DRAFT for the owner's review. Not legal advice. Not yet in force.

Owner must check: company name and registered address, contact email addresses, every time target and retention period marked [OWNER TO CONFIRM], and get a solicitor to review before this goes live.

Crossmith Moderation and Complaints Policy

Last updated: 20 October 2026

Crossmith is run by PVT Digital Ltd. This page explains what is not allowed, how to report a problem, what we do about it, and how to complain or appeal. It sits alongside our Terms of Use.

What is not allowed

• Illegal content.
• Hateful or abusive content, including harassment and threats.
• Sexual content.
• Spam or scams.
• Content that infringes copyright.
• Misleading use of another setter's name or identity.

Crossmith is text only. Setters can publish puzzle titles, clues, explanations, a display name, a short bio and up to three links.

How to report something

Every public puzzle page and every setter profile has a Report button. You do not need an account.

1. Press Report.
2. Choose a reason: illegal content, hateful or abusive, sexual content, spam or scam, copyright, or other.
3. Add a few words to explain, if you can.

There is a simple limit on how many reports one person can send in a short time. This stops misuse. If you cannot use the button, email hello@crossmith.com.

What we do with a report

A person reviews each report in our moderation queue. We may:

• Hide the content. This is instant and can be undone.
• Remove the content.
• Suspend the setter. All their pages disappear.
• Restore content that was hidden or removed by mistake.
• Dismiss the report if nothing is wrong.

We write down the reason for every decision.

How fast we aim to be

These are targets, not promises. [OWNER TO CONFIRM the response times]

Automatic checks

When a setter publishes, we automatically check titles, clues, explanations, bios and links against word lists and a short list of slurs. If something matches, the puzzle is held for a person to review. It does not go live until we have looked at it. Words can be innocent in context, so a person always makes the final call.

What happens to a setter

If we hide or remove content, or suspend an account, the setter sees a notice in their account. It says what we did and why. Serious or repeated breaches can lead to suspension. For illegal content we may act at once and may tell the police or other authorities where the law requires or allows.

Asking for a review (appeals)

If you are a setter and you think we got it wrong, use the review form in your account. It goes into the same moderation queue. A person who was not the original decision-maker will look at it where we can [OWNER TO CONFIRM: is this achievable for a small team?]. We will tell you the outcome and our reasons.

Complaining about how we handled something

You can complain if you:

• reported something and think we handled it badly;
• are a setter and are unhappy with how we treated you; or
• think we have not followed this policy.

Email hello@crossmith.com with the link to the page and what went wrong. We will reply within [OWNER TO CONFIRM] working days. If you are still unhappy, we will tell you what else you can do. [OWNER TO CONFIRM any external complaints route.]

Copyright complaints

If you believe a puzzle copies your work, report it with the copyright reason or email hello@crossmith.com. Please tell us:

• who you are and how to reach you;
• what your work is and where it appears;
• which Crossmith page copies it; and
• that you are the owner or act for the owner.

We may hide the content while we look. We will tell the setter, who may reply. We aim to decide within [OWNER TO CONFIRM] working days. Please do not send knowingly false claims.

What we keep, and for how long

• Moderation log: who acted, what they did, why and when. We keep it for [OWNER TO CONFIRM] so we can show our decisions were fair and to meet legal duties.
• Reports: the reason, your text and the date. We keep them for [OWNER TO CONFIRM].
• Anonymous reporters: we record only a hashed version of your IP address, not the address itself. We keep it for [OWNER TO CONFIRM].
• Removed content: we may keep a copy for [OWNER TO CONFIRM] where the law or an investigation requires it. Content a setter deletes themselves is emptied from our database after 30 days; short links can be deleted outright.

We treat personal data as set out in our privacy notice at /legal/privacy.

Contact

Reports and complaints: hello@crossmith.com / hello@crossmith.com Copyright: hello@crossmith.com PVT Digital Ltd, 20 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU, England and Wales