Safety Tips

Most people on Swem are here to make genuine connections. These tips help you stay safe while you get to know new people, online and in person.

Chatting online

• Take your time. Get to know someone through the app before moving to another platform.
• Keep personal details private until you trust someone: your home address, workplace, daily routine, financial information and identity documents.
• Never send money. Do not send money, gifts, cryptocurrency or investment funds to someone you have met online, however convincing the story. Requests like this are a common sign of a scam.
• Watch for red flags: pressure to move quickly, refusing to video chat, stories that do not add up, asking for intimate photos or trying to move the conversation off the app very early.
• Think before you share intimate content. Once sent, it can be saved and shared. If someone threatens to share intimate images of you, stop replying, keep evidence, report them in the app and contact the police.

Meeting in person

• Meet in a public place with other people around, and arrange your own transport there and back.
• Tell a friend where you are going, who you are meeting and when you expect to be home.
• Stay in control. Keep an eye on your drink and belongings, and know your limits with alcohol.
• Trust your instincts. You can leave at any time. You do not owe anyone an explanation.

Using the app’s safety tools

• Block someone to stop them contacting you in the app.
• Report someone who breaks our Community Guidelines or makes you feel unsafe. Reports are reviewed by people on our team, and we do not tell the other person who reported them.
• Keep evidence. Do not delete messages if you plan to report a serious incident.

Swem and difficult moments

Swem is an AI, not a counselor or an emergency service. If you tell Swem you are thinking about suicide or hurting yourself, it will stay with you in the conversation and show you where to get support right away. Nobody watches these conversations as they happen, so if you are in danger, please call 000 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Getting help

If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number first.

In Australia:

• Emergency: 000
• Lifeline (crisis support, 24/7): 13 11 14
• 1800RESPECT (sexual assault, domestic and family violence, 24/7): 1800 737 732
• Scams: report to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au
• Image-based abuse: report to the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au

Outside Australia, contact your local emergency number and local support services.

For anything else, contact hello@swem.ai. Email is not an emergency channel.