Handshake is committed to making sure the safety of its users. Any content that falls into the categories below is strictly prohibited and subject to disciplinary action.
This policy applies to text, images, audio, and video content posted on Handshake. It also applies to user profiles, job postings, video descriptions, comments, peer messages, reviews, and external links. External links may include clickable URLs and verbally direct users to other sites in video.
Prohibited Content
If you're posting content, do not post content on Handshake if it could be considered: (1) violent or having the ability or purpose to incite violence; (2) harassment and bullying; (3) hate speech; (4) self-harm; (5) sexually explicit; (6) toxicity; (7) illegal and regulated activities; (8) misinformation; or (9) fraud, scams, and spam.
Any content that falls into these categories is strictly prohibited and subject to enforcement.
- Violent content: Any material that depicts, promotes, glorifies physical harm, injury, or the threat of violence against individuals, groups, or animals.
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Harassment and bullying:
- Any repeated, harmful, and intentional behaviour intended to intimidate, harass, or cause emotional distress to another user.
- Insults and any negative language targeting another person or group.
- Impersonating someone else with the intent to deceive or harm
- Hate speech: Any form of communication, content, or expression that discriminates, degrades, or incites violence or prejudice against individuals or groups based on attributes such as race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
- Self harm: Any harmful behaviour that poses a risk to an individual’s physical or mental well-being, including content promoting eating disorders.
- Sexually explicit content: Any material that explicitly depicts or describes sexual activities, genitalia, or other intimate content.
- Toxicity: Any harmful or potentially harmful behaviours that create a negative environment for users and undermines healthy discourse and community interactions.
- Illegal and regulated activities: The promotion, engagement, or facilitation of actions that violate applicable laws or regulations.
- Misinformation: The dissemination or spread, whether intentional or unintentional, of false or inaccurate information.
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Fraud, scams, and spam:
- Any unwanted, or irrelevant content posted primarily for phishing attempts, malicious links, spreading malware, or other similar purposes.
- Repetitive content, content generated by automated scripts or bots, or content posted with the intent of disrupting a thread or discussion.
- Jobs from unapproved employers: Any content promoting students to jobs, internships or other opportunities from employers who have not been verified by Handshake. Learn how to Create an Employer User Account, Join a Company, and Connect with Institutions.
- Commercial content: The buying or selling of products or services, including fundraisers or advertisements. This includes any attempts to move users off-platform for transactions or soliciting actions for financial gain. Additionally, we also do not permit "get rich quick" schemes.
- Content posted in bad faith: Any content created with the intent to mislead the community, is irrelevant to the community, or aims to circumvent a Handshake policies.
Content on Handshake reflects diverse topics related to building and navigating a career. Good content contributes to the career journey of others and drives authentic discourse around career-related topics. To ensure Handshake remains a place for career-focused conversation, we may remove content that is not broadly career-related, or lacks the context to be informative to the community. While disagreements are inevitable, we expect everyone on Handshake to treat each other with respect. We also currently prohibit discussion of political and social issues. Job postings or other discussion of jobs relating to political campaigns, elections, or candidates are permissible and won’t be subject to enforcement.
Handshake strictly prohibits threats on the platform and will treat any implied calls for violence or other harmful conduct towards a person or group as real threats.
If you come across any content that violates this policy, report it to our team at trust-and-safety@joinhandshake.com.
What happens if I violate this policy?
If your content violates this policy or our Terms of Service, we will remove it and send you an email to let you know. In some cases, our Education and Employer partners may also be notified of any such violations. Any violation of this policy can also result in a warning, an account limitation, suspension, or permanent removal from the platform.
For more information on how content is moderated, refer to How Handshake Moderates Content on the Home Feed.