Messages, reports and blocking

Only scouts can start a conversation, and only with an athlete whose profile is public. A scout’s first message arrives as a request: the athlete reads it and chooses to accept or decline. Only accepting opens the conversation, and declining does not tell the scout.

Athletes can reply to scouts but cannot start a conversation, with a scout or with another athlete. Clubs and other organisations cannot send or receive messages.

No scout or organisation can message an athlete under 16, with or without a guardian’s consent. The only messages an athlete under 16 receives come from the official Scoutyx account.

When a scout writes to an athlete under 18, the athlete sees a safety reminder before replying, whether or not the scout follows them. If a scout contacts three or more different athletes under 18 within 30 days, our team is alerted automatically.

Read more: Young athletes and guardians

Photos and voice notes sent in messages are scanned for malware and shown only once they pass. Messages themselves are not checked for phone numbers or addresses, so do not share yours.

A notification about a new message names who wrote, never what they wrote.

Messages cannot be deleted from the app. If you delete your account, the messages you sent show as "[deleted]" from "Deleted user".

You can report profiles, posts, photos and videos, comments, stories, club posts and pages, trials, messages and Athene’s replies, from the report option on each. To report a message, press and hold it. The reasons are: child safety concern, harassment or bullying, inappropriate content, spam, fake profile, impersonation, and something else.

A person on our team reviews every report. Reports marked as a child safety concern, and reports involving a user under 18, reach our team straight away. Our team can remove posts, comments, photos, videos and stories, warn an account or suspend it.

When we have reviewed your report, we usually email you the outcome in general terms. We never tell anyone who made a report.

If a child is in immediate danger, contact your local police or emergency services first, then tell us.

Read more: Terms of Service, section 11: Reporting and moderation; Privacy Policy, section 8: Moderation

If our team removes something of yours or acts on your account, we usually email you the reason and a reference number. If you disagree, write to support@scoutyx.com within 6 months, quoting the reference, and a person will look at it again.

You can block someone from the report menu on their profile or their posts, or, in a conversation, by pressing and holding one of their messages. Blocking takes effect at once and works both ways: neither of you can contact the other, you no longer see each other in search, Athene, feeds or stories, follows between you are removed, and any club link between you ends. The person you block is not told.

Comments, endorsements and some texts that organisations publish are checked automatically before they appear, which is why commenting needs your permission for AI features. If a check stops a text, you can edit it and try again, or write to support@scoutyx.com if you think it was a mistake. Athletes’ posts, stories, bios and messages are not checked this way.

Read more: AI permission and what is sent to OpenAI