Community Guidelines

Zipstory is your town, in real time — shared by the people who are there. These guidelines exist for one reason: to keep the feed useful, honest, and safe for everyone. The short version: treat people the way you'd want to be treated around town.

By using Zipstory you agree to follow these guidelines and our Terms of Use. Violations can lead to content removal, warnings, feature restrictions, suspension, or permanent removal.

1. Keep it local, keep it real

Share what you've actually seen, experienced, or want to know. First-hand posts are what make Zipstory worth opening.

• Don't repost rumors, screenshots, or claims from somewhere else as though you personally witnessed them. If you're sharing information from an official source, say so clearly — don't present it as your own first-hand report.
• Don't post manipulated media, deceptive edits, or old content presented as if it's happening now.
• Don't use community posts for undisclosed advertising or self-promotion. Business owners, employees, paid partners, and anyone with a financial relationship to a business must not post as though they're independent customers. Businesses have clearly labeled business profiles and tools for offers, events, and rewards — business content is always identified as business content.
• Don't use Zipstory to buy or sell personal items or services.

2. Your voice, not a bot's

Your post must represent your own experience, question, observation, or opinion. Writing and accessibility tools — dictation, translation, grammar help, or an optional clearly labeled suggestion from Zipstory — may help you express it, but never use generated content to invent an experience, review, answer, or event that isn't genuinely yours. If Zipstory offers a suggestion, you are responsible for reviewing it and confirming it's accurate before posting. Nothing is ever posted on your behalf.

One personal account per person. Don't impersonate another person, business, organization, or member of the Zipstory team. Business accounts must be operated by an authorized representative and clearly identified as business accounts.

3. Respect people's privacy

• Focus on the place, event, food, view, or local moment. Don't make a private individual the main subject of a post without their permission. People incidentally appearing in the background of a public scene are generally fine — following, zooming in on, embarrassing, or targeting a stranger is not.
• Never intentionally share private or identifying information: a home address, personal phone number, clear license plate, private daily routine, live location, school schedule, or anything that could be used to locate, intimidate, or harass someone.

4. Be a good neighbor

No hate, discrimination, harassment, threats, bullying, intimidation, or coordinated pile-ons — including on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability (this list is not exhaustive). No unwanted sexual comments, sexual harassment, stalking, or repeated unwanted contact.

5. Keep reviews and rewards honest

• Reviews must reflect your genuine experience. Zipstory may award points or cashback for eligible community participation, but no business may require, purchase, or reward a positive review — and rewards never depend on giving a certain rating or saying something favorable.
• Cashback claims must reflect a real purchase you made with your own connected payment method. Fabricated, duplicate, or borrowed purchase claims are prohibited. Don't submit the same purchase through multiple accounts or claim a purchase that has already been claimed. Fraudulent claims may be rejected and may result in repayment requirements, suspension, or permanent account removal.

6. Follow the law — and don't create danger

Don't use Zipstory to promote, coordinate, instruct, encourage, or glorify illegal activity, violence, or dangerous behavior. Factual reporting of a local safety issue may be allowed when it doesn't interfere with emergency responders, expose victims, encourage copycat behavior, or put anyone at additional risk.

Stay safe while posting: don't put yourself or others in danger to capture content. Never interfere with emergency responders, enter restricted areas, or use your phone while driving.

7. No spam or manipulation

Don't flood the feed with duplicate, repetitive, irrelevant, misleading, or artificially coordinated posts, comments, answers, votes, or reports.

8. Respect ownership

Only post content you created or have permission to share. Don't copy photographs, videos, writing, or branding from another person or platform without authorization.

9. Zero tolerance

Pornographic, sexually explicit, or sexually exploitative content; any sexual content involving minors; terrorism; human trafficking; and credible threats of violence have no place on Zipstory. These may result in immediate content removal and permanent account termination. Zipstory may preserve evidence and report conduct to law enforcement or the appropriate authorities when required or appropriate.

10. Reporting, enforcement, and appeals

If you see something that violates these guidelines, report it in the app. Reports and automated safety signals may temporarily limit a post's visibility while it's reviewed — human reviewers make the final decisions about warnings, removals, suspensions, and permanent bans. Depending on severity, context, and account history, Zipstory may remove content, issue a warning, restrict features, temporarily suspend an account, require repayment of improper rewards, or permanently terminate the account.

When an appeal is available, you can request a second review through the app or by emailing support@zipstory.com with "Appeal" in the subject line.

Last updated July 19, 2026