One tip I have for being safe on 7Cups is...
What tip(s) would you share with another user that they may not know about staying safe on 7Cups?
Some examples might be...
how to report someone? when to report someone? boundaries? what to do in uncomfortable 1-on-1's? the importance self care as a listener?
Please share a helpful safety tip (or even a guide!) - and tag a friend too! You never know what you don't know! 
Never ever share personal contact info. I like to think everyone here is here to support others. Most are but why get caught with that 1% that abuses the site?
For example, one person I chatted with for a while tried to get me to buy a house sight unseen for 600 thousand dollars.
I have heard about people (not on this site) that were being blackmailed into giving them money with threats or wrecking their reputation on facebook. Why expose yourself to the risk. Just say
"Sorry, community guidelines say no sharing personal info." you will ALWAYS be safe then.
Really, really wish 7cups allowed us to delete text from therapy sessions as they did before. I do not know why they took this away from us. I am a paying subscriber and just cancelled my subscriptions mostly for this reason. Please bring this feature back - there is no reason not to.
@mettaju It appears they do not allow us to delete posts to threads either. This is highly unusually and totally inappropriate for a space that is supposed to make us feel safe.
@mettaju
Hello! If you need posts in forums deleted, please feel free to reach out to a forum mentor or a forum ambassador in a 1-1. They have all undergone training and have experience that allows them to delete posts that are either requested for deletion by the author or when it violates our community guidelines. This privilege is given to them only so that we can continue to keep the site safe while running everything in a systematic fashion. Thank you!
@Heather225
❑ Personal contact information should not be shared.
❑ Use strong passwords as @Power already suggested and made a helpful post as well [How Strong is your password?]
❑ Give at least 2 polite reminders to the person breaking rules or being inappropriate in a 1-1,so that they can understand, learn from their mistakes and can rectify their behavior. If they fail to act in accordance with the guidelines, then the block button can be used [Blocking]
❑ If a chat topic is uncomfortable or triggering in nature, a listener can refer a chat to another listener in our Listener Support Room. Teen Listeners can use the Teen Listeners room for referring chats. Listeners are also encouraged to reach out to a peer support.
❑ Self-care should always be prioritized as we cannot offer quality support to others when we haven't built a healthy relationship with ourselves.
❑ Setting Boundaries.
❑ Staying Safe on 7 Cups Infographic
Thank you!
one safety tip i have is boundaries! boundaries are so important, so setting boundaries early (i.e. "im here to give you emotional support for 45-60 minutes"); this is important for both you and the member, so listeners dont get burned out, and so that professional bounaries will remain in place
My no. 1 tip is a reminder:
If someone online wants to hurt you, they can only do it if you let them.
Be mindful of the information you give to people. Offsite contact info, real names, locations, very specific family details, photos of you, family or friends, etc...
Never give away your full name.
Never give away your home address. Please.
Never give away your phone number.
Avoid sharing photos of yourself. Reverse image search is a real thing, and you can be found offsite through a photo.
Never underestimate the power of boredom, spite and too much free time.
The wrong people with the worst intentions can do so much damage with only a few of these details.
But Blaze, are you telling me I can't trust anyone? How can I get support if I can't share details?
You can trust anyone, just don't give them information that can be used to find you and hurt you. If you need to share a story, you can use fake names, fake locations. It's best to be honest from the start: "Hey, I'm not comfortable with sharing the actual names, so I'll use fake ones, but the story is real."
A Listener will never need to know your full name, your address or phone number to give you emotional support.
What if I want to share that information anyway?
Then it's up to you. But know that it goes against 7 Cups policy, and for good reason.
You make it sound like people are monsters.
I believe everyone is innocent until found guilty. People can be amazing humans, and everyone is worthy of love and compassion. But the fact is, there are dangerous people online. And it'd be dangerously naive to think some of them wouldn't be on 7 Cups, even if temporarily. Thank you to the Safety Patrol for all the hard work in trying to keep such behaviours at bay.
So 7 Cups isn't safe?
7 Cups is as safe as an online community can be. The ultimate safety tool is you. Other listeners have shared very good safety tips above this post. Be mindful of the information you share, learn when to block and report, reach out if you feel someone on 7 Cups is being dangerous to you or others.
Take care and stay safe.
@AiluraBlaze
EXCELLENT REPLY. Very informative and super helpful!
