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Privacy overview

Decide who can reach you and stay safe on Root.

What is privacy in Root?​

Privacy in Root refers to the settings and features that let you control your interactions with other users. These tools help you manage who can contact you, protect yourself from unwanted interactions, and stay safe when navigating external content.

Root provides several privacy features:

  • Friend and DM privacy: Control who can send you friend requests and direct messages
  • Community invite privacy: Control who can send you community invites
  • Blocking users: Prevent specific users from contacting you or seeing your activity
  • Reporting: Flag a message or an account so it can be reviewed
  • External link protection: Review links before leaving Root to visit external websites

How privacy works​

Privacy features in Root work at the account level, meaning your settings apply across all communities and conversations.

When you configure friend and DM privacy:

  • You choose who can send you friend requests (nobody, shared connections, or anyone)
  • You choose who can send you direct messages (nobody, friends only, shared connections, or anyone)
  • You can optionally require that users have a verified email address
  • Existing friends and conversations are not affected

When you configure community invite privacy:

  • You choose who can send you community invites (nobody, friends only, shared connections, or anyone)
  • You can optionally require that users have a verified email address
  • Existing community memberships are not affected

When you block a user:

  • They cannot send you direct messages
  • They cannot add you as a friend
  • Their messages are hidden from your view in shared channels
  • They cannot see your online status

When you report a message or an account:

  • Root receives it for review, along with the reason you picked
  • The person is not told that you reported them
  • Reporting on its own does not delete the message or stop the person contacting you
  • On mobile you report from the message or the profile. On desktop you send the report through the support form instead

When you select an external link:

  • Root displays a confirmation dialog showing the destination URL
  • You can review the link before deciding to visit the site
  • This helps protect you from phishing attempts and malicious links

When to use privacy features​

Use Root's privacy features when you want to:

  • Stop unwanted contact: Block users who are harassing you or sending unwanted messages
  • Flag rule breaking: Report a message or an account so the behaviour can be reviewed
  • Clean up your experience: Hide messages from users you don't want to interact with
  • Stay safe online: Verify external links before visiting unfamiliar websites
  • Protect your information: Prevent unknown users from tracking your online status