Privacy & settings
Muting and suspension
Overview
Like the whole of the Internet, there are bored people, spammers, and just plain old weirdos. Every platform has to deal with it. SeaPeople is an interesting case, as we boaters need and want as open lines of communication as possible to ensure we hear messages that are important for safety, updates, and a good time.
To assist with your safety as well as making sure that SeaPeople remains useful as a communication and sharing tool, sometimes users are muted or even suspended.
We’re breaking past the limits of old tools like VHF by giving boaters a place to talk openly, freely, and across the horizon on SeaPeople. Our approach is fresh and intentional; keeping real conversations flowing while limiting the reach of spam.
Muting
“Someone I was chatting with was muted. Why?”
If you were chatting with another user and suddenly can’t send messages, you may see a note saying they’ve been temporarily muted.
Muting happens when a user sends repeated messages that our system flags. Before muting, they would have received multiple warnings to adjust their behavior.
The muted user has a way to request review and get unmuted if the system made a mistake; for example, if their repeated messages were intentional for a valid reason.
💡 Important: The messages sent to you might not look like spam, but our system considers the user’s entire messaging behavior to help keep the community safe.
ℹ️ Stay safe:
Never agree to switch to another platform like Signal or WhatsApp.
Never give out personal information.
Never agree to paid arrangements.
Be cautious if someone returns with a new profile and a story about why they couldn’t continue your old chat.
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“I was muted. Why?”
If you were muted, our system flagged your messages as spam, inappropriate, or misleading.
You’ll see a button in the mute notification that lets you contact the SeaPeople team to review your case. You’ll have a chance to verify your identity and explain the situation. If everything checks out, we’ll work with you to restore messaging access.
Suspended Users
"A user I followed or was chatting with has disappeared. Why?"
Our highest level of safety measure is to suspend users who abuse the platform. When someone is suspended, their profile and messages are no longer visible to others.
There are several possible reasons for suspension, outlined in our Terms of Use.
Some of the most common include:
Inappropriate messaging
Using stolen photos or misrepresenting their identity
Spamming other users
Unlicensed solicitation of services — especially paid services
These actions go against our community guidelines and can result in immediate removal to keep SeaPeople safe for everyone.
What now?
If someone you were chatting with was muted, we’re sorry for the interruption. They have a clear path to reinstatement if they’re a genuine user with good intentions. Every action we take is aimed at protecting the SeaPeople community.
If you were muted, use the tools in your mute notification to request review and reinstatement.
If you were suspended and believe this was in error, contact us at support@seapeopleapp.com to begin the reinstatement process.