ShuffleIn works because people trust each other enough to meet and hand over a lamp for a kettle. These guidelines are the rules that keep that trust. They are short on purpose. The legal version is in the Terms of Service.
The rules
1. Shuffles are always free
One item for another, nothing else. Do not ask for, offer, send or accept money, deposits, "delivery charges", vouchers, UPI transfers or anything of the kind. Anyone who asks you for money is breaking the rules: do not pay, do report. The only payment anywhere in ShuffleIn is the optional Premium subscription, paid to the app store, never to a person.
2. Be honest about your items
Your own photos, the real condition, a plain description. List only things you own and may give away. Nothing from the banned items list: weapons, drugs, medicines, alcohol, tobacco and vapes, live animals, counterfeits, stolen goods, identity documents, SIM cards, gift cards.
3. Be respectful
No harassment, threats, hate, sexual content or unwanted advances. No spam, duplicate listings or advertising. No impersonation. A match is mutual: if the other person does not want to continue, respect it.
4. Keep the chat in the app
There is no need to share your phone number, address, workplace or documents to Shuffle a lamp. Do not try to move a conversation off ShuffleIn to turn it into a sale, and do not collect other people's details.
5. Turn up, or say you cannot
If you agree to meet, meet, or tell the other person in the chat as soon as plans change. A no-show can be reported, and repeated no-shows show up in your standing.
6. Rate honestly
After both people mark a Shuffle done, each can rate the other once: 1 to 5 stars and a short note. Rate the Shuffle you had, nothing else. Both ratings appear together (or after 7 days), so nobody can rate in return for a rating, and the same two people count once a month, so friends cannot pump each other. Ratings that break rule 3 are removed.
7. Meet safely
A busy public place in daylight, a friend told or brought along, the item checked before you hand over yours. The full list is on Shuffle safely, and the app shows it before your first chat.
What the app checks for you
- Money in chats. Before a message about money goes out (words like "pay", "UPI", an amount), the sender sees a reminder and chooses to send or edit. Nothing is ever blocked. The other person sees a red "never pay or send money" notice under that message with a one-tap report. Three such messages in 30 days put the account under review.
- Banned items. A listing whose words match the banned-items list cannot go live. If it is a mistake (a "kitchen knife" is fine, a "dagger" is not), you can send it for review, and it stays hidden until a person approves it.
- Standing on every profile. Stars, number of ratings, Shuffles done and member since, plus a "Highly rated" mark at 4.5 stars or more after 5 ratings. New members show as "New", never as a blank. The number of swipes is never shown, because it says nothing about honesty.
- Automatic flags. If three different people block or report someone within 30 days, that person is hidden from new swipes and a person on our team reviews the account. At five, the account is paused until that review is done. Blocks from people who are themselves under review do not count. The person always sees the reason and how to appeal.
- A record. Every hold, removal, flag, pause, note or suspension is recorded with what was done, why and when. That record is what we answer appeals and lawful requests from.
What happens when a rule is broken
Depending on what we find, one of these, usually in this order: a note in the app reminding you of the rules; an item removed; your items hidden from new people while we look; the account paused; the account suspended. Serious matters (threats, anything involving a child, stolen goods) go to the authorities. A person makes every decision that lasts; the automatic flags only bring an account to that person's attention or pause it until they have looked.
How to appeal
If your items were hidden, your account was paused or suspended, or an item was removed and you think it is a mistake, write to support@tinyanglestudio.com with the display name on your account and what happened. We acknowledge within 24 hours and answer, with reasons, within 15 days. If we were wrong, we put it right and the record says so.
How to report
Every item card, profile and chat has a Report button, and chats also have Block, which closes the chat and hides you from each other at once. Pick the reason (asked for money, banned item, fake or stolen, rude or unsafe, did not turn up, item not as described, or something else), add a line if you want, and a person reviews it. Reports are private; the other person is never told who reported them. If you are in danger, call the police first (112 in India).