Products unsuitable for viewing by children

[Marzeemer]

There is no suitable category for my comment which concerns the images shown for some adult products . I think that it is not suitable to show images that are of adult nature. Show the actual item but not body images until accessing that listing. 
There could be a separate section for adult material maybe which is searched in a separate area and you need to log in separately for over 18s . 
This is not family friendly at present. 

[MaynardMillinery]

Etsy isn't for children.

[AllsFairyVintage]

I know this is technically true, but it’s advertised in such a way as to make it seem very family friendly. There’s nothing to alert the average consumer to the fact that if you sit down with your kid to look for a handmade stuffie you might encounter nudity or even explicit porn. I think it could be handled much better than it is.

[kerso]

@MaynardMillinery Etsy is for everyone.. but the clients are supposed to be adults.

[JackisJustVintage]

Thumbnail photos are supposed to cover/conceal anything considered mature. However, they do allow breasts and butts. You can always report a listing if you feel it violates the policy. I do believe they consider this an adult site.

[CoquetteBath]

well I've been seeing a large amount of male 'part' soaps recently. Some with additional drippy bits.

while not of a real human, they still look very real, even in candy colors...

not blocked. Not covered. No mature listing warning.

Etsy may be for everyone, but I concur that children should be protected far more than they are. They grow up regardless.

[kerso]

@JackisJustVintage Dear, there is more than 100 000 mature contents on Etsy. some of them are real porn, which is illegal on Etsy (I know it because I had a stormy debate with an Etsy moderator). There is a huge number of resale, copies, and really no handmade items. Only for BTS merch : more than 65 000 items. Do you really think that everybody has the permission of HYBE ? do you think it's handmade ? and for porn or nudity, Etsy is a "space of freedom"... well, sometimes yes, sometimes no, sometimes nwyes.

[JackisJustVintage]

@kerso Not sure why you are telling me this? Certainly not disputing that there are illegal things on this site. Just telling the OP that she can report if it violates policy. And don't "dear" me, it is condescending.

[kerso]

@JackisJustVintage  In France, it "Dear" is polite. not condescending. I'm not sure that Etsy is an adult site. I write "not sure", because I do not understand the policy of Etsy anymore. They want to be seen by everyone. Including young people... well maybe. There is a lot of contradictions... and that's why I do not understand them.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

you can't have an account on etsy unless you are over 18

Etsy’s Terms of Use require all account owners to be at least 18 years of age. Individuals under the age of 18 are considered minors on Etsy. Minors under age 13 are not allowed on Etsy.

Minors under 18 and at least 13 years of age are permitted to use Etsy's services only if they have the appropriate permission and direct supervision of their parent or legal guardian who is the owner of the account.

You are responsible for any and all account activity conducted by a minor on your account. You may wish to use commercially-available parental control protections, such as computer hardware, software, or filtering services, in order to limit access to various material online that may be inappropriate for minors. See here for more information.

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

The first photo of mature listings should not be explicit.  If you think a listing is breaching this, you can click to report it.

It's not Disney in here! (although there are lots of Disney knock offs!!). 

PS.  I think a Mature section is a good idea though and I am sure it would work well for Mature sellers.  

[NixAeterna]

Etsy could fix this, by making mature content an opt in (or even opt out) choice.

But they don't and a whole raft of customers are being put off visiting the site as a result.

[DBMaskDesigns]

Well said.  An opt in/out could be on the account settings, so buyers using the site, don't have mature content popping up if they looking at something with a child.

A mature section or tag could aid that.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

That would require sellers to tag their listings as mature, which a lot don't. 

[kerso]

@JJewellerySuppliesUK Well. On the Etsy's "rules of the house", it is forbidden to show genitals on anus on the thumbnail. It is really written in the rules... You can show the whole item on the following photos. But remember : pornography is forbidden on Etsy. Now... what is considered like pornography ? a naked man on a photo ? an erotic accessory ? a vintage magazine ?... I had a bad experience with Etsy, and I can say that is not clear. And it is still not very clear for me now !... I have mature content on my shop, and I choose to cover every photos. I really do not understand the Etsy policy. I would be happy if it was a kind of joke... but no. 

[kerso]

@StonesAndLeatherUS I may be wrong, but for the vintage stuff, you can name the brand. But you can't write in the description (for example) the famous actress Madame A. enjoyed this item. You can't use her name without her permission. Or tell that it was seen in a film ...

[KellysMagnets]

Etsy has never been a site for children (ie under 18)

Worry about what you are selling - I see lots that are not a minimum of 20 years old.

[kerso]

@AllsFairyVintage Oh yes.. I can't say my Dear (it seems to be not so kind in English..). But I think you're so right. That's the problem. Etsy deactivated 2 of my items, because of pornography. I had a few stormy mails with an Etsy moderator : It's really not clear. And the solution of Etsy is not so good : a tag with "mature content". I'm French : I will tag "explicite" (the translation of mature in French).. and perhaps you may find my items if the translation fails. I choose to put a "18+" sign on the thumbnail. Etsy do not ask it. But I've done it. I don't know if it's the solution, but it's clear, and every adults can understand.

[BootifulLabels]

Etsy is a selling site, designed for adults.  Minors cannot open an account or run a shop on their own,  they need an adult to be the shop owner and supervise their selling activity.  As far as shopping on Etsy goes, as with any internet activity, parents should supervise and monitor what sites and content their children are looking at and take care to log out so that their child must ask them to look at the site and cannot accidentally stumble onto undesirable pages.  It is no different to the parental responsibilities around TV and streaming content. 

[NostalgieCT]

With all of the comments about Etsy being an "adult" space, that isn't quite it. Minors can't open accounts because they legally can't enter into financially binding contracts. Etsy is a PUBLIC space and they should handle this better than they do. A warning, an adult section, the ability to opt out, whatever. Opening a search or (heaven help you) your own page and being bombarded with what should be private parts in a public sphere is unacceptable.

[dayspringcollectible]

Yes, this issue keeps coming up, and we keep hearing the same tired and wrong points from people that Etsy is an adult site.  ALL online selling sites are adult sites (even those targeted entirely towards children) because ONLY adults can legally buy or sell onlilne.  That is what Etsy's statements mean.  They only apply to who can do business on Etsy, not who can view the site.

Many of Etsy's ads are clearly geared towards families, and thus, towards children.  Statements in the Seller Handbook make it very clear Etsy not only knows, but expects children to be on the site, as I've referenced on other threads on this topic.

So let's stop the misinformed lies that keep coming from the same people.

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

It's not even minors seeing it that's an issue. Something could come up in the workplace.

I was at work one day and searched Etsy for something work-related, believe it or not. A close up of woman's privates (bottom half) came up front and center on my search results. It had nothing to do with my search. My boss's kids were in the office that day and I had to quickly close out the window. I was pissed.

[CoquetteBath]

the issue is that you can get to Etsy, and view everything, without logging in. So, the images are readily viewable.

any curious kid (and that is like nearly 100% of them) is eventually going to wonder and do a computer search.

[NickiesNest]

@dayspringcollectible

Exactly. Their ads show happy family settings with everyone gathered around the latest Etsy purchase.  Perhaps there should also be a note on the screen that the site is not family/child friendly or that it contains mature content and may be NSFW.  I realize this would cut against the image the ads are meant to portray, but at least it would give an honest warning.

[kerso]

@NostalgieCT  I agree : Etsy is a public place. Before having a deactivated items by Etsy, I ignored the numbers of mature stuffs on Etsy. I've made some researches : The thumbnails are not well made. But it's more complicated. I've changed my thumbnails : You cannot see anything. You may say : it's perfect. But no. Absolutely not. You may have a bad surprise if you click ans see the other photos (I also choose to "censured" the following photos). A warning on the thumbnail is (for me) the best thing to do. Maybe there is another solution. In fact I understand the ones who want to sold porn stuff and the ones who don't want to see these items. But we share the same market place and everybody should enjoy shopping.