SportNet is a professional network for sport, and many of the athletes on it are under 18. This guide explains, in plain terms, what the app does to protect younger users, what your child controls, and what you can do together at sign-up. Everything here describes how the app works today, not what is planned.
Who can join, and what is never shown
The minimum age to create a SportNet account is 13. Sign-up asks for a date of birth, and that date is never shown on the profile. It is used to decide which protections apply to the account.
Sign-up takes five steps: name, email and password (or Apple or Google), date of birth, whether the account is for an athlete or a coach, one to five sports, and a username. Everything else on the profile is optional and added later.
Under-18 profiles are private by default
When an under-18 account enters its date of birth, the profile visibility is set to Connections Only automatically. That means only people your child has accepted as a connection can see the full profile. Anything below Everyone also hides the profile from search, Discover and scout results, and hides their posts from people who cannot see their profile. Visitors still see a name, photo, sport and bio with a lock card, and nothing more.
Your child can change this afterwards in Settings → Privacy → Who can see → My Profile. There are four options: Everyone, Connections & Coaches Only, Connections Only and Private. Each profile section (About, Experience, Achievements, Performance, Physical Attributes, Goals, Health & Recovery, Contact & Links, Credentials) also has its own visibility chip. Health & Recovery is set to Only me by default.
Two features are switched off entirely for under-18 accounts: the public profile link that can be viewed without a SportNet account, and the referral prize draw. Both are available only on accounts confirmed as 18 or over.
Coaches are verified before they can search
The Scout search that lets coaches look for athletes only returns results once the coach has verified their identity. Verification is handled by our partner Persona and involves photographing an ID document and completing a short liveness check. Verified accounts show a blue tick. Athletes also choose whether to appear in scout search at all: the scouting profile is opt-in.
The rules for how adults may contact younger users are set out in the Adult-to-Minor Contact policy, and our wider commitments are in the Safeguarding policy.
Messages from strangers go to Requests
Messages from people your child is not connected to land in Messages → Requests rather than the main inbox. Nothing moves across unless the request is accepted. Your child can block anyone from the ••• menu on that person's profile, which stops them interacting with your child or seeing their content, and can review the list under Settings → Blocked users.
Reporting, and how quickly we act
Any post, comment or profile can be reported from its ••• menu, and any chat from the flag icon. Reports are anonymous to the person being reported, and a member of our team reviews every one. Reports that may involve someone under 18 are reviewed the same day. All other reports are reviewed within 72 hours.
To help prioritise, reported content is also classified automatically by Claude, an AI model from Anthropic. That classification is advisory only and never decides an outcome by itself. If you disagree with a moderation decision, email reports@thesportingnetwork.com within 30 days; appeals are reviewed by a different team member within the same timescales. The full process is on the Content Reporting page, and the standards we hold every member to are in the Community Guidelines.
Health data and AI features need explicit permission
Physical attributes such as height and weight, and health information such as injury history or training schedule, are only stored with explicit permission. The first time any of it is added, a consent sheet asks for a tick before anything is saved. Permission can be withdrawn in Settings → Privacy → Health data, and withdrawing it deletes all stored health and physical data from the profile.
The AI Assistant, which helps organise a profile, is powered by Claude from Anthropic. The first time it is opened a permission sheet explains what is sent and asks for agreement before anything is shared. Anthropic does not use this data to train its models and deletes it within 30 days. Permission can be withdrawn at any time in Settings → Privacy → AI features. The plain-English version of how we treat data is on Your Privacy Explained.
Leaving is straightforward
Settings → Delete Account hides the profile immediately and permanently erases it after 30 days. Signing back in within that window restores it. After 30 days the deletion cannot be undone.
A checklist for parents
- 1Sit with them at sign-up. Check the date of birth is entered correctly, because it is what switches on the under-18 protections.
- 2Review the visibility setting together. Settings → Privacy → Who can see → My Profile. Connections Only is the default for under-18s; decide as a family whether that is right for now.
- 3Agree who they connect with. Connections are mutual and can see more of the profile. A blue tick means the person's identity has been verified.
- 4Look at the Requests folder together when a coach or club gets in touch, and decide on the reply as a family.
- 5Know how to report and block. The ••• menu on any post, comment or profile, and the flag icon in a chat. Reports involving under-18s are reviewed the same day.
- 6Decide about health data. If your child adds height, weight or injury history, they will be asked for permission first. Talk about whether that information should be on the profile at all.
The full policy, including how we handle every report, is published here.
Read the Child Safety policy