Brand Safety¶
Before Mentionlink captions a photo or links a product seen in it, an image safety classifier reviews the image against four sensitive categories. If any of them is present, Mentionlink adds nothing, so your readers never see a shoppable caption on a political rally or a link to a campaign hat.
| Category | Blocked | Not blocked |
|---|---|---|
| Political | Political figures, parties, campaigns, rallies, and events; apparel, accessories, merchandise, and signage branded with political slogans, symbols, or imagery | — |
| Religious | Religious figures, attire, head coverings worn for faith, symbols, places of worship, and events; products carrying religious imagery | — |
| Assistive tech | Hairpieces, wigs, assistive devices, prosthetics, mobility aids, hearing aids, medical conditions, injuries, and disabilities | Sunglasses |
| Violence | Weapons, violence, and related paraphernalia | Cooking and kitchen knives, ordinary sports equipment |
What Gets Reviewed¶
Every image is reviewed together with the text that accompanies it:
- The photo, with its alt text, before any caption is written for it. If the photo is flagged, it is left exactly as you published it: no caption, no hotspots, and no links.
- The thumbnail of every product about to be linked, with the product's listing title. A search for "red cap" can return a campaign hat, so a product that is flagged is dropped while the rest of the photo is still captioned.
Only the product that would actually be linked is reviewed; products that were considered and passed over are never shown to readers.
How the Classifier Decides¶
The classifier only flags what it can plainly see in the image or read in its text:
- It does not guess at what a person believes, supports, or suffers from, and it never infers a category from a person's identity, appearance, or ethnicity.
- Something that is merely possible, implied, or far in the background is not flagged.
- Everyday clothing, accessories, and objects are not sensitive.
Failing Closed¶
If the review cannot be completed, for example because it timed out, the image is treated as flagged. The worst case is a photo without a caption, which is what a photo with no matching products looks like anyway, never a caption that wasn't reviewed.
Privacy¶
The classifier runs with zero data retention at the model provider: images and their text are reviewed and not kept. See Data Collection for everything else Mentionlink collects.
Questions about brand safety? Email hello@mentionlink.com.
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