Updated: May 27, 2021
Meetup is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone and applying the relevant accessibility standards. We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of Meetup. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers on Meetup by emailing accessibility@meetup.com. Please allow between 24 to 48 hours for a response.
Meetup makes it possible for you to send emails to your group members through our Platform. These emails are a great way for you to reach the members of your Meetup groups and help your community stay connected.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when sending emails to your group members.
The subject line of your email must be accurate and truthfully describe the contents of the email. False or misleading subject lines may violate applicable marketing laws. Plus, an accurate subject line makes it more likely that your email will be opened and read by the members of your community you want to reach!
Focus on impact! Short subject lines grab attention in a cluttered inbox and are also clearer to recipients. Recommendations for impactful subject lines include:
Your email should contain information that is relevant to your group members. It should relate to your group’s activities or mission. Content sent to members that is irrelevant, non-tailored, or repetitive is spam, and is not allowed.
Your email must comply with all applicable laws (such as marketing and consumer protection laws, like the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act). The laws that apply to your email will depend on the type of message you are sending and where you and your members are located. All emails will include an unsubscribe link as required by the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act.
You must also comply with Meetup’s Community Guidelines when sending emails through the Meetup Platform.
Updated: April 15, 2021
As a company founded on the principles of community building and fostering genuine connections, we are full of hope at the prospect of being able to safely gather again in person.
Virtual events have been lifelines for communities across the world to stay connected during uncertain times; it’s clear that online events are here to stay. Yet, as regions reopen we support people getting back together in person as long as they do so safely. That’s the foundation of Meetup. As governments and local health officials update their guidance on public gatherings, we’re committed to helping organizers host safe and responsible in-person Meetup events for their members.
It is important that all organizers and members who decide to meet in person are aware of and follow local regulations. We understand that these regulations vary by state, region, and country, so it is up to each organizer and member to understand and follow the guidelines specific to where they are meeting. Meetup may close groups or cancel events if they promote activities that do not comply with requirements and guidance issued by government authorities and public health officials. In addition, using the Meetup platform to disseminate harmful misinformation—medical or otherwise—is not permitted.
If you wish to report any illegal or unsafe activities at a Meetup event, you can make a report to Meetup directly; however, you should also report that conduct to your local authorities.
Respect and safety are important aspects of community
We encourage every member of the Meetup community to continue to take precautions to limit the risk of transmitting illnesses during events. One way to do this is to monitor local, state, and national guidelines on in-person gatherings. For U.S.-based organizers, follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For organizers in other countries, please review the guidelines from the World Health Organization. These recommendations change frequently in response to transmission trends, so monitor guidelines often.
Vaccinations
The CDC is continuing to update its guidelines for people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Some Meetup organizers are hosting in-person events with a requirement that attendees show proof of vaccination and some organizers are not—it is up to the discretion of each organizer in consultation with their local guidelines. If you choose to organize events with a vaccination requirement, Meetup recommends that you communicate this information in advance and widely by including it in your group description, event description, and in any other relevant communications about the event. In the interest of privacy, you should not have members post images of vaccination cards on the Meetup platform. If you decide to require proof of vaccination, have attendees show their vaccination cards at the event.
Meetup profiles are intended to represent real people in a local area. Meetup member profiles must be honest and authentic.
All members should be open about who they are, their intentions, and their affiliations. All group and event descriptions should be accurate, so members can make informed decisions about their participation.
Creating fake accounts, malicious accounts, or accounts meant to impersonate another person, is prohibited on Meetup.
Respecting people's time, attention, personal choices, and personal boundaries is essential to creating safe and trusting communities. Be respectful in interactions with people and in content posted on the platform. Meetup monitors and restricts behaviors that are dishonest, undermine the integrity of the platform, violate personal boundaries, or serve to intentionally upset people.
Content sent to a member that is irrelevant, impersonal, unsolicited, promotional, or repetitive is spam.
Converting or changing events in a group or event, so that they no longer align with the expectations and purpose set by the organizer and leadership team, is misleading and not allowed.
The intentions of the group should remain consistent with member expectations as set in the group description.
Stepping up as organizer to a Meetup in order to change the focus of the group, to close the group, to send or post promotional content, or to send or post content not aligned with the original description of the group, is prohibited. If it is your intention to change the meaning or purpose of a group, we advise that you start a new group instead. If a group gets a new organizer, the mission of that group should stay the same. Events in a group should reflect intentions expressed in the group description.
Altering the content or settings of a group without permission from the main organizer, or in a way that is not aligned with the purpose of that group, is prohibited. Any use of Meetup tools or features to disrupt the group or destroy content for the purpose of undermining or undercutting the established community is a violation of our policies.
If you are blocked, you’re blocked. Members must accept and respect any organizer’s decision to ban a member from a group, or a member's decision to block a member from contacting them. Creating new accounts to circumvent block or ban decisions is prohibited.
Pornography is not allowed on Meetup. Publicly shared photos must be appropriate for general audiences. Nude or sexual photos are not allowed in public spaces.
If nudity or sexuality is part of a group's identity or lifestyle, organizers must keep the group Private in order to limit access to this content to members of that group. Meetup expects leadership teams to monitor this content.
Meetup prohibits groups that, or individuals who, use Meetup to proposition for sex, or to promote or engage in prostitution. For policies on groups that may contain such content, please see "Pornography, nudity, or sexual content" and "Mature interests that are not transparent" in Meetup groups and events policies.
Gratuitously graphic, disgusting, obscene, or violent content is prohibited. We don't allow content posted to upset, shock, or disturb a Meetup community or its members.
Meetup has a zero tolerance policy regarding child pornography or anything Meetup HQ believes exploits, sexualizes, or fetishizes minors. Such content will be removed from the platform and the uploader will be banned. Meetup reports all child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Meetup defines consent as welcomed communications and actions to engage with a member. Engaging with anyone in a non-consensual way is strictly prohibited. If ever in doubt, ask permission.
Posting other people's private information without their explicit consent is prohibited. …
Members and organizers should always be mindful of privacy and use discretion when sharing any private content that belongs to themselves or to other members. For example, phone numbers, social security numbers, addresses, financial information, passwords, and government identification are considered private information.
Bullying, harassment, exploitation, and acts of hate undermine community building in safe spaces where people can trust one another. Building real relationships requires us to be more compassionate and kinder towards one another. Meetup enforces against behaviors that are threatening, intentionally malicious, or personally harmful--physically, emotionally, or mentally.
Harassment and bullying are not allowed on Meetup. Meetup will honor requests to remove content that publicly shames or degrades a private individual.
Members should first contact the uploader or the organizer to request that content be removed.
Harassment is persistent or non-consensual contact from another member. Bullying is the intentional posting of mean content for the purpose of hurting or embarrassing another.
Meetup will honor requests to remove nude, lewd or shaming photos if the subject of that content reports it. Content targeting a public figure, organization, or anyone who has gained news attention, is not subject to these policies.
Any attempt to use someone's insecurities or vulnerabilities for personal gain is considered manipulation or exploitation and is prohibited.
Hate speech, supremacy, or behavior that incites hate or violence against individuals or groups of people based on who they are or their beliefs, is prohibited.
All organizers and members should take ownership over their personal safety and should never put themselves or others in danger. We expect all organizers and members to be mindful of local laws when engaging with their groups. Where appropriate, organizers should also set guidelines for their events to ensure their members are participating safely.
Using Meetup to promote, facilitate, or organize violent, criminal, or non-consensual actions that endanger anyone, physically, mentally, or emotionally, is prohibited.
Meetup reserves the right to remove credible explicit and implicit threats of violence or aggression and revoke the membership of the user who made them. Examples of prohibited implicit threats include, “The next time I see you, you’ll be sorry.” and “You better watch your back.”
The dissemination or promotion of misinformation is prohibited. This includes claims that have been scientifically disproven and that may pose a public or personal health risk.
Meetup does not allow any content that encourages or glorifies self-injury or encourages others to harm themselves.
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. Posting content that violates another party's intellectual property rights is prohibited.
When provided with the requisite information, Meetup will remove or disable access to material that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others or remove accounts of those who may be repeat infringers. Please note that simply hosting an event around a similar topic in a shared location is generally not considered a violation of our policies.
At Meetup, we believe that real-life community is really, really important. When people come together, they create new possibilities for each other. Ideas spread, networks form, movements start. At its simplest, life is just better when you have people to enjoy it with.
Meetup exists to help people grow into the people they want to be and live happy and fulfilling lives by finding the communities that will help them thrive.
To make this possible, Meetup requires groups to meet some basic requirements.
Meetup events should offer opportunities for members to better themselves in some way. This could mean:
Meetup is a platform that helps people make real-life connections—it is not a platform for only advertising sales or special promotions. Events must focus on creating an experience that adds value for attendees. This can mean learning something, playing a game together, making new friends, or enjoying each other’s company. People should leave Meetup events feeling inspired or more connected to their community in some way.
Here are a few examples of what’s acceptable to post as a Meetup event:
Here are some examples of how businesses should and should not use Meetup:
✔ A local bar that hosts weekly get-togethers like trivia nights or darts tournaments
✘ A local bar that hosts events that solely advertise daily happy hour times and prices
✔ A yoga studio that hosts daily group classes
✘ A yoga studio that hosts events that solely advertise limited-time offers
✔ A wine shop that hosts tasting events and sommelier courses
✘ A wine shop that hosts events that solely advertise new inventory or sales
Connecting online is just not the same as connecting in real life. Meetup groups need to meet locally and in-person so that real-life communities can grow. Meetup should not be used only for hosting online meetings, conference calls, or webinars.
For changes to this policy in light of the coronavirus, please see Meetup event policies and the coronavirus (COVID-19).
It can be a little intimidating to show up to an event where you don’t know anyone, so having a host at every event is important for making members feel comfortable and welcome. All Meetup events must have an in-person host present to help connect attendees, manage relationships with venues, and bring structure to the events. The host must, at a minimum, make members aware of the event location, and act as a point of contact during the event. If a business or an organization is sponsoring an event, the event description must identify a contact person who will be present at the event.
If Meetup receives reports that there is no one present in-person hosting a Meetup group’s events, we may remove the group at our sole discretion.
Meetup organizers must always be honest and transparent with their members so that everyone knows what to expect at the group’s events. Group and event names and descriptions must accurately convey sufficient information that allows members to make informed decisions about their participation. This includes, at a minimum, being clear about:
If Meetup receives reports that a group is not accurately disclosing any of this information, we may remove the group at our sole discretion.
Helping people find their crew is what Meetup is all about—however, there are a few types of communities that we cannot support on our platform due to safety, legal, or ethical reasons. If Meetup determines that your group or its events fall into any of the following categories, we may remove the group at our sole discretion.
Meetup does not support groups and events related to any of the following themes.
Groups must not contain content or promote events that could promote or facilitate illegal or violent activity, such as:
Groups must not contain content or promote events that could threaten public or personal safety, including:
Groups must not contain content or promote events that incite hate, violence, or harassment against individuals or groups of people based on personal attributes such as race, color, religion, descent, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, disability, or a medical or genetic condition.
Groups must not advance conspiracy theories that promote hatred or violence against individuals or groups based on any of the above personal attributes. Conspiracy theories that diminish or deny the documented suffering of a group of people are not permitted.
Groups must not contain content or promote events that organize, promote, provide for, distribute services for, or recruit for terrorist organizations.
Meetup members and organizers must be at least 18 years old. Meetup groups and events must be only targeted to people over the age of 18.
Family groups are more than welcome on Meetup, but all children present at the event must be supervised and accompanied by an adult guardian.
Groups must not contain content or promote events that contain misinformation. This includes medical misinformation such as:
Groups must not contain content or promote events that contain financial guarantees, including:
Groups must not contain content or promote events that conceal or misrepresent the primary purpose of the group or its events, including:
Groups must not contain content or promote events that involve pick-up or seduction techniques, or wingman tactics.
Groups must not contain content or promote events that promote or facilitate sex trafficking, prostitution, or any other type of sexual exploitation.
Groups and events must not contain pornography or publicly shared nude or sexual photos.
If nudity or sexuality is part of a group’s identity or lifestyle, organizers must keep the group private in order to limit access to this content to members of that group. Meetup expects organizers to monitor this content.
Mature interest groups must follow additional requirements. In the group description, organizers must clearly describe rules of participation and informed consent, be clear and explicit about activities that will occur, and outline safety considerations. Mature interest groups must always have their group visibility settings set to private.
Groups must not contain content or promote events that involve regulated services provided by licensed medical or legal professionals. Meetup does not validate professional credentials or licenses.
✘ A doctor or nurse that offers a healthcare procedure
✘ A lawyer that offers assistance filing for divorce
However, groups and events focused on group activities promoted by these professionals are allowed.
✔ A therapist who organizes a mutual support group for people with anxiety
✔ A health professional who organizes a weight loss support group
Meetup communities thrive when you show up IRL to do what you love — together.
We believe the global Meetup community deserves to feel welcomed, respected, and excited to connect with each other, whether we do that in person or on social media.
Here are the five key tenets of our community on social media:
If your posts on social media conflict with any of these tenets:
Meetup Social Media Channels
If you’re not yet a member of our online community, join the conversation:
Converting a group or changing or adding events, so they no longer align with the expectations and purpose set by the organizer and leadership team, is prohibited on the grounds that it is misleading.
The intentions of the group should remain generally consistent with member expectations. While groups often evolve and change over time, changes should be agreed upon by group membership and well-communicated, so people can make informed decisions about their continued participation.
It is prohibited to step up as organizer to a group in order to change the focus of the group, close the group, send or post promotional content, or to send or post content not aligned with the original description of the group. If it is your intention to change the meaning or purpose of a group, we advise that you start a new group instead. If a group gets a new organizer, the mission of that group should stay the same. Events in a group should reflect intentions expressed in the group description.
It is prohibited to alter the content or settings of a group without permission from the main organizer, or in a way that is not aligned with the purpose of that group. Any use of Meetup tools or features to disrupt the group or destroy content for the purpose of undermining or undercutting the established community is a violation of our policies.
Content sent to a member that is irrelevant, impersonal, unsolicited, promotional, or repetitive is spam, and organizers may be blocked for spamming members.
The following are examples of inappropriate spam messages sent by organizers:
Using profanity in an attacking, sexual way, or in a way intended to offend people, is prohibited in group and event titles, descriptions, or any other area that is publicly promoted or viewable on the platform.
In order to provide a quality experience to our members, titles of groups and events are to be relevant, useful, and easy to understand. Excessive or improper use of punctuation, symbols, capitalization, spacing, URLs, or repetition, intended to grab attention for a group or event, will need to be edited.
We consider the following examples to be excessive or gimmicky use of numbers, symbols, punctuation, repetition, or spacing: !!Dance!!!, d*a*n*c*e, DANCE, DaNcE, d a n c e, or d@nce.
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. Posting content that violates another party's intellectual property rights is prohibited.
When provided with the requisite information, Meetup will remove or disable access to material that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others or remove accounts of those who may be repeat infringers. Please note that simply holding a group around a similar topic in a shared location, is generally not considered a violation of our policies.
It is the responsibility of an organizer to pay for a group to operate and continue to be hosted on Meetup. Failure to pay or update payment information to renew an organizer subscription can result in allowing another member to step up and assume the role of main organizer of the group.
Generally, Meetup will not reinstate the former organizer of a group if the organizer loses their position and another member takes over as the main organizer. However, Meetup may reinstate previous organizers if their groups were affiliated with a registered third-party organization, entity, or company.
Meetup takes member account privacy very seriously and has strict rules regarding who can access or create a Meetup account. Please know we reserve the right to suspend or remove any account, or limit access to certain features of the platform, for any reason, at our sole discretion.
If a member or organizer passes away, Meetup cannot provide access to their account, even to family members or people acting on the behalf of the estate. Meetup will work with families and honor their wishes if they choose to close accounts or groups, or transfer them to another member.
Meetup members and organizers must be at least 18 years of age. Therefore, groups must be targeted at, and only offer opportunities for those who are over 18.
While groups are welcome to provide activities for families, any children present at an event must be supervised and accompanied by an adult guardian.
Meetup may remove certain members when we become aware that the member is a convicted sex offender or has been convicted of a violent, fraudulent, or dangerous crime. Meetup may also remove a member based on their criminal record, for safety, or for other concerns. Members with concerns about criminal or illegal activity should always report it to local authorities.
Want to learn more in person. Join the orgaizer network and see if there is a real life Meetup happening around you. There be people who have done this before, ready to help and you can be part of something special.
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