Safety

Safety is the product

HeyTextMe invites strangers to message you. We refuse to be naive about what that means. Anonymous-messaging products before us died because they made harassment cheap and accountability optional. Our safety model is built against that exact failure.

The four guarantees

1. Your phone number is never revealed

Every message routes through our relay. The person messaging you sees a chat and the card you wrote, not your number, not your contacts, not your location. There is no setting that changes this and no tier that unlocks it.

2. Blocking is one tap, silent, and sticky

Block from inside any conversation. The blocked person isn't notified; their messages simply go nowhere. They see a conversation that's gone quiet, not a door slammed in their face, which matters: telling a harasser they're blocked invites a workaround.

3. Reports go somewhere real

Every report is stored with the conversation attached and reviewed by a human. Report from either side of any chat, pick a reason, done. It's not a decorative button.

4. Every sticker has an off switch

Pause your sticker and scanners see a calm "taking a breather" screen: no card, no chat, no explanation owed. Going quiet should never require peeling the sticker off.

Why senders aren't a free-for-all

Scanners can message without an account, because friction kills honest first messages ("found your keys!") as surely as bad ones. But anonymous-to-you isn't unaccountable-to-us: guest identities are pinned to their conversation, rate-limited, and blockable as a unit. A blocked guest doesn't get a fresh start by picking a new name.

Advice we'd give a friend

• Think about placement. A sticker reveals where the object lives. Bike helmet: great. Your front door: think twice, since it ties your identity to your address for anyone who scans.
• Your bio is public. Write it for exactly the stranger you're imagining, and one you're not.
• Keep it in the relay. These protections only work inside HeyTextMe. Hand someone your real number when you're sure, not when they ask.
• Meeting in person? Public place, tell a friend, own transport. Same rules as any app that introduces strangers.
• Trust the ick. You owe strangers nothing: not a reply, not an explanation. Block early. It's silent, remember?

Minors

HeyTextMe is 16+. Stranger-to-stranger messaging is not a product for children, and we'd rather lose signups than pretend otherwise.

What we're honest about

No safety system catches everything, and any product claiming otherwise is selling you something. What we commit to: the guarantees above, humans behind reports, and closing gaps loudly when we find them. If our safety model failed you: safety@heytextme.com.