LEGAL & POLICIES
COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
Effective date: 5.10.26
These Community Guidelines explain how we keep Dioum safe, helpful and welcoming for parents, carers, families, providers, professionals and other community members. DIOUM LTD is a company incorporated in England and Wales with company number 17094552 and registered office at 124-128 City Road, London, England, EC1V 2NX (“Dioum”, “we”, “us” or “our”). Dioum acts as an intermediary marketplace and community platform. We are not a party to any booking, transaction or arrangement between users and providers, and we do not control the performance, quality or safety of services or products, or the accuracy of advice or content, provided by users or providers. This does not limit any duty or liability that the law imposes directly on Dioum. Further detail is set out in our User Terms and Conditions, Provider Terms and Conditions, Services and Events Terms and Conditions, Online Shop Terms and Conditions, Offline Shop Terms and Conditions and Refunds, Returns and Cancellation Policy, as applicable.
Dioum is a UK-based digital marketplace and community platform for parents and families. We bring people together to share experiences, discover family-focused services, ask questions, offer support and find information. These Guidelines sit alongside our User Terms and Conditions, Provider Terms and Conditions, Services and Events Terms and Conditions, Online Shop Terms and Conditions, Offline Shop Terms and Conditions, Acceptable Use Policy, Privacy and Cookie Policy, Refunds, Returns and Cancellation Policy and any other terms and policies that apply to your use of Dioum. They guide community conduct and do not amend any transaction, cancellation, refund or statutory rights.
Our community is guided by five simple principles: care before growth, trust before engagement, human over algorithm, curation over abundance and calm over noise. We would rather build a smaller, kinder and more useful space than a busy space that feels overwhelming, unsafe or unkind.
These Guidelines apply to everyone who uses Dioum, including parents, carers, family members, providers, professionals, contributors, reviewers, visitors and anyone acting on behalf of an organisation.
They apply to anything you post, upload, send, recommend, review, discuss or otherwise share through Dioum, including profiles, listings, messages, reviews, comments, photos, videos, audio, recommendations and community discussions.
Please use Dioum in a way that is respectful, honest, safe, inclusive and family-focused. If something feels uncertain, pause and choose the kinder, safer option.
WHAT Dioum IS FOR
Dioum is here to help parents and families feel better informed, less alone and more supported. You may use Dioum to ask family-related questions, share lived experience, discover providers or resources, exchange recommendations and take part in calm, constructive community conversations.
Share with care. Speak to others as you would want someone to speak to a member of your own family.
Assume good intentions, but do not ignore harm. We can be warm and supportive while still having clear boundaries.
Be inclusive and non-judgemental. Families are different, parenting is personal and people may be dealing with stress, grief, disability, illness, financial pressure, fertility issues, relationship challenges or other sensitive experiences.
Keep the space calm. Avoid pile-ons, shaming, fear-led language, pressure selling, attention-seeking posts or repeated content that creates noise rather than support.
WHO CAN USE Dioum
Dioum accounts are for adults aged 18 or over. A parent, guardian or other responsible adult may use their own account to manage information relating to a child, but children and young people must not create or operate accounts. The responsible adult must make sure the child’s safety, privacy and wellbeing come first.
If you use Dioum on behalf of a provider, professional practice, school, charity, business or other organisation, please be clear about who you are and only speak for that organisation if you are authorised to do so.
Your account information should be accurate, current and not misleading. Do not pretend to be someone else or create accounts to avoid restrictions.
Use Dioum’s messaging and platform tools in a safe, respectful way. Do not pressure people to share personal contact details, move conversations off-platform, send repeated messages, or continue a conversation after someone has asked you to stop. Do not move a booking, order or payment that is intended to be completed through Dioum outside the platform in order to avoid applicable fees or agreed platform processes. This does not prevent direct in-store purchases from an offline-listed business or future direct dealings where the applicable Dioum terms expressly permit them. Please see our User Terms and Conditions, Provider Terms and Conditions, Services and Events Terms and Conditions, Online Shop Terms and Conditions and Offline Shop Terms and Conditions, as applicable.
We may refuse, pause, restrict or remove content or accounts where reasonably necessary to protect families, children, providers, the wider community, Dioum or the integrity of the platform. We will take account of the nature, seriousness, frequency and impact of the concern and use a proportionate response.
Where appropriate, we will explain the concern, give reasons for our decision and allow a reasonable opportunity to explain, edit or remove content or remedy the behaviour before stronger action is taken. Notice or an opportunity to remedy may not be appropriate for serious, repeated, unlawful or urgent safety concerns.
Where a concern is urgent or serious, we may act without prior notice. This may include removing content, limiting messages, restricting an account, contacting a user or escalating a safety issue. Unless doing so would be inappropriate or legally restricted, we will explain the action afterwards. You may ask us to review a moderation decision through the contact or complaints route made available by Dioum and provide relevant context or evidence. Any prepaid access or existing transaction rights will be handled under the applicable terms and law.
RESPECTFUL BEHAVIOUR
We ask everyone to help make Dioum a place where families feel safe to ask, learn and share. You should:
be kind, patient and constructive, even when you disagree;
avoid judgemental, shaming, aggressive, mocking or dismissive language;
respect different family structures, cultures, beliefs, identities, abilities, parenting choices and lived experiences;
share disagreement in a calm way and focus on ideas, not personal attacks;
avoid scaremongering, sensational claims or content designed to provoke anger, panic, or guilt; and
remember that there is a real person and often a real family behind every post.
Do not harass, bully, threaten, abuse, exploit, impersonate, stalk, shame, discriminate against or deliberately upset another person.
Do not use Dioum to spread hate, prejudice or exclusion based on protected characteristics, family status, health, disability, pregnancy, fertility, birth choices, feeding choices, parenting style or financial circumstances.
Do not use automated tools, scraping, bots, spam, mass posting or manipulative engagement tactics. We value human connection over algorithmic attention.
Keep recommendations and discussions useful. Please do not repeatedly post the same content, flood conversations, or turn supportive spaces into advertising spaces.
HONEST SHARING
BE ACCURATE AND TRANSPARENT
Dioum works best when people share honestly and carefully. When you post, review, recommend or respond, please make sure that:
your content is based on your own genuine experience, knowledge or clearly identified opinion;
you do not present guesses, rumours or unverified claims as facts;
you correct or update information if you later realise it is wrong or out of date;
you clearly and prominently disclose any relevant connection, incentive, free or discounted product or service, payment, employment, partnership, family relationship or other interest that could affect a recommendation or review;
you do not create, buy, sell, request or post fake, coordinated or misleading reviews or testimonials, or offer or accept an incentive that is conditional on a positive review, a particular rating or the omission of material information;
you do not copy someone else’s words, images, videos, audio or materials unless you have permission or a lawful right to do so; and
you do not upload viruses, malicious code or anything intended to interfere with Dioum or another person’s device, account or data.
CHILD SAFETY
Children’s safety comes first. Do not post or share anything that exploits, sexualises, endangers, identifies, targets or exposes a child or young person to harm. Do not ask for, offer or share private information about a child unless it is appropriate, lawful and necessary in the context.
For a parent-and-child activity, the responsible adult should remain involved as the provider requires. For a drop-off activity, the provider must use its own appropriate registration and privacy arrangements to obtain any necessary parental authority or consent, safeguarding and emergency information, and health information needed to deliver the activity safely. The responsible adult should follow that approved process and check the provider’s arrangements before the activity.
Do not share images, videos, audio, school details, location details, routines or other sensitive information about a child unless you have the right to do so and have thought carefully about the child’s privacy, dignity and safety. Do not put health, medical, allergy, disability, safeguarding or other special-category information about any person into a public post, review, general free-text or additional-information field, or ordinary message. Where that information is genuinely needed for a drop-off activity, provide it directly through the provider’s approved registration process. Dioum may preserve or process relevant information where reasonably necessary and lawful to handle an incident, dispute, legal obligation or safeguarding concern.
If you believe a child or vulnerable person is at immediate risk of harm, contact the emergency services or the appropriate safeguarding authority first. You can also report the concern to Dioum, but Dioum is not an emergency service and should not be treated as one.
PRIVACY, MESSAGING AND MEDIA
Please protect your own privacy and the privacy of others. Do not post personal contact details, home addresses, precise live locations, financial information, identity documents, private messages or legal documents unless sharing them is safe, lawful and appropriate. Do not put health, medical, allergy, disability, safeguarding or other special-category information about any person into public content, general free-text or additional-information fields, or ordinary messages. Use a provider’s approved registration process where a necessary disclosure is required for a drop-off activity.
Use private messaging thoughtfully. Do not send unsolicited promotions, repeated messages, pressure tactics, intimate content, abuse, threats or requests for sensitive information. If someone asks you to stop messaging them, stop.
Copies of messages may be stored. Dioum does not routinely monitor all private messages. Authorised personnel may access messages only where reasonably necessary and proportionate to handle complaints or disputes, safeguarding concerns, fraud or security risks, reported-content moderation, legal obligations or claims. Access should be subject to appropriate controls and logging. We will be transparent about or notify you of access where appropriate, unless doing so would be inappropriate, would compromise safety or an investigation, or is legally restricted.
REVIEWS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND MEDIA
Reviews and recommendations should help families make thoughtful choices. They should be honest, fair, specific and based on a real experience. Do not use reviews to punish, threaten, blackmail, promote hidden interests or share private information.
Only upload photos, videos or audio that you have the right to share. Take extra care where children, vulnerable people, homes, schools, medical settings or private family moments are visible or audible. Where you give consent, Dioum may use content you share (such as photos, videos or voice content) for promotional and advertising purposes as described in our User Terms and Conditions, Provider Terms and Conditions and Privacy and Cookie Policy, as applicable, and you can decline or withdraw that consent as set out in those documents.
Do not post intimate, graphic, violent, exploitative, humiliating or otherwise unsafe media. We may remove media if it could compromise dignity, privacy, safeguarding, trust or community calm.
Community discussions should be thoughtful, relevant and supportive. Please keep posts in the right place, use clear titles, avoid repeated threads on the same topic and give people room to choose what is right for their own family.
HEALTH, PARENTING AND PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
Community content on Dioum is for general information and peer support only. It is not a substitute for medical, legal, childcare, safeguarding, therapeutic, educational, financial, professional or emergency advice.
If you need medical advice, speak to a doctor, midwife, health visitor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you need legal advice, speak to a qualified legal adviser. If you need childcare, safeguarding or emergency support, contact the relevant professional service, authority or emergency service.
Do not delay seeking urgent help because of something you read on Dioum.
If there is an immediate risk to life, health or safety, call 999 or the appropriate emergency service.
Parents and families should not be told that there is only one right way to parent, feed, sleep, discipline, educate, treat or support a child unless that statement is clearly backed by appropriate professional guidance and is expressed with care.
Professionals and providers may share general educational information, but they must not use community spaces to diagnose, prescribe, create a professional-client relationship, give personalised regulated advice, or make guarantees unless Dioum has expressly provided a suitable feature for that purpose and they are properly qualified and authorised to do so.
PROVIDER CONDUCT
Providers, professionals and organisations have an extra responsibility to keep Dioum trustworthy. If you use Dioum in a professional or commercial capacity, you should:
describe your services, experience, availability, prices, cancellation and refund terms, limitations, qualifications, registrations and insurance honestly, clearly and prominently before booking and payment, including in any listings, and in line with the Provider Terms and Conditions and the Refunds, Returns and Cancellation Policy;
keep any required professional registration, safeguarding checks, training, licences and insurance up to date; and
avoid pressure selling, fear-based marketing, misleading scarcity claims or exploiting parental worry.
PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITIES
Providers should also:
respond to families respectfully, promptly and within appropriate professional boundaries;
protect confidential and sensitive information;
make clear when content is sponsored, paid for, promotional or connected to your own services;
cooperate with reasonable Dioum checks, questions or moderation where trust and safety are involved; and
not use Dioum to bypass safeguarding duties, regulatory obligations, complaints processes or professional standards.
PROHIBITED BEHAVIOUR
To protect a calm and safe community, and in line with our Acceptable Use Policy, you must not use Dioum to:
break the law, encourage unlawful activity, commit fraud, mislead people or misuse personal data; or
share content that is abusive, hateful, discriminatory, defamatory, sexually explicit, exploitative, violent, graphic, harassing, threatening or unsafe.
MORE PROHIBITED BEHAVIOUR
You must not use Dioum to share content that exploits or endangers children, vulnerable people or families; promotes self-harm, eating disorders or unsafe health practices; sells or recommends unsafe, illegal or unsuitable products or services; spreads malware, scams, phishing or spam; or manipulates reviews, recommendations, ratings or community discussions. Products, services, orders, returns and refunds are subject to the applicable User Terms and Conditions, Provider Terms and Conditions, Services and Events Terms and Conditions, Online Shop Terms and Conditions, Offline Shop Terms and Conditions and Refunds, Returns and Cancellation Policy.
Do not use Dioum to arrange unsafe meetings, pressure families into decisions, bypass applicable safeguards, move a booking, order or payment that is intended to be completed through Dioum outside the platform to avoid applicable fees or agreed processes, interfere with another user’s account, or collect information about people for purposes they would not reasonably expect. This does not prevent direct in-store purchases from an offline-listed business or future direct dealings where the applicable Dioum terms expressly permit them. Cancellations, refunds, returns, bookings, orders, payments and related disputes are governed by the applicable Dioum terms and law, not by these Guidelines.
Do not post content that encourages people to ignore professional advice, avoid emergency care, stop prescribed treatment without professional guidance, conceal safeguarding concerns, or take unsafe action in relation to a child or vulnerable person.
REPORTING CONCERNS
If you see something on Dioum that worries you, please report it using any reporting tool or support channel we make available. Reports may concern: child safety, safeguarding or immediate harm; abuse, harassment, hate or exploitation; fraud, impersonation, scams or fake reviews; privacy, personal data or account security; unsafe or illegal content, products, services or advice; provider or professional misconduct; or spam, malware and other platform misuse. Helpful reports explain what happened, where it happened, who was involved and why you are concerned, and include relevant evidence where it is safe and lawful to provide it.
WHEN TO REPORT URGENTLY
Report concerns promptly where you believe content or behaviour involves child safety, abuse, exploitation, harassment, hate, fraud, unsafe advice, self-harm, serious privacy breaches, impersonation, provider misconduct, illegal activity or a risk of harm to a family, child or vulnerable person.
If someone is in immediate danger or needs urgent help, contact the emergency services or relevant authority first. Dioum cannot provide emergency response, safeguarding investigation, medical treatment, legal advice or crisis support.
MODERATION
We may review, move, label, reduce the visibility of, restrict, disable or remove content where we reasonably consider it inconsistent with these Guidelines, the User Terms and Conditions, Provider Terms and Conditions, Acceptable Use Policy, Privacy and Cookie Policy, applicable law, platform safety, community trust or the wellbeing of families.
We may also warn users, ask for more information, limit features, pause messaging, restrict posting, suspend or close accounts, remove reviews or recommendations, or take other reasonable and proportionate moderation steps. Booking, order, payment, cancellation, refund and return issues are handled under the applicable terms and law.
We may use a mix of human review, community reports and technical tools to help us moderate. We aim to be thoughtful and proportionate, but we will prioritise safety, safeguarding, trust and calm over reach, speed or engagement.
We do not promise to review all content before it appears, and the fact that content is visible on Dioum does not mean we endorse it, verify it or agree with it.
We may take quicker or stronger action where a concern involves children, vulnerable people, emergencies, safeguarding, hate, harassment, fraud, illegal content, personal data, professional misconduct or repeated disregard of these Guidelines.
COOPERATION WITH AUTHORITIES
Where we reasonably believe it is necessary and lawful, Dioum may cooperate with emergency services, law enforcement, courts, regulators, safeguarding bodies, professional bodies, schools, local authorities, payment providers, hosting providers or other relevant organisations. This may include preserving, reviewing or sharing information in line with our legal obligations, User Terms and Conditions, Provider Terms and Conditions, Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy and Cookie Policy, as applicable.
PRIVACY AND RECORDS
We handle personal information in accordance with our Privacy and Cookie Policy. Please remember that family and child-related information can be sensitive. Share only what is needed, avoid naming or identifying others unnecessarily, and think carefully before posting anything that could affect a child’s future privacy or dignity.
UPDATES TO THESE GUIDELINES
We may update these Community Guidelines as Dioum grows, as we learn from the community, or as law, regulation, safety practice or platform features change. Where appropriate, we will give reasonable notice of material changes and explain them in a clear and accessible way.
The updated Guidelines apply from the effective date stated in the published version. If you continue to use Dioum after that date, you are expected to follow them. An update does not change rights or obligations that arose before it took effect unless the applicable terms or law allow this.
If you have questions about these Guidelines or believe moderation has been applied unfairly, you may contact us through the support channels available on Dioum.
THANK YOU
Thank you for helping Dioum become a calmer, kinder and more useful place for families. Small choices matter: care before growth, trust before engagement, human over algorithm, curation over abundance and calm over noise.