Community Rules

Who can join

• You must be 18 or older.
• You must be a current KNUST student with your own working @st.knust.edu.gh email.
• One account per person. Don't create an account for someone else or share yours.
• If our team has banned you, don't create a new account.

The rules

1. 1
   Be yourselfUse your real first name, your real age and recent photos of you. No fake profiles, no pretending to be someone else, no catfishing.
2. 2
   Respect "no"If someone passes, unmatches, stops replying or says no, accept it. Don't contact them through other channels or ask friends to do it for you.
3. 3
   No harassment, threats or hateNo insults, bullying, threats, intimidation, or attacks on anyone because of their ethnicity, tribe, religion, nationality, disability, gender or hall.
4. 4
   Keep it cleanNo nudity or sexual content in photos or your profile. Never send sexual messages or images to someone who hasn't clearly asked for them.
5. 5
   No money, MoMo or sellingDon't ask anyone for money, airtime, MoMo, gifts or loans. No selling, advertising, promoting accounts or businesses, or offering sex for money.
6. 6
   No scamsNo fake emergencies, investment schemes, blackmail or attempts to get someone's passwords, codes or personal details.
7. 7
   Respect privacyDon't share screenshots of someone's profile or chats, their photos, phone number, room or hostel location, or any other personal information without their permission. Taking a screenshot in The Yard automatically pauses your account for 24 hours while our team reviews it.
8. 8
   No one under 18Never interact with, or include images of, anyone under 18. If you think someone on The Yard is under 18, report them.
9. 9
   Nothing illegalNo content or activity that breaks the laws of Ghana, including violence, drugs, weapons or sharing intimate images without consent.
10. 10
    Keep Match Night secretDon't try to work out who is behind a display name or Match ID, and don't share anyone's Match Card, Match ID or couple outside The Yard. Real names are revealed only to people who match. Don't put your name, phone number, email or social handles in your Match Card answers. If you do, your account is automatically paused for 24 hours while our team reviews it.

Photo rules

A moderator checks every photo before other students can see it. Your photo will be approved if:

• It's a real, recent photo of you, and your face is clearly visible.
• You're the only person in it, and there are no children in it.
• There's no nudity, underwear, sexual pose or suggestive content.
• There are no weapons, drugs or violence.
• There are no phone numbers, social media handles, links or adverts.

If a photo isn't approved, you'll see the reason in your Profile and can upload a different one.

A photo is required. Only profiles with an approved photo appear in Discover, and if you signed up with a personal email, your student ID must be approved too. By default other students see your initial until you match; you can choose to show your photo before you match instead. If your profile still has no photo 24 hours after we email you a reminder, your account is paused until you add one and a moderator approves it. The same applies to the student ID we ask for when you sign up with a personal email.

Meeting safely

• Keep chatting in The Yard until you're comfortable sharing your number or socials.
• Meet for the first time somewhere public and busy, in daylight. The library, a café or a hall event all work.
• Tell a roommate or friend who you're meeting, where, and when you expect to be back.
• Arrange your own transport and keep your phone charged.
• Never send money or MoMo to someone you've met here, whatever the reason.
• Trust your instincts. You can leave at any time, and you can report someone even after you've met.

Reporting and what happens next

Use Report on someone's profile or in your chat with them. Choose a reason and add details if you can. You can block them at the same time. They are never told who reported them.

Our moderation team reviews every report and prioritises reports about threats, harassment, requests for money and anyone who may be under 18. To decide, a moderator may read the conversation between you and the person you reported. That access is logged.

Depending on what happened, we may:

We go straight to a ban for threats of violence, sexual content involving anyone under 18, sharing intimate images without consent, blackmail and scams. Where the law requires it, or someone's safety is at serious risk, we may share information with the police.

Appeals

If you think we've made a mistake about your account or your photo, email theyardgh01@gmail.com from your student email within 30 days. Tell us what happened and why you think the decision was wrong. A different member of the team will look at it.

Your account

• The Yard is free while we launch. If that changes, we'll tell you before anything is charged.
• You can delete your account at any time from your Profile.
• We may suspend or close accounts that break these rules, and we may update the rules. If we make important changes, we'll tell you in the app.
• We work hard to keep The Yard safe, but we can't check everyone's identity beyond their student email or control what people do when you meet. Please follow the safety tips above.
• The Yard is an independent student startup and is not affiliated with or endorsed by KNUST.

How we handle your personal data is explained in our Privacy Policy.