> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.cometchat.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Rules Management
> Rules Management — CometChat documentation.
## Overview
Rules Management allows you to define and manage moderation rules that automatically detect and handle inappropriate content. Configure rules once in the Dashboard, and they're automatically applied to all messages sent through CometChat.
**Using UI Kit or SDK?** Once you configure rules in the Dashboard, they are automatically applied to all messages. No additional code is required - the UI Kit and SDK handle moderation seamlessly.
***
## Quick Start
Enable moderation in under 2 minutes:
Login to [CometChat Dashboard](https://app.cometchat.com) → Select your app → **Moderation** → **Settings** → **Rules**
Toggle on the rules you need (e.g., Profanity Filter, AI Image Moderation)
Send a test message that violates the rule - it should be blocked automatically
***
## Available Rules Summary
| Rule | Description | Use Case |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- |
| **Profanity Filter** | Blocks offensive language using keyword matching | General chat apps |
| **Contact Details Filter** | Blocks phone numbers | Marketplaces, dating apps |
| **Email Filter** | Blocks email addresses | Prevent off-platform contact |
| **AI Toxicity Detection** | AI-powered detection of toxic language | Community platforms |
| **AI Spam Detection** | Detects spam messages | High-traffic apps |
| **AI Scam Detection** | Identifies fraudulent messages | Marketplaces, finance apps |
| **AI Platform Circumvention** | Detects attempts to bypass rules | All apps |
| Rule | Description | Use Case |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **AI Image Moderation** | Blocks explicit/unsafe images | All apps with image sharing |
| **OpenAI Explicit Content** | Detects nudity and sexual content | Social apps, dating |
| **OpenAI Violence/Gore** | Blocks graphic violence | Family-friendly apps |
| **OpenAI Hate Symbols** | Detects hate imagery | Community platforms |
| **OpenAI Privacy Data** | Blocks images with personal data | Finance, healthcare |
| **Malware & Virus Scanner** | Scans image files for malware and viruses | Enterprise, healthcare, compliance apps |
| Rule | Description | Use Case |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **AI Video Moderation** | Blocks explicit/unsafe video content | Apps with video sharing |
| **Malware & Virus Scanner** | Scans video files for malware and viruses | Enterprise, healthcare, compliance apps |
| Rule | Description | Use Case |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **Malware & Virus Scanner** | Scans audio files for malware and viruses | Enterprise, healthcare, compliance apps |
| Rule | Description | Use Case |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------- |
| **Malware & Virus Scanner** | Scans all file attachments (documents, archives, etc.) for malware and viruses | Enterprise, healthcare, compliance apps |
| Rule | Type | Description |
| ---------------------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ |
| **Hate & Harassment** | Text/Image | Detects hateful or harassing content |
| **Explicit Content** | Text/Image | Blocks sexual or graphic content |
| **Privacy & Sensitive Info** | Text/Image | Protects personal data |
| **Spam & Scam** | Text | Identifies fraudulent schemes |
| **Violence & Terrorism** | Text/Image | Blocks violent extremism |
| **Self-Harm Content** | Text/Image | Detects self-harm references |
| **Impersonation & Fraud** | Text | Prevents identity fraud |
| **Minor Safety** | Image | Protects minors from exploitation |
***
## Recommended Rules by Use Case
**Essential:**
* Profanity Filter
* AI Toxicity Detection
* AI Image Moderation
* OpenAI Hate & Harassment
**Recommended:**
* AI Spam Detection
* OpenAI Explicit Content
**Essential:**
* Contact Details Filter
* Email Filter
* AI Scam Detection
* AI Platform Circumvention
**Recommended:**
* Profanity Filter
* AI Image Moderation
**Essential:**
* Contact Details Filter
* Email Filter
* AI Image Moderation
* OpenAI Explicit Content
**Recommended:**
* AI Scam Detection
* OpenAI Privacy Data (Image)
**Essential:**
* Profanity Filter
* AI Toxicity Detection
* AI Spam Detection
**Recommended:**
* OpenAI Hate & Harassment
* AI Image Moderation
**Essential:**
* OpenAI Privacy & Sensitive Info
* OpenAI Privacy Data (Image)
* AI Scam Detection
* Malware & Virus Scanner
**Recommended:**
* Profanity Filter
* Contact Details Filter
**Essential:**
* Malware & Virus Scanner
* OpenAI Privacy & Sensitive Info
* AI Scam Detection
**Recommended:**
* Profanity Filter
* AI Image Moderation
***
## Best Practices
| Practice | Description |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Start with Defaults** | Enable default rules first, then customize based on your needs. Don't try to configure everything at once. |
| **Test Before Launch** | Test rules in a staging environment. Send test messages to verify rules work as expected. |
| **Monitor Regularly** | Check the [Blocked Messages](/moderation/blocked-messages) dashboard regularly to catch false positives. |
| **Iterate & Refine** | Review [Rule Revisions](#rule-revisions) to track changes and refine rules over time. |
### Tips for Effective Moderation
1. **Layer your rules** - Use multiple rules together (e.g., Profanity Filter + AI Toxicity) for better coverage
2. **Adjust confidence levels** - Lower confidence = more aggressive blocking, higher = fewer false positives
3. **Use Flag action for borderline content** - Instead of blocking, flag messages for manual review
4. **Create custom keyword lists** - Add industry-specific terms to the [Lists Management](/moderation/lists-management)
***
## Default Rules
Default rules are pre-configured and ready to use. Simply toggle them on in the Dashboard.
Automatically detects and blocks messages containing offensive language, profanity, or derogatory remarks using a predefined list of offensive keywords.
**Example:** Before enabling, profane messages are delivered (double ticks). After enabling, they're blocked (single tick).
Detects and blocks messages containing phone numbers to prevent sharing of private contact information.
Detects and blocks messages containing email addresses to prevent off-platform communication.
AI-powered detection of toxic, harmful, or inappropriate language including threats, harassment, and hate speech. Supports multiple languages.
Detects attempts by users to bypass platform rules using sentence similarity analysis.
Identifies scam-related messages including phishing attempts, fake offers, and fraudulent schemes.
Detects and filters spam messages by analyzing content patterns and identifying unwanted communications.
Uses AI to identify and block images containing sensitive, explicit, or prohibited content.
Detects hate symbols, extremist insignia, and harassing imagery.
Identifies nudity, explicit sexual content, or suggestive imagery.
Detects images of extreme violence, gore, or disturbing content.
Identifies images containing personal data like IDs, addresses, or financial documents.
Detects imagery suggesting self-harm or suicidal ideation.
Detects exploitative imagery of minors or unsafe depictions of children.
Flags manipulated or fraudulent images like fake IDs or doctored screenshots.
Detects extremist propaganda, terrorist symbols, or violent ideologies.
Scans image files for viruses, malware, trojans, worms, and ransomware before delivery.
Uses AI to identify and block videos containing sensitive, explicit, or prohibited content.
Scans video files for viruses, malware, trojans, worms, and ransomware before delivery.
Scans audio files for viruses, malware, trojans, worms, and ransomware before delivery.
Automatically scans all file attachments for malware and viruses before delivery, blocking infected files to protect users from malicious content. Detects viruses, malware, trojans, worms, and ransomware.
Supports documents (PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, TXT, CSV), archives (ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZ), and all other file attachments.
Detects hateful or harassing language toward individuals or groups using OpenAI moderation.
Detects messages sharing personal or sensitive information without consent.
Identifies explicit sexual descriptions, graphic violence, or unsuitable text.
Detects spam messages, phishing attempts, and fraudulent schemes.
Identifies content promoting violence or extremism.
Detects sexual exploitation, grooming, or non-consensual content.
Identifies deceptive attempts to impersonate individuals or organizations.
Detects messages suggesting self-harm or suicidal thoughts.
***
## Rule Configuration
### Filters
Filters narrow down which messages are checked by a rule based on sender or receiver attributes:
| Filter Type | Properties |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Sender** | UID, Role, Name, Tags, Created date |
| **Receiver** | Name, GUID, Tags, Group type, Created date, Type (user/group) |
### Conditions
Conditions define what content triggers the rule:
| Content Type | Available Conditions |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Text/Custom** | Keyword list, Word patterns, Toxicity, Sentiment, Sentence similarity |
| **Image/Video** | Violence, Gambling, Alcohol, Drugs, Nudity, Hate symbols, Unsafe content |
You can set a **confidence percentage** for AI-based conditions to control sensitivity.
### Actions
Actions determine what happens when content matches the conditions:
| Action | Description |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Block** | Message is not delivered (default) |
| **Flag** | Message is delivered but flagged for review |
| **Ban User** | User is banned from the group |
| **Kick User** | User is removed from the group |
| **Block User** | User is blocked platform-wide |
***
## Managing Rules
### Create Rule
1. Click **Add** in the Rules tab
2. Configure:
* **Name**: Descriptive name for the rule
* **Rule ID**: Unique identifier
* **Description**: Purpose of the rule
* **Filter**: Who the rule applies to
* **Condition**: What triggers the rule
* **Action**: What happens when triggered
3. Click **Save**
4. **Enable** the rule to start moderating
**Regex Pattern Restrictions:** When using Word patterns (regex) in conditions, avoid greedy patterns like `.*`, `.+`, or unbounded quantifiers (`\d+`, `\w+`). Use bounded patterns instead (e.g., `\d{3,10}` instead of `\d+`) to prevent performance issues. See [Lists Management](/moderation/lists-management) for more details.
### List Rules
All configured rules are displayed in the Rules tab with their name, status, and actions.
### Update Rule
1. Click **Edit** in the action menu
2. Modify the rule settings
3. Click **Save**
### Delete Rule
Click **Delete** in the action menu and confirm.
### Rule Revisions
Track the history of changes made to a rule:
1. Click **View** in the action menu
2. Navigate to **Rule History**
***
## Related Resources
Create custom keyword lists for your rules
View and manage blocked content
Review flagged content
Handle moderation in custom UI