Why was my photo rejected?
Quick answer: Photos are reviewed in 24–48 hours; most are approved, but some are rejected for content that breaks our guidelines.
- Blur, cover or crop out any child's face.
- Avoid nudity, violence, vulgar gestures, hate symbols, illegal activity.
- Remove names, addresses, phone numbers, handles, license plates.
- Skip AI-generated, heavily edited or appearance-altering filtered images.
- Use .jpg, .jpeg or .png; keep one photo.
Replace the photo using How do I manage my photos?, or email support@zoosk.com if removed in error.
All photos are reviewed before they appear on your profile, which can take 24–48 hours. Most are approved — here's what to check if yours wasn't.
Photo requirements
- Accepted formats are .jpg, .jpeg, and .png, and your profile needs at least one photo.
- Your main photo should clearly show you — recent, well-lit, and not heavily filtered.
Photos that include children
To help protect children's privacy and safety, a child's face may not be visible or identifiable in your photos. You're still welcome to share a photo that includes a child — such as a family photo — as long as the child's face can't be identified. That means the face should be:
- Blurred,
- Covered (for example, with an emoji or sticker), or
- Not shown — turned away from the camera, or cropped out of the photo.
Photos in which a minor's face is clearly visible won't be approved, and existing photos that don't meet this rule may be removed. If a photo was removed for this reason, you can simply re-upload it with the child's face blurred, covered, or cropped out.
Protecting minors is a priority. Any content that exploits or endangers a child is strictly prohibited, is removed, and is reported to the appropriate authorities.
Other content that isn't allowed in photos
Photos are also rejected when they contain:
- Nudity, or sexually explicit, suggestive, or pornographic content.
- Violent or graphic content, or anything depicting illegal activity.
- Vulgar gestures (such as the middle finger), gang signs or colors, hate symbols, or hate speech.
- Personal or identifying information — a full name, home address, phone number, email, social handle, or a visible license plate (yours or anyone else's).
- Contact details, or anything that looks like an advertisement or solicitation.
- A celebrity or anyone who isn't you, or reproductions of copyrighted material such as famous artwork or branded imagery.
- Heavily edited or AI-generated images, or filters that significantly change your appearance (including cartoon or face-altering effects).
- A child whose face is identifiable — see “Photos that include children” above.
This list covers the most common reasons, but it isn't exhaustive — we may reject or remove any photo that doesn't meet our guidelines or our Terms of Service.
One photo can cost you your account. Content that is sexual or exploitative, endangers a child, or is highly offensive results in your account being permanently removed, in line with our Terms of Service.
What to do next
Replace or edit the photo so it meets the guidelines — see How do I manage my photos? If you believe a photo was removed in error, contact Customer Support or email support@zoosk.com.