Nextdoor App Targets Toxic Behavior With Anti-Racism Warning

Nextdoor, the app that allows neighbors to connect with each other and share details about their communities, is introducing a new feature that will detect and warn against potentially racist content. The company announced the new feature today, explaining that it will ask users to reconsider their posts before sharing them if certain offensive language is detected.

If you've ever used Nextdoor, you're likely familiar with some of the drama that can take place on community boards — as well as abusive behavior that not only ruins the experience for everyone, but that can also be harmful to people living in the community. Nextdoor's new feature aims to reduce those messages.

The company says that it has rolled out an anti-racism prompt that will appear in the app when certain phrases are detected. Though the user won't be blocked from posting, they will be asked to consider editing their content before publishing it to ensure it doesn't violate the company's policy and bring harm to users.

For example, Nextdoor has banned the use of the phrase 'White Lives Matter' and doesn't allow the use of 'Blue Lives Matter' or 'All Lives Matter' if the post aims to 'undermine racial equality.' Users will see the warning starting this week on mobile devices.

This isn't the first time Nextdoor has introduced a prompt designed to reduce problematic content on its platform. Back in 2019, Nextdoor introduced a warning called the 'Kindness Reminder' that spots 'offensive language' and encourages the user to edit their post or comment before sharing it.