Child Safety Standards
Last updated 4 November 2026
The Vanguard is a private community for adult men, published by The Phalanx Project LLC. We have no tolerance for child sexual abuse or exploitation, and this page sets out the standards we hold ourselves to and what we do when something is reported.
The App Is for Adults
The Vanguard is intended for people aged 18 and over, and it is listed that way on the App Store and Google Play. It is not directed at children. Anyone can create an account, but no new account reaches the community until a man already inside approves it, so nobody is talking to the brotherhood unvetted.
What Is Prohibited
The following are forbidden anywhere in the app, including in posts, comments, direct messages, profiles, images, video, audio and file attachments:
- Child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and any depiction of a minor in a sexual or sexualised way, whether real, drawn, written or generated.
- Grooming, sextortion, solicitation of a minor, or any attempt to arrange contact with a minor for sexual purposes.
- Trafficking of minors, and advertising, linking to, requesting or trading such material anywhere else.
- Any other sexualisation of a minor, including content that is not itself explicit but is shared for that purpose.
This applies regardless of intent, and regardless of whether the material was made by the person sharing it.
Reporting It in the App
Every post, comment and direct message can be reported from inside the app, using the menu on the item itself. Reports reach the moderators directly. Members can also block another member outright from Settings, which stops that person reaching them.
You do not need an account to tell us. Anyone can write to anthony@thevanguard.co and a person will read it.
How We Respond
- Reports of child sexual abuse or exploitation are handled first, ahead of everything else.
- The content is removed and the account is suspended while we look at it.
- Confirmed cases end the account permanently, and we preserve the relevant records as the law requires rather than simply deleting them.
- We report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), and we cooperate with law enforcement requests from the relevant national and regional authorities.
Compliance
We comply with applicable child safety laws in the places the app is available, including United States reporting obligations to NCMEC, and with the child safety standards policies of the App Store and Google Play. We review these standards at least once a year and whenever the app gains a feature that changes how members reach each other.
Point of Contact
For child safety matters, including requests from platforms or authorities, write to anthony@thevanguard.co. For anything else, see Support.
The Phalanx Project LLC, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, United States.