community guidelines

Sparks is built for discovering Spots, connecting with friends, planning sessions, and sharing experiences with the community.

We want Sparks to feel social, useful, welcoming, and safe. These Community Guidelines explain what is and isn't allowed when using Sparks.

By using Sparks, you agree to follow these Guidelines in addition to our Terms of Service.

1. Respect the community

Treat other people on Sparks with respect.

Don't use Sparks to harass, bully, threaten, intimidate, stalk, or deliberately target another person.

We don't allow content or behavior that promotes hatred or attacks people based on protected characteristics such as race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Disagreements are fine. Targeted abuse isn't.

2. Keep Sparks safe

Don't post or encourage credible threats of violence, dangerous behavior, or content intended to cause physical harm.

Never use Sparks to deliberately direct people toward a location you know is unsafe or dangerous.

If you create or review a Spot, provide information in good faith. A Spot appearing on Sparks does not mean that Sparks has inspected, approved, or guaranteed the safety of that location.

Use your own judgment when visiting any Spot.

3. Respect places and property

A Spot appearing on Sparks does not mean that smoking, cannabis use, entry, or any other activity is legally or privately permitted there.

Don't use Sparks to encourage trespassing or unauthorized access to private or restricted property.

Respect property owners, local rules, posted signs, opening hours, and the people around you.

Labels such as smoke-friendly are based on information contributed by Sparks users. They are not a guarantee of legality, permission, safety, or current conditions.

The app's current smoke-friendly status is indeed based on creator input and community review responses rather than staff or legal verification.

4. No buying or selling cannabis through Sparks

Sparks is a social and discovery platform. It is not a cannabis marketplace.

Do not use Sparks to:

• buy or sell cannabis or other controlled substances;
• arrange delivery or exchange of controlled substances;
• advertise controlled substances for sale;
• solicit buyers or sellers;
• arrange payment for controlled substances; or
• otherwise use Sparks to facilitate an illegal drug transaction.

Sparks currently provides discovery of smoke-friendly Spots, session planning, Ready to Spark, and cannabis-related user content, but the app does not contain cannabis purchasing, selling, delivery, payments, retailer links, product advertising, or ordering functionality.

5. Follow the law

You are responsible for understanding and following the laws that apply to you and your location.

Cannabis laws vary significantly between countries, states, cities, properties, and other jurisdictions.

The existence of a Spot, session, review, smoke-friendly label, or other content on Sparks does not mean an activity is legal.

Do not use Sparks to organize, promote, or facilitate unlawful activity.

6. Don't drive impaired

Never drive, cycle, operate machinery, or engage in other dangerous activities while impaired.

Sparks should not be used to encourage someone to drive while impaired or otherwise put themselves or others at risk.

7. Post content you have the right to share

Only upload photos, text, and other content that you have the right to share.

Don't upload content that infringes someone else's copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other rights.

Don't deliberately repost another person's work and claim it as your own.

If someone believes content on Sparks infringes their intellectual-property rights, they should be able to report it or contact Sparks through the contact information provided in our Terms or website.

8. Respect people's privacy

Don't share someone else's sensitive or private information without permission.

This includes things such as private addresses, phone numbers, personal contact information, private messages, or information intended to expose someone's real-world location without their consent.

Be especially thoughtful when posting photos or information involving other people.

Sparks includes location-based features, and Spots can contain exact coordinates and address information, so users should be careful when creating locations involving private residences or other sensitive places. The current implementation stores exact Spot latitude/longitude rather than an approximate location.

9. Don't impersonate people

Don't pretend to be another person, organization, business, or member of the Sparks team in a misleading way.

Parody or fan accounts must not intentionally deceive people about who operates the account.

10. No spam, scams, or manipulation

Don't use Sparks to:

• repeatedly post unwanted or irrelevant content;
• send deceptive or fraudulent messages;
• scam other users;
• artificially manipulate saves, likes, helpful votes, followers, friends, or Sparks;
• coordinate fake engagement;
• abuse multiple accounts;
• abuse the reporting system; or
• attempt to exploit Sparks' ranking or reputation systems.

Your Sparks are your reputation points within the app. Attempts to artificially obtain or manipulate Sparks may result in action against your account.

11. Keep content appropriate

Don't upload graphic violence, exploitative sexual content, or other seriously disturbing material.

Content that exists primarily to shock, threaten, harass, or harm other users may be removed.

Sparks may apply additional restrictions to content when necessary to protect the community or comply with applicable law or platform requirements.

12. Be genuine about Spots and reviews

Spots work best when people contribute accurate information.

Don't intentionally:

• create fake Spots;
• deliberately place Spot pins at incorrect locations;
• submit misleading reviews;
• falsely describe a Spot as smoke-friendly;
• manipulate ratings or community verification;
• repeatedly create duplicate Spots; or
• provide dangerous or deceptive location information.

If information changes, update it where possible or report the Spot so the community can keep Sparks useful.

13. Sessions and invites

Only invite people you actually intend to include in a session.

Don't use invites or invite chats to harass, threaten, spam, scam, or pressure other users.

Respect someone's decision to decline an invite or leave a session.

Information shared through an invite should be treated with the same respect as information shared elsewhere on Sparks.

Currently, Sparks' messaging system is tied specifically to invites rather than offering general DMs. Invite participants can exchange text messages and reactions subject to the invite's access rules.

14. Reports are for genuine concerns

If you see something that violates these Guidelines, use Sparks' reporting tools.

You can currently report users and several types of content, including Spots, sessions, reviews, comments, and photos. Reports are private: ordinary users can see their own reports, while moderators can review submitted reports.

Don't intentionally submit false reports, coordinate mass reporting against someone you dislike, or repeatedly report content simply because you disagree with it.

15. Blocking and personal controls

You don't have to interact with everyone.

Sparks provides tools including blocking, muting, and hiding content. Blocking is account-based and removes the social relationship between the two users; muting and hiding provide additional control over what you see.

If another user is bothering you, you can use these tools in addition to reporting behavior that violates these Guidelines.

16. Sparks is 18+

Sparks is intended only for people who are 18 years of age or older.

You may not create an account or use Sparks if you are under 18. By using Sparks, you confirm that you meet this minimum age requirement.

Cannabis laws and minimum legal ages vary by location. Being 18 or older does not mean that cannabis use is legal where you are. You are responsible for following the laws that apply to you.

17. What happens when these Guidelines are broken

We may review reports and investigate potential violations of these Guidelines.

Depending on the circumstances, Sparks may take appropriate action to protect the community and enforce these Guidelines. Actions may include restricting access to content or features, removing content, limiting an account, suspending an account, or permanently terminating access to Sparks.

Serious or repeated violations may result in stronger action.

Where we believe it is necessary or legally required, we may also cooperate with lawful requests from appropriate authorities.

18. These Guidelines will evolve

Sparks is still growing, and these Guidelines may change as the community and product develop.

We may update them to address new features, safety concerns, legal requirements, or behavior that harms the Sparks community.

When we make material changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page.

Keep it good.

Discover new Spots. Link up with friends. Share what you find. Look out for the people around you.

Sparks works better when everyone contributes to the community responsibly.