Yahoo! Classifieds Safety Guide

What is Yahoo! Classifieds?

Yahoo! Classifieds is an online classified advertising service that offers a much more extensive array of listings than your local newspaper. Users can post free ads for antiques, jewelry, electronics, and more.

Yahoo! Classifieds’ younger users might look for a PlayStation console, a guitar, or used music CDs.

To learn more, please read through Yahoo! Classifieds Help.

What are some risks to my child on Yahoo! Classifieds?

Yahoo! Classifieds users are expected to behave in ways that foster community and must abide by the Yahoo! Classifieds Guidelines, as well as the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

Just as there may be risks in the community where you live, the Yahoo! Classifieds community may pose certain risks to children. Yahoo! Classifieds provides some safety features, but as a parent or caregiver, you are expected to take an active role in protecting your child online.

We suggest that you start by reviewing some general practices for online safety. In addition, please keep the following in mind when your child is using Yahoo! Classifieds:

• Protecting personal information. Replying to a classified listing will reveal your child’s email address to the seller of the item. Your child might divulge personal information if exchanging email with unknown users. This information could used to identify your child’s physical location.
• Harassment. Yahoo! Classifieds content is publicly accessible. If your child posts a classified ad, his or her Yahoo! ID will be revealed and users can respond by email. This could potentially expose your child to unpleasant, sexually suggestive, or abusive language.
• Mature content. The Yahoo! Classifieds Terms of Service does not permit posting items that are obscene or harmful to minors. Please report inappropriate material or prohibited items to Yahoo!.
• Payments. It is the responsibility of the buyer and seller to agree on a payment method, such as money order, certified check, or an online service like PayPal. Buyers should do their best to assess if sellers are trustworthy before sending payment, but if the purchased item does not arrive, Yahoo! Classifieds offers some suggestions. Children should never arrange to meet with a seller without a responsible adult present.

What can be done to limit these risks? Review Yahoo! Classifieds’ safety features, learn how to report abuse, and read what parents and caregivers can do to help kids be safe on Yahoo! Classifieds.

What safety features should I know about to help protect my child on Yahoo! Classifieds?

Yahoo! Classifieds has made an effort to provide users a safe buying and selling experience. Your child should know about the following:

• Shopping safely. Yahoo! Classifieds offers a number of safety tips for browsing classified ads and contacting sellers.
• Prohibited items. Users must have a Yahoo! ID to post classified ads, and ads must adhere to the Yahoo! Classified Guidelines. These guidelines prohibit many items potentially harmful to minors.
• Reporting abuse to Yahoo!. Report any offensive content or inappropriate contact with other users by clicking the Report Abuse and Fraud link at the bottom of every Yahoo! Classifieds listings.

How can I report problems that my child encounters on Yahoo! Classifieds?

Yahoo! provides a Report Abuse and Fraud at the bottom of every listing on Yahoo! Classifieds. Please click this link and complete the form if your child is exposed to obscene language, mature content, or anything else that violates the Yahoo! Terms of Service or Yahoo! Classifieds Community Guidelines. Make sure to provide specific information about the location of the offending content and the identity of the user in question.

Yahoo!’s customer care team receives abuse reports and takes appropriate action as necessary, which may include deactivating an abuser’s account. Reports that indicate activity involving child pornography or solicitation of a minor are dealt with promptly by Yahoo!’s legal team and, when appropriate, such incidents are reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

What can I do to help my child use Yahoo! Classifieds in a safe manner?

Yahoo! is committed to providing a safe online experience for all users and, accordingly, complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Yahoo! Classifieds provides a number of safety features to limit potential risks to users. However, protecting children online is a responsibility shared with parents, teachers, and other caregivers.

We suggest that you start by reviewing some general practices for online safety. These include safeguarding identity online, keeping passwords secret, being cautious about contact with strangers, and creating a pledge for online safety.

If your child is exposed to obscene language, mature content, threats of physical violence, harassment, or anything else that violates the Yahoo! Terms of Service or Yahoo! Classifieds Community Guidelines, please report the abuse.

And remember, Yahoo! Kids offers all kinds of age-appropriate content and activities for children under 13.