Art Soko — Community Guidelines

Last Updated: October 2026

Art Soko is a place for artists and buyers to meet, talk about artwork and buy original pieces. These guidelines explain what is and isn't allowed. They are part of our Terms of Service.

Who can join

• You must be 18 or older to use Art Soko.
• Use your real name or the name you're known by as an artist. Don't pretend to be someone else.

Your profile

• Your username, profile photo and bio must not be offensive, sexual or misleading.
• Don't put phone numbers, links to payment pages or other people's photos on your profile.

Listings (artists)

• Only list artwork you made yourself or have the right to sell.
• Use real photos of the actual piece being sold.
• Describe the piece honestly — size, medium, condition and any damage.
• Set a real price. No placeholder or misleading prices.
• Every listing is reviewed before it goes public.

Our safety rule

• Never send money, including by M-Pesa, before inspecting the artwork in person. Pay on delivery or at collection, only once you've seen the piece.
• Art Soko will never ask you to send money through chat, and never asks for your M-Pesa PIN or passwords. Anyone claiming to be Art Soko and asking for money is a scammer.

Chat

• Keep conversations about the artwork, inspection and delivery.
• Never pressure anyone to pay in advance.
• Be respectful. No harassment, insults or repeated unwanted messages.
• Don't share ID numbers, PINs, passwords or bank details.
• Don't edit a message to change what was agreed or to mislead someone. The original wording is kept for reports.

Calls

• The chat rules apply to calls too: be respectful and never pressure anyone to pay in advance.
• Don't call again and again if someone doesn't answer. Send a message instead.
• Don't record a call without the other person's permission.
• Report a call from the chat's menu if something goes wrong. Blocking someone stops their calls.

Reviews

• Reviews must be honest and about your own order.
• Don't post fake reviews, review yourself, or offer or demand anything in return for a review.
• Artists must not pressure buyers about reviews.
• We may remove reviews that break these rules.

Not allowed anywhere on Art Soko

• Scams, fraud, or asking for payment before the buyer has inspected the artwork.
• Harassment, threats, bullying or hate speech.
• Sexually explicit content, and any sexual content involving minors.
• Content that promotes violence or illegal activity.
• Selling items that aren't artwork, or illegal items.
• Artwork or photos that belong to someone else, used without permission.
• Spam and repeated unwanted messages.
• Sharing another person's private information without their permission.

Report and block

• Use Report on an artwork, a profile or a chat message if something breaks these guidelines. Reports are reviewed by the Art Soko team.
• Use Block on someone's profile or in your chat with them to stop them messaging or calling you. They aren't told.

What happens when rules are broken

Depending on how serious it is, the Art Soko team may:

• reject or remove an artwork or a message;
• restrict an account (browse only — no uploading, messaging or ordering);
• suspend or permanently close an account.

Every action is recorded along with the reason.

Appeals

If you think a decision was a mistake, tap Appeal this decision in the app (or email [email protected]) within 30 days. You can appeal each decision once, and we reply within 72 hours. If a suspension is kept after an appeal, the account is closed and deleted.

Contact

Questions or concerns: [email protected]