Help & Support

You sign up with POST /api/auth/register in routes/auth.js. The endpoint requires a date of birth so we can run the 17+ age gate — a single source of truth: MIN_AGE = 17 in lib/age.js. If the computed age is below MIN_AGE, the signup is rejected. The same gate re-verifies your age on profile edits via PATCH /api/profile.

You'll also pick a neighborhood and city during onboarding — that's the data the feed uses to surface people nearby.

The feed in routes/feed.js ranks profiles by neighborhood, city, your recent check-in history, and any nearby venues you've visited. The intent is a city-matched surface — not a generic algorithmic one.

Matches are mutual: you swipe right on someone in routes/swipes.js, and the match row is created in routes/matches.js only when the other person swipes right on you too. Once a match exists, the chat opens via routes/messages.js.

From inside the app, open the person's profile and use the report action. That calls POST /api/reports in routes/reports.js with one of four reasons: harassment, spam, inappropriate_content, or other. Self-reports and reporter-mismatch attempts are rejected at the route level so the queue is reserved for genuine signal.

Trust & Safety moderators review reports from the admin queue within 24 hours (see our response SLA). A removed decision calls setUserFlagged(), which sets users.is_flagged in a single transaction — flagged users are then gated out of the feed, swipes, matches, and messages.

FUSE is rated 17+ on the App Store, and the gate is enforced server-side. MIN_AGE in lib/age.js is the single source of truth — all age computation reads from it. Age is calculated in UTC so daylight-saving shifts can't produce a one-day miscalculation.

The gate runs on signup and again on every profile edit that touches your date of birth. FUSE is not designed for children — if we learn an account belongs to someone below MIN_AGE, we delete the account and its data. See Privacy Policy → Age Gate and Moderation Policy → 17+ Verification.

The categories we collect are profile, photos, messages, location (neighborhood + city + check-ins), and age — full detail in our Privacy Policy. Photos are scanned by a third-party moderation service before they reach your profile, and message text is scanned before it is saved.

You can request access, correction, or deletion of your account at any time. Deletion removes your profile, photos, messages, check-ins, swipes, and matches from active systems within 30 days and from backups within a further 90 days. See Privacy Policy → Retention & Deletion and User Rights.

There are two automated layers and one human layer. Text (chat, profile bios, event descriptions) is run through lib/content-moderation.js, a blocklist-and-regex layer loaded from two operator-editable database tables — see Moderation Policy → 1. Automated Text Moderation.

Photos go through AWS Rekognition's DetectModerationLabelsCommand before they are saved; flagged photos are rejected at upload and never reach your profile — see Moderation Policy → 2. Automated Photo Moderation.

Reports sit in an admin queue reviewed by Trust & Safety within 24 hours, with two-decision actions (approve / remove) and a removal-note path — see Moderation Policy → 3. User Reports & The Admin Action Panel.

If you or someone you know is in distress, free and confidential help is available right now:

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — free, confidential support 24/7. Call 988 · Web chat
• Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741 to connect with a volunteer crisis counselor. Text HOME to 741741 · Website
• RAINN (National Sexual Assault Hotline) — confidential support for survivors of sexual violence. Call 1-800-656-HOPE · Website
• Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ Youth) — crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ young people. Call 1-866-488-7386 · Website