Child safety

Petra has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and for any content that depicts, involves or sexualises a minor, whether real, AI-generated, drawn or manipulated. Accounts involved are removed and the case is handed to the competent authorities.

Petra is for people aged 16 and over. If we learn that an account belongs to a younger child, we close it.

Messages, files, voice messages and photos in chats are end-to-end encrypted on your device. We cannot read them, and we do not scan private chats. We hold only encrypted data in them.

What we can see is limited to the parts of an account that other people can see (profile photo, display name, username, “about me” text, group titles) and the account data we store. We review these when they are reported to us.

Because of this, reports from people are the most important tool. A report is how something we cannot see reaches us.

Petra is built so that we cannot read private chats. Within these limits we do what we can:

• A reporting channel that people review, open to everyone, also without a Petra account.
• Review of profile photos, names and texts that other people can see, when they are reported.
• A minimum age of 16, suspension of accounts that break the rules, and blocking of people by every member.
• Preserving records and reporting every credible case to the competent authorities and hotlines.
• In preparation: automatic comparison of public profile photos with lists of known abuse material by a European service, and a report function in the app that lets you share the messages you choose.

We remove the content we can reach, suspend the account, keep the relevant records so that investigators can use them, and report every credible case to the competent authorities and child-protection hotlines. We do this regardless of explanations.

We cooperate with law enforcement in line with our page for authorities.

Use the report form for illegal content, or write to [email protected]. You do not need to be certain. Reports can be made without being a Petra user.

Please do not forward, copy or screenshot the material. Possessing and sharing it can be a crime. Send us the username, the link or a description of where you saw it; that is enough for us to act.

If a child is in immediate danger, call the local emergency number (112 in the EU) first.

INHOPE (inhope.org) is the international network of hotlines for reporting abuse material. In the Netherlands, the hotline is Meldpunt Kinderporno (meldpunt-kinderporno.nl). In the United States, NCMEC runs the CyberTipline (missingkids.org). Children and young people can reach a child helpline at 116 111 in most EU countries.

Petra is operated by •••, Ijbruglaan 1495, 1087 KM Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Kamer van Koophandel (KVK), registration number 78052769).