Empowering users to stay safe online

• Reward users who uphold community standards with special permissions, unique roles or access to features such as limited-time camera effects.
• Create community moderator programs to give additional status to people or organisations that assist with removing inappropriate content.
• Recognise passionate and positive users by introducing contributor programs that can offer additional benefits or perks, such as exclusive events and access to new features and priority support.
• Use point systems so users can vote on each other’s comments and posts – having more votes or points suggests a user’s content is of a higher quality.
• Develop expert and leadership programs by selecting community members to support other users, promoting positive behaviour.

• Include a pledge during sign-up to promote inclusion and encourage a sense of shared responsibility.
• Promote activities that spread awareness of community issues such as anti-bullying campaigns or initiatives to celebrate friendship.
• Enable group chat owners to use moderation strategies and techniques that encourage positive online behaviours.
• Create a more positive and less competitive online environment by choosing not to display the number of likes on a post.
   

• Offer upgrades or game experience to reward good behaviour or positive play (such as promoting the user through levels, activating bonus features or adding extra points).
• Award community badges such as a friendship badge for users with, for example, 20+ friends.
• Allow community moderators to define their own rewards to show appreciation to members.
• Let content creators use channel-specific points systems to define special rewards for their audience.
• Enable server administrators and moderators to reward users with additional permissions.
• Allow users to reward other users with tokens or items they have purchased or earned or with custom badges (like kindness badges).

Technical tools that can help users manage their online experience and facilitate age-appropriate access to content include:

• age assurance, which could include age verification
• parental companion apps and/or controls (including to manage screen time)
• filtering options for different content types
• safety alerts or sensitive content warnings, including blurring sensitive or adult content by default for all users
• de-listing or de-prioritising content or accounts. This can be done to varying degrees for different user groups, for example, applied to children’s accounts but not adult accounts
• hiding different types of content
• quarantining content for later review
• opt-in and opt-out measures regarding the types of content that end-users are recommended or can receive
• muting keywords.

Technical tools to allow users to manage who they are interacting with and how include:

• blocking
• muting
• account or user-based filters
• quarantining content from certain contacts
• hiding content or accounts from specific accounts
• deleting or removing accounts or users from contact lists
• offline mode
• ability to use different avatars or pseudonyms
• ability to restrict who can direct message users.

Technical tools that allow users to manage their environment include giving users the ability to:

• turn off specific features or functionality
• customise privacy settings
• create private teams, communities or groups
• limit content to user-defined groups
• choose which content to limit on their feed
• ensuring that landing pages or first point of contact with a service does not contain sensitive or adult content and that this material is behind an age-gate.

Technical tools that allow users to:

• submit age-rating by uploaders and viewers
• decide whether to view content based on labelling.

Services can decide whether the uploader, viewer or both can submit a rating for content being shared across its platform. Platforms can customise how content ratings appear on their services, and whether age-rating user-generated content is encouraged at point of upload.

While users should have the freedom to express themselves and participate fully in the opportunities that the online world offers, they should be required to follow positive social norms promoted within the environment. Multiple technical tools and features have been developed that can filter content – not necessarily for removal (except when the content is illegal), but to place it behind age-gates or warning pages so that users can access the content by exercising informed consent. 

Encouraging users to rate content and empowering and equipping them with the technical tools to help protect themselves, enhances both the user experience and the service. 

Users should be able to report accounts, content, activities and features. Having extensive options for what can be reported can improve both the insights into what online harms happen on the platform and how to respond to an incident. 

For example, including the option to report content (including messages) and contact that make the user ‘feel uncomfortable’, which may or may not be in breach of specific policies.

Streamline reporting advice and functions to make it easier for the users to report. Think about using videos, images or screenshots of the reporting process to help users of different literacy levels to understand how to make a report. 

Children, young people and at-risk groups need to be able to report in a way that is simple and quick for them. Assess the need for mandatory personally identifiable information fields in content reporting forms.

Reporting functions should be highly visible, easy to locate and simple to navigate. These functions should have consistent navigation and tools across all devices and access channels (such as in-app, in-chat, in-video or on websites), so that the reporting process is seamless for all users. 

Communicate with users through in-platform tools and reminders to prompt users that they can report and include direct pathways to report. Many of Australia’s industry codes and standards include specifications on the location of reporting mechanisms.

Provide users with opportunities to communicate with free text and not limit reporting to pre-determined response options alone. 

Open-ended reporting can allow for more authentic reports, which both benefits the user and can provide feedback to inform the design of reporting functions. 

It can also enable users to report about material they know about but may not have direct access to (for example, an intimate image they know has been shared on a service, but they don’t know where and who has access to it).

Allow the ability to report without requiring people to create or log into an account. This is important where material or activity may be impacting a person who is not a user of the service – for example, cyberbullying material that is being shared about a person who does not have an account on that platform. 

This is a requirement under section 13 of the Basic Online Safety Expectations.

Users may be cautious to report if they fear judgement and retaliation within their social circle. Even when reporting is ‘anonymous’, others may still be able to guess who has made the report through contextual information, for example, the suspension of someone’s account.

Give all users access to clear and simple appeal processes and include opportunities to provide context in their submissions. 

It is essential to create dedicated internal channels for reviewing reports and considering appeals. Implement these from the very start and update regularly.

Ensure users receive updates and information about the reports they have made. Feedback loops should be continually monitored and evaluated so they are fit for purpose. 

Include an expected timeframe for when users can receive a response from the service about their complaint.

Include contact information for law enforcement, hotlines, regulatory bodies or other relevant authorities, as well as referrals to mental health and community services, for users before and after making a report. Wherever possible, these support services should also be localised.

Online safety centres let services openly communicate their key safety and privacy policies, processes and features. Some larger companies with online safety centres include Meta, Google, and TikTok. 

As a design feature, online safety centres provide important guidance for users seeking out advice and resources when they interact with each other online. This is why online safety centres should always be prominent and easy to find on your service. 

These centres empower users to manage their own online safety. They should also address the needs of different users, such as children, parents and at-risk groups and provide links to relevant support and law enforcement services.

To remain effective, safety centres must be regularly updated to ensure they address current online harms and abuse tactics. 

Giving users confidence 

Safety centres give users greater confidence in a platform’s ability to keep them safe. They also provide an opportunity to promote key features and policies, such as:

• security measures like two-factor authentication or parental PINs
• privacy features and settings
• safety features and settings
• community guidelines or terms of service
• additional protection programs for at-risk users. 

Explaining how these features work and who is notified when certain actions (like blocking or unfriending) are taken, helps to build transparency and trust. This also emphasises safety as a shared responsibility among users, moderators and industry experts.

Demonstrating leadership in online safety

Safety centres can also promote a platform’s leadership in online safety, whether through individual activities or as part of a global alliance. This might involve:

• publishing reports showing how an organisation or alliance has reduced online harm or dealt with a complex incident
• providing links to industry organisations or initiatives that promote online safety.

Read more about the impact of global alliances and how you can join one that is most relevant for your organisation.

Addressing the needs of different users 

Publishing accessible and interactive safety content allows platforms to communicate with different audiences – including children, parents and carers and at-risk groups – to make safety a cornerstone of their user experience. Find more information in the Improving accessibility section on this page.

Provide community guidelines that explicitly cover your service’s expectations. The Australian Government’s Basic Online Safety Expectations also outline expectations relating to policies and terms or service.

• Provide step-by-step advice on how to report harmful and illegal content, conduct and contact on your service.
• Use videos, images or screenshots to help users of different literacy levels understand these processes.
• Ensure your reporting and complaints process states the expected timeframe for a response from the service.
• Provide timely feedback to users about the status or outcome of their report.

The Australian Government’s Basic Online Safety Expectations outlines expectations relating to reports and complaints, and there are a range of compliance measures around user reporting in the industry codes and standards. 

Read more about the importance of using human-centred design as part of your reporting process, as well as practical tips you can implement on your platform.

• Outline the process to appeal your service’s decision in relation to:
  • complaints
  • blocking
  • removal of content
  • access restriction (permanent, indefinite or temporary)
  • account deletion
  • why content was not removed.
• Use videos, images or screenshots to help users of different literacy levels understand these processes.
• Ensure your appeals process states the expected timeframe for a response from the service.
• Provide timely feedback to users about the status or outcome of their appeal.

Standard safety settings and features

Outline the safety features that are set as default when signing up to a service or using it for the first time, including whether these are set according to the age of the user.

Explain if automated systems, artificial intelligence, natural language processing or machine learning are used to flag or respond to safety issues. Also specify the harms those tools apply to and the extent to which those tools are deployed on the service (for example, only in public parts of the service).

Opting in and out of safety features and tools

Outline any opt-in safety tools or features, including:

• what they are designed to protect against
• how to turn them on and off.
   

Use videos, images or screenshots to help users of different literacy levels understand these processes.

Provide links to external support services and safety partners in a dedicated section of the platform, or in a safety centre. To make this information effective: 

• break support services down by regional location
• ensure links to relevant supports services are provided for children and young people and other at-risk groups
• provide contact details to assist local law enforcement agencies with their enquiries, especially at the point of reporting.

Advice and support should also be provided:

• throughout the in-app experience
• at the point of need, such as when search terms or activity associated with harm is identified while using the app
• at the point of reporting.

Publishing accessible and interactive safety content helps platforms to engage diverse audiences – including children, young people, parents, carers and at-risk groups – to make safety central to their user experience.

Tips for inclusive safety content:

• Use inclusive and plain language to ensure the needs of different at-risk groups – such as indigenous peoples, LGBTIQ+ people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
• Label everything clearly and use visuals to assist with understanding.
• Integrate accessibility tools and assistive technologies (for example, captions on videos and alt text on images).
• For parents and carers, provide information and tips on safety features and how to talk with their children and young people about online safety. Design this content for shared learning and encourage open conversations.
• For children and young people, make information appealing and developmentally appropriate (for example, using cartoons, videos or gamified content).

Accessible design improves equal access to information for users with a broad range of capabilities and literacy levels. It also takes account of the higher level of online abuse faced by people from at-risk groups and ensures they have access to inclusive online safety information and reporting functions. 

You should build in accessibility from the start of your user experience and user interface design, informed by diverse user research and testing. It is less effective to try to add accessibility features as an afterthought. You should also get to know your users and respond to their preferences and needs through continual feedback.

There are a variety of tools and resources that can help platforms and services integrate accessibility into their design from the outset.

Important accessibility features to consider:

• alt text, captions and audio descriptions
• appropriate colour contrasts between the foreground and background elements on a page
• compatibility with assistive technologies such as text-to-speech screen reading software
• simple, inclusive language.

Standards like WCAG (web content accessibility guidelines) to follow

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops international standards for the web, including guidelines for accessibility. Its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) cover a wide range of recommendations for making web content more accessible across all devices.

Following the guidelines will make content more accessible for people with disability, including people with:

• vision, hearing, mobility or speech impairments
• photosensitivity
• intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

The guidelines will not address every user need for people with these disabilities, but it provides a single shared standard for content authors, developers and designers around the world. Following the guidelines will also make your content more accessible to users in general.

To build a safer and healthier online community, Electronic Arts developed the Positive Play Charter, an updated set of community guidelines presented in an easily digestible format. The charter distils a range of complicated rules into clear dos and don’ts, categorised into four broad categories:

• ‘Treat others as they would like to be treated’
• ‘Keep Things Fair’
• ‘Share Clean Content’
• ‘Follow Local Laws’.

Learn more about how transparency and consultation can support accessibility.

Pan European Game Information uses icons to provide both content descriptions and age classifications for games.

• Age labels display the minimum age suitable for a piece of content. The labels are also graded into the global visual language of traffic light colours: 3 and 7 are green, 12 and 16 are orange and 18 is red. The label also includes the URL of the Pan European Game Information website, which gives more information on how age classifications are decided.
• Content descriptor icons indicate if the game contains violence, bad language, fear, gambling, sex, drugs, discrimination, and in-game purchases.

Learn more about how transparency and consultation can support accessibility.

Twitch created Core UI Ultraviolet, a more accessible, modern and unified design system. This addressed both visual and structural accessibility issues by:

• improving the information architecture for easier navigation for users, including those who use screen readers, allowing more intuitive access to safety features
• implementing AA contrast ratio in both light and dark themes (this is to ensure readability for people with vision impairments. Use the WebAIM contrast checker to see if you comply)
• updating font size, element spacing and other variables for improved clarity.

Twitch reinforced its commitment to accessibility by releasing an accessibility statement, publicly promising to reduce accessibility errors, provide accessibility documentation, establish a group for employees with disability, and inviting feedback from creators with disability.

Learn more about how transparency and consultation can support accessibility.