Community Guidelines

buggs.io is played by people of all ages, including kids. These guidelines explain what is and isn't okay in the parts of the game other players can see (your nickname, your club and the way you play) and what we do when someone breaks the rules.

These guidelines are part of our Terms of Service. By playing buggs.io online, you agree to follow them. If something isn't listed here but clearly hurts other players or the game, it isn't allowed either.

Be fair, be kind

• Play fair. Win with your own skill, using the game the way it was made.
• Be kind. Eating other bugs is the game. Being cruel to the people behind them is not.
• Keep it okay for everyone. Younger players see the same arenas, leaderboards and clubs as you. If you wouldn't want a young kid to read it, don't put it in a name.
• Protect privacy. Yours and everyone else's.
• Follow the law. Don't use buggs.io for anything illegal.

buggs.io has no chat. The things other players see from you are your nickname, your club's name and the way you play, so these rules cover all three. Please also be respectful when you contact our support.

Parents can find more about keeping a child's account safe in our Parents' Guide.

Nicknames

Your nickname is public. Other players see it in the arena, in the kill feed and in messages like “SneakyBeetle joined the arena”, on leaderboards (which anyone can look at, also from outside the game) and on club pages. Pick a fun name, not your real one.

Nicknames, and club names too, must not contain:

• Hate or slurs. Nothing that attacks or puts down people because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, caste, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age or illness. This includes slurs hidden with symbols, misspellings or look-alike letters.
• Harassment or threats. Nothing that targets, insults, bullies or threatens a real person or another player, or that encourages anyone to hurt themselves.
• Sexual content. No sexual words, references or jokes. Anything that sexualizes children is never allowed, and we report it to the authorities where the law requires it.
• Real personal information. No real full names, home addresses, school names, phone numbers, email addresses, social media handles, or anything else that could identify or locate someone. This applies to your own information and to anyone else's.
• Impersonation. Don't pretend to be buggs.io staff or the game itself (for example “Admin”, “Moderator”, “Official”, “Support” or “buggs.io Team”). Don't pretend to be another player, a famous person or a company.
• Ads and links. No website addresses, links, channel or social media names, promo codes or “free coins” offers. Names are not for advertising.
• Illegal or dangerous things. Nothing about selling drugs or weapons, terrorism or violent extremism, or encouraging crime or self-harm.

Our game servers check nicknames automatically: in arenas and on the leaderboards, other players see "Bug" instead of a nickname that our filter finds offensive. No filter catches everything, and it doesn't look for personal information, impersonation or ads, so these rules still apply to every name. When several players report the same nickname within a day, it also shows as "Bug" until a person on our team has looked at it (see How to report). If your name shows as "Bug", for example on the leaderboards, even though it follows these rules, the filter or the reports got it wrong: pick another name, or email us.

A nickname can be up to 20 characters. You can change yours any time before you play. If your nickname breaks these rules, please change it. A new name doesn't change scores already on the leaderboards. They keep the name you had when you set them until that board resets, which can take up to a month. If an old name shows real personal information, email support@buggs.io with your Player ID (Settings ▸ Account) and the old name, and we'll remove those entries. If we find a name that breaks them, we may remove it from the leaderboards and take the other steps in What we do.

Clubs

Where clubs are available, you can create or join a club with other players, and your online games can earn points for it in the weekly club tournament. The only thing you type when you create a club is its name. The badge and the description are picked from a fixed list, and clubs have no chat, so there is no other free text.

• Club names follow the nickname rules above. A club name is public. Other players can find a club and see its name, badge and description, plus its members' nicknames, roles, weekly points and join dates.
• The owner is responsible for the club's name. Club names go through some automatic checks, but no check catches everything. A name that gets past the checks can still break the rules. Club names can't be changed in the game. If your club's name breaks these rules or shows personal information, email support@buggs.io with the club's name and we'll rename it.
• Earn tournament points fairly. Don't use extra accounts, bots or arranged games to collect club points or rewards.
• Don't use a club to pressure people. For example, don't ask for coins, purchases, transfer codes or recovery codes in exchange for a place in a club.

If a club breaks these rules, we may rename it, or hide it so that it no longer shows up in search or in the tournament standings and nobody new can join it. We may also act against the accounts involved.

Cheating and exploits

Everyone should get the same fair chance. Don't:

• Use bots or automation. No scripts, macros, auto-clickers or programs that play, steer, aim or collect rewards for you. The computer-controlled bugs that fill the arenas are part of the game. That's fine.
• Use modified or unofficial clients. No hacked or changed versions of the game or its web page, injected code, or tools that read or change game data or network traffic to get information or abilities other players don't have.
• Exploit bugs. Don't use, share or sell a glitch that gives an unfair advantage or free coins or items, or that breaks the game for others. If you find one, please tell us at support@buggs.io instead.
• Farm with extra accounts. Playing on more than one device is fine, even if each device has its own account. Don't make extra accounts on purpose (for example in private windows, by clearing site data, or with “Start a new profile”) to collect free coins, offers, or quest, pass or club rewards again, to push up your own scores, or to get around a ban. To use the same account on another device, use a transfer code or your recovery code.
• Abuse refunds or chargebacks. Don't buy something, use it, and then ask for a refund or dispute the payment with your bank just to keep it for free. Don't pay with a card or account you aren't allowed to use. Asking for a refund, or disputing a charge you didn't make or one where something really went wrong, is your right and never breaks these rules. We won't close an account just because a payment was refunded or disputed. If something went wrong with a purchase, or a child bought something without permission, see Purchases, Subscriptions & Refunds.
• Boost rankings unfairly. Don't play on someone else's account, or let someone play on yours, to raise a rank. Don't team up to feed kills or mass to one player, or arrange results on leaderboards, in ranked arenas or in the club tournament.
• Attack or overload the game. Don't flood or attack our servers, try to get into other players' accounts or our systems, or use our services in ways normal play never would. Good-faith security research that follows the rules on Help & Contact is welcome and doesn't break these guidelines.
• Help others cheat. Don't make, sell, share or advertise cheats, bots or exploits.

Features the game itself offers you, like Start Big, Revive or Boost Cubes where they are available, are part of the game and are not cheating.

Our servers run every online match and check the results. They can reject or correct results that aren't possible. When a payment is refunded or reversed, we take back what it gave you. This isn't a penalty. If you already spent those coins, your balance can go below zero. You can keep playing, but you can't spend coins until coins you earn or buy bring it back above zero.

Transfer codes, recovery codes and account scams

A transfer code moves an account from one device to another. A recovery code brings an account back on any device, at any time. Each one is a key to your account. Whoever types in your code gets your account on their device, with your coins, items, purchases and Premium. They could spend your coins or even delete the account.

• Never give your transfer code or recovery code to anyone. Not to a friend, not to a club owner, and not to anyone who says they work for buggs.io, including us. Don't post it, show it on a stream or put it in a screenshot.
• Never type in a code someone else gave you. This goes for both kinds of code. Entering a code moves the account on your device into the code owner's account, including things you bought, and the code owner keeps access to it.
• Only make a transfer code to move your own account to your own device and type it in yourself, or when our support asks you to in a reply to your own email (see below). You'll find it under Settings ▸ Account ▸ Transfer code. A transfer code works once and expires after 15 minutes.
• Keep your recovery code to yourself. You make it under Settings ▸ Account ▸ Recovery code, and the game shows it once. Keep it somewhere safe outside the game. It doesn't expire, so anyone who finds it later can still use it. If you think someone has seen it, select Replace code to make a new one, which stops the old one working, or email us and we'll stop it working.
• We will never ask you to send us your transfer code or your recovery code. If you have emailed support@buggs.io yourself and we need to check that an account is yours, we may ask you, in a reply from that address, to make a new transfer code in the game at a time we agree. We can see on our side that a code was made, so you never send it to us. Check that the address is exactly support@buggs.io, because scammers use look-alike addresses.
• There are no coin generators. Websites, videos or players that promise free coins, Premium or items in exchange for a code, a payment or your account are scams. Coins and items only come from the game itself, including purchases you make through it.

Buying, selling and trading accounts

Don't buy, sell, trade, rent or give away accounts, transfer codes, recovery codes, coins or items, for real money or for anything else, in or outside the game. Your account and items are licensed to you and aren't yours to sell (see the Terms of Service). Sellers are often scammers, and the seller of an account can keep access to it after the “sale”. We may close accounts involved in buying or selling.

If you think someone has your transfer code, your recovery code or your account, email support@buggs.io right away with your Player ID (Settings ▸ Account).

How to report

If someone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.

Report a nickname in the game

When you play online, you can report another player's nickname:

1. Find the name on the Leaderboards, on the leaderboard in the arena, or on the screen you see after another player knocks you out.
2. Choose Report name.
3. Pick what's wrong: Not kid friendly, Mean or bullying, Personal information or Something else, then tap Report.

Name reports go to our team. You don't type anything, and the player you report isn't told who reported them. When several players report the same name within a day, it shows as "Bug" to everyone until we have looked at it. We may then block the name, so it always shows as "Bug", or show it again if it follows these guidelines. You can't report the computer-controlled bugs or your own name, and you can send a limited number of reports each hour. To report what a player did, rather than their name, email us as described below.

Report a club in the game

1. Open the club's page. You can get there from Find, from the Tournament standings, or from your own club.
2. Tap Report.
3. Choose Its name or Something else.

Club reports go to our team. The club and its members aren't told who reported it. We keep a record of which account sent each report so we can stop misuse of the Report button. You can send a limited number of reports each day.

Report a player or anything else by email

To report a player's behavior, a nickname you can't report in the game (for example one on a club page, or after the leaderboard has reset), or anything else, email support@buggs.io with:

• the player's nickname exactly as it appeared;
• where you saw it: which arena or mode, a leaderboard, or a club page;
• when it happened: the date, the time and your time zone;
• what happened, and a screenshot if you have one.

Please only send what you saw in the game, and only report real problems. Sending false reports on purpose is against these guidelines too. We look at every report and aim to act within 5 business days, sooner when someone's safety or a child is involved. To protect the other player's privacy, we may not share the details of any action we take.

Reporting illegal content

If you believe something in buggs.io, such as a nickname or a club name, is illegal, email support@buggs.io and include:

• why you believe it is illegal;
• exactly where it is (the nickname or club name, and where you saw it);
• your name (we will also see the email address you write from). If your report is about child sexual abuse material, you can leave your name out and write from an email address that doesn't identify you;
• a statement that you believe in good faith that the information in your report is accurate and complete.

In the US you can also report child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at report.cybertip.org. Never send us copies of such material, not even as a screenshot. Just tell us where it is.

We will confirm that we received your report, review it promptly, and tell you what we decided and how to ask us to look at it again (see Appeals). Copyright complaints follow the steps in our Terms of Service.

What we do

When something breaks these guidelines or our Terms of Service, we decide what to do based on how serious it is, whether it looks deliberate and whether it has happened before. We don't always give a warning first. For serious cases, such as threats, sexual content involving minors, fraud, large-scale cheating or selling accounts, we may act straight away.

Our servers automatically show "Bug" in arenas and on the leaderboards instead of a nickname our filter finds offensive, or that several players have reported until a person on our team reviews it, block some club names and reject results that aren't possible. Every other decision, such as blocking a nickname, taking a name off the leaderboards, renaming or hiding a club, resetting scores, or closing or banning an account, is made by a person on our team.

Depending on what happened, we may:

• Remove or change content. For example, take a nickname off the leaderboards, rename a club, or hide a club.
• Reset scores and rewards. Remove leaderboard entries, ranked results or club tournament points, and take back coins, items or rewards that were gained unfairly.
• Close an account. For example, sign the account out on every device. It then can't use ranked play, clubs, purchases or online rewards.
• Ban a player. Close the account for good, and close new accounts made to get around the ban.
• Report to the authorities when the law requires it or when someone may be in danger.

If we have a way to reach the player, for example because they emailed us, we tell them what we did, which rule it was based on, and how to appeal (see Appeals). buggs.io doesn't ask players for an email address, so often we can't.

If we close an account that has a web or desktop (Stripe) Premium subscription, we cancel the subscription so it doesn't renew. We can't cancel App Store or Google Play subscriptions: cancel those in your Apple or Google account settings (see Purchases, Subscriptions & Refunds), or email us if you need help. What happens to coins, items and purchases on an account we close is covered in our Terms of Service.

Appeals

If you think we made a mistake about your nickname, your club, your scores or your account, or about a report you sent, email support@buggs.io with:

• your Player ID (Settings ▸ Account) and your nickname;
• which decision you are appealing and roughly when it happened;
• why you think it was wrong.

Before we discuss an account, we may ask for details only its owner would know, to make sure it's yours. We will look at the decision again and tell you the result. We aim to reply within 5 business days. If we got it wrong, we will undo what we can, for example by restoring scores, or by adding the coins and items from a closed account to a new one. Appealing is free and doesn't affect any rights you have under the law.

Changes to these guidelines

We may update these guidelines as the game changes, for example when we add new features that let players share things. When we do, we change the date at the top of this page. For important changes, we will also give notice in the game or on this site before they apply.

Contact

Questions about these guidelines, or something to report? Email support@buggs.io. We aim to reply within 5 business days. For other help, see Help & Contact. buggs.io is run by POWERUP GAMING LLC, doing business as buggs.io, 311 Chimney Rdg, Nolensville TN, 37135.