Friends in the Vault apps

Community rules

Version 1. Last updated 5 October 2026.

Friends in the Vault apps is for sharing what you log with people you know. Only people you've added can see what you share, and only once they've added you back. These rules are part of the terms of every Vault app. You agree to them the first time you share something, comment, react or send a friend request, and again whenever they change. In short: be decent to the people you add.

Who can use friends

You need a Pikeworks account, and you need to be 13 or over. In Beer Vault you need to be 18 or over.

Who sees what

• There's no directory, nothing suggests you to anyone, and there are no public profiles. Someone can only ask to be your friend with your exact handle, your link or your QR code, and you choose whether to accept.
• Every app starts private. Nothing from an app is shared until you say so in that app, and then only the entries you switch sharing on for.
• Your notes start switched off every time, and so does anything that says where you were.
• Your friends see what you share in an app while that app isn't set to private.
• Comments reach more than your friends. When you comment on a friend's post, everyone who can see that post sees your comment, your handle and your display name, and some of them won't be your friends. You can block anyone there.
• Tables only ever show you and your friends.
• In Fish Vault, everyone who has joined a group session sees who else has joined and each person's fish, but never where.

Not allowed

Don't share, send or write anything that:

• threatens, harasses, bullies or stalks anyone, or keeps contacting someone who doesn't want it;
• attacks anyone for their race, religion, sexuality, gender, disability or anything else about who they are;
• is sexual or shows nudity, including sending anyone a sexual picture;
• involves a child in anything sexual, or tries to get a child to talk about sex, send pictures or meet up;
• shares an intimate picture of someone without their say-so;
• encourages or helps anyone to hurt or kill themselves, or promotes self-harm or eating disorders;
• shows or encourages violence, cruelty to animals, or dangerous stunts and challenges;
• encourages drinking, or taking anything, in harmful amounts;
• supports terrorism or a banned organisation;
• offers to sell or buy anything, including drugs, weapons and alcohol;
• is a scam or spam, or pretends to be someone else, Pikeworks included;
• gives away someone's private details, or where they are, without their say-so;
• links to any of the above, or breaks the law in any other way.

And don't make a new account to get round a block or a suspension.

A photo of a fish you caught is fine. Hurting an animal for the sake of it isn't. In Beer Vault, share what you've tasted, not how much you've drunk.

Words that aren't allowed

Handles, display names, posts, comments and group session names are checked against a list of words that aren't allowed here, and a display name can't hold a web address. If something you write has one, the app asks you to reword it, and it isn't posted. It's an automatic check that only looks for words on the list. It doesn't judge what you meant, and it doesn't look at photos. If you think it has stopped something it shouldn't have, tell me (see "Contact" below).

Declining and blocking

If you'd rather not be friends with someone, decline their request. They aren't told: it shows as waiting until it lapses after 30 days, and they can't ask again for 30 days.

Every post, comment, friend and friend request has a menu with Block and Report, and so do Fish Vault's group sessions and the fish friends log for you there. Blocking works straight away, in every Vault app at once. It ends the friendship, cancels any requests between you, and hides your posts, comments, reactions and tables from each other. They aren't told, and any request they send you won't reach you. You can unblock someone under Blocked in Friends, but that doesn't make you friends again.

Reporting

Report anything that breaks these rules, and anyone who does. Pick the reason that fits best. One of them is "A child at risk".

• A person at Pikeworks reads every report, not a machine, and I aim to do it within a day.
• Anything reported as putting a child at risk is hidden straight away, before anyone has looked at it, and is acted on as soon as it's seen.
• Anything three people report is hidden until it has been looked at.
• I keep a copy of what you reported, so deleting it doesn't make it go away.
• The person you report is never told who reported them, even if they ask for a second look.
• You won't hear back about a report, but you can always block them as well.

If someone is in danger right now, call 999.

What happens

If something breaks these rules, I take it down, and any photo with it is deleted. The person who shared it gets a notice in the app saying which rule it broke and where to ask for a second look.

Anything illegal is taken down as soon as I know about it:

• Anything that puts a child at risk is hidden the moment it's reported. Once I've looked at it, if it does, friends is switched off for good for the account that shared it, and I report it to the National Crime Agency, as UK law requires.
• Terrorism is taken down as soon as I see it, and an account run by or for a banned organisation is removed.
• Anything else illegal is taken down as soon as I've looked at the report and found it illegal.

Reports alone never switch off anyone's friends, however many there are: a person decides.

Suspensions

Breaking the rules can also mean friends is switched off for your account for 7 days, for 30 days or for good. Your own log, your backups and the rest of the app aren't touched.

For good means for good: the Google, Apple or email sign-in you used can't come back to friends on a new account.

Asking for a second look

If I took down something of yours, switched friends off for your account, or the word list stopped you, and you think I got it wrong, email the address of the app you were using (see "Contact" below). Say what it was and why you think it's fine. I'll look at it again with fresh eyes and reply. If I got it wrong, I put things back as far as I can. A photo I took down has already been deleted, so that can't come back.

You can also complain if you think Pikeworks isn't doing what these rules or the UK's Online Safety Act ask of it, about how a report was dealt with, or about something you've seen on friends. You don't need an account to do that. And as with any agreement, if you think these terms have been broken, you have the right to take it to court.

Keeping children safe

These are the standards against child sexual abuse and exploitation in friends.

• Anything that sexualises a child, any picture of child sexual abuse, and any attempt to groom a child (to get them talking about sex, sending pictures or meeting up) is never allowed anywhere in friends.
• Report it with "A child at risk". It is hidden straight away. Once I've looked at it, friends is switched off for good for the account that shared it, and I report it to the National Crime Agency.
• Friends is built to make this hard. Nobody can browse or search for anyone, only people you've accepted see your posts, and there's no chat. The one thing sent to just one person is a fish a friend logs for you in a Fish Vault group session, and only between friends.
• If a child is in danger right now, call 999.
• If you're under 18 and someone online is making you feel unsafe, you can report it to CEOP at ceop.police.uk/safety-centre, or talk to Childline, free, on 0800 1111.
• The child safety contact for friends is hello@pikeworks.co.uk.

Contact

Each Vault app with friends has its own address, and a person reads all of them:

• Fish Vault: fishvault@pikeworks.co.uk

If you're not sure which to use, or it's about anything else, write to hello@pikeworks.co.uk.

If these rules change

The version and the date at the top change, and the app asks you to agree again before you next share, comment, react or send a request.