Online Policy
“Respect and trust are at the heart of everything we do - online and offline. Our goal is to create spaces where people feel safe to share, listen, and learn from one another.”
Dr Knut Schroeder, Founder & Director, Expert Self Care
We want you to experience safe, respectful spaces online.
Everyone deserves to feel safe, heard, and respected when connecting with us – whether that’s through our website or on social media.
We welcome open, thoughtful conversation and genuine feedback, and we want to keep our online spaces supportive and constructive.
Guiding principles that give you confidence.
We approach communication and moderation in line with four simple principles:
- Respect comes first – we welcome discussion, but always expect kindness and inclusivity.
- Safety matters – we may moderate comments to protect users and keep conversations constructive.
- Transparency guides us – we explain decisions wherever possible and invite feedback.
- We learn together – listening, responding, and improving through your contributions.
We want to make sure that everyone who engages with Expert Self Care can do so with confidence and mutual respect.
Engaging with us constructively.
To help everyone have a good experience, we simply ask you to:
- Stay on topic
- Be respectful
- Keep it constructive
- Follow our community standards
Using our platforms is also subject to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
We value openness and inclusivity.
We aim to keep discussions open, inclusive, and safe.
- Moderation – comments may be pre-moderated, which means they may not appear immediately.
- Timing – we aim to review comments within 24-48 hours (it may take longer during busy times).
- Approvals – we don’t suppress reasoned debate, but we won’t publish comments that break our standards. Where possible, we’ll explain why and invite edits.
- Removal – we may remove comments that breach policy, are older than six months, or cause concern.
- Responses – we read and aim to reply to all comments, though views shared by others don’t necessarily reflect ours. For official queries, please contact us directly.
- Age guidance – if you’re under 16, please ask a parent or guardian before commenting or sharing personal details.
Standards to protect you and others.
We encourage thoughtful and respectful discussion – but we may remove or decline comments that include:
- Offensive, abusive, or discriminatory language
- Personal attacks on individuals or organisations
- Spam or repetitive posts (please keep under 500 words)
- Private or identifying information
- Impersonation of others
- Political campaigning (general health policy discussions are welcome)
- Copyright breaches, libel, or illegal content
- Inappropriate advertising or promotions
- Content glamorising harmful health behaviours
- Requests or offers of personal medical advice
- References to medical products in inappropriate contexts
- Content that’s financially motivated or legally sensitive (e.g. court cases, negligence claims)
These standards exist to protect everyone – and to keep our online spaces safe, useful, and kind.
Social media guidelines.
We use our digital channels to:
- Share trusted content from our apps, blogs, and partners
- Highlight reliable health guidance from the NHS, and trusted researchers and charities
- Ask questions and encourage conversation
What you can expect from us:
- Reposts and shares – we may share and repost useful content, but this doesn’t imply endorsement.
- Follows – we follow accounts we find relevant and informative, not as an endorsement.
- Replies & messages – we check mentions and direct messages (DMs) during working hours (and sometimes outside them). For urgent issues, please contact us directly.
When something feels wrong.
Please let us know if you see a comment on our website or social media that concerns you – or if you feel we’ve fallen short.
We take all concerns seriously and will investigate as swiftly as we can. Your feedback helps us keep our online spaces safe, kind, and true to our values.