic, documentary, medical or educational context is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

3. Depictions of violence

Not allowed are depictions of severe real violence against people or animals that glorify or trivialise it or are designed for shock effect, as well as footage of killings, serious injuries and abuse without discernible documentary value. Also prohibited are calls for violence, threats of violence and the glorification of acts of violence and their perpetrators (§ 131 StGB, the German Criminal Code). Terrorist content, propaganda for terrorist organisations and the recruitment of members or supporters are removed immediately (§§ 89a, 91, 129a, 129b StGB, Regulation (EU) 2021/784).

4. Hate and discrimination

Not allowed is content that demeans persons or groups on grounds of origin, skin colour, nationality, religion, belief, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or age, incites hatred against them or attacks their human dignity. Also prohibited are the use of symbols of unconstitutional organisations (§ 86a StGB), the denial or trivialisation of the Holocaust and other genocides, as well as content constituting incitement to hatred (Volksverhetzung) within the meaning of § 130 StGB.

5. Harassment and bullying

Not allowed are insults, defamation and slander, targeted repeated hostility against individuals, coordinated attacks, threats, extortion, and the distribution of sexualised or humiliating edits of recordings of other people, including where these were produced using image editing or AI.

6. Self-harm

Not allowed is content that depicts, instructs in, glorifies or encourages suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. Personal accounts and educational content are allowed as long as they do not convey methods. If you yourself are struggling: in Germany, Telefonseelsorge is available around the clock free of charge on 0800 1110111 and 0800 1110222.

7. Dangerous acts and illegal goods

Not allowed are instructions for building weapons, explosive or incendiary devices, dares and challenges with a significant risk of injury presented for imitation, trading in or promoting narcotics, weapons, stolen data, forged identity documents or medicines, as well as instructions for committing criminal offences.

8. Invasion of privacy

Not allowed is the publication of personal data of third parties without their consent, address, telephone number, workplace, identity document data, account data (doxing, § 126a StGB), nor are covert recordings from homes, changing rooms or sanitary facilities and recordings that violate the most personal sphere of life (§ 201a StGB). If other people are identifiable in your video, you need their consent unless, exceptionally, a statutory permission applies (§§ 22, 23 KunstUrhG).

9. Third-party rights

Not allowed are videos, images, music or audio tracks to which you do not hold the rights, as well as infringements of trade mark and name rights. This also applies to background music from commercial recordings. Rights holders can report infringements through the report menu or by email to info@offline-events.de.

10. Spam, deception and manipulation

Not allowed are mass and repeat uploads without content of your own, automatically generated interactions, purchased likes or followers, multiple accounts used to circumvent a block, impersonating other identities, phishing, malware and redirects to fraudulent offers. Also not allowed is using shiver for a purpose other than publishing and watching videos, in particular as mere file storage.

11. Misleading content with potential for harm

Not allowed are demonstrably false claims capable of causing significant harm, for example dangerous medical advice, false information about election dates and voting procedures, or manipulated recordings of real people presented as genuine. Satire, opinion and fiction that are clearly marked as such are not affected by this.

How moderation works

Moderation on shiver consists of three stages.

1. Automated pre-screening on upload. Every uploaded video goes through a technical and content pre-screening before it appears in the feed: title, description and hashtags are checked against word filters, the video is checked for playability and format, and depending on the configuration, automated classification services are used to detect prohibited content. Which services these are and where they process data is set out in the privacy policy. A post that does not pass the pre-screening is rejected and not published.
2. Reports from the community. On every video, every comment and every profile you will find a report menu. Reporting is possible without any particular justification; a brief indication of which rule you believe the content violates is helpful.
3. Human review. Every report and every automated rejection that is appealed is reviewed by a human. Automated systems do not make final decisions about permanent account blocks at our company.

We are not obliged to monitor content in a general manner and without cause (Art. 8 DSA). We act as soon as we become aware of a possible violation.

How to report

In the app: use the menu on any video, comment or profile, tap "Report", select the appropriate reason and submit the report. You will receive a confirmation in the app.

Without the app, or for legally substantiated reports (Art. 16 DSA): by email to info@offline-events.de. Please state which content is affected (link, or username and video title), what the violation consists of and how we can reach you. In the case of illegal content, a brief statement of reasons and a confirmation that your information is accurate to the best of your knowledge help us.

How long the review takes

What happens in the event of a violation

We choose the measure according to severity, intent and repetition. The following are possible:

• Removal or blocking of the content, the video, the comment or the profile element is no longer displayed.
• Warning, you receive a notice stating which rule was violated.
• Restriction of visibility, the post remains accessible but is no longer recommended in Hot or Nearby.
• Temporary block of the account or of individual functions (upload, comments, direct messages), generally for 7 to 30 days.
• Permanent block for severe violations or after repeated violations. In the case of sexualised depictions of minors, terrorist propaganda and serious threats of violence, we block immediately and permanently.
• Report to the law enforcement authorities where there are indications of a criminal offence; where there is a danger to life and limb, we also inform the competent authorities on our own initiative.

We inform you of every measure taken against content provided by you and state the supporting reasons, the rule or legal provision violated, whether automated means were used and how you can appeal (Art. 17 DSA).

Appeals

If you consider a decision to be wrong, whether as the person affected by a measure or as the person who submitted a report we did not follow, you can appeal against it within six months: in the app via the notice about the decision, or by email to info@offline-events.de with the subject line "Widerspruch" (appeal). Please state which decision concerns you and why you consider it to be incorrect.

The appeal is reviewed by a person who was not involved in the original decision. If the decision was wrong, we restore the content or lift the measure and inform you accordingly.

Irrespective of this, you can call upon an out-of-court dispute settlement body pursuant to Art. 21 DSA or lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority. The Digital Services Coordinator in Germany is the Bundesnetzagentur, Tulpenfeld 4, 53113 Bonn. Recourse to the courts is open to you at any time.

Changes to these guidelines

We adapt these guidelines when the law, technology or behaviour on the platform changes. We announce material changes in the app. The version stated above is the authoritative one.