Community Guidelines

Howsit is for families, students, creators and businesses. These guidelines explain, in plain words, what is not allowed. They are part of our Terms and Conditions and apply to everything public on Howsit — Reels, live streams, Vibes, comments, profiles, channels, shops and listings — and to messages reported to us.

Immediate permanent ban

• Nudity or semi-nudity, sexual acts, or sexual content of any kind;
• any sexual or exploitative content involving children (see Child Safety Standards);
• terrorism, or support or recruitment for violent extremist groups.

Removed straight away, with a strike

• Hate speech, or attacks on people because of religion, caste, race, ethnicity, gender, disability or sexual orientation;
• severe violence, gore, self-harm or suicide promotion, or dangerous challenges;
• harassment, bullying, threats, stalking, doxxing, or sharing someone's private images without consent;
• illegal goods and activities: drugs, weapons, gambling, unapproved online money games, fake documents, fraud and scams;
• impersonation and fake accounts, deepfakes of real people, and misleading AI-made content that is not labelled;
• misinformation that can cause real harm, or content that exploits disasters, accidents or tragedies;
• spam, fake engagement, misleading offers and fake reviews;
• content that infringes someone else's copyright or trademark;
• anything else that breaks Indian law.

Each removal adds a strike. After 3 strikes, the account is suspended. Serious cases skip straight to a ban.

Live streams

Live streams are checked while they run. A live stream that breaks these rules is ended immediately, and the host cannot go live again for 24 hours (or at all, for a ban). Hosts can remove, mute or block people in their live chat.

Music and audio

• Use your own original sound, music from the Howsit Studio library, or your own track from your phone: one you made, or one you have the rights to use (AI-made music only if your AI tool's plan allows commercial use; many free plans don't). Adding your own track means you confirm this, and the reel shows it as your track. Library tracks are cleared for reels; when a track needs a credit, Howsit adds it under your caption automatically ("♪ Title — Artist · CC BY 4.0"). Don't remove or change it.
• Don't upload or add commercial music you have no licence for: film songs, or tracks taken from Spotify, YouTube, JioSaavn or any other app or website. Writing "no copyright intended" or naming the artist does not make it allowed.
• If a reel uses music or video it has no right to, we remove its sound or the whole reel, and the account gets a copyright strike. Repeated strikes suspend the account, like other rule breaks.
• Copyright owners: write to grievance@howsit.in, or use Report → Copyright on the reel, with (1) your name and contact details, (2) the work you own and proof that it is yours (or that you act for the owner), (3) the link to the reel, live or post, and (4) your undertaking to file an infringement suit in a competent court within 21 days. Under Rule 75 of the Copyright Rules, 2013 we disable access to it within 36 hours of a valid notice and tell the uploader why. If no court order reaches us within 21 days, the content may be restored.

AI-made content

Content made or changed with AI must be labelled when you post it. Reels recorded with the Howsit camera carry a "Recorded on Howsit" mark.

Reporting and appeals

• Tap Report on any post, Reel, live stream, profile, group or message.
• We review reports quickly — child safety and intimate-image reports within 24 hours.
• If you think we got a decision wrong, ask for a review through Grievance Redressal; a person looks at it. You can then appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee.