MealSwipe — Community Guidelines

MealSwipe exists to help people cook, share meals, and find inspiration. We want the community to feel like a neighborhood kitchen where everyone's welcome — where a beginner cook can share their first curry without getting piled on, and where a practiced cook can trade tips on how to get the crust right.

That only works if we all agree on a few ground rules. These Community Guidelines explain what's welcome on MealSwipe and what isn't. They apply to everything you post — photos, captions, recipes, comments, reactions, and usernames — whether the content is new or has been on the platform for years.

If you see something that breaks these rules, tap the Report button on the post or email [email protected]. We review every report within 24 hours.

Keep it about food

1. Stay on topic. MealSwipe is a cooking community. Posts should be about food you've cooked, ingredients you're working with, or the process of making a meal. Unrelated content — vacation selfies, pet photos, product promotions, news commentary — belongs on other platforms.

2. Be honest about what you made. Don't post a photo of someone else's food and claim it as yours. Don't post stock photography. Don't post AI-generated images of dishes you didn't actually cook. If you adapted a recipe, say so — cooks learn from each other's variations.

Food safety is non-negotiable

3. Don't post recipes you know are unsafe. This includes:

Intentionally undercooked poultry, pork, ground meat, or seafood below USDA-safe internal temperatures
Home canning methods that don't follow USDA or National Center for Home Food Preservation guidelines (botulism risk)
Raw milk recipes intended for infants, young children, pregnant people, elderly people, or immunocompromised people
Recipes using foraged mushrooms or plants without identification guidance
Preparations involving ingredients that are known toxins without appropriate preparation (e.g., ackee, bitter almonds, raw kidney beans)

4. List the allergens. If your recipe contains nuts, dairy, gluten, shellfish, eggs, soy, sesame, or fish, say so clearly in the recipe or caption. Missing allergen info can seriously hurt someone.

5. Don't make medical or health claims. MealSwipe is not a medical app. You can share that a recipe is low-sugar or high-protein — but don't claim a recipe cures, prevents, or treats any disease or condition. We're not the FDA; neither are you.

Be kind

6. Don't harass, bully, or threaten anyone. That includes:

Targeting someone based on their cooking skill, body, appearance, diet, or background
Pile-on comments on a single user's post
Threats of violence, even as a joke
Encouraging others to harass a specific person
Repeatedly contacting someone who has asked you to stop

7. No hate speech. Content that attacks or dehumanizes people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, caste, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or medical condition has no place on MealSwipe. This applies to jokes, "just asking questions," and "ironic" posts too — we apply the rule based on impact, not intent.

8. Respect cultural dishes. MealSwipe includes recipes from all over the world. You can post your own spin on any cuisine and share what you cooked — but don't mock, degrade, or make racist generalizations about a culture based on its food. "Fusion" is welcome; contempt is not.

Respect privacy and property

9. Don't share other people's private information. That includes phone numbers, addresses, work locations, real names (if the person posts under a username), and photos of strangers. If a photo incidentally shows someone in the background, that's fine. If they're the subject of the photo without their consent, it's not.

10. Don't post images of children in unsafe or exploitative situations. Cooking with your kids is wonderful — post it. Photographs that sexualize, endanger, or otherwise exploit minors are not allowed and will be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by law.

11. Respect copyright. Don't copy recipes word-for-word from cookbooks, magazines, or other websites. A recipe's list of ingredients is generally not copyrightable, but the written instructions, headnote, and photographs often are. If you're inspired by someone else's recipe, credit them and write the instructions in your own words. If you see copyright-infringing content on MealSwipe, you can file a DMCA notice at [email protected].

Play fair

12. No spam or promotional content. Don't post the same content repeatedly. Don't promote external products, services, or websites in your posts or captions. Don't create multiple accounts to inflate your own reaction counts. Don't use MealSwipe to drive traffic somewhere else.

13. Don't impersonate anyone. Don't pretend to be a celebrity chef, a restaurant, another user, or a brand you're not affiliated with. Parody and fan accounts are okay if they're clearly labeled.

14. Don't abuse the report system. The Report button is for content that actually violates these Guidelines. Filing false reports to harass someone is itself a violation and can get your account suspended.

What's not allowed, period

15. No illegal content. This includes recipes or imagery involving illegal drugs, regulated substances sold without proper authorization, trafficked wildlife, endangered species, or any activity that's illegal where you live.

16. No sexual content or nudity. MealSwipe is a family-friendly app available on the App Store with a rating that does not permit adult content. Keep posts appropriate for all audiences.

17. No content promoting self-harm or dangerous eating behaviors. Including content that promotes eating disorders, extreme fasting, or dangerous dietary practices. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or nationaleatingdisorders.org.

What happens if you break the rules

When a post is reported or we otherwise become aware of a violation, we review it. Depending on the severity and your history on MealSwipe, we may:

For serious violations — child safety, credible threats of violence, or clearly illegal content — we skip straight to permanent bans and legal reporting. For minor first-time violations — a post that accidentally omits an allergen, for example — we'll usually just ask you to fix it.

Reporting content

To report a post, tap the ••• menu on the post and choose Report. You'll be asked to pick a category:

If you can't reach the Report button or you need to report something urgent, email [email protected]. For imminent threats to someone's safety, contact your local emergency services first.

Appeals

If your content was removed or your account was suspended and you believe we got it wrong, you can appeal by emailing [email protected] with the subject line "Appeal" and a brief explanation. We review appeals within 7 days. If your appeal is granted, we restore the content or account and the incident is removed from your history.

Contact

These Community Guidelines are incorporated by reference into our Terms of Service and should be read alongside them.