Child Safety Policy
1. About LaunchVerse
LaunchVerse is an AI-powered social launchpad where young talent engages with real-world challenges designed by universities, organisations, and industry experts—and converts that work into verifiable, real-world credentials. We serve students in grades 8–12 across India and aim to empower young people to discover, develop, and deploy their potential.
LaunchVerse is operated by Real World Learning Foundation, a non-profit entity registered at 5309 Whispering Breeze Court, Glen Allen, VA 23059-3420, United States. We believe that every young person deserves a safe, respectful, and empowering digital environment in which to learn, create, and grow. Child safety is not an afterthought at LaunchVerse—it is foundational to everything we design, build, and operate.
2. Our Commitment to Child Safety
LaunchVerse takes the safeguarding of children and the safety of all persons using our services as our highest priority. We are committed to:
- •Creating and maintaining a platform that is safe, welcoming, and free from harm for all young users.
- •Designing safety into the architecture of our Platform—not as a feature, but as a foundation.
- •Complying with all applicable child protection laws, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
- •Continuously reviewing and improving our safety policies, systems, and practices.
- •Training all team members, moderators, and evaluators in child safety protocols.
- •Taking swift and decisive action against any behaviour that threatens the safety of our users.
3. Safety by Design
LaunchVerse has been designed from the ground up with child safety as a core principle. The following architectural decisions reflect this commitment:
3.1 No Direct Messaging
The Platform does not support private messaging or direct communication between users. There is no mechanism for any user—student, school admin, or external party—to privately contact another student through the Platform. This eliminates the primary channel through which grooming, harassment, and predatory behaviour occur on social platforms.
3.2 Moderated Comments
Comments on submissions and feed content are subject to AI moderation. This prevents abusive, harassing, or inappropriate language from appearing on the Platform.
3.3 No Open Posting
Students can only submit content at designated challenge checkpoints within structured Opportunities. There is no open social feed, no stories, and no unstructured posting. All student content is tied to educational challenges and undergoes moderation.
3.4 Private by Default
All student profiles and submissions are set to private by default. Students may choose to make their profiles or submissions public, but this is never required. Nudges to go public are designed to be encouraging, not coercive, and the choice always remains with the student.
3.5 School Admin Gatekeeper
No student profile becomes visible on the Platform until a School Admin has verified and accepted their account. This creates an institutional layer of accountability and ensures that every active student is connected to a recognised school.
3.6 Predetermined Reactions Only
Engagement with feed content is limited to a set of predetermined, positive reaction options. This maintains a supportive and encouraging atmosphere and prevents any form of negative interaction.
3.7 No Advertising
LaunchVerse does not display any advertisements, sponsored content, or promoted posts. There is no behavioural tracking, no targeted advertising, and no data sharing with advertisers. As a non-profit, LaunchVerse has no commercial incentive to monetise user attention or data.
4. Content Guidelines
LaunchVerse is a space for learning, creativity, and constructive challenge. All content on the Platform must meet the following standards:
4.1 Share Content You Own
Only submit content that you have created yourself or have the explicit right to share. Do not post anything you have copied from the internet, from other students, or from any source without proper rights. Originality is a core value at LaunchVerse.
4.2 Share Platform-Appropriate Content
All content must be appropriate for a young audience (ages 13–18). The following types of content are strictly prohibited:
- •Sexual, nude, or suggestive content of any kind.
- •Content depicting or promoting violence, gore, weapons, or physical harm.
- •Content promoting or depicting substance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.
- •Content that promotes, glorifies, or provides instructions for self-harm or suicide.
- •Content that promotes eating disorders or unhealthy body image.
- •Content containing profanity, vulgar language, or obscenities.
4.3 Foster Positive Interactions
LaunchVerse is a space built on mutual respect and encouragement. The following behaviours are strictly prohibited:
- •Bullying, intimidation, or persistent negative behaviour directed at any user.
- •Harassment based on gender, religion, caste, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic.
- •Hate speech, including content that promotes hatred, discrimination, or intolerance.
- •Threats of any kind, whether explicit or implied.
- •Doxxing—sharing or threatening to share another person's personal information.
- •Shaming, ridicule, or public humiliation of any user.
4.4 Protect Personal Information
For your safety, do not share any personally identifiable information publicly on the Platform, including:
- •Phone numbers, home addresses, or email addresses.
- •Social media account handles or links.
- •School addresses or specific location details beyond city.
- •Personal identification numbers or documents.
- •Information about other people without their explicit consent.
4.5 Be Honest and Authentic
Do not impersonate other users, spread misinformation, or attempt to deceive the community. Represent yourself truthfully in your profile and submissions. Do not submit work created by AI tools as your own original work without disclosure.
4.6 Respect Intellectual Property
Respect the creative work of others. If you reference or build upon someone else's work, give proper credit. Plagiarism is a serious violation and may result in disqualification from Opportunities and account suspension.
5. Content Moderation System
LaunchVerse employs a comprehensive, multi-layered content moderation system to ensure the safety of all content on the Platform:
5.1 AI-Powered Moderation
All user-generated content—including profile text, profile photos, submissions, and comments—is automatically screened by AI moderation systems. These systems are trained to detect:
- •Explicit, sexual, or suggestive content.
- •Violence, gore, or harmful imagery.
- •Hate speech, slurs, and discriminatory language.
- •Bullying and harassment patterns.
- •Self-harm and suicide-related content.
- •Spam and misleading content.
- •Personally identifiable information shared in content.
Content flagged by AI is immediately quarantined and escalated to human moderators. Flagged profiles cannot be made public until cleared by a human reviewer.
5.2 Human Moderation
LaunchVerse maintains a dedicated team of trained human moderators who:
- •Review all AI-flagged content and make final decisions on approval, removal, or escalation.
- •Conduct periodic reviews of public content on the feed.
- •Investigate user reports and complaints.
- •Make decisions on warnings, content removal, account restrictions, and suspensions.
- •Escalate serious concerns (potential abuse, exploitation, or safety threats) to the Child Safety Officer and, where required, to law enforcement.
5.3 Community Reporting
All users (students and school admins) have the ability to report any content on the Platform that they believe violates our guidelines or makes them feel unsafe. Reports are submitted through a simple reporting mechanism available on every piece of content. Each report captures:
- •The Post ID of the reported content.
- •The User ID of the person who posted the content.
- •The User ID of the person making the report.
- •The date and time of the report.
All reports flow to the LaunchVerse CMS for prompt review. We take every report seriously and aim to review reports within 24 hours.
6. Anti-Grooming and Exploitation Measures
Protecting children from grooming, exploitation, and predatory behaviour is of paramount importance. While LaunchVerse's design inherently limits grooming vectors (no DMs, no free-text, no open posting), we maintain additional safeguards:
6.1 Design-Level Protections
- •No private communication channels exist on the Platform.
- •Adults on the Platform (School Admins, LaunchVerse Team, Evaluators) have clearly defined and limited roles.
- •Evaluators access submissions only within the CMS and cannot contact students directly.
- •No user can access another user's personal contact information through the Platform.
6.2 Monitoring and Detection
- •AI systems monitor content for patterns that may indicate grooming, manipulation, or exploitation.
- •Human moderators are trained to identify and flag potential grooming indicators.
- •Unusual interaction patterns between adult and student accounts are flagged for review.
- •All moderation logs are maintained and available for audit.
6.3 Reporting to Authorities
LaunchVerse is committed to reporting suspected child exploitation, abuse, or grooming to the relevant authorities, including:
- •Local law enforcement agencies.
- •The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
- •The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR).
- •CHILDLINE India (1098) for immediate child safety concerns.
- •The Cyber Crime Reporting Portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs (cybercrime.gov.in).
We will cooperate fully with any investigation by law enforcement authorities regarding the safety of a child.
7. Enforcement Framework
LaunchVerse enforces its Content Guidelines and Child Safety Policy through a graduated enforcement framework:
| Severity Level | Examples | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1: Minor | Off-topic submission, mild language, inadvertent policy breach | Content removal + Warning notification to the student |
| Level 2: Moderate | Repeated minor violations, disrespectful content, sharing personal info | Content removal + Formal warning + Parent/school notification |
| Level 3: Serious | Bullying, harassment, hate speech, plagiarism, impersonation | Content removal + Account suspension (temporary) + Parent/school notification + Record maintained |
| Level 4: Severe | Threats, sexual content, exploitation, grooming indicators, illegal activity | Immediate content removal + Immediate account ban + Parent/school notification + Report to Child Safety Officer + Report to law enforcement where applicable |
Users will be informed of any enforcement action taken against their account or content, along with the reason and the right to appeal.
7.1 Appeal Process
Users (or their parents/guardians) may appeal any enforcement action by contacting the Grievance Officer at support@launchverse.org within 15 days of the action. Appeals will be reviewed by a senior member of the LaunchVerse team who was not involved in the original decision. The appeal decision will be communicated within 15 days.
8. Moderator Guidelines and Code of Conduct
LaunchVerse moderators are responsible for maintaining the safety and integrity of the Platform. All moderators must adhere to the following:
8.1 Qualifications and Training
- •All moderators undergo background verification before appointment.
- •All moderators complete mandatory child safety training, including recognition of grooming, exploitation, and abuse indicators.
- •Moderators receive regular refresher training and updates on evolving online safety threats.
- •Moderators are assessed periodically on their adherence to guidelines and decision quality.
8.2 Moderation Principles
- •Safety First: When in doubt, err on the side of protecting the child. If content or behaviour raises any safety concern, flag and escalate immediately.
- •Professional Conduct: Maintain a professional, polite, fair, and non-accusatory tone in all communications.
- •Consistency: Apply guidelines consistently and fairly to all users, without bias based on school affiliation, location, or personal factors.
- •Proportionality: Match enforcement actions to the severity of the violation. Use judgment—rules are guides, not blind scripts.
- •Confidentiality: Treat all user information, reports, and moderation decisions as confidential.
- •Escalation: Escalate any situation that involves potential harm to a child, legal implications, or that exceeds the moderator's authority to the Child Safety Officer immediately.
8.3 Moderator Restrictions
- •Moderators must not attempt to personally contact any student user outside of the Platform.
- •Moderators must not share user data or moderation information with anyone outside the moderation team.
- •Moderators must not use their access for any purpose other than legitimate moderation duties.
- •Moderators must recuse themselves from any moderation decision involving a conflict of interest.
9. School Administrator Responsibilities
School Administrators play a critical role in the safety ecosystem of LaunchVerse. By using the Platform, School Admins commit to:
- •Verifying the identity and enrolment status of all students who request to join their school on the Platform.
- •Reviewing and acting on student account requests within a reasonable timeframe (accounts not accepted within 30 days are automatically deactivated).
- •Monitoring their school's student activity on the Platform and reporting any concerns to LaunchVerse.
- •Not sharing their admin credentials with unauthorised persons.
- •Respecting the privacy of students and not sharing Platform data with third parties.
- •Reporting any suspected violations of these policies to LaunchVerse immediately.
- •Cooperating with LaunchVerse in any investigation related to student safety.
10. Evaluator Safety Protocol
Human evaluators engaged by LaunchVerse to score and shortlist student submissions must adhere to strict safety protocols:
- •All evaluators undergo background verification before engagement.
- •Evaluators sign confidentiality and code of conduct agreements.
- •Evaluators access student submissions only through the LaunchVerse CMS—never through direct contact with students.
- •Evaluators cannot access student personal data beyond what is visible in the submission (name, school, and submission content).
- •Evaluators must report any concerning content in student submissions (self-harm indicators, abuse signs, etc.) to the LaunchVerse team immediately.
- •Evaluators must not share, download, or distribute student submissions outside of the evaluation process.
- •Any evaluator found to have violated these protocols will be immediately removed and reported to authorities where appropriate.
11. AI Companion Safety Framework
The AI Companion is a personalised conversational chatbot available to every student on LaunchVerse. Given its deep interaction with children—including personality exploration, career guidance, and ongoing memory-based personalisation—it requires dedicated safety measures beyond the Platform's general safeguards.
11.1 Age-Appropriate Design
- •The AI Companion is designed exclusively for students aged 13–18 and uses language, tone, and content appropriate for this age group.
- •It adopts a friendly, encouraging, patient, and supportive mentor persona at all times.
- •It never uses language that is condescending, pressuring, manipulative, or inappropriate.
- •All AI Companion outputs are filtered through the same content safety systems as the rest of the Platform.
11.2 Boundaries and Limitations
- •The AI Companion will never attempt to replace real-world relationships with parents, teachers, mentors, or friends. It actively encourages offline social activities, group work, and conversations with trusted adults.
- •The AI Companion will not provide medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. If a student expresses distress, mental health concerns, or safety issues, the AI Companion will provide crisis helpline information (CHILDLINE: 1098, iCALL: 9152987821) and encourage the student to speak with a trusted adult.
- •The AI Companion will not ask for or encourage sharing of sensitive personal information beyond what is needed for personality exploration and career guidance (e.g., it will not ask for Aadhaar numbers, financial details, or family conflicts).
- •If the AI Companion does not know the answer to a question, it will honestly say so rather than fabricate information.
11.3 Content Safety in AI Companion Interactions
The AI Companion is subject to strict content safety controls:
- •System-level safety instructions prevent the AI from generating sexual, violent, discriminatory, self-harm, or otherwise harmful content under any circumstances.
- •If a student attempts to prompt the AI Companion to generate inappropriate content, the AI will decline and redirect the conversation constructively.
- •AI Companion conversations are monitored by automated safety systems for indicators of distress, self-harm, abuse, or exploitation.
- •Any flagged conversation is immediately escalated to the Child Safety Officer for human review.
11.4 Privacy Within AI Companion
- •AI Companion conversations are private to the student. They are not visible to other students, school administrators, or challenge providers.
- •LaunchVerse team members may access conversation data only for safety investigations, content moderation escalations, or when required by law.
- •The AI Companion's long-term memory (User Persona) is visible to the student through a "What I Remember About You" summary. Students can correct or delete any stored memory.
- •No AI Companion data is shared with third parties for advertising, profiling, or any commercial purpose.
11.5 Proactive Nudge Safety
The AI Companion uses proactive nudges (questions about personality, interests, goals, and skills) to build understanding of the student. These nudges are designed with the following safety principles:
- •Nudges are always framed as friendly questions or offers, never demands. Students can skip or decline any question.
- •Nudges do not push students toward specific commercial products, services, or external platforms.
- •Nudges are designed to be empowering and growth-oriented, not judgmental or pressuring.
- •The frequency and timing of nudges are calibrated to be engaging without becoming intrusive or annoying.
- •Personality exploration questions are drawn from established frameworks (e.g., introversion/extroversion, learning styles, Ayurvedic prakriti) and are presented as fun, voluntary self-discovery—not diagnostic assessments.
11.6 AI Companion Incident Response
If the AI Companion detects or a student reports a safety concern during a conversation:
- •The conversation is immediately flagged for the Child Safety Officer.
- •If there is an immediate risk indicator (self-harm, abuse, exploitation), crisis resources are surfaced to the student automatically.
- •The standard Incident Response Protocol (Section 13) is triggered.
- •The school admin and parent are notified as appropriate, with sensitivity and discretion.
11.7 Human Oversight
Despite the AI Companion's automated nature, human oversight is maintained at all times:
- •The Child Safety Officer reviews AI Companion safety logs and flagged conversations on a regular basis.
- •Periodic audits of AI Companion outputs are conducted to ensure quality, accuracy, and safety.
- •Students and parents can report any AI Companion interaction that feels inappropriate, inaccurate, or concerning.
- •LaunchVerse reserves the right to modify, restrict, or disable AI Companion features at any time for safety reasons.
12. Data Protection for Children
In addition to the comprehensive data protection measures described in our Privacy Policy, the following child-specific protections apply:
- •Verifiable parental consent is obtained before processing any child's personal data, in compliance with Section 9 of the DPDP Act, 2023.
- •No behavioural tracking, monitoring, or profiling of children is conducted.
- •No targeted advertising is displayed to children.
- •Data collection is minimised to only what is necessary for the educational purposes of the Platform.
- •Children's data is not sold, shared with advertisers, or used for any commercial purpose.
- •Children and their parents have the right to access, correct, and delete their data at any time.
- •Student data is stored securely with encryption at rest and in transit.
- •Access to student data is restricted to authorised personnel on a need-to-know basis.
- •Regular data protection audits are conducted to ensure compliance.
13. Mental Health and Wellbeing
LaunchVerse recognises that competitive challenges can create pressure, and we are committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our young users:
13.1 Platform Design
- •Challenges are designed to be developmental, not eliminative—all students qualify from Round 1 to Round 2 to ensure everyone receives feedback and grows.
- •AI feedback is designed to be constructive, encouraging, and growth-oriented.
- •The Platform emphasises effort, creativity, and learning—not just winning.
- •Engagement features are designed to be positive (no downvotes, no negative reactions).
13.2 Content Monitoring
- •AI moderation systems are trained to detect content that may indicate distress, self-harm, or mental health concerns.
- •If such content is detected, it is immediately escalated to the Child Safety Officer.
- •The school administrator is notified (with discretion and sensitivity) to ensure the student receives appropriate support.
13.3 Resources
LaunchVerse maintains a list of mental health and crisis resources accessible through the Platform, including:
- •CHILDLINE India: 1098 (24/7 helpline for children in distress).
- •iCALL: 9152987821 (psychosocial helpline by TISS).
- •Vandrevala Foundation Helpline: 1860-2662-345.
- •National mental health helpline: 08046110007 (NIMHANS).
14. Incident Response Protocol
When a safety incident is identified—whether through AI detection, human moderation, user reporting, or any other channel—LaunchVerse follows a structured incident response protocol:
Step 1: Immediate Assessment (Within 1 hour)
- •The incident is assigned to the Child Safety Officer or a designated safety responder.
- •An initial assessment is made of the severity, scope, and immediate risk to any child.
- •If there is any immediate risk of harm, emergency services and/or law enforcement are contacted without delay.
Step 2: Containment (Within 4 hours)
- •Offending content is removed or quarantined.
- •The offending user's account is suspended pending investigation.
- •Affected users are notified and supported.
Step 3: Investigation (Within 48 hours)
- •A thorough investigation is conducted, reviewing all relevant content, logs, and interactions.
- •Statements are taken from relevant parties (moderators, reporters, school admins).
- •External authorities are engaged where required.
Step 4: Resolution (Within 7 days)
- •A final determination is made on the incident.
- •Enforcement actions are applied in accordance with the Enforcement Framework.
- •The affected student's parent/guardian and school are informed of the outcome.
- •The incident is documented for audit and policy review purposes.
Step 5: Review and Learning
- •The incident is reviewed in the next safety review meeting.
- •Policy, system, or process improvements are identified and implemented.
- •The incident is added to the moderator training materials (anonymised) for learning.
15. Policy Review and Updates
LaunchVerse reviews and updates this Child Safety Policy on a regular basis:
- •Quarterly reviews by the Child Safety Officer and the moderation team.
- •Annual comprehensive review by the LaunchVerse leadership team.
- •Immediate review following any significant safety incident.
- •Review triggered by changes in applicable law or regulation.
All material changes to this Policy will be communicated to users via email and in-app notification at least 15 days before taking effect.
16. Legal and Regulatory Compliance
This Child Safety Policy is designed to comply with the following laws and frameworks:
- •Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and DPDP Rules, 2025 – India.
- •Information Technology Act, 2000 and IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 – India.
- •Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 – India.
- •Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 – India.
- •Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) – USA (for future expansion).
- •General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including provisions for children – EU/EEA (for future expansion).
- •United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – guiding principles.
17. How to Report a Safety Concern
If you see anything on LaunchVerse that makes you feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or concerned about another user's safety, please report it immediately:
Within the App
- •Use the "Report" button available on every piece of content
Via Email
- •Send a detailed report to [support@launchverse.org]
For Emergencies
- •Call CHILDLINE India: 1098
- •Call local police: 100
- •Report online at: cybercrime.gov.in
All reports are treated with the utmost seriousness and confidentiality. You will never be penalised for making a good-faith report.
18. Contact Us
LaunchVerse is committed to being accessible, responsive, and transparent on all matters of child safety.
Organisation: Real World Learning Foundation Email: support@launchverse.org Address: 5309, Whispering Breeze, Glen Allen, Virginia (VA), 23059-3420, United States
We are here to help. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions about child safety on LaunchVerse, we want to hear from you.