Atlas is a place to share the real experiences of getting outside — a hike, a road trip, a season abroad. These guidelines describe what we expect from everyone who posts, comments, or interacts here. They apply to every story, chapter, photo, video, caption, GPS track, profile, and message on the platform.
Our approach
We want Atlas to feel like a small, trusted campfire — not a public square. Two things follow from that:
- The rules are strict. If content is likely to make the community less safe, less honest, or less kind, it does not belong here — even when it is legal.
- Enforcement is human. Reports go to real people who read the context. We would rather move slowly and get it right than automate a decision that ends someone's account.
What is not allowed
Harassment and threats
Do not target another person with insults, slurs, sexual remarks, stalking behavior, or threats of violence. Repeatedly contacting or tagging someone who has asked you to stop is harassment. Sharing private information (address, phone number, workplace, exact live location) about someone without their explicit consent — commonly called doxxing — is not allowed and will typically result in an immediate ban.
Hate speech
Content that attacks or dehumanizes people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or serious disease is not allowed. This includes slurs used as attacks, symbols and imagery associated with hate movements, and conspiracy theories that target protected groups.
Sexual content and nudity
Atlas is not a place for sexual content. Explicit sexual imagery, pornography, sexual solicitation, and content that sexualizes minors in any form are strictly prohibited. Non-sexual nudity in an editorial or cultural context (for example, indigenous ceremonial dress or classical art in a museum photo) is allowed at the community's discretion; if it is reported, we will review it.
Any content that sexualizes or endangers a minor is reported to law enforcement and results in a permanent ban with no appeal.
Violence and graphic content
Do not post graphic depictions of real-world violence, injury, death, or animal cruelty. Content that celebrates, glorifies, or incites violence against people or groups is not allowed. First-hand documentation of a public event (a news photo, a protest) may be allowed with context; content posted for shock value is not.
Self-harm
Do not post content that promotes or glorifies self-harm, eating disorders, or suicide. Content that discusses these topics from a recovery or awareness perspective is welcome. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a local crisis line — a directory is at findahelpline.com.
Illegal activity
Do not use Atlas to plan, coordinate, promote, or brag about criminal activity — including but not limited to drug trafficking, weapons sales, fraud, poaching, trespassing on protected land, or damaging cultural sites. Content that romanticizes illegal off-trail behavior in parks and wilderness areas will be removed.
Impersonation
Do not pretend to be another real person, business, or organization. Parody accounts are allowed only if the display name and profile make the parody obvious and no reasonable person would be misled.
Spam and manipulation
Do not post duplicate content across many stories, mass-follow to gain followers back, use bots or scripted engagement, sell followers, or engage in coordinated inauthentic behavior. Do not use Atlas primarily to drive traffic to affiliate links, phishing pages, or malware.
Location and privacy
Atlas is a location-based platform, and geography is more sensitive than most things people post online. A few specific rules:
- Do not reveal other people's locations without consent. If a photo, caption, or GPS track would let a viewer find someone's home, workplace, school, or a place they consider private, do not post it.
- Fragile places deserve extra care. Do not publish precise coordinates for sensitive wildlife (nests, dens, calving grounds), fragile geological features, or archaeological sites. When in doubt, blur the location or aggregate to the nearest park or region.
- Respect indigenous and sacred sites. Do not post content from places where photography is culturally prohibited.
- Every story has privacy controls. Public, Followers, Friends, or Private — the choice is yours. When posting about another person, consider how visible they would want to be.
Sharing other people's content
Only post photos, videos, and GPS tracks that you captured yourself or that you have explicit permission to share. Do not download and repost content from other Atlas users or from elsewhere on the web without credit and consent from the original creator. If you appear in someone else's post and would like it removed, you can report it or contact the poster directly through the app.
Copyright
Do not post content that infringes someone else's copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights. If you believe your rights have been infringed, please send a takedown notice with the information required by the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512) to [email protected]. Repeated infringers will have their accounts terminated.
Reporting and blocking
Every user profile, story, and piece of content on Atlas has a three-dot menu with Block and Report actions:
- Blocking is silent and mutual: the blocked user is never notified, and neither of you will see each other's content, follows, or friend requests going forward.
- Reporting sends the content to our moderation queue with the reason you selected. You will see the status of your reports under Settings → Privacy & Security → My reports.
Reports are pseudonymous within the app: the reported user is never told who reported them.
Enforcement
When a report reaches us we take one of the following actions, proportionate to the violation and the user's history:
- Dismiss — the content does not violate these guidelines.
- Remove the content and notify the poster with a reason.
- Restrict the account — for example, disable posting for a set period.
- Permanently ban the account for severe or repeat violations, with all content removed.
Our internal target is a 24-hour first response on new reports. Severe categories (violence, self-harm, illegal activity, sexual content involving minors) are escalated immediately and may bypass the normal queue.
Appeals and contact
If we removed content or restricted your account and you believe we made a mistake, reply to the notification email and tell us why. A different reviewer will look at the case. If your account was permanently banned, appeals are still possible for the first 30 days after the ban.
For anything else — press, partnerships, safety concerns that do not map neatly to a report — you can reach us at [email protected].