Vanish — Rules & How It Works

1. Access and accounts

Vanish is designed to let users participate without traditional registration requirements. Users may join with either a temporary account or a permanent account.

Temporary accounts

Allow quick access to the platform.
Do not require traditional registration details.
Are intended for users who want reduced-friction access.

Permanent accounts

Require only a username, password, chosen country, and chosen city.
Do not require email address, phone number, or precise location.
Do not require payment card information.

For normal users, Vanish does not collect or store email address, phone number, device identifier, or location data as part of ordinary account operation.

2. Groups and roles

Groups use a three-role structure: admin, elder, and member.

The creator of a group becomes the admin.
New entrants join as members.
Promotion from member to elder or elder to admin is subject to group voting when the group meets the eligibility threshold for elections.

Admins

May kick, mute, promote, and demote.
May adjust group tax rates.
May spend group funds.
May acquire items for the group.
May siphon group funds into personal accounts.

Elders

May initiate no-confidence votes against the admin.
May apply moderation actions to members.
May perform public shaming actions.
Certain actions against elders incur item or currency costs.

Members

May publicly shame other users at an item cost.
May initiate no-confidence votes against the admin in eligible groups.
Participate in the group as the default entry role.

3. Voting and admin changes

The admin is protected from no-confidence votes for the first fourteen days after group creation or after surviving a vote.
Any member may initiate a vote of no confidence against the admin in sufficiently large groups.
If the required number of signatures is not obtained, the admin remains in power for another fourteen days.
If a vote succeeds, all users revert to member status and an elder election begins.
Elders then elect the new admin.
Self-voting is not permitted.
If no votes are cast, the system selects a winner automatically.

4. Group types

Public-invite: listed globally but entry requires approval.
Public-open: listed globally and open to immediate entry.
Private: unlisted and invitation-only.

Visibility note

Group type affects how a group can be found and joined. Public groups are listed globally, while private groups are not listed and require invitation.

The earlier reference to top-ten onboarding group recommendations has been removed here because that feature is not yet implemented.

5. Slots, Spotlights, and Roses

Some platform features are supported through Google Play in-app purchases. Items are accessed from the location in the app where they are relevant. After purchase, users can return to that same area and use the available item directly.

Purchase flow

Items may be sold individually or in bundles, depending on the item type and current store configuration.
Payments are processed by Google Play.
Vanish does not access or store card details.
Purchase and usage logs are retained for service operation, support, and user reassurance.

Available items

Slots: allow you to start additional conversations where the app’s conversation-starting limits would otherwise restrict you.
Spotlights: temporarily increase your visibility and may visually highlight or prioritise you in discovery areas of the app. Spotlights cannot stack with another active Spotlight on the same account.
Roses: attach to a specific message and act as a stronger signal of interest. Roses do not guarantee a reply and do not override moderation rules.

6. Conversation-starting limits and Slots

Vanish may limit how many new conversations a user can start within a given period. This helps reduce spam, protects the quality of the feed, and keeps conversations more manageable for recipients.

When your available conversation-starting capacity is low or empty, you may need to wait for capacity to return or use a Slot where available.
Slots allow you to start additional conversations beyond the normal limit, subject to current app rules and technical availability.
Slots do not guarantee that another user will reply.
Slots do not exempt users from spam detection, reporting, moderation, or enforcement.
Slot limits, grants, expiry, and purchase availability may change over time.

Slots are designed to support genuine conversation-starting. They are not a guarantee of replies, visibility, account safety, or continued access to the Service.

7. Moderation and enforcement

Moderation on Vanish is automated. There is no normal human review workflow. The platform uses user reports, behavioural analysis, honeypot traps, system-level spam detection, and automated model-based evaluation of reported content.

Reporting

Users may report other users, messages, images, and group behaviour.
Reports include a reason category.
Duplicate reports from the same user do not accumulate.
Multiple unique reports may trigger action depending on severity.

Automated evaluation

Reported content may be evaluated using a third-party moderation model.
No human review is conducted due to platform scale.
Decisions are algorithmic.
The system may not detect all illegal or copyrighted material.

Enforcement

Severe violations, including child sexual abuse material, extreme violence, or clear copyright infringement, result in immediate content removal and permanent ban.
Only in severe cases may Vanish temporarily collect device and location information to enforce a hard ban.
Mild or repeated behavioural violations, including spam, harassment, or evasion attempts, incur progressive suspensions.
Suspensions typically begin at one hour and increase with repeated triggers.

Honeypots and trust penalties

Automated traps are used to detect bots and malicious automation.
Offending users may receive escalating penalties.
Trust penalties may affect future moderation decisions.

Appeals

Because moderation is fully automated and there is no manual moderation layer, there is no formal appeal process.

8. Community rules

No child sexual abuse material or sexual content involving minors.
No extreme violence or clearly illegal unsafe content.
No spam, malicious automation, or bot abuse.
No persistent harassment, abuse, or evasion of enforcement actions.
No clear copyright infringement or large-scale sharing of infringing content.
Use reporting tools for users, messages, images, and group behaviour when needed.
Do not expect manual review or appeal as part of normal platform operation.
Use of Slots, Spotlights, Roses, or other paid items does not exempt users from moderation rules.

9. Can I stack Spotlights?

No. A Spotlight cannot stack with another active Spotlight on the same account. One active Spotlight must finish before another can be applied.

What do Roses do?

Roses attach to a specific message and act as a stronger signal of interest. They do not guarantee a reply and do not override moderation rules.

Why can I not start more conversations?

You have likely reached your current conversation-starting limit. You may need to wait for capacity to return or use a Slot where available.

Does buying an item give immunity from moderation?

No. Slots, Spotlights, Roses, and any other paid items do not exempt users from the same automated moderation systems and enforcement rules.

How Vanish Works & The Rules

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