House rules

Free and open: anyone can read, anyone can join, anyone can start a community. Kiwi keeps the rules simple: be the surfer you would want next to you in the lineup.

Respect the lineup
The usual code applies here too: closest to the peak goes, no dropping in, paddle wide through the channel, hold your board, say sorry when you mess up. Show beginners how, don't tell them off.
No secret spots
Talk about the ten public breaks on Kiwi's list. Don't name, pin or give directions to spots that locals keep quiet, and don't post photos that give them away. We remove those, no argument.
No faces without a yes
Lineup shots from the beach are fine. Close-ups of people who didn't agree are not, and never children. If a photo shows you, tap ⚑ and pick "This photo shows me": it comes down at once while we check.
Be kind to beginners
No kook-shaming, no mocking clips, no pile-ons. Everyone was a kook once. Questions go to the Beginners corner, where nobody gets judged.
Honest reports only
Say what you saw and when you saw it. No "it's flat" to keep the crowd away, no made-up reports, no yesterday dressed up as today.
Safety first
Never talk a beginner into a big day or a heavy break like Coxos or Supertubos. Rips, rocks, cold water: say so. Someone in trouble in the water? Call 112.
No ads, no selling, no spam
Sharing a ride or splitting costs on a trip is fine. Selling things, promo codes, surf schools touting, links to shops: not here. New members can't post links for their first days. That's our spam shield, not a judgement.
Keep it legal and decent
No hate, harassment, threats, sexual content or anything illegal. No personal details about other people: names, number plates, addresses, phone numbers. Zero tolerance: objectionable content and abusive users are not tolerated; we remove it and ban the account.
Your community, your rules (on top of these)
Anyone can start a community. Its moderators can add their own rules and run it their way, as long as these house rules still apply. One account per person, no vote games.

How moderation works

Block anyone from the ⋯ menu on their post or comment, or on their profile: their posts and comments disappear for you and they can't notify you. They are not told. Unblock in Settings.
Anyone can report a post with ⚑, logged in or not: spam, rude, unsafe advice, secret spot, "this photo shows me", illegal content, something else.
When several members report the same post, it is hidden until a moderator looks. "This photo shows me" takes the photo down at once.
New members (first two days and first three posts): no links, smaller daily limits, and photos are checked by a moderator before others see them; community icons and banners unlock after a few posts. Text goes up straight away unless the wording trips our filter. Reports from brand-new accounts go to the moderators but don't hide anything on their own.
When we hide a post or remove a photo, its author sees the reason on the post and can tap "Ask for another look" once per decision. A moderator then looks again. A removed photo is deleted, so another look can't bring it back; you can post it again if it was fine.
Repeated or serious breaks of these rules get an account banned. Banned members can still download and delete their data.
Community moderators (the members who run a community) can remove posts and comments there with a reason, pin, lock comments and ban someone from their community. KiwiSurf admins can act anywhere, ban accounts site-wide and remove communities that break these rules. Nobody approves their own content, and only an admin can undo an admin's decision.
Moderators are people. Simple automatic checks can hold or hide a post until a moderator looks (a word list, link and posting limits, several member reports). Nobody is banned automatically. No AI reads your posts.

Illegal content notices (EU Digital Services Act)

Tap ⚑ on the post, pick "Illegal content (EU law)", explain why you think it is illegal, add your name and email if you want a reply, and confirm the notice is made in good faith. You can also write to [email protected] (English or Portuguese). We look at notices without undue delay and tell the author the reason for any action we take.

Your data, in short

No password, no email. Log in with a passkey (your phone or computer keeps the private key; we only store the public key) or through Kiwi's Telegram bot (it passes us your Telegram user id once and we keep only a one-way keyed hash of it). We never get your phone number and we don't store your Telegram name.
Public: your name, kiwi avatar, bio, level and home break if you set them, your karma, the communities you moderate, your posts, comments and photos, and your name under "Who's out" only if you tick "show my name" (off unless you tick it). Private: your votes (only totals show), saved posts and your inbox.
Photos: location and camera data (EXIF) are removed on your phone and again on our server.
Check-ins show for 2 hours and are deleted after 30 days. We may keep hourly counts per break, with no names, to build a crowd score.
No IP addresses are stored. Posting limits use a hash of it that changes every day and is thrown away with the limit (within a day). Reports from people who are not logged in carry a random id, not the IP.
Download or delete everything from Settings at any time. Deletion is immediate: profile, posts, comments, photos, votes, saves, check-ins, passkeys. Communities you own pass to their longest-standing moderator (or to KiwiSurf). Replies other people wrote stay under [deleted]; moderation records keep the decision but not who you were. If an account was banned, we keep only the one-way hash of its login so the ban still applies.
You must be 16 or older to join. One account per person.
Who runs it: KiwiSurf is run by Viral Apps LLC (Wyoming, USA), the controller of your community data. Privacy questions and requests: [email protected].
Why we may use it: our contract with you (your account and the community you join) and our legitimate interest in keeping the community safe (posting limits, reports, moderation records).
Who else handles it: Cloudflare hosts the site, the database and the photos for us, as our processor. Data handled outside the EU is covered by the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. We never sell your data or use it for ads.
Your rights: see, correct, download and delete your data, and object to how we use it. You can also complain to a data protection authority (in Portugal: CNPD, cnpd.pt).

The forecast bot's notice: Privacy · operator and contact details: Terms · questions: [email protected]

House rules v2.1 · 30 October 2026