Chatwee offers two tools related to protecting the chat users from profanity or other sensitive words. You can completely block messages which contain chosen terms, or simply censor particular words with an asterisk. The word list for both tools is customizable and can contain any words you want to prevent from reaching your audience. Read more to find out how to set up the censoring of chat messages and how to use it for your advantage.
Our default list in the settings contains the most popular English swear words, but you can get creative and write anything in there.
Blocking and censoring chat messages – how to set it up?
Censor inappropriate words and Block profanity are the two options we are talking about. You can find them in your Dashboard, in the Customize tab, in the category called Profanity.
- Censor Inappropriate Words – tick to replace chosen words with an asterisk ( * ).
- Block Profanity – tick to block messages which contain prohibited vocabulary from your blacklist. Your users won’t be able to see them.
Choose one of the options.
If you’d like to edit the word list, click Edit Profanity Keyword List to open an editing window. You will find an example set of the most popular English swear words. You can edit it and enter your own words separated by a comma. Note that adding * at the end or the beginning of a keyword replaces any string of characters: this means that adding chat* will censor all words like chat, chats, chatwee, chatting, and so on.
What to enter?
You can write anything in there, for example swear words in other languages, sensitive terms which can negatively impact your users’ wellbeing, or anything you’d like to stop from reaching the audience. This might really come in handy if your chat is supposed to serve a serious purpose, for example as a tool for conducting online mental health sessions, where certain words can trigger an emotional reaction. Another reason to use these tools is to prevent spam and unprofessional messages from being published, let’s say during conferences, online events, or anything related to business or education. You can block messages with advertising words, names of your competitors, or links leading to other websites.
Any word can be blocked, so you can get creative. 🙂
If you’d like to know more about controlling the contents of your chat, check out our posts related to moderation and chat control:
- Everything About Chat Moderation Tools in Chatwee
- Message Premoderation – Keeping Your Chat Under Control
- Chat Rules – Make Your Users Accept Chat Policies Before Joining
Contact us!
We hope that this post will help you set up your own keyword list and block what has to be blocked. 🙂
You can see the demo of our chat here and also register to receive the access to the Chatwee Dashboard. If you have questions, feedback, or you’d like to receive a free trial of any paid plan to check out all the paid features, send us a message through our contact form. We will be happy to assist you.
