Legal

SocialDEX Community Guidelines

Last updated: July 2, 2026CG-2026-07-02

1. Introduction

SocialDEX is the professional peer exchange built into the Skindex iOS app — a space where licensed aesthetic professionals (estheticians, lash artists, nurse injectors, and related practitioners) can share knowledge, discuss techniques, and support one another. It is not a consumer social network. It is a professional community restricted to verified licensed professionals.

Access to SocialDEX is a privilege, not a right. By posting, commenting, messaging, or otherwise contributing to SocialDEX, you agree to these Community Guidelines. These guidelines apply to all content you create or share, including posts, replies, media uploads, profile information, direct messages to peers, and any reports you submit about other users.

These guidelines are enforced alongside Skindex's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which remain in full effect within SocialDEX.

For App Store Reviewers

SocialDEX includes the following mechanisms required under Apple App Store Guideline 1.2 (User-Generated Content):

  • — Users can report any post, comment, or user via the in-app Report function.
  • — Users can block any other user to prevent all contact and visibility.
  • — Users can hide individual posts and mute notification threads.
  • — Users can toggle sensitive media visibility off in their feed settings.
  • — Skindex reviews reported content, removes content that violates these guidelines, and may suspend or permanently ban accounts.

2. Eligibility and Professional Conduct

2.1 Licensed professionals only

SocialDEX is available exclusively to users who hold an active license to practice as an esthetician, cosmetologist, lash artist, nurse injector, or related aesthetic professional in their jurisdiction. By participating, you represent that your license is valid and in good standing.

2.2 Accurate identity

You must represent yourself truthfully. Impersonating another professional, practice, brand, or organization — or presenting false credentials — violates these guidelines and may result in immediate account suspension. Fake license information is treated as fraudulent conduct.

2.3 Client confidentiality

You may not post, reference, or share any information that could identify a client — including name, photo, contact information, treatment details, or any combination of details that together make a client identifiable — without their documented, informed, written consent. Professionals remain responsible for understanding and complying with applicable privacy laws (including HIPAA where applicable) in their jurisdiction.

2.4 Ethical clinical discussion

Clinical discussion on SocialDEX must remain professional, evidence-informed, and non-defamatory. Do not make false factual claims about other practitioners, products, or practices. Do not use clinical framing to disparage competitors, clients, or colleagues.

3. Allowed Content

SocialDEX exists for professional exchange. The following types of content are welcomed:

  • Professional education: technique tutorials, ingredient breakdowns, continuing education resources, protocol sharing, and treatment planning discussion.
  • Peer support and mentorship: questions from newer practitioners, advice on building a practice, managing difficult client situations (without identifying clients), and career development.
  • Product and equipment discussion: honest reviews, formulation questions, device comparisons, and sourcing discussions relevant to professional practice.
  • Practice operations: scheduling strategies, client communication, documentation practices, software and workflow discussion, pricing strategy, and business development.
  • Industry news and trends: regulatory updates, new research, emerging techniques, and professional events relevant to the aesthetic community.
  • Consented before-and-after content: clinical progress photos where the client has provided documented written consent and the image does not identify the client without their permission.

4. Prohibited Content

The following content is prohibited on SocialDEX. Violations may result in immediate content removal, account suspension, or permanent ban, depending on severity. Zero-tolerance items (marked below) will result in permanent termination without appeal and may be reported to law enforcement.

4.1 Zero-tolerance — no exceptions

  • Child sexual exploitation material (CSAM): Any sexual content involving or depicting minors under 18 years of age, in any form, for any stated purpose. Accounts will be immediately terminated and content reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and relevant authorities.
  • Non-consensual intimate imagery: Sharing, threatening to share, or soliciting intimate images of any person without their explicit consent.
  • Human trafficking and exploitation: Any content promoting, facilitating, or recruiting for trafficking, forced labor, or exploitation of any person.
  • Illegal weapons sales: Solicitation, purchase, or sale of illegal firearms, weapons, or controlled substances.

4.2 Harassment, hate, and threats

  • Harassment and bullying: Targeted, repeated, or sustained conduct designed to intimidate, demean, or distress another user. This includes dogpiling, coordinated reporting campaigns, and public humiliation.
  • Hate speech: Content that dehumanizes or attacks individuals or groups based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics.
  • Threats: Direct or implied threats of violence, property damage, or harm against any person or group.
  • Doxxing: Publishing private personal information about another person — including home address, phone number, workplace, or financial information — without their consent and with intent to harm.

4.3 Graphic and exploitative content

  • Graphic violence or gore: Gratuitous depictions of injury, death, or bodily harm. Clinical images with documented educational purpose may be permissible if marked as sensitive media.
  • Shame-based before-and-after content: Before-and-after photos or commentary used to humiliate, shame, or demean a client, regardless of whether the client is identified.
  • Diagnosing strangers from photos: Posting photos of unidentified individuals — especially clients — and soliciting diagnoses, treatment recommendations, or clinical opinions. This exploits clients and creates liability for the professional community.

4.4 Fraud, scams, and deception

  • Spam: Repetitive, unsolicited, or irrelevant promotional content. This includes unsolicited DMs promoting products or services.
  • Phishing and scams: Deceptive links, fake giveaways, impersonation of brands, or any content designed to extract money or credentials from other users.
  • Malware and malicious links: Sharing links or files that contain or distribute malicious code.
  • Fraudulent credentials: Claiming licenses, certifications, or professional affiliations that you do not hold.

4.5 Medical overreach

  • Personalized medical advice to unidentified patients: Providing specific treatment recommendations to unidentified individuals as if you were their treating provider. General educational discussion is permitted; diagnosing or treating strangers is not.
  • Practicing outside your scope: Providing clinical guidance that exceeds your licensure or jurisdiction's scope of practice.

4.6 Privacy and intellectual property

  • Client PII without consent: Any identifiable client information — including names, photos, contact details, or treatment records — without documented written consent. See Section 2.3.
  • Copyright infringement: Posting content you do not own or have the right to share, including copyrighted images, videos, product descriptions, or educational materials.

5. Sensitive Media

Clinical images — including treatment photos, wound assessment images, and before-and-after documentation — may contain graphic content that is appropriate for professional educational contexts but should not be shown without notice to all users.

  • Mark clinical images as sensitive media before posting. The app will blur or hide the image until a viewer chooses to reveal it.
  • Users can configure their feed settings to hide all sensitive media by default.
  • Do not use the sensitive media flag as a workaround to post content that violates Section 4. Sensitive media rules do not override prohibited content rules.
  • Shock posting — sharing graphic content for reaction rather than professional education — is not permitted and will be treated as a violation.

6. Safety Tools

Every user has access to the following moderation tools directly within SocialDEX. You do not need to contact support to use any of them.

  • Report a post or comment: Tap the menu on any post or comment and select "Report." You will be prompted to select a reason. Reports go to Skindex's review queue immediately.
  • Report a user: Tap any user profile and select "Report User" to report their account for conduct violations.
  • Block a user: Blocking a user removes them from your feed, prevents them from viewing your profile or content, and stops all direct messages. Blocked users are not notified.
  • Hide a post: Remove a specific post from your feed without reporting it. The post is hidden for you only.
  • Mute a thread: Stop receiving notifications on any post thread without unfollowing or blocking the poster.
  • Sensitive media preference: Set your feed to hide sensitive media by default in your SocialDEX settings.

7. Reporting and Enforcement

7.1 How to report

Use the in-app Report function for any content or account. For reports requiring additional context or for urgent safety concerns, you may also email support@skindex.app or use the contact form.

7.2 What happens after a report

When a report is received, Skindex will review the reported content against these guidelines. During review, the content may be temporarily hidden pending assessment. We aim to review reports promptly. High-severity reports (threats, CSAM, non-consensual imagery) are prioritized and reviewed as quickly as operationally possible.

Possible outcomes include:

  • No action: The content does not violate these guidelines.
  • Content removal: The post, comment, or media is removed.
  • Warning: The account receives a formal notice that the content violated these guidelines.
  • Temporary suspension: The account is suspended for a defined period.
  • Permanent ban: The account is permanently terminated. Applied for zero-tolerance violations and for accounts with repeated serious violations.

7.3 Appeals

If you believe your content was removed or your account was actioned in error, you may appeal by emailing support@skindex.app with the subject "SocialDEX Appeal" and a description of the content and why you believe the action was incorrect. We will review appeals and respond within a reasonable timeframe. Appeals are not available for zero-tolerance violations (Section 4.1).

7.4 False reports

Submitting reports in bad faith — to harass other users or to weaponize the moderation system — is itself a violation of these guidelines and may result in action against the reporting account.

8. Content Moderation Statement

Skindex actively reviews reported user-generated content on SocialDEX. We remove content that violates these Community Guidelines. We may suspend or terminate accounts that repeatedly or seriously violate these guidelines. We cooperate with lawful requests from law enforcement and regulatory authorities as required by applicable law.

We reserve the right to remove content that creates material legal risk or reputational harm to the Skindex community, even if the content has not been reported and even if it does not clearly fall within a specific prohibited category listed here. This discretion will be exercised reasonably and in good faith.

Moderation is performed by human reviewers. We do not claim automated real-time review of all content. The reporting tools in Section 6 are the primary mechanism by which violations are surfaced to our team.

9. Intellectual Property

9.1 Your content

You retain ownership of the content you post on SocialDEX. By posting content, you grant Skindex a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, display, distribute, and cache your content as necessary to operate SocialDEX. This license ends when you delete the content or your account, subject to reasonable technical and backup delays.

9.2 Third-party content

Do not post content that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrighted text, images, video, product descriptions, or educational materials. If you believe your copyrighted content has been posted on SocialDEX without authorization, you may submit a copyright complaint to support@skindex.app with the subject "Copyright Complaint." Please include: a description of the copyrighted work, a link to the infringing content, your contact information, and a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized. We will review and respond to valid complaints in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and applicable law.

10. Privacy and Client Confidentiality

Client Confidentiality Is Non-Negotiable

Never post identifiable client information on SocialDEX without documented written consent from the client. This includes photos, names, treatment history, or any combination of details that could identify a specific person. Violations of client confidentiality are treated as serious conduct violations regardless of intent.

If you are subject to HIPAA or other applicable healthcare privacy laws, your obligations under those laws continue to apply when you use SocialDEX. Skindex does not provide legal compliance guidance. Consult qualified legal counsel if you are uncertain about your obligations.

For more information about how Skindex handles your personal data, see our Privacy Policy and Privacy Controls.

12. Contact

For questions about these guidelines, to report a violation, or to submit an appeal or copyright complaint:

Last updated: July 2, 2026 · Version CG-2026-07-02