Safety Centre

How ClassMates keeps study groups kind and safe, and what you can do when something goes wrong.

Last updated October 29, 2026

Our promises

There are no one-to-one messages. Chat happens in groups.
There's no member directory. You see the people in your own groups and school.
Invite-only groups never appear in search.
Phone numbers, personal e-mail addresses and social media names aren't posted, so conversations stay on ClassMates.

Guardian AI is ClassMates' safety check. It helps people; it doesn't decide for them.

It checks before your group sees anything. Messages, shared notes, flashcard decks, files and links are all checked first.
Rules come first. Fixed rules catch contact details, unsafe links, file types the school doesn't allow, spam, and words that suggest someone is in crisis.
Personal details are masked. Before any AI check, names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other personal details are replaced. The AI sees, at most, the message and five messages around it.
You see the outcome. If everything looks fine, it's posted. Guardian might suggest keeping the group on topic, or warn you before you send something that might hurt someone. You decide what to do. Anything that could harm someone is held for a person.
It plays safe. If Guardian can't check something, it waits for a person. Nothing unchecked is posted.
It never bans anyone. AI can't pause, restrict or remove anyone.
Your private notes are yours. Guardian only checks a note when you share it.

Each school chooses how strict Guardian is: Gentle, Balanced (the default) or Strict. A class can make it stricter, never looser.

Who reviews: your school's moderators and safeguarding lead, or ClassMates' own safety team for groups outside a school.
Only what's needed: a moderator sees the item and up to five messages around it, with names replaced by letters. Revealing a name is logged.
A reason every time: every decision is recorded with a reason.
AI advice is only advice: moderators may see a suggestion from Guardian, labelled "advisory only". If it isn't available, they decide from the context. The decision is always theirs.

To report a message, touch and hold it (or right-click it in a browser), then choose Report message.
To report a person, open the group's Members, touch and hold their name, then choose Report.
Reports are confidential. A person reviews every one, and the person you reported isn't told who reported them.

Tap "Ask a person to review" on anything Guardian didn't post, anything a moderator removed, or a pause on your sending.
Add a short reason. You can choose to share the five messages before yours with the moderator, so they understand the context.
The app shows when to expect a decision. If it takes longer, a person still reviews it.
You get a notification with the result, explained in plain words.
If your message is restored, it's posted with its original time, and nothing is added to your safety record.
Your moderation history is private to you.

If a message suggests someone might hurt themselves, it's held and sent to the school's safeguarding lead as an urgent case.
The student sees their school's support contacts and a short message written in advance by people. Never AI-written advice.
In Sri Lanka, children can call 1929, the National Child Protection Authority's helpline. It's free, open 24 hours, and speaks Sinhala, Tamil and English.

Summaries only: study time, streaks, badges, goals, whether the student is within their limits, and short safety summaries such as "a message wasn't posted".
Never: messages, notes, quiz answers or calls.
The student approves the link, and either of them can end it at any time.
The student can choose "Only me" for their progress. Limits and safety summaries still work.
Parents can set daily limits and quiet hours, and send cheers chosen from a set list.
Paying for a plan never lets a parent see more.

There are no leaderboards, and nobody is compared with anyone else.
Your progress is about you. You choose whether your groups see your streak.
Teachers see how their class is doing as a whole. School reports leave out groups of fewer than 10 students.
In challenge quizzes, everyone's answers count together. No individual rankings.
Nobody can see whether someone is on a paid plan.

A student or a linked parent can set a daily limit and quiet hours. During quiet hours, sending and study sessions pause.
Limits are enforced on our servers, so they work the same in the app and in a browser.
Daily limits never block schoolwork your teacher has marked as urgent.
Break reminders help you step away when you need to. Your work is saved.

Where voice and video calls are turned on:

The camera and microphone are only used in a call you choose to start or join.
Calls are only between people who already share a group.
You choose who can call you: people in your groups, teachers only, or nobody. Blocks, quiet hours and a parent's "teachers only" setting always apply.
In the open community, a child and an adult can never call each other.
Nothing is recorded. Parents, teachers, moderators and admins can't listen in or join a call they weren't invited to.

Hidden location and camera details are removed from photos.
Files are checked before your group can see them, and only checked files are listed.
Download links expire after a few minutes.
Your school decides which websites can be shared.