Community Guidelines

Join us in building the most supportive community on earth

Community Pledge

Creating a safe and supportive Focusmate environment comes down to how each one of us shows up for each other, day to day, moment to moment.

We invite you to make the following pledge:

Honor your commitments.

Your partner depends on you to show up on time, to have your video on, and to stay for your whole session.

Be kind.

Your partner is here to work hard and aim high, so cheer them on! Be encouraging and positive!

Be professional.

Treat your partner as if they were your most important client, mentor, or colleague. Remember we’re a professional community and not a dating site.

Protect your attention.

Help your partner stay focused by removing distractions. Keep your conversation to the beginning and end of your session. And don’t socialize with other people around you.

Work with rigor and intention.

Inspire your partner’s work with your own. Clearly communicate concrete goals and work hard on them. Celebrate what you and your partner have accomplished together!

Note that you should be at least 17 years old to use Focusmate, and should not maintain more than one personal account on the platform.

How to Be Productive on Focusmate

You’re here to get more done that ever before. And we’re here to help! Most members say they are over 50% more productive on Focusmate.

Here are our recommendations on how to be as productive as possible.

Prepare for your session.

  1. Remove any other sources of interruption: close your door, turn off notifications, etc.
  2. Get water/coffee or use the restroom
  3. Open your session 2-3 minutes before it starts
  4. Make sure you are visible in the video. Please do not turn off your camera during the session. If you must step away, please let your partner know in the chat and be back as soon as possible, while keeping your camera on.

Kick off your session.

  1. Be friendly and greet your partner
  2. Ask your partner: “What are you planning to accomplish this session?”
  3. Spend about 30 seconds describing the specific tasks you’ll work on during your session
  4. Break your commitment down into specific tasks
  5. Post your plan in the chat area
  6. Start working

Get to work.

  1. Work quietly on your tasks
  2. Post updates in chat as you move through your list
  3. If you need to take a bio break, post in chat

Wrap up.

  1. After the session ends, check in with your partner to hear about their session
  2. Be supportive and celebrate your productive session! Enthusiasm is contagious!

Forbidden Behaviors

Focusmate is an amazing community, but the internet is a big place, and sometimes people use it irresponsibly. We’ve put these rules in place to keep you safe. If you don’t feel safe or if someone breaks one of these rules, please let us know. We’ve got your back — and so do 99.99% of the people using Focusmate!

These rules apply to all interactions on Focusmate—in sessions, in all community forums, and at all Focusmate events.

Breaking these rules will result in a ban:

  1. No nudity, sexual acts, or sexual harassment. No nudity, no sexual acts, and nothing sexually suggestive at all.
  2. No threats, violence, or harm. Don’t threaten anyone in any way. Don’t harm someone else or yourself.
  3. No hateful conduct or harrassment. Don’t harass, bully, or shame anyone. Don’t do anything that demeans, defames, or promotes discrimination or violence on the basis of gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, religion, political views, beliefs, or veteran status.
  4. No flirting or inappropriate comments. Don’t be flirty or make suggestive remarks. Keep the conversation focused on work. Don’t ask for your partner’s full name, exact location, age, or anything else that’s personally identifiable.
  5. No inappropriate attire. You don’t need to dress up, but you should be appropriately covered up, as you would be going to a cafe, including wearing a shirt and shorts/pants/skirt at all times.
  6. No selling. Don’t use Focusmate to sell or promote a product, service, or brand. No “soft-selling”, i.e., promoting content or a brand that you are affiliated with.

What to Do If You Encounter Bad Behavior

Follow these three steps if you encounter bad behavior:

1. Take care of yourself

If you ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable, please take care of yourself first. Trust yourself and your intuition.

As a reminder, you can always close your browser tab to quickly remove the source of your distress.

2. Report the offending member

Please report any bad behavior you experience.

Reporting bad behavior allows us to take action against the offender. It creates a safer community for you and prevents others from having the same bad experience you did.

What happens if you report someone?

  • Your report will only be shared with Focusmate and it is completely confidential.
  • We’ll review your report and get back to you within 24 hours, with information about how we handle this type of incident. Expect a much faster response for high-severity incidents.
  • Depending on the severity of the rule your partner broke, they’ll either get warned, suspended, or banned.

3. Block the offending member

You can also block that person immediately. Blocking prevents someone from:

  • Booking sessions with you
  • Seeing sessions on your calendar
  • Messaging you
  • Seeing your name or profile anywhere on Focusmate

You can block them from within a session, from their profile, or from your session details pop-up.

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