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Trust & safety

Built for safety. Every step.

Verified .edu accounts. Federal IPEDS cross-checking. Fair housing compliance. Human-reviewed reports. Tools that protect your privacy by default.

.edu verification.

Every Crashmates account requires a verified school email. When you sign up:

  1. You enter your .edu email.
  2. We send a magic link to that exact address.
  3. You click it — proving you control the inbox.
  4. We check your domain against the federal IPEDS database (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) — the Department of Education’s list of accredited US colleges.
  5. If matched, your campus activates immediately.

This means you can only message and be messaged by other students who completed the same verification at an accredited US school. No anonymous accounts. No fake emails. No bots.

Privacy by default.

We minimize what other students can see about you:

  • Profiles show first name + last initial only — never your full last name.
  • Your full .edu email is never shown to other users.
  • Your phone number is never collected.
  • Profiles are visible to verified students at your school by default. You can opt to expand to nearby schools.
  • You can hide your profile from search anytime with one toggle.

Block, mute, report.

On any profile or chat, tap the three-dot menu:

  • Block — silent. They can’t see you, message you, or know you blocked them.
  • Mute — you stop seeing them in browse and matches. They don’t know.
  • Report — sends the profile + chat history to safety review. Categories: harassment, spam, fake profile, scam, fair-housing violation, other.

Reports are reviewed by a human, usually within 24 hours. Confirmed violations result in account suspension or permanent ban. Severe violations are referred to law enforcement when appropriate.

Fair housing policy.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability in most US housing transactions. Roommate-selection has limited FHA exceptions — but Crashmates enforces non-discrimination as platform policy regardless.

What this means in practice:

  • You cannot filter by protected characteristics in our search.
  • Listings or profiles that state discriminatory preferences (\u201cno X students\u201d, \u201conly Y nationality\u201d, etc.) are removed.
  • You can filter by lifestyle (sleep schedule, cleanliness, smoking, pets, etc.) and budget. Those are about compatibility, not protected status.
  • Listings asking for citizenship documents or social security numbers as a precondition are removed.

If you experience discrimination, report it. We escalate confirmed FHA violations to HUD when warranted.

Common scams to watch for.

Crashmates will never ask you to send money outside the platform. If anyone — even claiming to be Crashmates support — asks for Venmo, Zelle, wire transfer, gift cards, or crypto, it’s a scam. Report immediately.
  • Off-platform payment requests. A "landlord" asking for a deposit before you’ve seen the place — scam.
  • Too-good-to-be-true rent. A 2BR in Westwood for $600/mo? Probably fake.
  • Urgency pressure. "Sign today or I rent to someone else" is a classic.
  • Out-of-country owners. "I’m on military deployment, mail the deposit to my agent" is a long-running scam template.
  • Refusal to video tour or meet in person. Real students can FaceTime a 2-minute walkthrough.

Safety FAQ.

How do I report a user?
On any profile, tap the three-dot menu and select Report. You can also email safety@crashmates.com. We review reports within 24 hours.
What happens to reported accounts?
Reports are reviewed by a human. Confirmed violations result in immediate suspension. Repeat or severe violations result in permanent ban + the email blocked from re-registering.
Can someone find my real identity?
No. Profiles only display your first name + last initial. Your full last name, email, and personal contact info are never shared. Other students only see what you choose to put in your bio.
What if I get a creepy message?
Block them (also a three-dot menu on the chat). Blocking is silent — they don’t get notified. Also report them so we can investigate patterns.
How do you prevent fake profiles?
Two layers: (1) every account requires a verified .edu email cross-checked against the federal IPEDS database, (2) our content moderation flags suspicious patterns (rapid messaging, off-platform contact attempts, payment requests, etc.) for manual review.
What about housing scams?
Roommate listings without verified-student-tenant association are flagged. We also reject listings asking for payment outside the platform, security deposits before viewing, or anything that pattern-matches a known scam.
Does Crashmates follow the Fair Housing Act?
Yes. We do not allow profiles or listings that discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. We also don’t let users filter by these characteristics. Note: shared-roommate selection has limited FHA exceptions, but Crashmates still enforces non-discrimination as platform policy.
Safety concerns? safety@crashmates.com · Response within 24 hours · Updated: 2026-06-09