Safety Center
[Reason: Slowly adding information — French Fox (talk)]
The Safety Center is a system and feature that allows users to check their account standing, warnings received and restricted features, as well as make appeals. It can be opened with the button at the top left of the Settings page.[1]
VRChat described two goals for it: making sure users actioned by the Trust & Safety team better understand why, and giving punishments that fit the violation better, using "feature level" punishments instead of "account level" ones. As an example, an avatar-based violation used to lead to an account suspension. It now leads to a temporary restriction on changing into or using certain avatars, while the account remains accessible.[1][2]
Account Standing
The standing of an account is affected by the warnings and restrictions issued to the user. Depending on the type or severity of the violation, the standing of an account may slowly return to its original state as warnings and feature restrictions are lifted. This helps users determine how close they are to having their account suspended.
The banner shows the standing in the color of its level, a short message (linking to the Terms of Service and the Community Guidelines in the Good and Restricted screenshots), a bar of five segments, and the description of the current level.[2] At the Good level, the message thanks the user for following the Terms of Service and the Community Guidelines, and all five segments are lit.
The Account Standing is composed of five different levels, each having a different color and description:
| Good | No active issues or restrictions on your account. | |
|---|---|---|
| Caution | You have multiple warnings, or some violations on your account that haven't yet cleared, but no active temporary feature restrictions. | |
| Restricted | You have one or more temporary feature restrictions active, or several violations stacked up on your account. Further violations will put you at risk of an account suspension. | |
| At Risk | You have one or more permanent feature restrictions, or enough stacked violations that you're close to the line. Further violations will result in account suspension. | |
| Suspended | You've been suspended due to severe or numerous violations: either three or more permanent feature restrictions, or too many violations stacked up across your account. |
Feature Restrictions & Warnings
Previously, no matter the severity or type, violating the Community Guidelines caused users to receive a suspension. With the introduction of the Safety Center, warnings and feature restrictions are now the first sanctions users may receive, as long as the violation is not severe enough to cause an immediate suspension.
Below the Account Standing, users are able to find feature restrictions and warnings issued up to 3 days ago.
The screenshots published by VRChat show the issues split into two sections. The New section holds issues received up to 3 days ago. The Active section holds issues that still count against the standing of the account until they are removed.[2] Each issue shows the section of the Community Guidelines that was broken (as a link), when it happened, and the penalty. Restrictions also show the days left to appeal and an Appeal button, and warnings show the days left until they become inactive.[2]
Warnings
A warning does not restrict anything. It tells the user that future violations may result in feature restrictions or account suspension. The screenshots published by VRChat show no Appeal button on warnings.[2]
Feature restrictions
Depending on the violation, or after receiving too many warnings, users may receive a feature restriction, which may be temporary or permanent. Feature restrictions can be appealed up to 30 days from the issue date, even once lifted. One appeal is allowed per violation.[2]
A restriction is titled with its length and the restricted feature, for example a 3-day avatar restriction. Its details window shows what it restricts, its duration, the policy violated (as a link to the Community Guidelines) and the appeal information.[2]
VRChat noted that the punishments in its screenshots are for show and testing, and should not be read into too much.[2]
Features that may be restricted are the following:
| Restriction | Description |
|---|---|
| Avatar | User is unable to upload avatars |
| World | User is unable to upload worlds |
| Text Chat | User is unable to use the chatbox |
| Voice Chat | User is unable to speak |
| Public Instances | User is unable to create public instances |
| Public Instances Access | User is unable to join public instances |
| Profile | User is unable to change their profile |
| Groups | User is unable to create groups |
| Stickers | User is unable to create stickers |
| Emojis | User is unable to create emojis |
| Prints | User is unable to create prints |
| Gallery | User is unable to create gallery images |
| Icons | User is unable to create icons |
Appeals
Certain infractions can be appealed from the client, including a suspension. A suspended user sees the Safety Center before loading into any world.[2]
