Meeting people in real life, safely.

Online safety

Most of what keeps you safe happens before you meet. Take your time. A person who is genuinely interested will be fine with a conversation that moves at your pace, and with questions about who they are. Pressure to hurry — to meet tonight, to move to another app right away, to share something personal before you're ready — is information.

• Read the whole profile and, for a Plan, the whole Plan before you respond.
• Keep early conversation about the Plan itself: the activity, the time, the area.
• Trust a bad feeling. You don't owe anyone an explanation for declining, withdrawing or leaving.

Protecting your information

StarMate shows other people your first name, your age, your photos, your city and an approximate area — never your exact location, your birthday, your email or your phone number. Keep it that way in conversation too.

• Don't share your home or work address, your daily routine, your financial details or documents.
• Be careful with photos that reveal where you live or work.
• Who you are interested in is private to you and is never shown on your profile. Your gender identity appears only if you switch it on, and StarMate hides it automatically while you are travelling in a country where showing it can be unsafe.
• You can pause romantic discovery at any time from You → Safety & Privacy. Communities, social Plans and existing chats carry on.

Requests for money

Nobody can send or receive money through StarMate. Treat any request for money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, "investment tips", a loan, or your banking or card details as a scam — however good the story, and however long you have been talking. Do not send money to someone you have not met in person, and be just as careful with someone you have. Report the account.

Scams and impersonation

Romance scams are patient and well rehearsed. Common signs:

• A profile that seems too polished, or photos that look professional or inconsistent.
• Strong feelings very quickly, and a reason a meeting keeps being impossible — travel, work abroad, a medical emergency.
• Requests to move to another messaging app immediately.
• A crisis that only money can fix, or an "opportunity" you need to act on now.
• Someone claiming to be a celebrity, an official, or StarMate staff. StarMate will never ask for your password, a verification code, or a payment in a chat.

If something feels off, stop, don't send anything, and report the profile. You can also read the US Federal Trade Commission's guidance on romance scams.

Stay in StarMate chat while trust develops

Keep the conversation inside StarMate until you feel comfortable. It keeps your phone number private, it keeps reporting and blocking one tap away, and it means the context — the Plan, the profile — stays attached to the person. Moving off the app early is one of the most common steps in a scam.

Suspicious links

Don't open links or attachments from people you don't know well, and never enter your StarMate sign-in code, your Apple Account details or a card number on a page someone sent you. StarMate signs you in with a one-time code sent to your email or phone, or with Sign in with Apple — there is no password to "verify".

Meeting in person

A Plan on StarMate is designed to be public, short and specific. Keep it that way for a first meeting.

• Meet in a public place with other people around — a café, a park, a gallery. Avoid a first meeting at anyone's home, or in a car.
• Tell a friend or family member who you're meeting, where and when. Share the Plan details. Check in with them afterwards.
• Control your own transport. Arrive and leave on your own terms. Keep enough charge, money or a card to get home.
• Keep your drink and your belongings in sight. Don't accept a drink you didn't watch being made. Keep your phone with you.
• Keep it short the first time. Coffee or a walk gives both of you an easy exit and an easy next step.
• Leave if you want to. You don't need a reason. If you feel unsafe, ask staff for help, call a friend, or call your local emergency number.
• Group Plans: the same rules apply. Arriving with a group doesn't mean leaving with the group.

Consent and boundaries

Consent is clear, enthusiastic, specific and ongoing — and it can be withdrawn at any moment. Nothing about a confirmed Plan, a Connection, a Cosmic Tea reading or a good conversation implies consent to anything physical. If someone says no, hesitates, or is unable to consent (including because of alcohol or drugs), stop.

Cosmic Tea never describes what the other person wants or is willing to do. Astrology on StarMate is reflection about dynamics, not a statement about anyone's intentions, and it must never be used to pressure anyone. Read the Community Guidelines for what we act on.

Sexual health

If a relationship becomes physical, protect yourself and your partner. Condoms and other barrier methods reduce the risk of many sexually transmitted infections, though not all; regular testing is normal and responsible, and vaccinations exist for some infections. Talk about it beforehand — a partner worth having will respect the conversation. Your doctor or local sexual-health service can advise on testing and prevention.

LGBTQ+ identity and travel

StarMate is for everyone, and it is designed so that you never have to disclose more than you choose. Your gender identity is off your public profile by default, and who you are interested in is never shown to anyone. Before you travel, be aware that laws and attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people differ widely between countries and regions; in some places, being open about your identity, or meeting a partner, can carry legal or personal risk.

• Research your destination before you go. ILGA World publishes country-level information on laws affecting LGBTQ+ people. Confirm that this external resource is acceptable to reference, and whether region-specific resources should be added for the app's launch markets.
• StarMate automatically hides your gender identity from your public profile while you are travelling in a country its risk list marks as unsafe, and asks before showing it where you live. You can keep it hidden anywhere. The country risk list (backend setting IdentityRiskCountryCodes) is empty in the reference seed; confirm it is populated in production before this sentence is published.
• Be more careful, not less, with the meeting guidance above when you are away from home.

What verification does — and doesn't

StarMate's selfie verification is a short, live camera check that compares your face with your profile photos. A verified badge means a real person passed that check with the photos on the profile at that time. It does not confirm anyone's name, age, intentions, safety, criminal history or suitability, and it is not a background check. Treat a verified profile with the same care as any other.

Reporting

You can report a person, a Plan, a Community or a conversation from that person's profile or from the menu of any chat, Plan or Community. Choose a reason — including identity-based harassment — and add details if you want. Reports go to StarMate's safety team; the person you report is not told who reported them. Reporting a person also blocks them immediately.

If you can't find the option, or you want to tell us something that doesn't fit the reasons offered, email support@starmate.app.

Blocking, muting, leaving

• Block a person from their profile or any chat. They stop appearing anywhere in StarMate for you, you stop appearing for them, every open request between you is closed and shared access — including a Cosmic Tea — is revoked immediately. They are not told. You can undo it from You → Blocked people.
• Mute a group or Community chat to stop notifications without leaving.
• Leave a Plan or a Community when it's no longer for you. A Plan's creator can also remove a participant.

Emergency resources

StarMate cannot dispatch help. In an emergency, call your local emergency number. If you have experienced sexual violence, a national helpline or your local health service can help you find support. Region-specific emergency numbers and helplines (for example 911 in the United States, 112 in the EU) should be listed only for the countries where the app is distributed and after jurisdictional review.