1. Who we are and what we do
InsideLines is a website. People in federal and state prisons, and in county and local jails, can have a pen-pal profile listed here. People outside can look through those profiles and choose who to write to. We also run an optional Letter Relay, so you can write without sharing your home address.
InsideLines is a listing platform. We are not affiliated with any corrections agency, jail, court or government body, and nothing we do is done for them. We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. We are a sister brand of StayCloser.
These terms apply to everyone who uses the site. That means the people inside who are listed. It means the family members and friends who help list them (we call them "sponsors"). And it means the people outside who look and write (we call them "correspondents," an older word for pen pals). When we say "you" below, we mean whichever of these you are. By using the site, or asking us to list a profile, you agree to these terms.
2. Who can be listed, and agreeing
We list adults (18 or older) who are now held in a federal or state prison, or a county or local jail, in the United States, where the facility's rules allow it (see section 8).
The person inside must agree themselves, in writing. Before anything goes up, we send them a short, plain message or letter. It says exactly what will and will not be shown. They write back in their own words saying they agree to be listed. We keep that reply.
- A family member, friend or other sponsor can start the process, give us details, write to us and pay. They cannot agree for the person inside.
- The person paying and the person being listed can be different people. The person agreeing can only be the person being listed.
- A phone call can tell us someone plans to agree. But it only counts when it arrives in writing.
- The person inside can change their mind at any time by writing to us. The profile comes down, and nobody asks why.
3. What a profile shows
Every profile shows:
- the person's first name (the one they chose) and age;
- their facility and state, and whether it is a federal prison, a state prison or a county jail;
- their convictions, sentence and earliest release date, taken from the official public record (the court judgment, the prison lookup) and written in plain words. For a jail profile with an open case, it shows the line described in section 4 instead;
- their bio, interests and languages, in English and Spanish;
- the photos they chose (up to 6 or 12, depending on the plan), each one looked at by us;
- a "Verified [month year]" line and this notice: "This profile is operated by InsideLines on behalf of the person listed. The person inside does not have internet access and does not maintain this page."
Convictions are shown, never hidden. We do not shut anyone out because of the kind of crime they were convicted of. And we do not leave out anything the public record shows. The age, facility, charges summary, sentence and release date are fixed by this policy. The person cannot ask us to take them off. The bio, interests, photos and first name are theirs to choose.
We never publish a person's full legal name, date of birth, or full register, DOC or booking number. We never publish the names of family members, anything about other people in prison, or the name or details of anyone who writes to them.
4. People in county jails
People held in county and local jails can be listed. We check the record and show what it says, the same as for a prison, with three differences:
- If the person's case is still open, the profile says plainly "Charges pending — not convicted" and lists the charges as filed on the court docket. It never says or hints that the person is guilty. If the person has been sentenced, the profile shows the conviction and sentence the same way a prison profile does.
- People move in and out of jails quickly, so we check every jail listing again every 30 days against the jail's public roster and the court record.
- If the person is moved, the profile is paused until we confirm the new facility and ID number. Then we update it and turn it back on.
When an open case ends, we rewrite that line on the profile the same day we confirm the outcome. A charge that is dropped, or that ends in a not-guilty verdict, comes off the profile.
5. Checking and fixing profiles
- Before a profile goes up, we check the person's identity, facility, release date and convictions against official public records. A second person reads the charges summary against the record before it goes live.
- We check prison profiles again every three months. We check jail profiles again every 30 days.
- If anything on a profile is wrong, tell us at [email protected]. We fix it within one business day.
- The bio, interests, photos and first name can be changed on request (within 3 business days; within 24 hours on Premier). The facility, release date, charges and sentence change only when the record changes.
6. Pausing and taking down a profile
- We take a profile down within 30 days of the person's release.
- We take a profile down when the person inside asks us in writing, at any time, no questions asked.
- We may pause or take down a profile for four reasons. There is a specific, current danger to someone writing (for example, a threat, or any attempt to contact a child). A facility's rules require it. A victim of the person's crime asks us to. Or the listing has gone unpaid. Refunds in these cases are in section 10.
- We never say no to a listing because of the kind of crime the person was convicted of. We say no only for a real, current danger that we have written down, and the decision belongs to the owner of InsideLines.
7. Letter Relay and translation
Letter Relay is an optional extra for people who write. It lets you write to a listed person without giving out your home address, and without opening your own account with the facility's messaging company.
- Relay goes through the facility's own messaging system (for example, CorrLinks for federal prisons, or whichever company a state or county facility uses), from an InsideLines account. We use paper mail when you or the person inside asks for it, or when a facility has no messaging company.
- Everything is relayed in the writer's own words, word for word, with nothing changed. The only thing we add is a one-line note at the top saying the message was relayed by InsideLines. We do not read letters for their content, change them, screen them or comment on them.
- Facility staff read everything that goes through a facility messaging system or facility mail. Write with that in mind.
- If a facility's messaging system blocks, flags or warns about relayed messages, we pause relay for that facility the same day and offer paper mail in the meantime. Relay there starts again only when the owner of InsideLines decides it is safe.
- If the facility's messaging company rejects a message (too long, blocked words, an attachment), we send it back to you unchanged, with the company's reason, so you can rewrite it or choose paper.
- Translation between English and Spanish, done by a person, costs $5 per letter. It keeps your meaning and tone and adds nothing.
- We send relayed messages on within 1 business day. Paper mail goes out within 3 business days.
8. Facility rules
Every corrections system has its own rules about mail, messaging and pen-pal listings, and some systems restrict pen-pal listings. Before we list anyone from a system we have not worked with before, we check that system's rules once, write down what we find, and tell the person asking.
Depending on what we find, we may: list the person normally; list them but allow Letter Relay by paper mail only; list them only after the person inside signs a short note saying they understand the risk, written in plain words; or say no. If we say no before any payment is taken, there is no charge. If a payment was already taken, we refund it in full.
We do not name individual systems or their rules on this website. Ask us about a specific facility at [email protected].
9. People who write
- Looking and writing are free. We never charge you for looking or writing. The optional extras (Letter Relay, translation, Match Suggestion) are the only things you can pay for.
- You must be 18 or older. We confirm this before we introduce you to anyone. Any sign that someone writing is under 18 closes their account at once.
- You must not send money, contraband, or anything the facility does not allow. You must not send threats, harassment, sexual content involving children, or anything against the law.
- Once two people are writing, we do not read or screen their letters. We do act on safety reports (see our Safety page), and we may pause or close your account for abuse, fraud, harassment or crossing someone's boundaries.
- You decide when to start, pause or stop writing. You promise nothing beyond the letters you choose to send.
10. Prices, billing and refunds
Plans for the person listed
| Plan | Per quarter | Per year (20% off) | Includes |
|---|
| Standard | $25 | $80 | 6 photos, bio in English and Spanish, main listing |
| Featured | $40 | $128 | 12 photos, on the home page one week at a time in rotation, wider promotion, priority checks |
| Premier | $60 | $192 | 12 photos, 30 days straight on the home page, widest promotion, checks in 1 business day, changes within 24 hours |
Extras for people who write
- Letter Relay: $15 a month (through the facility's messaging system; paper if you ask).
- Translation by a person (English ↔ Spanish): $5 a letter.
- Match Suggestion: $10, one time. We suggest up to three profiles based on the interests you tell us. It is a suggestion, nothing more.
First group of listings: first quarter free
Profiles in our first group of listings get their first quarter free. The free quarter does not renew on its own. We send a reminder 30 days before it ends.
How to pay
- By card through Stripe, paid by a family member, friend or sponsor outside. Quarterly and yearly plans renew on their own until you cancel.
- By check or money order from a facility trust account, mailed to our postal address, where the facility allows it. These do not renew on their own. We send a reminder 30 days before the term ends.
- We never ask a person inside for card details.
Refunds
- Sometimes InsideLines says no to a profile, or takes one down for a reason of our own. That means a real, current danger, a request from a victim, a facility rule we find out about after payment, or our own mistake. In those cases we refund the unused part of the current term within 5 business days. The refund goes back to the card through Stripe, or by check to the person who paid.
- If a profile comes down because the person asked us to after it was published, or because the person was released before the term ended, there is no refund for the current term, and no more charges are taken.
- If a payment is missed, the profile is paused 7 days after the term ends, and taken down 60 days after that. A new payment turns it back on.
11. What we do not promise
- We cannot promise that anyone will write to a listed person, or that they will keep writing.
- InsideLines is not a dating or matchmaking service. We make no romantic promises of any kind.
- We make no promises about money. A listing does not help anyone's court case, release, or finances. Nobody on this site should be asked for money or promised money.
- We check what the public record shows at the time we look. Records change. We check again on the schedule above and fix mistakes within one business day. But we cannot promise that every record is up to date at every moment.
12. Legal terms
These terms are an agreement between you and Bridge Unity Network, Inc., doing business as InsideLines. They are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. In plain words: Georgia law applies, no matter where you live.
To the fullest extent the law allows, InsideLines provides the site and its services as they are. We are not responsible for what any listed person, sponsor or person writing does, or for what any facility, messaging company or agency does. If you ever have a claim against us, the most we owe you is the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim.
We may change these terms. When we do, we update the version and date at the top of this page. If you keep using the site after a change, that means you accept it.
Questions about these terms: [email protected]. Safety concerns: [email protected]. See also our Privacy Policy.